Pools and Pio Pio

Every once in a while you need a break from your everyday routine and for me 8/03/12 was that day. I rarely take off from work unless its absolutely necessary but I just needed a break. So I scheduled off and decided to find something fun to do since it would be a very nice day. Up until the day of I toyed around with ideas such as going to the Jersey shore, the spa, or a pool.  So many ideas were coming to mind I had to use process of elimination to decide what to get myself into. In order to get to the Jersey shore from Jersey City it would have cost around $30 dollars, taken 3 hrs to get there and I wasn't in the mood to deal with sand being everywhere, the Spa I had in mind would have been really pricey and probably would have taken even longer to get there from Jersey City (it was located in Queens).  Going to the pool was the best choice.

 I googled pools in New York City and a few links came up. I clicked on the New York Times link which had a lengthy list of the "best" pools in New York City. The list included free pools, rooftop hotel pools and more. Once I gathered my information from that site I went on NYC.GOV and looked into public pools. The site listed every public pool by borough. After comparing the pools from both sites I decided to go to the pool at Hamilton Fish Recreation Center located on 128 Pitt St. Known as one of the best, cleanest, free pools in the city. 

It took a bus, the Path, 2 trains and a short walk to get there but I made it. On such a hot day all I wanted to do was to cool off. When I arrived, the two pools were filled with laughing children, hip preteens, parents and grandparents enjoying the cool down. It wasn't too crowded. In fact it was just right. I really enjoyed myself.  I felt like a kid again.  Before that day it had been years (about 10yrs) since I went to a public pool. My trips out of the country spoiled me and only had me wanting to go to pools that were in resorts. 

Hamilton Fish Rec Center was well monitored with Life guards, security personnel and police officers. There were no worries. After spending a few hours at the pool I headed home to rest up before going out to dinner.  Dinner took place at Pio Pio one of New York's premire Peruvian restaurants. It's located on corner of 93rd street and Amsterdam Ave. Pio Pio's first location was in Regal Park Queens, from there the talk began to circulate and now there are 8 restaurnants in four bouroughs.

For the most part the food selections are simple however, they pack a mean punch. The flavors are authenic and delicious and their sangria is out of this world. Whenever I go to Pio Pio I usually order the same dish which is the Matador combo. The combo serves a party of two and consists of rice, rotisorri chicken marinated in a peruvian sauce, an avocado salad, tostones, salchipapas with a cup of their delicious spicy green sauce. The entire meal only cost $32. You can't beat it.

So the next time you're in the city on a hot a day and need a cool down definitely look into the pools at Hamilton Fish Recreation Center. If you're in need of an inexpensive delicious meal try Pio Pio.





Hamilton Fish Pool



Pio Pio

 


The ambiance



Pio Pio's delicious sangria



Matador Combo



The famous spicy green sauce

My mother and I.  Pio Pio lovers

Tips/ Heads up:

Hamilton Fish Recreational Center Pool Area

Items to bring with you:

• A lock. The staff will not watch your belongings for you.
• A small bag or back pack.  The lockers are fairly small. There are larger lockers outside of the gym area but they are mostly used by members.
• Flip flops or water shoes. You will not be able to enter the pool area with sneakers or any other street footwear.

Pio Pio

Other items to try:

• Guacamole Pio

Fried shrimp with guacamole and tortilla chips

•  Calamar Frito

• Pico Passion



• Palta Rellena con Camarones
  
  



 Half of an avocado stuffed with shrimp, red onions, tomatoes and corn marinated with a fresh cilantro-lime dressing.  This dish is so refreshing.

• ???? I forgot the name of this special, but its delicious



One of Pio Pio's specials 

•  Arroz Chaufa





Peruvian style chinese fried rice mixed with chicken, eggs, onion & soy sauce



• Lomo Saltado

Strips of sirloin steak marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, spices, sautéed with red onions, parsley & tomatoes.  Served over white rice with homemade french fries.

• Tamal Limeño



Traditional peruvian yellow corn tamal, stuffed with juanita’s chicken, served with salsa criolla.


702 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10025
Email: www.piopio.com

Tel: 212-665-3000
Hours: Sun - Thur 11am - 11pm
              Fri & Sat 11am - 11:30pm