Take Me Out To The Ball Game

It was about as hot and steamy a night as possible. And where was I? At a baseball game in Staten Island. Friends Bob and Elizabeth had asked us to join them at a Staten Island Yankees vs. Brooklyn Cyclones game. I suggested, being somewhat familiar with Staten Island due to the Barbaro campaign, that we check out a restaurant for dinner - one that I had come across a month or so ago, as I made my way in and out of stores on Bay Street asking shopkeepers to post Barbaro signs.

The stadium is adjacent to the ferry terminal on Richmond Terrace. The view from the bleachers is awesome - the harbor and the Manhattan skyline. Occasionally a freighter would pass by, seemingly touching the ball park which lies next to Arthur Kill - the entrance to the sprawling shipyards of Bayonne and Newark.

The game itself was as baseball can be most times: boring. The Staten Island team seemed to be the more talented, with many more hits that the Cyclones. By the time we left, in the 6th inning, they were ahead by one run, 1 - 0.


The stadium is perched on the edge of the harbor.


Beyond the outfield - NY harbor and a distant Manhattan skyline.


Stacey, Elizabath and Bob off of first base.

Dinner was nice. Bay Street runs along the coast of Staten Island from the Ferry down to the Verrazano Bridge. It's a cute street with lots of potential - low-rise with a mix of homes, stores, antique shops, bars and restaurants. Seedy in spots and running through some very poor neighborhoods, it's a place to explore if you have sights that extend beyond Manhattan.

Aesop's Tables bills itself as a French bistro and, indeed, it's a pleasant surprise inside (and a lovely garden, but too hot tonight to enjoy). The food was quite good.

Who'd have thunk? A pleasant dinner after a baseball game in Staten Island.


After the game - dinner at Aesop's Tables on Bay Street in Staten Island.