Grand Forks food critic and internet meme Marilyn Hagerty arrived in NYC yesterday, and was taken on a whirlwind urban journey which made her feel like "the Queen of Sheba." Between interviews with the NY Times and dining out at Dovetail NYC, the adorable 86-year-old food critic was accompanied by a video team, which gave her a chance to share some of her impressions of NYC. She's still baffled at how this all happened: "I dont know exactly what put us here—something about a virus. I went viral. If that's what it takes to get a trip to NY, I might go viral more often!"
While LaGuardia Airport was "scroungy looking," crowded, and filled with unsmiling workers, Hagerty was immediately taken with the romance of NYC: seas of yellow taxis and garbage stacked up on the sidewalk. Soon she was taken for her first meal of the day: street vendor hot dogs. City Room was filming her during the whole experience, but she didn't sound too impressed:
I've eaten a lot of things, but never a dirty water hot dog...I can see where if you were really hungry you might want one of those hot dogs, but I dont think it's something I'd yearn for. It was alright, it was long. But it was not really too hot. And the onion in kind of a tomato sauce was strange, interesting.
What she was excited by was the interview with the NY Times—Hagerty said she always thought she'd write for them, "but something happened along the way." Nevertheless, she's not sorry about how things turned out, and said she'd still rather work for the Grand Forks Herald because it's "a little more peaceful."
Her day ended with a 10-course meal at Dovetail NYC; despite the minute portions, they were the perfect servings: "everything was just right—probably the best meal I've ever had." You can keep up with the rest of Hagerty's NYC adventure on her blog, "The Eatbeat with Marilyn Hagerty." Without a doubt, she has the right attitude for the experience: "It doesn't really matter what people think, because there's just too much else to think about when you're in NY."
