New York, New York

April 5 - 7, 2013

Now for the exciting part of NYC.  Since I was in Long Island for work - I decided to make my way to New York City Friday morning and spend the weekend exploring.  I have been to NYC multiple times before since I went to college in Boston but this time I wanted to explore new areas and go places I hadn't been before.

Deciding where to stay was a huge decision - I wasn't sure what the weather would be like in April so I wanted to stay around where my main focus of the trip would be.  All the previous times I have been I either stayed in Times Square (the Sheraton Times Square, Marriott Marquis, W Times Square etc) or in Brooklyn at a friend's house.  Rooms in Times Square for the first weekend in April were going for about 450+ dollars a night - which wasn't something I was looking to pay given that I didn't want to be in the room...I wanted to be out exploring.  The other areas I decided to look into were SoHo and Greenwich Village.  I knew there was amazing food and shopping that way and the previous times I had been there I loved patrolling that area.  The only problem is there are not too many hotels there- and the ones that are in the are...well those are where the famous people stay and are out of my price range.  After spending hours on Google Maps and TripAdvisor - I settled on the Sheraton Tribeca.  When looking for the best price on this hotel - I was about to book on the Sheraton website but decided to give Kayak a try for the first time.  Kayak provided me with 6+ hotel sites with their pricing and surprisingly there was one cheaper than the official website.  I was able to book through the 3rd party website without leaving the Kayak website and didn't feel like I might get ripped off.  It was a seamless process, I saved money doing it and I will use this again in the future.

I arrived to the hotel about 1:30pm and was pleasantly surprised with the location.  I was a little nervous being located on Canal Street but it actually was great.  It was just on the boarderline of Soho so a walk to the main shopping drag of SoHo took less than 5minutes to get to.  There were multiple subway stations near by and the hotel staff was extremely helpful.  The reviews of the Sheraton Tribeca on TripAdvisor are pretty accurate:
1.  The rooms are extremely small - I didn't really believe it till I arrived.  In the room is a bed, desk, and dresser + TV so you can barely move around.  But in the hotels defense - it is New York (what did you expect) and if you are in the room more than just for a quick rest or sleeping then somethings wrong with you (Its New York City - activities are limitless)!
2.  Don't look out your room to see an amazing view - instead go over to the Brooklyn Bridge or a skyscraper.
3.  The outside noise can be heard inside.  It's New York - expect traffic 24/7, there will be very few places where you can't hear any outside noise.
  

Me in the hotel room. 

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel and meeting my friend David - we went to meet my friend Greg at his New York office in the Meatpacking District.  We took a cab over there and walked though his office and then walked a few blocks down to the Chelsea Market. This was my first time here and I am not going to lie...I'm obsessed!  I love everything about it.  The dessert stores, the food options, the people watching etc. For food we went to Lobster Market Seafood Place and got a cup of the most amazing chowder!  It was super busy in the self serve soup station area but well worth the wait and the fight.  We also grabbed a sandwich from Browery Kitchen.  It was a so - so sandwich - I wasn't too impressed like I was with the soup.  We walked around some more and grabbed a brownie from Fat Witch and headed out to the High Line.

Chelsea Market + Greg's head.  

Chelsea Market. 

Direction inside the Chelsea Market. 

Lobster Place.

Fish market inside the Lobster Place. 

Chowder!

Sandwich @ Browery Sandwich.

The High Line is a park created from the old freight rail line elevated in the Meatpacking/West Side District.  It offers a wonderful getaway from the craziness of the city below with the trees, lawn and sitting areas included in the public park.  It is great to walk around on a nice day, to bring your lunch or to take some photos of the city from a different street level perspective.  It is free of cost and online you can find a map of locations of stair entrances to the park.

Map of High Line Park. 

High Line Park. 

High Line Park. 

After some quality time at the park we cabbed it back to the hotel to drop off brownies and headed over to the SoHo shopping area.  Most of the stores in this area are 2x-3x larger than what you see in your hometown - esp San Jose.  After walking around we decided to go to a happy hour located in the Little Italy area.  ORO is where we settled on based on Yelp reviews and boy was it a great selection.  The happy hour went until about 7pm - so we got an amazing cheese plate and some sangria at half price.  The place was small - quiet and had dark lighting.  We sat in the back along the wall on bar stools.  Since we got there later in the afternoon - most of the bakery goodies were gone but from what we saw on yelp they are delish.

Wine rack at Oro.

Sangria @ Oro. 

Cheese platter @ Oro.

Me in line to pay @ Oro.

We then made our way up to Times Square.  We planned on eating around there so it was the perfect time for a photo op of city highlight.  We didn't stay too long as it was extremely busy and is so touristy so we made our way down a few blocks and over to La Masseria.  I had been here once before with my mom and brother and loved the fresh made pasta and the lively atmosphere.  Since it was later in the evening - about 8:30pm - there was no wait for a table.  I ordered the homemade ravs - delish!!!  By the time we left there - we were stuffed.  But David found room for a quick stop at the Ice Cream Truck.

Times Square, New York, New York. 

La Masseria, New York.

Bread and dip @ La Masseria.

Homemade ravs @ La Masseria.

Steak @ La Masseria.

The next day we had scheduled a food tour at 12:30pm.  Food tours are something I look for in each city I go to and so far have done one in Seattle and Portland.  Based on my cousins recommendation we decided to do the Foods of NY - Greenwich Village Food and Culture Walking Tour.  It was a great decision to go with this company.  And I love the Greenwich Village/West Village area so it was fun to learn more about the area.  It was a 3 hour tour with about 14 people in the group.  We meet outside of Murray's Cheese shop on Bleeker Street and headed down to Joe's Pizza to get some New York style pizza.  By far the best NY pizza I have ever had.

We met at Murray's Cheese.

First stop - Yummy Joe's Pizza!

Me and the pizza!

Joe's Pizza.

From there we moved down to O&CO.  It is an olive oil store and spread store.  There we tried an olive oil and an olive spread on bread from Amy's across the street.  It is great to stop in an get a gift for someone -- I got one for my dad.  And because we were on the tour we got 10% off that day. 

O&CO.

Amy's Bread - yum!

Next on the tour was Faicco's - it is an Italian specialty store included meats and Italian finger foods that go great with cheese (Muarry's Cheese) and bread (Amy's Bread) next door.  Here we tried some thinly sliced meat and a fried ball of cheese and rice.  It was extremely good but extremely rice.  

Facicco's on Bleeker.

Fried ball of goodness.

After walking around the Bleeker street area and gaining some knowledge about the culture of the area, local rent and purchase prices and much more we made our way to Ristorante Rafele.  This is new to the area about 9 months old and it was the sit down portion of our tour.  Here we tasted food and we able to get to know the others on the tour and use the restroom if needed.  Here we had bread and an Melanzana.  It is layers of eggplant with cheese, basil, and a tomato puree.  Now I am not one for eggplant - but WOW - this is a must try when in NYC!!!  It was amazing - and this is on my to do list to eat dinner here sometime when I go back and visit since the food on the tour was great. 

Ristorante Rafele.

Melanzana @ Rafele.

After a break at the restaurant - it was time for dessert at Milk and Cookies.  Yes I said Milk and Cookies.  What a genius idea for a store.  This store offers fresh giant cookies served warm and fresh out of oven!  You can even design your own cookie and wait 10mins for it to bake.  YUM.  Again - one of my fav stops on the tour.  :)  So amazing!

Milk and Cookies.

Milk and Cookies.

It looks like an average cookie - but it really is an AMAZING cookie!

From here we took another walk around the area - stopping at courtyards of apartment buildings, learning what life in NYC is like and visiting the Friends building!  Yup thats right the outside of the building used in Friends is in Greenwich Village.  About 25 mins later our next food stop was Muarry's Cheese.  We tried 3 different cheese and a cheese puff.  YUM!  Does it get any better than cheese?  I dont think so. 

Tour guide telling us about the cheeses.  

Muarry's Cheeses.

Last but not least was Pasticceria Rocco - an Italian dessert shop.  Super busy and very authentic.  It reminds me alot of Mike's Pastries in Boston.  Locals and tourist gather here fulfill their sweet tooth or to eat lunch.  

Italian Pastry shop.

Cannoli. 

Me with the Cannoli.

The food tour is worth the cost and I would do it again.  The area is so amazing - def my favorite of New York.  Please please do this on your trip!  You wont regret it!

After the food tour we stopped by Pop Bar on our way back to the hotel.  Pop Bar is kitty corner to Bleeker Street and is a bar full of Popsicle!  What a genius idea!  :)  Once back at the hotel we dropped off the stuff we accumulated throughout the day and headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge.  We took the subway from our hotel and walked over the bridge - had a photo opt even though part of the bridge was under construction and you couldn't get the amazing views like before - and then we walked about 15 minutes back to the hotel.

Pop bar - Genius!

Me with my Pop. 

Brooklyn Bridge.

Status of Liberty.

NYC.

Manhattan Bridge and the New York skyline.

Walk back.

Although we weren't hungry - we decided to head back to Greenwich Village and get some drinks.  We ended up at Murray's Cheese Bar.  It is a branch of Murray's cheese (where we went on our food tour earlier) and boy was it AMAZING!  It is less than an year old, however, it is packed most nights and has a great atmosphere.  They def hit a winner with this one.  We sat at the bar since all the seats were taken and had beer and wine.  (The wine was some of the best I have had - not that I am a wino or anything).  Since I like to eat while I am drinking we got an order of the Fondue.  It was 3 cheeses melted together and came with bread, pickles and veggies for dipping.  It was SOOOOOO good.  This restaurant is a must visit and the fondue is a must order!

Muarry's Cheese Bar.

Best Fondue ever @ Murray's Cheese. 

Wine @ Murray's Cheese.

On our way back to the hotel - we stopped off at Joe's Pizza to get a slice.  I mean hey we are in New York we might as well right?

Sadly the next day was the round up of our trip.  Every time I have to leave NYC I get so sad - and become determined to move there for a year or two...esp now that all the tech companies are starting offices there.  After packing up and leaving our stuff with the bellman - we headed out for some New York bagels.  We ended up back in Greenwich Village (shocking I know) to eat at Bagels on the Square and Amy's Bread.  We couldnt decide which to get so we got both.  Bagels on the Square won. :)

Bagels on the Square

Bagel on the Square Breakfast Sandwich.

Amy's Bread Breakfast Sandwich.

After eating, we made our way to Grand Central Station and Central Park to walk around.  Central Park is a great place to people watch and hang out - however - since it was early spring there was not much in bloom.  It was great that the weather worked out in the low 70's.  We stopped by Laduree - the french macarroon shop. It was wonderful and classy.  It makes me want to visit Paris so bad!  We also did the complete opposite and stopped by the food carts and got a pretzel.

Grand Central Station.

Central Park!

Laduree Maccaroons.

Laduree.

Food carts by the Central Park entrance. 

Food cart Pretzel.

We then headed back to Chelsea Market to walk around and get some more food from the Lobster Market Seafood Place.  At 3pm we went to the hotel to grab our belongings and catch a car we reserved from the hotel.  A taxi from the city (SoHo area) to JFK would be about $50 dollars not including tip - the Sheraton offered a car service for $55 dollars (tip + tax included) so we opted for this route.

Goodbye NYC.  It was fun and I am leaving 10lbs heavier - but it's worth it. 

Highlight of my Trip:
- Chelsea Market
- High Line Park
- Food tour
- Greenwich/West Village

On my To-Do list next time:
- Bike around Central Park