(another) nyc weekend
» Heads up - long post full of yummy goodness ahead!
Although I can’t imagine ever living in New York City for an extended period of time - it smells bad, is too crowded, buildings are too tall, instills constant fear of being mugged, etc. - it’s one of my favorite cities to visit because friends are always there, it’s just a bus ride from Boston, and there’s just so much to do and eat!
There was that terrible heat wave in the area earlier this summer, but the weather was perfect (minus some drizzles on Thursday) when I visited last week, sunny, cool and breezy :D With no real obligations to attend to and a rare pocketful of cash in tow, I walked miles around the city with delicious summer breeze dancing all around. Energized by the unbelievable weather and exciting new sights, I was unusually productive during my 3-day visit: hung out with several family and school friends around the city, visited a couple museums I’ve always wanted to see, relaxed and people-watched in the parks, and of course, ate great food at every corner ^_^
Noteable achievements (in chronological order):
1) First person to board the Bolt bus! Yes, I was way too excited about this “achievement”.
2) Found the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck at Union Square with Ivy and gobbled up a Salty Pimp - vanilla soft serve dipped in a spectacularly unique mixture of dulce de leche, sea salt, and chocolate. Wasn’t in the mood to try some of the more unusual topping offerings like wasabi pea dust and cayenne pepper. Left my DSLR at home but was happy to discover that my BB camera isn’t completely worthless.
3) Raw Bar happy hour at Water Taxi Beach, South Street Seaport with Ivy and Yuting - 80 cent raw oysters and mussels Thursdays and Fridays 4-6pm! We got a dozen each plus fries, cocktail sauce, lemon juice, and chipotle mayo - so good!
4) Very cool, sometimes trippy contemporary art at the New Museum on Bowery - free admission Thursdays 7-9pm. My favorite exhibition: pick a wish to wear as a bracelet and replace it with your own wish. When the ribbon falls off your wrist, your wish supposedly comes true :) Mine fell off within hours, tie it tight if you want to keep it on longer!
5) CHICKEN AND RICE ZOMG! Finally got to try the famous Ultimate plate of tender gyro meat and chicken, lettuce, rice, pita, cracktastic white sauce, and a drop of fiery hot sauce from the hugely popular Halal truck at 53rd and 6th. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. That’s all I can say, definitely lived up to the hype. HUGE tin of food for just $6, and somehow I inhaled the entire thing (when even Yuting couldn’t). Yes, I am a bottomless pit. Be intimidated. And then go get your own chicken and rice! It’s to die for (literally…see wiki page) ahhh want more now! (Photo below from google images, I was way too busy stuffing my face to take a photo)
We also found a new friend on the way there :)
6) Meatball Shop lunch in LES with Chong to celebrate the end of his banking internship and well-deserved offer! Sunny and breezy open air seating, GREAT beef and spicy pork meatballs - well-seasoned (and well-priced!), tender and satisfying yet light - paired with bright and fresh corn salad, plus ice cold bottles of my beloved Newcastle :) Thank you MeowMeow for the rec!
7) Shake Shack at Madison Square Park with Christine - the line for hot food was way too long, so I didn’t get to try the famous burgers, but my Chocolate Chuckles frozen custard was yummmmy! Probably a good thing too I didn’t get a burger 30 minutes after eating 4 meatballs…
8) Free admission to MoMa Friday nights 4-8 p.m. - thanks for the tip Christine, I’ve wanted to visit for a long time! It was really crowded because of the free admission so I didn’t see as much as I wanted and the chaos was distracting, but it was still fun, and I can just go back again sometime during off-peak hours and fork over the $12 :)
9) CHICKEN AND RICE AGAIN AHHHH! I know, I expected my stomach to still be recovering from the last night, but chicken and rice is soooo good and cheap and I was so hungry again! Plus, I burned calories by walking all over the city the past 2 days…I deserved tasty food!!! Somehow I devoured my entire huge plate once again…and was still kind of hungry…what is wrong with me??!! Must be all the walking, right? Headed toward the Met afterwards to burn off some of the food/guilt and execute my super lame vision of sitting on the steps a la Gossip Girl, but it got too dark and sketchy before I made it :(
10) Sad story starts with my horrified realization that my Blackberry battery is crap and almost dead. Panic! How will I know where to meet Mike to go home??? Text him to set a meeting place - Union Park flag pole, time uncertain. How will I get to that faraway place without Google maps? How will I know when to be there? Verizon just closed, why did I not go in and charge my phone earlier??? Run into all the open stores I see to scavenge for a charger, finally find a battery powered one at CVS I’ve always wanted to get anyway for emergency such as this! Pay $20 and run out, no idea what time it is, figure I should head to Union park but have no idea how to get there and possibly limited time. Hop in a cab and start charging my phone…hallelujah it turns on…but still not enough power to do anything, i.e. text/call/email/google. ARGH! Get to the park, spin around a few times in confusion and delirium…and miraculously see Mike just then getting to the flag pole and looking for me! Ahhhh relief, love it when perfect timing actually happens!
An hour later, phone still not charged enough to do anything…too late to return this USELESS charger boo. Moral of the story: remember to always have GOOD backup charger on hand, kids!
11) Amazing brunch with Mike and co. at Locanda Verde in TriBeCa, called one of the city’s best! Ended up being less pricey than expected too :) See full post here.
12) The best ginger ice cream I’ve had yet! Forgot what the truck was called and exactly where it was, maybe in one of the villages? Perfect gingery hard serve in a crispy cone = my new favorite :D
13) Less than 3 hours after brunch, eating again at Otto pizzeria! The set of 5 fish antipasti was perfect to split between two, a great deal at $21 for all ($8 for each individually) and perfect way to try a bunch of different things - octopus (not a fan but glad to have tried it), anchovies, shrimp, squid, and mussels (my favorite). Mike’s spaghetti carbonara was also super yummy, rich and flavorful but overwhelming.
But the highlight was dessert - we were all craving gelato! Mike’s sweet corn gelato + polenta cake and blueberries dessert (below) was spectacular, and all three gelato flavors I tried were authentic and incredible. Creme fraiche tasted like sweet butter, so delicious but too rich for more than a couple bites. Nectarine was my favorite, juicy and sweet, like biting into a real nectarine! Hazelnut also had a very true flavor, not too sweet, nutty and balanced. I love it when flavored stuff actually tastes like what it’s supposed to taste like!
Finally, the end of this massive post. A fantastically tasty and adventurous weekend with great friends and food! Wish I could do this every day. Without the calories, of course :P
