Leisurely. Late. Lovely. Perfect first evening in the bustling city.
Our Sunday tradition had to be upheld {in style} with "the best croissant" in the city according to Serious Eats. So we hoofed it down Spring Street {a well worn road on every trip to NYC} to Ceci Cela. Then, armed with our pastries and an iced coffee for me, we wandered to a park in Chinatown to enjoy our pre-brunch treats. We stuck out like strangers in a strange land but it was shady and we were more concerned with the food at hand. The croissant were scrumptious. We were surprised when he tossed the cooled treats in paper bag {we always eat ours hot out of the oven} and they weren't quite as flaky as I like, but the flavor. The flavor, was buttery perfection. I would no doubt return, but likely after hitting up some others on the list.
Next up, more wandering to kill time {a trend we don't really mind, we love a pedestrian city}. The heat was picking up so we did some pre-registry browsing in the massive Crate & Barrel. Before long it was time to trek back east to Rayuela for brunch with friends, including my aforementioned cousin & beau {we were late because along the way we stumbled upon the Rebecca Taylor boutique. she's my new love. i couldn't resist. but we walked out empty handed because we were late...which worked out to our advantage later}. We were hoping to enjoy sangria brunch in the UWS at Calle Ocho {one of the best meal deals in the city if you can swing a reservation. unlimited sangria and breakfast - with a ridiculous bread basket - all for less than $15. but according to open table this would not be an option for our group within 8 weeks of our trip. so that was out}. So back to our actual brunch destination: Rayuela. Omigoodness. Okay, so the sangria is an additional $10 and so is the bread basket {go with the pan. it was worth it}. But I must say the food is certainly superior to that of Calle Ocho. The sangria is made with cava so it's got that bubbly edge and it comes in 3 flavors (as opposed to 6 uptown). I was partial to the apricot-guava. mmmmm. Add that one to the list. Half our table of 6 ordered the same thing - a rarity in this group - arepa con huevo. David, a man averse to a runny egg and not the biggest fan of cornmeal of any kind so far (a la polenta or grits - though I try and try) put his away handily. Add it to the list as a place return. It's just too bad it's on the east side. I seem to be partial to the west.
What grand way did we spend the rest of the day? Last year it was a long day of wine in the park followed by the most sinful pizza at Keste and a night out at Joshua Tree. This year we spent it like the low-key folks we are. On the roof deck of my cousin's apartment once again. This time armed with booze, lots of snacks and great conversation. Not that we should have been hungry, but David and I ventured down to our favorite cart to treat everyone to Halal (how none of these New Yorkers had had it before was offensive!). Needless to say, the meal was {gluttonously} enjoyed by all.
Monday started downtown {shocking}. This time in Tribeca at Bubby's for brunch {cash only. be warned}. The meal was as enjoyable as always. We ate too much...fuel for our next adventure: starting our registry (details to follow).
When we'd had enough for the day {and it was a long day making decisions} we switched gears to shoes. I was too overwhelmed on our first trip to the Bloomie's shoe department {too many women jostling for a deal}...plus I had peaked on the Bloomie's site and found a perfect replacement for my ratty gold espadrilles.
They had them. They had them in my size. They looked great with my dress. They looked great on my feet. SOLD. At the register we learned that these lovelies we not on sale {twice in two trips, unacceptable}. This time, however, we were armed with a smartphone {on sale online} and an incredibly helpful sales associate {if you haven't gotten the message: shop Bloomie's}. He gave us the discounted price. Plus our additional 20% for being insiders. We walked away paying less than half. I would have felt guilty not taking them.
Just one more stop before we could leave. Can you guess? Rebecca Taylor. And I found a dress I'd tried on at the store. I'd loved it already from afar. Considered it for Easter but never tried it on until our stop into the boutique. Then when I had it on, it just wasn't right. It was pretty. I just didn't have to have it {which is the way I shop}. But there she was. There were a bunch of them on the sale rack. One in my size. I'd give it one more shot.
And it fit just right. So I bought it. It was on sale in the boutique. It was significantly less at Bloomie's. The day was moving along the right track.
Then it was finally time for David's lone request: corn dogs from Shake Shack. There is a buzz around these corn dogs. Not a loud, bring-the-whole-city kind of buzz. But a soft buzz. An in-the-know buzz. Three weekends per year Shake Shack makes corn dogs. Memorial Day. Fourth of July. Labor Day. They're only available at the UWS location. We were expecting to stand in line, and when we arrived we did. But it wasn't bad. We're Floridians. It was no Disney line. We've seen worse for food. We've waited in worse for food. This was doable. It might have been 15 minutes. It might have been a half hour. Soon enough we were ordering corn dogs, fries and milkshakes. I wasn't even hungry yet...Then we waited. It takes time. Then the people in front of us (who ordered about the same meal) got theirs. And the people behind us got theirs. After half the line behind us also got theirs I had David pop up to the counter to check on our food. "The corn dogs take longer. It'll be coming." Okay, maybe other people were just having burgers. As I sat on the bench and watched order after order of corn dog come up and get passed to someone else I sent David up one more time. It had to have been close to 40 minutes by that point and we had, in the past fallen victim to the phantom check that somehow never made it to the kitchen. I didn't think I was hungry but I'd started to shake a bit. David talked to the guy at the counter again. He looked surprised. He called one manager over. Then another. It looked like a lot of apologies. David waited. I joined. Phantom check. Great service. Our meal came right up. Our voided check came up soon after. The meal was so good in a bad way. Hot dogs. Battered and fried. Yukon gold french fries. A peanut butter shake for me. Vanilla for him. My shake was heaven in a cup.
But we weren't done. We were still uptown so we had one more stop to make before heading back to the hotel. Levain Bakery. We needed to add more sinfulness to our trip. This time by way of a massive chocolate chip cookie (one for each). We couldn't pack it in right then, but I couldn't resist a little nibble when we got back to the room. And it was heavenly.
We finally had a fancy night, just us two. I put on my pretty (full-priced) dress. David put on his nice jeans and his new shirt. We just went to the hotel bar (Bar Basque), which was actually kind of nice. We normally go with beer or wine. This time we each opted for something a little fancier. My first concoction was called an Aduriz Martini. Cantaloupe, grapefruit, gin and campari. It was delightful. Flirty. It had the little kick from the grapefruit juice. But the next drink I call crack (actually an Azrak Peach & Saffron Cobbler). It was a wine base with muddled peach and lemon juice and simple syrup. It was dangerous. Nectar. Fabulous.
Tuesday was our last day. I was sad when I got up. I took one last hop in our fun, though temperamental, shower. Then I got dressed and packed our things. We didn't do much with our last day. Breakfast at Balthazar. Price adjustment at Bloomingdale's. We stumbled onto Eataly on our long journey up to Rockefeller Center. That place could be dangerous. It all looked so good. The fresh pasta, the produce, fish, the salumi, even the meat counter. Then there's the gelato. And the café. Nothing exciting happened on this final shopping day. No great deals or must-have pieces. Just enjoying our last walk around.
Our last excursion brought us back to Prince Street (the same street on which we started our weekend). This time to Cafe Habana {a tip from my last boss, T}. She insisted that we get the corn. It's grilled. "Mexican style". Slathered in mayo, coated in chili powder, lime and cotija cheese. Ridiculous. So good. And that was just the starter. The mojitos and entrees were just as yummy. So was our company, more cousin love.
we received our checks on postcards. love it!
The end of our meal marked the end of our trip. We took the subway up to our hotel, grabbed our bags and went off to wait for the bus. We didn't want to leave. David was as attached as I was this time. The ride home we talked about how we wished we could stay. How we would love to up and move {David's under contract}. Eventually we'll make it there. For now we will love it from afar and try to make it back as often as is feasible.
On the home front, we expected to return to a scene from Jumanji (given the rate our tomato plants had been growing prior to our trip).
The result wasn't far off.
I also woke up Wednesday with a sore throat and exhausted. Back to routine? Gym? I don't think so. Thursday? My throat really hurt. Gym attempt? 5 minutes on the treadmill and out. Friday, decided against the gym, for recovery. I'm still sick but I think I'm finally shaking it.
Another note from the balance of the week: I had an incessant craving for more cart food...'til next time.
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