Urban Space

Just a quick addition to my NY visit as I am heading to the airport. Had lunch at a very cool new spot called Urban Space at the corner of 45th and Vanderbilt close to Grand Central. A very upscale new food court with lots of great choices in a beautiful old building. Pizza for me since I haven't had any on this trip. Finished off with a salted peanut butter cookie from Ovenly that was blissfully great!  

Ready to head home but already thinking about what I want to do on my next trip back! Next trip is Southern California in 2 weeks!  

Best Brunch Ever!

I started my Saturday by heading over to my favorite coffee shop in NY - Cafe Grumpy! The coffee is fantastic and that grumpy face always makes me smile. There is a location in Grand Central Station so I started my day there! 

Morning Glory muffin - halfway healthy! 

It was a beautiful clear but cool day in New York so I took the 4 train (not the 6!!) to Union Square and transferred to the L train to 8th Ave. This took me to the West Village where I was meeting Tom and friends for brunch at The Spotted Pig. The West Village is very upscale and cool so I got there early so I could walk around the neighborhood. Lots of young celebrities live there but while I didn't see anyone I recognized I saw a lot of people that looked like they could be! There are tons of upscale little cafe's and restaurants along with designer shops and markets. The plan was to meet at The Spotted Pig where Tom's friend Cassandra has a connection to get us seated quickly versus the normal 2 hour wait. 

Rumor has it this is where Taylor Swift lunched with Kanye for the big makeup meeting! 

Cassandra came through and we found ourselves seated promptly upon arrival! As someone who has eaten a lot of brunch in this 60 year life I can honestly say it was the best EVER!!!! And that I consumed more pig parts in one meal then maybe in my entire life! My best recall is that we had 2 appetizers and at least 10 entrees! They brought the entrees in courses and we passed the plates and tried everything concluding with a dessert course of a Dutch Baby and Banana French Toast! Did I say 2 bottles of Champagne? It was a gastric experience I thoroughly enjoyed especially with the great company of Tom, Cassandra and Seth! 

This was the third round of food as I recall!! 

After we managed to remove ourselves from the table after 3 hours we headed a few blocks over to the rooftop bar at the Standard Hotel. The hotel overlooks The Whitney and the Hudson River and has a spectacular view of the city.  

Tom, Cassandra and Seth! 

The Whitney Museum and in the upper right corner Statue of Liberty off in the distance. 

Next on the agenda was a trip with Tom over to The Whitney. I had visited when I was in town over the holidays but Tom hadn't been to the new building so we spent a couple of hours there. Highly recommend!!! We were still pretty full from brunch so we headed over to Fifth Avenue and browsed some of the stores - no actual purchases were made but fun to look. Then we remembered that KU was playing Kentucky in Lawrence so walked to the Pour House which is a KU bar in the area that Tom had been to before to watch a game. Sure enough they had the game on every TV so we were able to get a table and watch the game - and the overtime!!! Just grabbed a light bite for dinner there and called it a day.  

Would it be a trip to NY if I didn't have a great cupcake?? I think not so I grabbed this on my way back to the hotel. Called The Hummingbird - YUMM! 

Back to New York!

I had the opportunity to come to NYC for a work event and decided why not stay for the weekend??!! Thankfully it wasn't last weekend when they had the snow storm - the weather here now is perfect for January. The first two nights I was at a nice hotel right across from headquarters, but when it became my budget I moved 3 blocks away to The Pod Hotel. I have stayed here before but thought I would post pictures because I am often asked where I stay in NY. I am rarely in my room here since the purpose of coming to NY is to get out and see and do things right? So I am always looking for a place that is clean, safe, reasonable and in a good location. The Pod fits the bill especially in January which is the least busy time in NY. There are 2 Pod Hotels - one on 51st and one on 39th - both on the east side of Manhattan. I have stayed at both but the one on 39th is newer and each room has it's own bathroom. So now you are thinking - what???? Own bathroom? Isn't that a given in a hotel? Not always when you are looking for a reasonable spot in NY!!! The Pod on 51st has rooms that share a bathroom but it's not as bad as you might think. You do get the entire bathroom to yourself when you are in it - but you do have to walk down the hall to use it. Needless to say I like the location of the one on 39th better as it is just 3 blocks from Grand Central Station so really convenient to get a subway going anywhere.  

This is Grand Central Station - gorgeous and massive! 

So here are pictures of my room at The Pod. It's perfect if you are traveling alone or with someone you are VERY COMFORTABLE with as it's quite small. But great free Wifi, clean and comfortable - pack light! 

I love my Pod!!! 

Friday morning I moved my stuff over to the Pod and headed to Grand Central to catch the 6 train to Soho. I have walked past The Tenement Museum so many times on the lower east side and have heard that it is really interesting so that was first on my list. I arrived to 103 Orchard which is where you begin.  

Book Store, movie theater and where you buy your tour tickets. 

The Tenement Museum has various tours throughout the day with different themes and content. For example the tour I took was called "Irish Outsiders." I picked that one because it was starting right when I arrived but all the tours looked interesting. Each tour lasts between an hour and an hour and a half. There is a free 30 minute movie you can watch before or after your tour. Our tour guide was excellent. You actually go through a tenement that was built in 1863, and hear the story of a specific family that lived there. I would definitely go back and take another tour in the future so highly recommend it!  

I headed back to Soho to get lunch at my favorite salad spot. They are located all over Manhattan so the closest one was on Spring St.  

Palm Beach with chicken for me! 

My next stop was MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) so I got back on the 6 train and headed north to 51st St. Do I ever take any train but the 6? Well yes I do but I love the 6 because it runs pretty much north and south on the east side. I walked over to the museum located on 53rd and spent a few hours getting my Picasso on. It never ceases to amaze me how incredible the museums in NY are. While most good museums have a few pieces of art from the most famous artists the museums in NY have entire rooms of their work. Since I am going to Spain in April I am trying to improve my Picasso knowledge and as luck would have it there is a special exhibit at Moma of the sculptures of Picasso. Maybe it wasn't every single piece of his but it must have been most because there must have been 100 pieces of his work! Overwhelming and incredible!

There was also a special exhibit of Jackson Pollack that was very cool.  

As with all the museums I could have spent a couple more hours there, but I needed to get back to The Pod and officially check in and head to meet Tom for dinner.  

As luck would have it - it is restaurant week in New York! When I found that out I started looking at our options and saw that Fig and Olive was participating. Fig and Olive has opened locations in Chicago and CA along with a couple of locations in NYC and has been on my list for awhile. If you're not familiar with restaurant week it's a great way to try a restaurant and usually at a much more reasonable price. We just had it in Kansas City and it was wonderful! Typically a set price for a 3 course meal. So Tom and I were able to get a reservation and enjoy a fantastic dinner at the location on Lexington and 62nd.    I started with a wonderful salad with apple and fig, entree of a Moroccan spiced chicken with couscous and for dessert - some kind of heavenly chocolate pudding like compote. That and a great glass of wine! Does it get any better??? I think not! The only thing is that I was so busy talking and eating I forgot to take pictures - whoops!! I will try and be better. 

So that was Friday - another fun day planned for today!

Culture & Cuisine!

One of my favorite things to do in New York City is go to a museum or two or three! I have never been disappointed and this trip was no exception. So Tuesday afternoon while Tom was working I hopped in a taxi and headed from the west side to the east side to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been there multiple times but it is so large that there is always plenty new to see - and I always love to spend some time in the French Impressionist galleries - their collection is huge! One of the reasons I had it on my to-do list is because a friend of mine from my home town had posted on Facebook that there was a special exhibit of vintage furniture on display that included some drawings from a magnificent home in the town we grew up in - so that sparked my interest and motivation to make a visit. Holiday week in NY with lots of tourists just like me so as I expected the line to get in was long - but moved quickly so I was inside in about 30 minutes. I found the vintage furniture exhibit and the drawings which were framed (9 or 10 total) as part of the exhibit. Much of the furniture itself was from one of the Rockefeller homes including a dressing room totally intact and recreated in the museum - quite impressive! The museum is so beautiful I can't help but post quite a few pictures!!

Main entrance to the Met and the big line I was waiting in! I was very happy the weather was unseasonably warm. 

Main staircase from the front entrance to the 2nd floor. 

Back atrium of the museum facing Central Park. There is a restaurant off the courtyard on the lower level. So pretty at dusk. 

Two of the drawings by George A. Schastey & Co. for the Hegeler Carus Mansion that were in the Vintage Furniture exhibit.  

The Hegeler Carus Mansion in LaSalle IL completed in 1876. It is 5 stories high and has 2 floors below ground level. You can tour it and it's amazing! 

The museum had some beautiful holiday decorations but this Tree of Angels was my favorite! 

It was very large and had nativity scenes all around the base - and all the decorations were angels. 

Completing the culture part of my trip was a visit Wednesday to the new Whitney Museum of American Art. The Whitney has been a part of the NY museum scene since the early 1900's, but in May 2015 the new building right on the Hudson River opened - and it was wonderful! I walked over right when it opened and still waited in line about 25 minutes to get in - but so worth it! The building itself is worth a trip - and has spectacular views of New York City in all directions. I saw a special exhibit that took up the entire 8th floor by Archibald Motley, and another on the entire 5th floor by Frank Stella. The 7th floor is selections from the museum's own collection and included 2 paintings from our KC artist Thomas Hart Benton - so I felt like a proud parent! I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to see everything so will certainly make a return visit.  

Views from the Whitney - west, east and north. I can see New Jersey!! 

One of the Thomas Hart Benton paintings. 

Now for the cuisine remainder of the trip! When it comes to food in NY it never disappoints. My goal on this trip was to try new places since I have a tendency to want to keep returning to the places I have loved from previous visits - and all in all did pretty well. Two of my favorites though I had to get back to - the Meatball Shop and Rice to Riches for dessert. The Meatball Shop has the BEST meatballs - 5 or 6 different kinds, sauces and your choice alone, as a sandwich, over pasta or risotto etc. There are now 5 or 6 locations around the city but I like to go to the original location on Stanton St. Rice to Riches is a rice pudding restaurant - that's all they sell but like 15 different kinds! And you can taste them all just like at an ice cream shop. And get different toppings and mix ins. Plus the store itself is so cute. If you are in NY it's a must stop and eat!  Plus Rice to Riches is right across the street from Lombardi's Pizza which is supposedly the first pizza place in NYC - and delicious! Also very busy so plan to wait and be patient.

Yumm!!! 

This was Tom's - Cheesecake rice pudding topped with cherries. I had Chocolate Chip! 

I love lists! To-do lists, and best-of lists - so I happened to see a list of the top 20 bagels in NY and saw that one of them was 3 blocks from where I was staying. Can't come to NY and NOT have a bagel so one morning I walked over and tried Davidovich Bakery. It is located in the Essex Market which is a very cool place with lots of different food shops under one roof. People in NY talk about bagels like people in KC talk about barbecue and Chicagoans talk about pizza. I'm not an expert but I thought it was good!  

Cinnamon Raisin with plain cream cheese. I could almost finish it! 

I love a great sandwich and NY has them everywhere you look. Lenny's has been in business for years and has locations all over the city. I had a great sandwich there one day!

They always have the best bread and slice the meat and cheese so thin.  

The last day I met Tom for lunch and we ate at a spot close to his office that he goes to called Mexique - kind of upscale Mexican food that as expected was delicious. 

Chicken enchiladas for me, shrimp and rice for Tom. 

A few other random things we did were visit friends of Tom's that just had a baby!! Little Charlotte was only 2 days old when I got to hold her - so precious!  

If you wonder what a subway stop looks like in NY here is a typical one. 

This one is on the upper east side but they all look pretty much like this. Relatively clean and I always feel safe. A great way to get around cheaply! 

I went over to see the Macy's animated displays and they had a Charlie Brown theme - adorable! 

The store inside was very decorated and packed with people doing just what I was doing - checking out the decorations!  

If you turn around while at Macy's the Empire State Building is right behind you! 

One of these trips I will go up to the top! 

And last but certainly not least is a picture of my favorite building in NY - The Flatiron. Bult in 1902 - a 22 story triangle that faces Madison Square Park. Amazing architecture back then and still today. 

The Flatiron Building - 1902

The trip was wonderful - action packed with lots of great food. Tom and I had such a great time and the weather couldn't have cooperated more. I tracked myself at walking over 45 miles in 5 days and that wasn't even trying - just normal walking between trains and to get where we were going. No wonder most New Yorkers are thin. I can't wait to go back - thanks for everything Tom!