“Consider yourself at home, consider yourself one of the family.”  The Broadway show Oliver has a lot in common with New York restaurants.  Let’s see, Fagin was the artful pickpocket and crook, Bill Sikes was a tyrant, and Oliver was the poor kid who pleaded for more. Well, New York City restaurants have a lot in common with these characters.  Many “Faginist” restaurants can be overpriced, and you feel as if you’ve had your pocket picked after dining.

But, contrary to popular belief, there are great restaurants and values within NYC.  Today we’ll discuss some of the unique and unusual restaurants, some well known and some almost unknown. 

Even young people of today have heard that sexy young men are called “Valentino’s”.  Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Pierce Brosnan, a young Sean Connery (he just gets sexier with age), Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas and all the other mega stars of today can’t hold a candle to “The Sheik” – Rudolf Valentino.  Terms like “The Sheik” and “A Valentino” have become synonymous with the machismo men of the “big screen”.

So, what does this have to do with traveling around New York?  Well…everything!   It seems that Rodolpho Alfonzo Rafaelo Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla spent much of his life around New York City.  He even privileged New York that upon his death, from a burst appendix, by lying in state at St. Malachy’s church on 47th between Broadway and 8th Avenue.  Thousands of mourners lined up for blocks to pay tribute to the legend. St. Malachy’s is known as the Actor’s Chapel, which leads us to another adventure – that of exploring the often visited, but little known, area called Times Square and the Theater District.