I had a slow start to the day, but I eventually made my way to the Queens Museum of Art to see the Panorama of the City of New York. The Panorama is a 1:1200 scale model of the city and was built for the 1964 World's Fair. It took three years to build and was accurate to within one percent when built. The panorama is fascinating to look at. If you've ever flown over the city and admired the skyline, visiting the panorama is similar, only you can stay in one place for as long as you want. I highly recommend a visit if you get the chance.
Maybe today was not a big museum-going day, but there was hardly anybody in the Queens Museum. The museum is in the 1939 World's Fair New York City Building. I took a few photos of the Unisphere and other sights that I'll put up later.
After visiting the Panorama I went back to the subway, intending to make my way to DUMBO for hot chocolate at Jacques Torres. Little did I know how long that would take. I rod the 7 train to Broadway/74th in Queens, where I wanted to transfer to the G train to get to Brooklyn. The maps and signs above the platform indicated that the G train ran late nights and on weekends. Saturday being a weekend day, I made the foolish deduction that the G train would soon arrive.
I stood on the platform, reading Richard Russo's Empire Falls, looking up when a train rolled into the station, and not paying much attention to the time. After I don't know how long I realized that the G train wasn't coming so I hopped on the E train, intending to take that all the way into Manhattan before switching to the A/C to Brooklyn Heights. Two stops later, the conductor announces that 23 St/Ely Ave is a transfer point to the G. I hopped off, the G train rolled into the station, and 15-20 minutes later I'm in Brooklyn Heights. It was light out when I got on the 7 in Corona, but it must have been at least an hour after sunset by the time I got to Jacque Torres.
The hot chocolate? This is heresy, but I was disappointed. Oh, it was enjoyable, and I'll try it again if I'm in the neighborhood, but I didn't think it was worth the trip. It was really chocolately and thick. That was it, a one note drink. No subtlety, no depth, just intensely flavored chocolate. Maybe next time I am in the area I'll try the spiced chocolate. Oddly enough, I thought the Chocolate Bar's hot chocolate, which uses Jacques Torres chocolate, was much better.
In all fairness I should point out that the hot chocolate at Jacques Torres is an incredible bargain. A cup of the stuff goes for $2.50. The chocolate alone must cost that much. A cup of his hot chocolae is half the price of a cup at Vosges Haut Chocolate and MarieBelle.
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