Findings of a NYC Aimless Wanderer

I felt like such a hipster today. I know it's against my grain to be one. As much as I'd love it, I'm just not that kind of guy. I'm not one of those strategically artsy NYU kids you see with the funky clothes and strangely designed facial hair... It'd take too much of a commitment and it's not in my nature, and to somehow force that look/lifestyle as so many do, would be as pathetic as a strained comb-over. So, it's quite alright. I like myself as I am. BUT! Alas, I decided to spend my day off alone, and finally took the advice of a newly acquainted friend of mine, Travis - a former high school classmate of mine that I never really got to know until that beautiful invention the kids like to call "facebook" came to be years after we graduated. Now, Travis is a total hipster through and through. And a natural. Tragically smart and witty, good looking and a globe-trotting student of Yale, he's got an admirable sense of taste. Months ago he told me that I had to pay a visit to this brunch place off the JMZ line called Moto. 

A review by: Me, someone who knows not what he's talking about...

I too, highly recommend it. Never have I had a cappuccino or espresso in America taste so close to the ones I love so much in Italy. The food was incredible and the atmosphere was comfortably eccentric. It had an authentic, turn of the century style that was not just interesting to look at, but relaxing as well. 

I was reading Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s Breakfast of Champions at my table while wearing one of the cast members' aviator sunglasses and a jaw line of facial hair stubble as I sipped my espresso. The waiter, a huge Vonnegut fan, strikes up a conversation with me about the book and his other works. For a fleeting moment, I felt so hip. It cracks me up now. I mean, I love being the average "jeans and tee-shirt" wearing, vinyl record collecting theatre dork that I am, but I do adore those that pull off that style so well. It was fun while it lasted...

I walked around Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the first time and fell in love with it. I could live there. I'd like to live there. I'm going to live there. It was a community of homes with your typical bodegas and delis with a scattering of coffee shops, cafes and unique restaurants/bars. Close to trains that take you pretty much anywhere in the city you'd like, it seemed like a nice place to live without all of stress and outrageous rental prices. 

It was a great way to spend my day; aimlessly wandering the streets of New York discovering areas I've never been before. That's one of the big reasons I love living in large cities. There's so much to explore and do. There's so much individual character in all of the areas of the city, and it's ever changing; making the discovery endless. I'm beginning to really fall in love with this city. I'm glad I'm staying. It's been treating me nice so far.