New York City 2014: Where I Ate

This is primarily a blog about beauty products but every now and then I go off-topic. This is one of those posts. A couple of weekends ago I was in New York City, visiting my sister and brother-in-law who live there. This wasn’t my busiest trip as I was there without my partner-in-crime, my Husband. My hosts were pretty occupied with such things as studying for an exam and preparing for their new baby. But despite all of that, I was able to check out a few new places, including the following eateries.

The Clearwater

Sips & Bits
On my first full day in New York, my sister and I headed over to Williamsburg for a spa visit. Afterwards we were starving but weren’t completely sure where we should grab a bit to eat so we consulted Yelp for recommendations on where we could grab a quick but yummy sandwich. It recommended Sips & Bites and rightfully so.

While it’s a tiny spot that’s off the beaten path, its sandwiches are delicious. My sister got the Excelsior, which included grilled flank steak, onions and garlic chili lime aioli, that was named best sandwich in New York by one of the reviews on the wall. She completely agrees with the review but I don’t know, my Clearwater sandwich, which was a creamy, onion-free tuna mix smoothed in potato chips and melted cheese, was also down right spectacular. It was also huge and appropriately priced at $9. My sister also got some kind of toffee cookie that was sweet, sticky and also delicious.

New York City Restaurant And Bar Recommendations

The best pizza ever: From Eataly

There are over 4,200 restaurants in New York City (at least according to USAToday) but it’s looking like I won’t get to try any of them this year. L However, some of my friends are NYC-bound in 2013 and one of them recently asked me to ask my sister, who’s lived in Manhattan for several years now, for restaurant and bar recommendations.

The list my sister ended up putting together was so great that I figured I should it on here, so that everyone could check it out. Hope it’s useful for a least a few of you!

LES/Alphabet City

The Wayland: Great for cocktails. Food menu is small but cheap (cheaper than the drinks) and delicious and great for snacks or dinner. This place comes highly recommended on Yelp and elsewhere. 

New York City 2012: What We Did

Mine and Husband’s recent trip to NYC was hardly our most packed one but we still managed to see a few things.

New shoes

Shopping
Let’s start with everyone’s favourite thing to do in NYC: Shop.

We stopped by the usual suspects including Brooklyn Industries, Uniqlo and Century 21 though on this trip we checked out different locations than I’ve previously been to.

Since all Brooklyn Industries are about the same small size and carry similar stock, shopping at the Williamsburg one wasn’t really any different that shopping at the Chelsea one.  But shopping at the 34th St. Uniqlo, instead of the SOHO one and the Lincoln Square Century 21 store, instead of the big one by the World Trade Centre, was such a good idea.

The two newer locations of these stores are so much calmer than their NYC originals. Yes, the Upper West Side Century 21 is smaller than the downtown one but it’s also less chaotic and I didn’t have to wait in line to get a changing room. It also had an amazing selection of jeans.

New York City 2012: The Food

Not a bagel; halibut at The Breslin

By popular demand, here’s the first in a two-party series on mine and Husband’s recent trip to New York City. Let’s start with where we ate (well, at least the places that I remember).

Besides grabbing muffins and wraps at Westside Market, my favourite grocery store, we also ate the following places:

Absolute Bagel (2788 Broadway; at 107th St)
This Upper West Side bagel spot is so popular that it even had a line out the door on a Friday at 9:30 am.  The bagels we picked up (sesame seed and everything) were light and fluffy but came with way too much cream cheese. They were also massive, like all NYC food.

NYC Part 4: Where We Shopped

And now for my final post about my recent trip to NYC. This one’s all about shopping.

Century 21 - 22 Cortlandt Street
No, not that store that sells trashy, short skirts. The NYC Century 21 is all about offering designer clothing at reduced prices. Picture it as a massive Winners but with better selection, actual designer fashion (Stella McCarthy, Prada, our friend Alexander McQueen) and quite possibly the most hostile sales clerks on the planet (on a previous trip, I once watched a customer and store manager almost come to blows).

The place can be a little overwhelming and I recommend not going on the weekend or during the lunch hour when the crowds are at their thickest. Also, the line-up for the change room can be crazy so if possible, dress so that you try things on right in the aisle (you can do this with about anything other than certain dresses).

NYC Part 3: What We Did: McQueen Exhibit, The Music Hall of Williamsburg, the Brooklyn Flea Market & Artist & Fleas

Doesn't look like much from
the outside

Besides eating and my sister’s dress viewing, I did manage to do a few other things in New York City. I also did lots of shopping. But I’ll get to that in my next entry.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg
On our first night in New City School, we took the L line to Bedford and headed up to the Music Hall of Williamsburg to see the CSS/Sleigh Bells. I’ve seen both of these bands before but their Williamsburg show put those previous shows to shame and I think the venue/its crowd played a big role in that.

NYC Part 2: Stuff I Ate: Eataly, HK, Overly, The Taco Truck & Lansky's Deli

Our monkfish at Eataly

My eating adventures in New York City continue...

Eataly – 200 5th Ave

Delicious chaos is probably the best way to describe this 50,000-square-foot space dedicated to Italian food. If it’s an Italian and it’s food-related, this place probably sells it. There’s also several restaurants, wine-and-cheese-bar, multiple to-go stations, a cooking school, a wine store and probably countless other aspects that we didn’t see.

Since there was a 45 minute-an hour wait at the pasta and pizza place, we decided to eat at the fish restaurant, which only had a 10 minute wait. The menu was fairly small and several items were already sold out (the waiter told us that usually more items were sold out by 8 pm, the time we ordered) so we all ended up with the monkfish filets and that was just fine because it was delicious and quite meaty for a fish.

NYC Part 1: Stuff I Ate: Momofuku, Lombardi’s Pizza, Rice to Riches & Celeste

Butter was clearly the first ingredient
in the Momofuku cookies

As I've said before, I’m not a foodie. Give me a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms and I’m happy. But on my recent trip to New York City I ended up doing a lot more food-related things due to the presence of my cousin Alison, who, as she will happily say, will eat just about anything.

Here’s a quick look at some of the things we tried:

Momofuku Milk Bar –  251E 13th St
I think “Momofuku” is going to be my new term for “over-hyped”. We went to this heavily hyped restaurant’s tiny, bakery storefront excepting to buy pieces of baking heaven. Instead we bought buttery cookies that while yummy, tasted like something I could make at home, and candy pie that was mediocre at best.

And unlike pretty much everywhere else in NYC, the portion sizes were small and the prices expensive.

I heard that Momofuku is coming to Toronto. Initially, this news (rumour?) made me excited but now I could care less.

My Trip To Kleinfeld Bridal

So the whole reason why I recently went to New York City was to help my sister with her wedding dress fitting.

Last August, she ordered a dress from Kleinfeld (yes, the shop from that TLC show) and was told that it would be in by mid-April. So we figured that me taking a mid-May trip made sense. You know where this going right?