Adventures in New York, part nine

Baby girl and I are proud Canadians. We love our big little country and revel in little glimpses of our piece of the world when we travel to other pieces of the world. New York was no different. These are our favourite Canadianisms in NYC.

Rockefeller Centre

In La Cucina, a bistro/eatery in the basement of Rockefeller Centre, we were delighting in scrambled eggs, bacon, and some of the best home fries ever. The music coming through the speakers was just loud enough to hear but not so loud that it intruded on our enjoyment of the peaceful space in an otherwise bustling building. I was humming along to a good old-fashioned crooner singing what, to me, are the sounds of old New York. It felt like a perfect moment, the music, the setting, the food. Then it hit me. It wasn’t Perry Como. Not Frank Sinatra. It wasn’t even my Harry Connick Jr. It was Michael Buble! Our Canadian wunderkind was easing out the lyrics to “Come Fly with Me” just for little old Canadian us. That made the moment all the more perfect.

Our proud flag

Outside of Rockefeller Centre, the flags of the world fly. Nestled among them, the red maple leaf drifted in the wind, high and proud. It was no surprise to find it there, but it did bring a sense of comfort. In the midst of the Manhattan madness, there was a glimpse of the serenity of home.

outside the Natural History Museum

We had two close brushes with Canadian rock and roll stardom in NY. The same band. A much maligned one, I’m afraid. And they’re Albertan too. Personally, I like their music, even if it is a bit repetitive. And you can sure dance to it! We were in the gift shop in the Museum of Natural History the first time we heard them. Seemed a bit out of place really. The second time was sitting in Lindy’s (remember the cheesecake that wasn’t?), and there it was again. “How you remind me” by Nickelback. Love that song. But twice on the same trip to NYC? Seriously, New York, they did record some other stuff.

The last Canadian musical interlude came in the dressing room of TJ Maxx (think Winners, only not as nice. Yeah, I know, hard to believe). One of my favourite tunes ever, “Falling for the first time” by the Barenaked Ladies, scratched from the speakers. Between the poor sound quality and my poor hearing, it took me a minute to place it. Now THERE is Canadian music royalty. These talented dudes are so popular, they wrote and sang the theme song to one of the USA’s best loved sitcoms – The Big Bang Theory. Love those guys. All of them. Musicians and nerds alike.

Timmie's in Manhattan!

And what list of Canadianisms would be complete without the most iconic Canadian symbol of all? No, not the flag – we already saw that. I’m talking Timmie’s baby! Right smack in the middle of Manhattan, there it was. Tim Horton’s. We didn’t go in. Avoided the siren’s song of the maple dip and double-double. We were in New York after all. We can get our Timmie’s fill at home any time. On just about any street corner. (Psst, American friends. Better than Krispy Kreme!)

Oh yeah, I went there.

Stay tuned for part ten. The missing pieces