The visit to B and H, the massive store for photography and all sorts of electronics, was the prime event on the calendar. I had only somewhat jokingly said I hope there was a spa or bar or something next to it. Across the street was indeed an Irish bar, although we had passed other places close by. Had there been an actual coffee shop, I would have been in it right away. The camera “world” was on the second floor and they did have a “guest lounge” at the exit. There were seats, but let’s say the amenities were quite limited. I had allotted an hour to sit and basically play games on my phone and either through some innate sense that would be my limit or by being nearly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of equipment, Hubby appeared at about the hour mark. It was a great experience for him and he was able to see and discuss this one lens he’s been considering. He will probably rent it for an upcoming event, then decide if that will be his Christmas present. As a side note, it never occurred to me one could rent a lens, but he did so when he went to TN for the workshop. The process works quite well.

On the way to B and H, among the restaurants we passed was the Five Napkins Burger place. How could we not stop there for lunch on the return? The actual name-sake burger probably would have required five napkins had they been paper, but cloth was in use, and yes, it was messy. Hubby went with that and I had something slightly smaller; both delicious.

There was a bit more wandering around the Times Square area. We decided for this trip not to go out and about much (Top of the Rock this afternoon) and instead focus on walking. We enjoy walking and we do need the exercise. So for dinner last night, it was the Hourglass Tavern. I’d run across it when searching for places near Times Square that were not touristy. It’s an old converted brownstone and definitely not spacious. The “hourglass” part was the original restaurant was only downstairs so in order to turn the tables, they used an hourglass as a measure of time. Even after the other two floors were converted for dining, the name lingered and they do a pre-theater menu to get you out within an hour if needs be. You do have to let them know if that hour applies. I was concerned at first about the “close quarters”, but it was a delightful place and the food was quite good. Hubby had about decided on an entrée when the special turned out to be slow-cooked lamb shank. I had a lovely rosemary and garlic chicken with a honey-cumin sauce on the side.

The Acela train was an experience. We were facing forward which made it nice. The couple on the opposite side of our table hoped to be able to swap seats, but it was a full train. We did have pleasant conversations along the way though. It was a three-hour trip with 4 or 5 stops before Penn Station and a crew change before they went on to Boston. Since we had treated ourselves to first class, lunch was served to us and we didn’t go check the dining car. It was a nice enough meal and the steward was quite pleasant.

Our Times Square hotel is only about a 10-minute cab ride away and the weather was mostly sunny and in the high 50s. We settled in the room, then went for a stroll to get oriented. We walked by a number of theaters and of course plenty of folks hawking different tours, shows, photo ops with dressed-up characters and so forth.

We decided on Becco for dinner; about a ten minute walk although the temperature had dropped. I wouldn’t have wanted to be out much longer. We did think to make reservations and it was crowded. When I had been looking for restaurants, I went to lists of where to go that weren’t chains (and there are plenty in sight) and Becco was on three different lists. It is a large place as I imagine most are considering the size of the population. The tables were of course quite close together and you do “absorb” the sounds and snippets of conversation. Hubby had osso bucco and I was a traditionalist with veal parm. Both were delicious and if we’d had the ability to do anything with leftovers, we would have taken a portion home. Needless to say, there was no room for sharing a dessert.

Not having excitement today is a good thing since you really don’t want that while getting somewhere. There was a bit of a startle – in typical fashion of poor signage, as we are on 936, we see signs that say “Airport Exit Right Now Open”. To my mind, that means they have opened a right-hand exit. That should not necessarily mean, “We’ve closed the left-hand exit you’ve always used and we’re not going to make that obvious until you’re practically at the closed exit.”  We used Supershuttle today and it was obvious our driver wasn’t aware of it either. Fortunately, we hadn’t had too many other back-ups so the ultimate exit and get on 936 again didn’t cause any timing issues. We were also out of my least favorite terminal at MIA, but it’s okay. The departure delay was about 15 minutes and it was a smooth flight.

It’s definitely nippy in the 50s in DC although a pretty day. We’re staying very close to Union Station and plan to have dinner at the French-themed Bistro here. I’ll probably go for the trout since we had steaks at home last night. Hubby will have a tough time choosing between the duck and the bouillabaisse.

We actually walked over to Union Station since we’ve never taken a train out of it. It is a beautiful building they did a great job on whenever it was they restored it. We’re also close to the Postal Museum although it was late enough when we arrived not to bother with. The National Gallery is in another direction, but not in the works for this afternoon either. The point for this leg of the trip is just to get us here so we can leisurely take the train to NYC tomorrow.

The trip up should be an interesting experience.

Exit One Taproom in Florida City

Opening any type of customer-service small business comes with risk and being on the entertainment side is particularly so. After all, people do have choices and it only takes one bad experience for someone to decide not to return, and even worse is if they share that opinion. I’m not trying to sound negative for the newest offering in our community – I am merely pointing out is takes courage and a lot of work to make the leap from dreaming to throwing open the doors to the public. The best way to describe Exit One Taproom is fun and funky. It is a family operation – mother and daughter and dad. He is still a full-time police officer, so he’s doing double-duty most days.

The entire family loves beer and they have only craft brews – 43 of them in fact. About thirteen are draft and they cover a range of ales, lagers, pilsners, stouts, etc., They researched dozens of breweries and are able to stock some items you don’t generally find in this area. They are delightfully enthusiastic and very happy to discuss the choices.

What they’ve gone with as a set-up is not large, but they have picnic tables in front and can roll up the doors to have an indoor-outdoor effect when the crowds are big. Inside they have about 12-14 spots at the bar, some more picnic tables, a few high-top tables and two seating areas with love seats and chairs. For food, they opted to enter a partnership with no kidding – Tacos and Tattoos. The food truck is there and that, too, is a family business, whose owners are friends. They describe their food as Southwestern with a Caribbean flair. You can wait at the truck after you order or they will give you a number to carry to a able and will bring the food to you.

You can never predict how a new place will do, but we are hoping the best for them.  They are located at 10 NE 3rd ST #30, Florida City is open Tues-Sun at 4:00 p.m. with varied closing times. (It’s actually at Krome Ave and 3rd next to Shivers Glass for those in this area). You can go to http://exitonetaproom.com or call (305) 812-4764. You can also check out http://tacosandtattoos.com