Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I uploaded a post! After Easter, things got crazy around here - and we took a little trip to my favorite city in the world:
Which, as you probably know, is a foodie's dream destination. The amount of restaurants is unimaginable - I loved just peering in windows, glancing over posted menu's, and soaking in all the new concepts in dining that are out there (not to mention the markets! and street vendors! and surplus of Starbucks!)
While there, we explored this amazing Italian spot called Eately. It's massive; at first glance, you think you're entering into a simple storefront espresso bar but then the store continues... and continues... and continues... You see things like this:
And around another corner, see rows of this:
There is also a gelato bar, large cheese selection, wine and cheese dining area, seafood counter, three restaurants, kitchen appliance and cookbook section, fresh produce area, and more. Seriously, I could move in and have all I ever needed for the rest of my life. It was always jam packed with people and there isn't any wonder as to why! If you're in Manhattan, stop by - it's across from Madison Square Park, near the Flatiron Building.
We ate well while there but chose to not do any truly fine dining. I'm a fan of dressing up on vacation but Jason wasn't and quite frankly, hiking in heels through the subway and sidewalks of NY didn't sound all that appealing once we got there.
Five Napkin Burger was a restaurant previously recommended to me and ended up being one of the cheapest meals of the trip! I knew it was a winner when we stepped in at 6pm on a Thursday night and there was already a 20 minute wait and the place was packed with locals. The location we hit was down the street from the theater we were heading to (to see Rock of Ages). Their own brew was especially tasty and we split their 1 pound burger for two - which was massive and came with two sides to split:
No food lovers trip to NYC is complete without a stop by Chelsea Market (which is also where they film Food Network shows!). Through the windows, we saw things like:
And peered into windows where people were hard at work doing things like this:
On Saturday, we took a much needed break from pounding the pavement of the city and went to Long Island for a day of wine tasting. We ate seafood here in the town of Greenport before hitting the tasting rooms:
We had great food experiences: we ate hot dogs in Central Park; had lunch in the cellar of the world's largest store (Macy's); ate on the dock of Chelsea Pier; enjoyed sandwiches at a deli' had fajitas, sangria, and margarita's with old friends; and devoured Indian, Chinese, and Spanish food. And of course, grabbed snacks from street vendors along the way - and lots of iced coffee!
Since this is a food blog, I figured I'd focus on that aspect of your trip but fear not! We did not just eat our way through the city. We saw a TON in our 7 day trip in addition to the things listed above:
Central Park
Rockefeller Center
St. Patrick's Cathedral
The Met (including the AMAZING Alexander McQueen exhibit that recently opened!)
The Statue of Liberty
Ground Zero
Wall Street
Chinatown
Little Italy
Chelsea Pier Sports Complex (ie, driving range for Jason)
The High Line Park
SoHo
Greenwich Village
Times Square
NBC Studio Tour (saw several SNL actors on the set)
Top of the Rock
Empire State Building
Rock of Ages, on Broadway
But most importantly, we spent time with our friends who live in Queens (Matt and Julie), had dinner with a friend from high school/college (Jeremiah), met a distant cousin (Micah), and spent lots of time with my Uncle George.
Now that we're home to stay for awhile, I have some new recipes I'm dying to try!
OK, but did you eat at Grey's Papaya???
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