7.032

6 (Sat) February 2016

 McFadden’s Irish Manhattan

2.5

at McFadden’s Saloon

-Midtown East, New York-

solo

Mission to USA + Personal Deviation, Day 1.

In New York.  Here to attend a global meeting on NCDs at the United Nations, Tuesday to Friday.  Plus to give a guest lecture on global health law at TU on Monday.  Got in a day early, both to eat and better adjust to the time shift — obviously more the former.  Flying back Saturday.

Meal 1 : lunch (KE 622 / MNL > ICN)

The itinerary took me through Incheon, providing an opportunity to take the red-eye last night and spend the morning at home before the evening connection to New York.  However, hoping to conserve my strength in light of the recent back injury (see generally 7.011 Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza), I opted to fly both legs back-to-back*, which may have been worse, as the combined journey required more than 16 hours cooped up on a plane — even if business class — with a just brief layover in between — even if with a business class lounge.

Meal 2 : snack (KAL Prestige Lounge / Incheon International Airport)

*”both legs, back-to-back” = mixed metaphor + unintended pun — as soon as I’d written it, I revised the phrase to “both flights one after the other,” but went back to the original language, which I so much prefer, while acknowledging the literary faux pas re the first, not so much the second.

In fact, whereas puns are currently gauche, necessitating feigned apology, I stand proudly by each one that I write.  Why not, if a word can be cleverly selected or a phrase can be carefully devised that conveys multiple/layered/hidden/ironic meanings?  Indeed, the giants of English literature — Shakespeare, to name the most obvious — were masters of the pun, which is why their works are so heavily annotated — my wife claims not to read this blog because she can’t understand the nuances — and why we still study/respect/adore them — not that I claim to merit study/respect/adoration.  According to some scholars, the modern aversion to puns is simply a reaction to the sensationalistic style of journalists during the early 20th century.   Perhaps early 21st century blogging style will bring the pun back to its rightful glory.  In the meantime, I’ll to post the “no pun intended” disclaimer, lest someone think that I’m being inadvertently drole — I’m always intentionally so.

The only difference in the food service that I’ve experienced on Korean Air Prestige Class over the past couple years would seem to be the central vegetable in their cream soups, such as potato and watercress (this post), chickpeas (this post), asparagus (6.111 Asparagus Cream Soup), and coconut carrot (6.101 Coconut Carrot Cream Soup).  In essence, however, they’re merely superficial variations of the same thing — like various alternatives of Korean-Chinese noodle dishes (see generally 2.244 Hayan Jjambbong).

Meal 3 : dinner (KE 085 / ICN > JFK)

The Jet Lag Elimination Protocol (JLEP) — which I’m sure must have a more technical, globally accepted term — is what I used to do during my college years, when traveling back and forth between the States and Korea during the holidays.  Departing from San Francisco at 1000 Monday (0100 Tuesday in Seoul) (during winter, no daylight savings adjustment), for example, the 12-hour (plus) flight would land me in Seoul at past 1300 Tuesday (2200 Monday in San Francisco), so I’d sleep as much as I could on the plane to be energized enough to stay awake throughout the afternoon and sleep towards the evening.  In reverse, departing from Seoul at 2200 on Tuesday (0700 Tuesday in San Francisco), the 10-hour (plus) flight would land me in San Francisco at past 1700 (0800 Wednesday in Seoul), so I’d stay awake on the plane to be exhausted and fall sleep as soon as I got home.  Didn’t really matter, at that age, when jet lag could be more easily adjusted by a night of drinking.

Despite JLEP, I fell asleep right after dinner.  Unfortunate for purposes of GMTD, I didn’t avail of crappy snacks on the plane, while drinking myself to sleep.  Fortunate for GMTD, I was wide awake by the time that I landed at night in New York.  Anyway, JLEP regardless, I had an extra day to adjust to the time shift.

Meal 4 : breakfast (KE 085 / ICN > JFK)

While carriers tend to schedule meals to match the traveler’s time at origin, they should seriously consider devising the schedule to help adapt to the destination; eating porridge, a breakfast dish by Korean standards, at 2000 New York time, was disorienting.

Upon arrival in the city, I promptly went out in search of food and drink, finding a place right across the street from the hotel.

Alas, though the food and drink were exactly what I was looking for, the music was too loud for my tastes**, so I got the food to go.

The Manhattan is a cocktail.  American whisky (see generally 6.049 Jack Daniel’s Salmon), with bitters and sweet vermouth, often with a lemon twist (sliver of rind).  Sweet and sour flavor.  Classic.

At McFadden’s, their proprietary Manhattan included Jameson’s Irish Whisky, bitters, sweet plus dry vermouth, orange twist.    Distinctly less sweet, a bit bitter, no tang.

In my current state of preference for the less sweet, I found the McFadden Irish Manhattan more to my liking than the traditional, which used to be a favorite back in the day.

Whatever the recipe or name — no matter — I scored a Manhattan in Manhattan on my first trip to Manhattan in 7 years.  Come to think of it, this may have been my first Manhattan in Manhattan ever.

Meal 5 : midnight snack (from McFadden’s Saloon [takeout] / in my room (Hilton Manhattan East))

As always, I am grateful for and respectful of the opportunity to travel internationally, whether for fun or for work, especially via business class (see BEST IN FLIGHT), including airport lounge access (see in BEST IN LOUNGE).