As we were finishing dessert, he reached into his pocket and brought out a piece of paper. “I have something for you. I should have done this for you earlier.”

“What is it?”

“During my meetings I made a list of things you should do or where you should eat during the day. Actually, it’s mostly eating.”

I reviewed the list.

Serendipity 3 (frozen hot chocolate)

Hamburger in lobby at Parker Meridien

Met Museum

Ellen’s Stardust Diner (breakfast)

Carnegie Deli (egg cream)

“All right,” I said looking up, “Give me the rundown.”

“Serendipity 3 is between Second and Third Avenues. It’s famous for celebrity clients like Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol, but food-wise, it’s famous for the frozen hot chocolate. On their fiftieth anniversary they created the world’s most expensive dessert, which was basically a thousand-dollar ice cream sundae.”

“A thousand dollars. What’s on it, gold?”

“That’s exactly what’s on it. Twenty-three-karat gold leaf, Madagascar vanilla, the world’s most expensive chocolate, and gold caviar.”

“I won’t be having that.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Next on the list, if you’re craving a burger, the hamburger joint in the lobby of our hotel has one of New York’s best.”

“There’s a hamburger joint in our hotel?”

“I know, strange, right? It’s behind the curtain just past the registration counter. You wouldn’t know it’s there unless someone told you. The menu signs are all handwritten in marker.” He looked back down at the list. “Next is the Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But I’m sure you’re already familiar with it.”

“We send students there.”

“Time to send yourself,” he said. “Be warned: it will take most of your day. And for breakfast, if you want something different, we’re not far from Ellen’s Stardust Diner. It’s a retro fifties diner that attracts a lot of Broadway actor wannabes as waiters and waitresses, so occasionally they break into song. The challah French toast is especially good.

“Then, just a couple blocks from the hotel is the Carnegie Deli. It’s also a good lunch stop. They’re known for their pastrami and corned beef, but I’d go there just for the egg cream.”

“What’s an egg cream?”

“It’s a soda, basically. Ironically it has neither eggs nor cream, but you must try it. I always have at least one when I come here. The Reuben sandwiches are definitely more than you can eat at one sitting.”

“There’s so much to do here,” I said.

“So much to eat,” he said. He glanced down at his watch. “We better get going.”

“Where are we going?”

“Radio City Music Hall.”

The cab dropped us off a half block away from Radio City. The sign on the marquee read:

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Featuring the Rockettes