The Dish-- Li Hua

At the bustling corner of Grand Street and Baxter Street, technically within the confines of Little Italy, stands a distinctly un-Italian hotspot—the Korean restaurant Li Hua.

As the name Little Italy slowly shifts from a reflection of reality to a reminder of the past, the recent influx of foreign restaurants, mainly of the Asian persuasion, continues in this neighborhood. While it may not be Koreatown, or even Little Italy for that matter, Li Hua is at once out of place, and right at home.

The restaurant’s simple, yet polished dining room caters to its clientele, a young crowd clutching shopping bags from nearby trendy SoHo shops. Low lighting sets the refined mood, and the large bay windows offer great views of a lively neighborhood, even if it’s still searching for its identity.

Specializing in typical Korean fare, Li Hua doesn’t try to do anything new, choosing instead to excel at traditional dishes. The younger sibling of Mandoo Bar, which has an outpost in Koreatown, Li Hua features outstanding, straight-forward Korean fare, from pajeon, a scallion pancake ($11), to the pork mandoo, or dumplings ($4).

But it’s the bulgogi bibimbop ($12), however, that is most popular. A rice casserole of sorts, it is served in a large stone pot, where the rice at the bottom becomes crisp and hardens.

On the Eve of the Election

For Celestine Mohammed, this election has been very good for business.
Mohammed is the owner of the Poquito Hip Hop Shop on Houston Street, which has been selling Barack Obama pins, shirts and posters for over a year now.

Yet, despite his store's abundance of Obama paraphernalia, Mohammed is voting for John McCain.

"I just trust him more to fix the economy," he said. "I feel like McCain would be good for business."

As the marathon race for the White House finally comes to a close, Mohammed was one of the few Nolita store owners who expressed his support for McCain. Many store owners instead expressed their support for Barack Obama in order to turn around the fledgling economy.

"Business has been tough in the last few weeks," said Jane Meyer, manager of the Language clothing boutique. "I don't expect it to get better overnight, but I would be more comfortable with Barack Obama in the White House."

Meyer said that she was hopeful about the impending holiday season shopping, especially with an Obama victory.

"I just think people will be more at ease," she said. "I know that I will be."
A vast majority of patrons at both stores who had already voted were optimistic about Obama's chances.

"I have a good feeling," said New York University student Chris James. "This could be a good night for the country."

A Trip to Ground Zero

It was a cold, rainy Wednesday morning when we gathered in Trinity Church on Broadway, nestled snugly in the pews, exchanging memories from a clear, blue day seven years prior.

By the end of our discussion, it was clear--even though we were students in Lower Manhattan, it was still difficult for most of us to feel closely connected to our generation's day of infamy--9/11.

I had gone to visit Ground Zero several times before, but this time it would be my first visit to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, a project of the September 11th Families' Association. The center features videos and artifacts of the center and from the tragedy.

The tour, however, started outside near the pit, where construction continues on Freedom Tower. Although much work has been done on what was for a time a 16-acre hole, the breadth of their footprint is still mammoth.

Our volunteer tour guide was John Henderson, who also works for NYU’s graduate enrollment department. He carried a binder of his favorite photographs of the tower, that he and his wife had taken throughout the years.

As we moved around the perimeter of the site and learned the chilling details of that day, it was hard not to become emotional. When we finally entered the visitor center, I had to choke back tears as I stared up at a wall with photos of those who were killed that day. Henderson made it a point to remind us not to soften our language here--no one was "lost," as we often say. They were murdered in an act of terrorism. Though it isn't easy to quantify and understand large numbers, seeing some of the 3,000 faces began to bring things into perspective.