When David Met Reuben

Jeanette arrived on Saturday without problem and we managed to meet at the convention center, despite our decision to meet "at the Starbucks." It turns out that at the Javits Center, agreeing to meet at the Starbucks is like agreeing to meet "at the tree" in a forest. Nevertheless, we found each other and were swept off by friend and author Mark Shulman for a quick tour of his neighborhood (the guy is -- no kidding -- a card-carrying tour guide fully authorized by the city).

It wasn't long before our stomachs were rumbling, so Mark took us to the world famous (take note Druxy's) Katz's Deli. You may know the place from such films as When Harry Met Sally ("I'll have what she's having.") It turns out that Meg Ryan wasn't performing -- the food is that good.

(photo by Leon Barnard: http://www.leonland.com/travels/ny4/)

I ordred a Reuben and I can honestly say it was the best sandwich I've ever experienced. And "experience" is le mot juste. Mark showed us the ropes, including the proper tipping technique to get the best pastrami and which beer goes best with which sandwich. He even proved his chops as a true New Yorker by finishing his own sandwich and a good chunk of a friend's. Jeanette managed less than half of her roast beef while I had to leave a third of Reuben behind. I'll miss ya Reub. We had some good times.

After the world's biggest sandwich and a glass of beer, I slipped into a food coma, so Jeanette carried me back to the hotel. Unfortuantely, this meant missing Mark's ensuing pub crawl tour of the lower east side. Fortunately, I awoke from my coma the next morning feeling refreshed. I was able to work the last day of BookExpo America without any ill effects, and Jeanette enjoyed a day at the spa. That night, we met Anton and Vinaya for dinner at the Blue Smoke restaurant for some top notch barbecued ribs. More meat-induced unconsciousness soon ensued.

This morning, we woke up to tropical-storm-level rains. Fortunately, they let up by lunch time and Jeanette and I set out for Soho, where I visited the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art while Jeanette did some shopping.


The museum had an interesting retrospective of Stan Lee (including some of his original type-written "scripts" for the first The Fantastic Four comic) and a fascinating exhibit on the depiction of African-American characters in 20th century comics.

The sun has now come out and it's a cool, beautiful evening in New York and tomorrow is supposed to be equally gorgeous... much better for seeing the sights.