A Weekend in NYC: Day 1
/Remember that one time we surprised our friend for her birthday in NYC? And we jumped up and down, squealed, and hugged for at least an hour? Well, that was only the beginning...
Once we pulled ourselves together (and I pulled out a winter hat and gloves out of my suitcase), we hit the streets hungry. Erin and I followed Adam and Katy, our fearless leaders for the weekend, to Maison Pickle where we had our first proper New York City meal.
We promptly ordered drinks and cheered the weekend:
After a round of drinks we greeted a plate of pickled vegetables with delight.
Spicy dill, string bean, green tomatoes, and beets.
I'm not a huge fan of the French Dip. May be it has something to do with that one summer I worked at Logan's Roadhouse after my freshman year of college and it was one of the dishes we served, however... Since Maison Pickle is known for theirs, I knew I could trust it to be delicious. And it was. And I drank the leftover au jus. Don't judge me until you try it yourself.
Deluxe French Dip: Fried Onions, Gruyere Fondue. Mustard smear + house pickled peppers.
Dunk it, eat it, then drink it.
After lunch we refueled at Irving Farm Coffee. I got a variation of my usual latte with almond milk:
Then we crossed the street to admire an original Banksy that the owners of the building are trying to protect with a plexiglass cover because human beings are horrible and were trying to distroy the artwork.
We decided to head back to the apartment to relax for a bit and plan out the rest of our afternoon, but not before a stop at Beard Papa's for a cream filled puff snack. Get the honey butter vanilla but pass on the Paris Brest. Not because the Paris Brest isn't good, but because you'll want to save room for a second honey butter vanilla cream puff. It was heavenly.
No trip to New York City is complete without a trip to the High Line. It's been a while since I've walked it and I was excited to see new parts, new views, and new art installations.
#wallthatunites
Then things got a little weird when we came came face-to-face with the Sleepwalker...
It was a little after five o'clock by the time we finished walking the High Line and we were beginning to feel a little hungry. And by we I mean me.
We met back up with Adam (it was Friday and a work day, after all!) at Crif Dogs to get in line at Please Don't Tell, a (secret) speakeasy located inside the hot dog joint. There are two ways in, call at 3pm to make a same day reservation by phone or stand in line and "call" the host inside the phone booth (which is also the entry point to the speakeasy) and hope that you can get a table or seats at the bar. There's a no standing policy and Anthony Bourdain featured it on one of his shows so it's pretty popular.
After standing in line and making a phone call on the red telephone, we were in! It was a little after 6pm and we were told that we can stay until 7pm because our table was previously reserved. We immediately dove into the drink menu and all chose a different drink.
I ordered the Double Crown because it's rare to see an egg white cocktail on a menu in Charlotte:
Great King Street Glasgow Scotch Whiskey Blend, Lemon Juice, Cyril Zangs Eau de Vie de Cidre, The King's Ginger, Egg White, Honey, Sage.
I also ordered the Chang Dog, because bacon and kimchi, and everyone else split an order of tater tots.
Chang Dog: Bacon-Wrapped, Deep-Fried Crif Dog, Momofuku Kimchi.
Tater Tots: Cheese & Pickled Jalapeno (on the side)
Fifteen minutes till seven, the host approached us to let us know that they rearranged some things so if we wanted to stay longer, we could. And we did. And we ordered another round.
My second cocktail was the 120 Year Itch:
120 Year Itch: Few American Gin, Apple Cider Reduction, Lustau Amontillado Sherry, Lemon, Orange, Suze
The service at Please Don't Tell was impeccable and watching the host handle the various personalities (trying to get a seat inside) with grace was impressive.
We were lured to cross the street to Squish Marshmallows after a few solid cocktails. Yes, we saw the bright little light and couldn't resist the hand crafted small batch marshmallows. And y'all know we weren't about to leave the store empty handed!
But our post cocktail sugar binge didn't end there. We made a pit stop at Dun-Well Doughnuts and split a maple doughnut to fuel our journey back home.
We decided to make a pit stop in Time Square because we were feeling tourist-y and Adam snapped this great photo of the three of us:
YOLO
It was late when we got home and we were exhausted so dinner consisted of baguettes from Maison Kayser and cheese and meats from Zabars. It was the perfect meal to end the perfect first day in NYC.
We drank wine, played Cards Against Humanity, and laughed until we passed out.
Related posts: Weekend in NYC: Intro | Weekend in NYC: Day 2 | Weekend in NYC: Day 3
