Definitely getting tired by Saturday morning, we didn’t have real plans until 10 so we got to sleep in and grab a quick bite at a super cute French bistro and shop near Nomo Soho.
We had one hour reservations at HigherDose inside 11 Howard (also a super cute hotel in Soho). It’s an infrared sauna that got up to like 140 degrees and we literally just sat there sweating our asses off… It was almost numbing how hot it was. Kind of rejuvenating, but I’d prefer to just workout I think. Still kind of fun to do something different though.
After the coldest shower I’ve ever enjoyed, we got ready to hike. I mean literally. We walked from Soho all the way across the Brooklyn Bridge and around DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Got a couple of cute pics with the Bridge in the backgroud and stopped at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory which was amazing after walking 2 miles.
Ubered to Sweet Chick in Williamsburg which I reeaaaaally wanted, but there was a bit of a wait and it’s basically soul food we already had & have readily in the Midwest. Still on my list of foodie places to visit though, and thankfully this chef has set up shop on the West Coast too. (There is also a Meatball Shop right next to Sweet Chick in Brooklyn!)
Smorgasburg, a big open food market in Brooklyn, was also on my list and right in the area so we headed there. This is a decision we will forever be happy we made. Ramen burger, home frites (fries), buffalo wings, pink lemonade, and doughnuts were just some of the vendors we stopped at, and there had to of been at least 50-60 more.
After we literally couldn’t eat anymore, we walked to Westlight rooftoop which was unfortunately closed for a wedding so that sucked. We walked around some busy neighborhoods in Williamsburg trying to decide what to do. We were exhausted and full so we decided to just hop on the subway back to Soho. Maison Premier oyster house, Spritzenhaus33 beer garden, and the rooftop at the Wythe hotel were all stops we were considering based on the itinerary I had made.
We initially had reservations at The Ship right next to Nomo Soho for drinks and appetizers, but our concierge at David Yurman the day before made us a reservation at a new speakeasy called Banzarbar upstairs at Freeman’s. It was a cool walk into this busy little neighborhood, and Freeman’s is at the end of it’s own alley making it pretty unique.
We asked our waitress if Banzarbar used to be a speakeasy back in the prohibition days so she gave us a little history of the restaurant.
Long story short, the Freeman’s also owed the two buildings next door with one of them being a suit shop. In the restaurant downstairs, there was a small bar with a single bartender and a single Taylor custom fitting the high end clientele. Very New York Gangster and very cool!
We had a really late dinner reservation at Balthazar, which is French food that I really just wanted to go to for the dessert. We stopped at La Esquina and Lombardi’s on the walk and shared tacos and a calzone. The tacos were hands down one of our favorite things we had. We didn’t realize it’d be so hard to find tacos in NYC, but they aren’t everywhere. Or were we doing something wrong? Again, another “not too late night out” because of sheer exhaustion. For the 2nd time though in 48 hours, we got Insomnia Cookies for dessert and haven’t regretted it once.
Didn’t bother setting my alarm for a 10:15 reservation, mistake. Woke up at 10:00 just in time to call and push it back an hour.
We went to Sarabeth’s, which is an NYC chain. If you even slightly know me, you know I LOVE coconut, so during my food research when I saw they had coconut waffles, our fate here was sealed.
They didn’t disappoint one bit.
Flatiron Building
We didn’t have plans until a late lunch (early dinner?) so we took our time getting to a subways station with a direct line to Central Park. We got off a couple stops early so we could walk through more of the park than we originally planned.
It was pretty cool seeing the sight of all the high rises against what is really the only wide open space in the City. There are tons of small parks on what seems like every block, but nothing at all like Central Park. It’s a definite must see, even if you’re from Kansas like me and drive by a park 5 times daily.
We stopped at Laduree for the famous French macaroons and then made our way to the one of our much anticipated reservations, The Writing Room.
Chicken Parm w/ Angel Hair pasta & Rigatoni Bolognese
We knew what we were getting before we got there and it did not disappoint. This could be the last meal I eat before I exit Earth. Actually I need it to be so I can Rest In Peace. We were literally miserable from this meal. The best freakin’ kind of miserable I’ve ever felt though.
We took off to our next reservation at the Refinery Rooftop. Pretty and chic rooftop bar, however the views were obstructed by buildings and the drink selection wasn’t my favorite (though average in price $16-18), it was kind of a let down. Maybe we were just too lethargic from becoming human pasta.
Though it was our last night in the City, we were thoroughly exhausted. Seemed to be the common theme after eating our bodyweight in food everyday. Who would have thought….
We caught our last dinner at The Flatiron Room, which was just okay on the food, but there was live music and drinks which is always enough to make us happy. We did the usual afterwards, fumbled our way back to the hotel and went to sleep.
With a noon flight out and only a 30 minute Uber to the airport, we had some time to use up Monday morning so I wanted to at least grab one last good meal. We just walked around and passed the very popular The Butcher’s Daughter and were able to walk right in since it was so early. Being fairly early in the morning and also starting to be somewhat disgusted with myself, I opted for the lighter side of the menu when I saw Coconut Yogurt Parfait. I also didn’t consume alcohol at my meal for the first time in 4 days.
To round this all out, NYC was an epic food adventure and also struck our history loving nerve as well. Like the rest of the Northeast, it just doesn’t get much more historical than New York City. Though it was not much of a relaxing trip, I’m glad we decided to go see something new and get out of our “travel comfort zone”.
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