I've always been fascinated by the diversity of signs that I've seen in my travels and lately I seem to have noticed lots of different signs here in NYC and I just wanted to share some of them with you all. Yes, there is some actual Roadfood at the end of this post!! Signman, I thought you might like this post!!
Taken of a bar in the East Village. Just in case you were wondering if they were serious!!
Not so much a sign, but a notepad that my girlfriend was given while we were shopping at Century 21. It's like a Filene's Basement. Lots of bins and clothes strewn about as TONS of people elbow one another for the best deals. I do love the prices and selection, but the crowds truly are crazy. The slogan on this pad literally came to life before our eyes the other days while were were walking by Century with my cousin Katy and her husband, Lindsey, while they were in NYC for the weekend from Florida. A woman came running out of Century 21 yelling while a much smaller woman chased her, jumped on her back and the first woman screamed obscenities at her while two security guards took up pursuit. Only when we have out of town guests does this ever happen!
One of the sections inside Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers in Greenwich Village. I worked there for about 4 years and I can't tell you how many looks I would get when people would see this section. It had most of the Jack Kerouac, Philip K. Dick, Hunter S. Thompson, Henry Miller, etc...
Please don't steal from us, the overhead of choppings is just murder!!
And the house cats of Shakespeare & Co. This is Agnes, the attention grabber...
And Monty, the naughty kitty who loves people, but absolutely sees red when he encounters a dog of any size!
A vendor's table on the street corner.
And his chair. I walk by here a lot and it always makes me smile. I think I'll buy something one of these days just so I can talk to this guy and find out what his story is.
I just wanted to throw a shot of 30 Rock in there, jutting up and reaching for the sky. It stops me in my tracks every time. Belushi did some great stuff in there, man!!
A shot of the fountain and gas lamps in City Hall Park, Lower Manhattan. It is really beautiful when it's lit up at night.
A jewelry store on the corner of 37th Street and 6th Avenue. I think the sign really says it all.
I stumbled upon this one the other day by accident while shooting the other signs and I thought it was pretty cool since I'm an actor.
Right at Macy's. Rumor has it that one of the first films featured a moving train in it and "motion pictures" were so new that the audience thought the train was going to literally jump off of the screen and run them over. I wonder what people will say about us in 100 or so years? Oh, those 21st century people actually used their feet to walk! Can you believe that?
A local bar that supposedly has some pretty good sliders. They may even be a Red Sox friendly place! Hmmm, the sign makes a good point.
I found a trio of of interesting signs painted on to a residential building in an alley just below Houston Street. There are many bars nearby and apparently patrons have taken to relieving themselves in front of the building. The gist of it is a plea to passersby not to engage in #1 or #2 as people live there! Not sure if these images will pass the test here on RF, so I decided to remove them, but they are quite funny as it must have taken someone who was REALLY mad to decide they'd had enough and set about putting their anger into art!
I always like walking through the Mews as it allows me to feel as though I'm not in a huge crazy city, even if only for a few moments. Some days I need that.
A little bit of history: The brother alley to MacDougal Alley, Washington Mews, between 5th Avenue and University Place just north of Washington Square, also housed stables originally, which have all been converted to housing. The houses on the south side of the alley, built in the 1930s, are younger than the more ancient original stables on the north side. Washington Mews is on property belonging to Staten Island's Sailor's Sung Harbor, a former 19th-century home for "aged, decrepit and worn-out sailors" in a self-contained complex complete with church, theatre, recreation hall, chapels, fishpond, gazebo, and greenhouse. The complex, featuring one of NYC's largest collections of Greek Revival buildings, is open to the public. Washington Mews has kept some of its brick roadwork and an old blue street sign from days gone by. Info taken from this website:
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/Alleys/GREENWICH%20VILLAGE/green.html 
I just thought this sign was interesting.
It is really quite pretty.
I wonder how much this real estate goes for?
Street carts are an institution in NYC and I think they come in three major categories: breakfast carts, lunch carts and specialty carts. Most breakfast carts (mind you. my experience is mostly in Manhattan. I'm sure there is a treasure trove of cart eats in the other boroughs!) keep it pretty simple: coffee, tea and donuts/pastries. A few step it up a bit and actually have a flat top griddle where they make egg on a roll sandwiches (Tony's near Wall St.-a Stern's reviewed cart, comes to mind).
I'm always on the lookout for something different and came across this one the other day while I was walking around to get my pictures for this report. BLTs? Grilled Cheese? Chorizo? Pancakes with maple syrup? I just had to find out more... What really hooked me though was the Mexican bread. I struck up a conversation with the man and woman in the cart and asked them about the Mexican bread. They pointed out that what it was and that they had vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. I asked about the flavor and texture of the bread and that I had seen something similar before but had never tried it. He cut one in half and gave it to me to try. Very kind of him. (I actually didn't have any money on me, but went to the ATM right after and brought back a tip for him, which he refused twice before finally accepting). They said they don't make the pastries themselves, but get them from a Mexican bakery in Queens. I asked if he knew of any Mexican bakeries below 14th Street, but he didn't know of any. He did say there are a number of them in Queens and Brooklyn.
This sign is so creative. It immediately reminded me of all the Spy vs. Spy episodes I would read in MAD Magazine as a kid. Very few carts that I've seen in the city display that extra bit of flair. They're set up at the corner of 52nd Street and Park Avenue. I forgot to ask about their hours, but I'm guessing it might be 7am to 11am. I'll definitely be back!
More of the menu...
More of the menu...
The mexican bread
And a cross section. This was really, really good! Moist and not very sweet at all. The sweetness comes from the sugary topping that isn't sickly sweet but just felt right with every bite. This would be perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. I'm not sure how much the whole bread is, but if it is $1.25, then it is a steal. That thing is huge! Hope you enjoyed the walk about the city.
