NY NY

Hello from the Big Apple where I attended the Atlas Foundation’s (http://www.atlasusa.org/) annual Freedom Dinner which was held at the Palace Hotel.

This evening’s keynote speaker was Dr. Mart Laar, former Prime Minister of Estonia. Dr. Laar’s speech was well received and focused on his experience growing up in and reforming the Soviet Union’s negative effects on his native Estonia. One key aspect of his government reform efforts was the implementation of a flat income tax. For more information on tax reform efforts please consult these sources:

http://www.atr.org/

http://www.ntu.org/

http://www.taxfoundation.org/

http://www.eftr.org/

Between this dinner and related meetings in New York City today I visited three (3) different restaurants which are reviewed below:

Heartland Brewery – http://www.heartlandbrewery.com/ looks like a local brew pub but as I discovered once I was eating there they actually have three locations in NYC. I had lunch at the Times Square location which was “loud” in a good, active way. The buffalo burger (sorry BLT4ME – no bacon add on was available) was tasty and was joined by a side of steamed spinach. Overall this was a nice dining experience despite my waiter’s failure to follow up with enough drink refills and the requisite question of “how is everything?” so I can only rate them with a “3” rating.
Mad 28 – http://www.mad28ny.com/ is an Italian restaurant actually located at 72 Madison Avenue. Now this is my kind of restaurant complete with: an eclectic décor dominated by a mixed collection of sofas, great wait staff, and atmosphere enhancing background music. I only had a mixed salad so I can give an extensive review but the varied pizza menu looked well worth another visit. Given the overall experience Mad 28 earns a “4” rating on my chart. A future visit is a must for me.
Famiglia Pizzeria – no website but they do have classic “pizza by the slice” so I can report that their “pepperoni and black olive” is very tasty. They market themselves as the “Official Pizza of the New York Yankees!!” so Red Sox fans should seek other venues. Famiglia is located at Broadway and 50th Street near Times Square.

So concludes another great trip to NYC. I am not staying there this time but I can highly recommend staying at the “SoHo Hotel” for a unique lodging experience which mirrors an industrial complex.

Time to sleep in the city that doesn’t sleep,

Todd