Since
Anime Expo usually coincides with the July 4th weekend, it's been years since I've been able to go due to other holiday plans with friends & family (let's just say the last AX I went to was before its current home at the LA Convention Center.) But since this year's long weekend was relatively free of events, I snatched up a ticket and braced myself for a day of serious anime & manga nerding out. Yes, I only got a one-day pass as opposed to the standard four-day weekender; I figured after a many years hiatus I'm better off easing myself back into this.
To properly nourish myself before the Friday expo, I headed to
Grand Central Market, where I skipped the weekend silliness of Eggslut and opted for
lox on an everything bagel at Wexler's Deli with an
iced almond-macadamia milk latte from G&B coffee. And it made for a divine breakfast - the translucent, silky pieces of salmon were perfectly highlighted, but not upstaged, by the lightly-pickled onions, puckery bits of capers and the perfect amount of cream cheese. Likewise, my latte was just sweet enough to show off the nut milks' natural flavors.
After the satisfying meal, I did a little urbanhike tos the convention center, where throngs of fans were already waiting for the doors to open. Just like the AX I remembered from years past... but larger.
Some other AX observations from this old-school otaku:
