Thanks to our friend Amanda, we had a long list of recommendations that, had she been still living in NY, we could have possibly shared together. This list, coupled with all the clippings put aside over time, and the many bars and restaurants within close range of our little apartment on Essex, meant we had a plethora of choice.
Friday 14th December we arrived in the evening, about 21 hours after leaving our place. We hadn't had a very comfortable night, so not much sleep. Put that down to over-excitement more than anything. So our plan was, once we'd checked out the apartment and freshened up, we'd take a walk around the block and check out the neighbourhood, then head "home" for a good night's rest.
We literally stumbled on Spitzers, on Rivington Street. A great little bar that serves tapas style food and locally brewed beers. We didn't need to eat but the beer was good, it was crowded, plenty for us to observe, which meant we put that on our list of "returns" for later. When we did return, it was the meatballs, brussel sprouts and hand cut fries that were a standout.
Sat 15th Dec - first stop - look for an Espresso bar! (we later found a good one just literally around the corner from us - d'Espresso - but that's another day). Found an omelette bar - Sugar - on the corner of Allen and Housten - spinach and feta. Delicious. The coffee was good, not the greatest, but good. We have found that by ordering a double espresso with a dash of hot water gives us a better outcome than ordering an Americano (long black).
Heartland Brewery in Union Square - great beers for a thirst worked up by walking. There's a Saturday growers' market in Union Square too - all the local growers bring in their produce - similar to our produce markets. The fresh christmas bunting some were selling was fabulous - wanted to bring it home.
We'd been spruiked in Times Square by some guys selling tickets to that night's performance at the NY Standup Comedy Club, further uptown, so we had a feast at Carnegie Deli before navigating to the Club. When in NY, everyone should have at least one attempt at a sandwich from Carnegie Deli. I'm not sure about all the pickled cucumbers that accompanied so many meals (they always stated they were from "the Pickle Guy") but maybe that's an acquired taste.
The Comedy Club was one of our favourite nights - the comedians were absolutely hilarious, as was the audience. Sadly, I have no idea of the comedians' names, but I'd recognise them in a line up!
We didn't need much else to eat that night, but there was a Pizza Bar just a couple of doors down from our place. Their margarita pizza by the slice topped off a great day discovering Manhattan, walking some 80+ blocks in one day.
Sun 16th Dec - we headed over to Chinatown for dumplings. Found a great place, wish I had noted where it was and what it was called (tried to find it again but had no idea where we were). We ordered far too many dishes (aided by the pictures on the walls) which didn't really matter - the place was jammed with locals - always a good sign of good dim sum, and they were intrigued by the number of dishes coming to our table. Glad we gave back some entertainment to the observers.
We still hadn't found our coffee guy. After breakfast we'd ventured down to the financial district because it was raining, so thought it best to do a spot of shopping at Century 21 and of course, look for some coffee. Our coffee sensors were not working well yet, we had absolutely no luck in locating a coffee bar for Nigel while I navigated the crowds and bizarre layout of Century 21. So we left empty handed on both counts and finally fell across Pret Manger which is a chain coffee/sandwich bar. Saved the day for a caffeine hit, but that's about all.
This was the night for us to return to Spitzers and try their food: beef sliders, meatballs, brussel sprouts (sensational!) all washed down with a delicious Malbec from Argentina. Heaven!
Mon 17th. Breakfast at Katz Deli - another institution in NYC - as is Carnegie Deli. Katz's specialty is their sausage - I'd describe it as a Kransky - which they serve with fried eggs and chips for breakfast. We waived the chips but the eggs and sausage were good. As was the lox. Can't breakfast in NY without having lox and bagel (smoked salmon). Coffee - nup. (Still hadn't found our coffee guy). This was the day we headed up to MoMA - fantastic. But we found we can only do the galleries for a couple of hours before our feet and legs start to outweigh the enjoyment. That's usually an indication it's beer o'clock.
Essex bar - just across the road from us - was our dining choice for this night. We'd been told by a guy at the pizza place that they have excellent oysters for $1. Need I say more? the opportunity to try local oysters was just the incentive we needed. Were they any good? couldn't compare to our pacific or sydney rock, but worth a try. The Malbec was great though.
Tues 18th. D'Espresso! At last we'd discovered our coffee guy - who also sold heavenly croissants and heavy blueberry muffins. Can't believe it took us so long - his little space just about 20 paces from our door.
Headed up to Guggenheim - Picasso'd out. Then Bocado (cnr Lexington and 86th) for lunch. Soups were good. Beer was better. Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Kelso Pilsner.
Dinner that night was another local : Slovaki. Yes, Greek. We still hadn't learned not to order too much, because the servings are huge, we would call share size (for a group - not just two!). So we ordered way too much and walked away feeling very uncomfortable. Didn't have far to go home either, so digestive juices didn't get much of a chance. The taramasalata was very good.
Wed 19th. A sunny day, so time to do the Highline and Empire State Building. We discovered another Homeland Brewery somewhere, so shared the nachos and buffalo wings with an Indiana Pale Ale and Conflower Lager. It was good to sit down.
We did an excessive amount of walking this day - went all the way up to 10th Ave to try to find the Artisnal Cheese Co - but it was their office only, so headed for the subway and home. Picked up a nice little Malbec from the local bottle shop, too tired to eat anything substantial.
Got tickets on line for The Book of Mormon - a guy at the Half Tix booth on Times Square had told us about Stubhub - that was our only opportunity of buying them at a decent price (well sort of). Success on that count - tickets for Sat matinee session. Yippee
Thur 20th.
Found another reasonably good place for breakfast - Teeny - good omelettes and coffee not so bad. They had great fruit salad - my favourite for breakfast.
Headed uptown to Museum of Natural History - WoW ! Had a great "experience" with Woopi Goldberg's presentation on our stars and the universe in a theatre in the round. Brilliant. Then walked along Fifth Avenue to the Dakota Building (John Lennon's place) then subway to W40th to collect tickets for Sat's show. Lunch at Pax (great soup!) then walked down to Grand Central Station Wow Wow. Oysters at the Oyster Bar under the station. That's a Must Do in NYC too. It's a very old fashioned original oyster bar still served I'm sure by the same ladies that were serving there 50 years ago (at least). We had oysters from Martha's vineyard, California and Oregon. All very different. Yum.
Sons of Essex - the third in the group of restaurants in our immediate vicinity on Essex Street, quickly became one of our favourites, for all three criteria, food, service and ambience. Emelia, behind the bar, was adorable, very friendly, not too much though, just enough to have brief conversation every now and again. Great eye for detail and attention. The Food, enjoyed either at the bar on in the dining area, was fabulous. Nigel chose the Lobster Pot Pie, the most delicious seafood pie I have ever tasted (yes of course I tasted it). I can't remember what I had, his was so good! We had a Californian Pinot, which was so good we had another at the bar after dinner. Not far to walk home either.
Friday 21st. Rest Day. Did the washing (at the laundry "just around the corner") Launched Blog. Dined at 'inoteca - a little Italian place "just around the corner". Sensational tapas. Antipasto (of course) bruschetta with chicken liver pate, tapenade and a lovely chick pea/garlic pate that wasn't anything like I'd had before. Mussel and clam pasta, followed by cheese platter and all washed down with a yum Italian wine (didn't write it down!). But it was good. At last we'd mastered the ordering. Less is more.
Sat 22nd. Yippee. Book of Mormon. One of the reasons we chose this as our "Broadway" experience was because of the reviews - all rave. So we were expecting good - but this was more than good - absolutely hilarious. I think the man sitting next to us was taken aback by what some could term "irreverence" (he may have even been a Mormon) but his wife had bought the tickets as a birthday gift to him, so he tried to laugh. But at half time I got the impression he's very conservative (a Republican) and didn't find it amusing. He'd said as much.
We took the subway down to Spring Street, between Lafayette and Broadway to find Balthazar which was on Amanda's list. It was 5:30 and the place was absolutely jammed. We muscled into the bar area, hustling seats as soon as there was any indication of exit movement. This was another fantastic night of dining - same menu as the dining area, being at the bar meant we could talk with ease, shouting across a table becomes too hard. Chicken foie gras mousse, duck shepherds pie, trout with salad, cheese platter, French Pinot Noir. Aahhhhh.
Sun 23rd. Walk, walk, walk. Battery Park, Lower Manhattan, Twin Towers, Wall Street, World Financial Centre, up to Chinatown and Tribeca. Beer at Tophops, 94 Orchard Street, opposite the Tenement Museum. Matilda's Goose Island Illinois. Dinner at Stanton Social (another just around the corner - actually we'd seen it every day on our way to coffee guy). It turned out Stanton Social is the sister restaurant to Beauty on Essex, famous for their stylish decor (warehouse) and modern cuisine. Tapas style tuna, kale and duck salad, beef wellington - all exquisite. Service - efficient but table turn priority, so felt a bit rushed.
Mon 24th - Christmas Eve
It was a clear day, so headed downtown to check out the helicopter tours. It was our lucky day. An Argentinian family had chosen the longest time up in the air - half an hour. We'd paid the 20 minute option, they put us both together and we got the extra 10 mins for nix. Brilliant. Very special. After that we headed over to Brooklyn to find Grimaldi's famous pizza place. We chose the bar area to avoid queuing. Good pizza and beer. Great traditional pizza joint.
Christmas Eve was another special occasion for us, we'd managed to get a table at Beauty & Essex, literally just across the road from our apartment, but booked out weeks ahead, we'd been told. Our apartment host highly recommended it as the "in" place for "celebrities" and innovative menu. We don't know the "it" celebrities, so that much passed us by. If the staff were anything to judge by, they were the beautiful people, the employment key requirements must have been good looks and amazing bodies, wardrobe of the most clinging mini dresses for the women and chiselled jaw bones for the blokes. So took an early table and tried to linger as long as possible.
Sensational meal: steak tartare, roasted marrowbone, scallops on tomato risotto, nori crusted tuna on wasabi puree, chocolate potted creme, Californian Heron Pinot Noir.
I had heard from the table next to us a reference to pink champagne and rest room, so went off to investigate. Came back with a glass of pink champagne. They had a bar (built in) in the ladies rest room with "complimentary" champagne. I guess you could sip while fixing your hair/makeup, chatting with your girlfriend. I chose to take it with me. No such bar in the men's rest room though. Nigel checked!
Tue 25th - Christmas Day
We had pre-arranged a table at the Nomad Hotel for lunch. It was a la carte, with a 68 page wine list!
The Nomad is a lovely old art deco style boutique hotel on Broadway, beautiful wood panelled walls, plush velvets and highly polished chrome. We were seated next to another Australian family, and noticed Philip Clark (702 ABC) also dining with his family. Spoke with him as we passed on the way to the rest rooms, just to confirm it really was him. Small world.
Sweetbreads in mini springrolls, prawns in amazing broth, foie gras with liquorice bread, lobster in foam, beef shortribs and marrow crust, brussel leaves, roast veggies. Californian Pinot (Copain) from the Anderson Valley - very smooth. Wonderful Christmas Day lunch. Floated home.
Wed 26th
Another day, another Gallery. This time is was the Met. We took the Egyptian option. The Met is enormous, we could not cover it within even a week, so we chose just one section, with a quick squiz at modern photography and modern design.
Then we took the subway to find Spotted Pig, famous for their burgers and fries. As we'd not really experienced burgers yet in NY, this was the obvious option for us. Their fries are more like the old fashioned straws. Very thin and crispy. On our way there it started to snow (hooray!) we watched from the window flurries almost horizontal from the wind. It started to build up on the cars, but melted or turned to ice on the ground. No dump, but snow just the same. As we were in the area, we then headed off to find Ear Bar on Spring Street. Great little bar - one of the earliest in NY, had a couple of beers then headed over to Pianos on Ludlow for Nachos and a good DJ. Happy hour was til 8pm, another bonus.
Thur 27th
Jon Glass (a very good friend of our good friend Amanda) was celebrating his 50th and had invited us to join the celebrations. As it happened, the restaurant booked was again around our end of town, so we walked to Elizabeth Street and found Jo's. Asian fusion. Fabulous fish (pollack), asian shrimp, pork ribs, sliders and dumplings. Fantastic. Cote de Rhone was wine of choice.
Fri 28th
Breakfast uptown - Rue 57. Very traditional brasserie Parisienne et sushi bar! Lox with scrambled egg. Delicious. Then we took a ride around Central Park on a pedicab. Lunch at Tao, they have a huge buddha that is two entire floors in height. Apparently they had to remove the back wall of the warehouse style room, to get the buddha in. Sashimi, soup and dumplings. Perfect.
We were looking for a jazz bar, found Bar 169 at the end of Essex. Yes, they did have some jazz music playing over the PA, but they also had hilarious porn movies on the plasma. We chose crawfish and oysters, with an artichoke on the side. Good beer (Brooklyn Lager) - not so good music. Interesting crowd though.
Sat 29th
Breakfast at O'Donoghues. Watched Manchester City win on the plasma - the best corned beef hash and eggs. Not bad coffee. Then it snowed. Real big snow this time - large flakes which quickly built up on cars and clothes.
Dinner was at Sons of Essex - Lobster Pot Pie (again, it was sooo good the first time), lamb shank - outstanding! and oysters of course. Sonoma Californian Pinot Noir. Superb.
Sun 30th. Brunch at Le Gamin. 556 Vanderbilt in Brooklyn, with Stephanie and Jon. Mimosas. French onion soup. Mmmmmm. On the way back, dropped into Union Market for cheese, soup and bread. Fromage D'Affinois with Black Truffles. Double cream from Rhone- Alpes. Absolutely out of this world. Chimay Biere (washed with Chimay beer). Made by the Trappist Monks from Scourmont Abbey in Belgium. Argentinian Malbec.
Mon 31st
New Year's Eve. Morning at Tenement Museum, late breakfast/brunch in Chinatown. Tried to repeat the experience, but not successful. Interesting place anyway - seemed their speciality was shabu shabu, but we didn't know that, so ordered dumplings. Shopping for sports clothes then home for rest before big night out.
Wow, how can I convey the excitement and pure energy created in Times Square on New Year's Eve. We had booked a special dinner at The Lambs Club, in the Chatwal Hotel on 44th Street. We'd collected our "tickets"a couple of days prior, which allowed us entry past the barriers holding back the crowds around Times Square. So we headed off in expectation of it taking us a long time to navigate the sea of people jammed together waiting. Not so. We came into 44th Street from 45th so we didn't have any real obstacles getting through, and arrived at the Hotel a couple of hours early. No impact other than extra drinking time, which we'd be doing elsewhere if not there. It was interesting watching the staff preping for their big night too. The room looked spectacular, very clubby as we'd expected but ready to party. We met some really interesting people that night - Bob and his gorgeous wife from California (he'd made his money in hamburgers!) and Svetlana and her daughter from Croatia (we think, of it could have been Slovenia maybe).
Set menu dinner was sensational, accompanying wines even better.
Parsnip panna cotta, oxtail soup, Bay scallop tataki, cured salmon terrine, ginger cured hamachi, country style pork pate. And that was just hors d'oeuvres! Then came a choice of terrine of Foie Gras (popular in NY) or roasted scallop (both perfect) and main choice of Chatham cod or Creekstone Farms Ribeye. We both took the beef option. The cheese platter was really weird. Vermont butter and cheese bonne bouche, which tasted very much like a butter with a strong cheese flavour - shaved into what looked like pencil shavings. And a Romaine, pickled tomato, avacado pancetta viniagrette which just tasted weird. Full Stop. Desert/Petit Fours were on a tiered platter, we only made a slight dent in that. The truffles were great! Service not so great, but we put that down to them be occupied with everyone eating at the same time.
We were issued with all sorts of noise makers and party paraphernalia, my favourite was the cow bell. On the approach to midnight, we were issued our coats and cans of champagne, before heading outside to count down. It's hard to describe how exciting the throb of a million odd people in Time Square all celebrating the end of 2012 and the incoming 2013 made the moment, something of which we tried to capture on camera. The ticker tape showered down on us and everyone made as much noise as they possibly could to herald the occasion. Back inside in the warmth, it was time to dance and party party party. Trying to find an available cab at 2:30 in the morning isn't the easiest thing to do in NYC, but we managed eventually.
Tues 1st Jan
This was our last day. Very sad. We chose to return to Sugar for eggs and some hangover bacon (bacon isn't on every breakfast menu like it is in Australia). We didn't have anything outstanding on our "must do" list, so rested, packed then headed over to Little Italy to find Umbertos Clam House, which we'd heard about from our favourite bar lady at Sons of Essex. We chose to try both varieties of clam. They were good but we reckon the ones we get from NZ are better. I had a fantastic pasta with half lobster, clams and mussels. Nigel had a bowl of mussels. All extremely good. Washed down with a Malbec.
Every single day in Manhattan brought us a new discovery and a brilliant experience. This was definitely one of the best holidays we've experienced together, and certainly the best eating experience over a prolonged period that we've ever had.
