Manhattan, Briefly

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The most amazing things was the view from my room directly into Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center. It was truly awesome to open my curtain to that.

It is clean and generally comfortable for a quick overnight stay and may be a good budget option for a longer trip. The bathroom was small, but updated. The hallway from the elevator was like a labyrinth and unexpectedly required that I maneuver my suitcase down a half flight of stairs. The rooms have high ceilings, but are otherwise very small (my double was so small; in fact, I had to crawl across the bed rather than squeeze through the 12-inch space between the end and the wall) and surprisingly stuffy (I had to run the overhead fan all night). It also turned out that ALL of the rooms permit smoking. While there was no odor or other evidence of smoking in my room (other than the ashtrays and matches), upon leaving in the morning, I was shocked by the smell of smoke in the hallway, which made the long trip back to the elevator extremely unpleasant.

Inside the "garage" was a bright, clean, and modern restaurant. Very small but with a bar and open kitchen in the back. We went for meat entrees instead of pasta and they were wonderful. My chicken breast with fontina cheese and proscuito was excellent--a sizable portion lightly accompanied (and not overwhelmed) by tender veggies and potatoes. My companion's steak was equally enjoyed. The dinner was served very quickly. We were out in less than an hour, though we could have lingered over capuccino and dessert if the spirit had moved us.