Winter in NYC with Lynne

Stop the presses!  Alert the media!  The Smileys posted to their blog!
But don’t get your hopes up, fans of Eliza and Matilda, it’s Kirk with another NYC-related post.  Since Lynne is still way behind reorganizing our photos and blogging about family events on here (yes friends, please guilt her into doing it again, it’s been almost a year since she’s posted).  At least this time it isn’t just another chapter in my personal adventures – it actually involves Lynne, too!
Since Lynne has made a trip with me to NYC every summer for the last few years, I thought it would be fun to bring her out in the winter.  She’d never spent that season in the city, so there was lots we could do, and since I had a staff conference to attend, we decided to make an entire seven-day trip out of it a couple weeks before Christmas.
Lynne flew out to meet me on a Tuesday, and while I worked she got to enjoy some NYC thrift store shopping, the Frick Museum, macarons at Laduree (a relatively new site of the Parisian bakery that we loved when we were there), and time with one of my former coworkers who she really enjoys hanging out with.  But our weekday evenings were packed full of fun.

On Tuesday, we had our annual staff holiday party, so it was great for Lynne to meet more of my colleagues and actually get to have conversations with them.  She’s met many in passing on some of her visits, but since it’s been at the office, there was never much time to converse.  Fortunately my coworkers didn’t embarrass themselves (or me!) too much, although they all seemed to really like Lynne and constantly ask me when we were moving to the city (don’t hold your breath, but we’ll always visit!).
On Wednesday, following my meetings we had a wonderful small team dinner of Korean BBQ (Lynne’s first time), and then we headed to see the Tony-award winning best musical Once on Broadway.  Having Lynne available during the day is great, because she was able to wait in line for rush tickets to this sold out show, which not only were in the second row but also about 25% of face value.  We had tried to see Once this last summer, but it was sold out, so we were thrilled to get to see it now.  The show was spectacular with amazing musicians, a great script, and superb acting.  It’s not like your average show tune-heavy Broadway musical, since it’s music from the Swell Season and closely follows the plot of their 2006 indy film.  Also, since it’s partly set in an Irish pub, before the show and at intermission, the audience is invited to come up on the stage to have a pint of beer.  Since we were in the second row, you know I jumped on that opportunity during intermission (Lynne was sadly waiting in a long rest room line.  Sacrifices people!) and was the first one on stage, for a while standing by myself looking out on the audience.  Surreal and, for me most likely, a once in a lifetime experience.  Best excuse I’ve ever had for an overpriced beer.

Another nice thing about the trip was that we rented a really quaint apartment in Chelsea via Airbnb.  I am a huge fan of Airbnb, which lets you find apartment rentals in cities across the country, and I use it frequently when traveling.  You can find spare rooms or entire apartments based on amenities or location.  I found us a private apartment that was owned by a woman our age, so it had all the comforts Lynne would need and expect.  In the late evenings we were able to really relax and enjoy some wine and macarons.  Almost like when we were in Paris, except the apartment was much nicer (and our legs weren’t quite as tired from walking around all day).
On Thursday, the final day of my conference, after work we both had Thai Yoga massages thanks to an office health and wellness challenge I won* earlier this summer (*winners were drawn randomly from a weighted list, don’t give me too much credit).  The massages were so relaxing (and stretchy as anything I’ve ever done), so afterwards we enjoyed some Pho and had a nice, relaxing evening.
On Friday, I took the day off so that we could have more time to explore the city.  We shopped at Chelsea Market, walked the High Line, checked out the Christmas displays and windows at Macy’s, watched people ice skate at Bryant Park (we didn’t wait in the incredibly long line), walked through the Union Square holiday market, and had the best dinner of all my trips to New York.  It was partly a surprise for Lynne (since reservations take over a month of advanced booking), but we finally dined at ABC Kitchen.

Chelsea Market

Spices at the market

 

Enjoying raw oysters from the huge seafood market

 

Lynne had French toast from Sara Beth's, where the old lady herself was cooking a meal for her staff

 

Highline park

 

Skating rink at Bryant Park

 

Bryant Park's tree

 

The restaurant is amazing (and not terribly priced compared to other restaurants of its caliber) and situated inside the ABC interior decorating store near Union Square.  It was calming and meal of perfectly cooked food with robust flavor, and now I want to eat there every time I’m in the city.  I really can’t recommend it enough.  Check out the pictures to see what we ate.

Pretzel-dusted calamari. Puts all other "fried calamari" to shame

Crispy squash with maple syrup and grated goat cheese. Really unique but really good!

Arctic char with roasted cauliflower and salsa verde. I chose very wisely.

Flounder, market potatoes, and greens

Lynne's sneak photo of the $108 white truffle pizza ordered by the ridiculous couple next to us. They spent most of their meal talking about truffles.

After dinner we actually had tickets to another Broadway show.  Because we saw Once for such a low cost and earlier in the week than I had anticipated, we decided to see another show we were interested in last summer.  On Friday morning when the theater box office opened, we were able to get student rush tickets for very cheap to Nice Work if You Can Get It, a Gershwin musical staring Matthew Broderick that had also won a couple Tony’s this year.  Student rush tickets mean you have to show a valid student ID, so Lynne and I proudly brandished our Purdue IDs (circa 1998 and 1999), which did the trick.  If anyone ever looked at the photo, I don’t know if they’d even recognize me as the same person.  The show was fun, but it was a very different experience sitting in the second-to-last row of the balcony as opposed to the second row on the floor at Once.  Another fun thing I realized, back in June we made a list of four shows we were interested in seeing.  We saw one on that trip, two on this trip, and the fourth I saw right before it closed this Fall.  That’s a pretty perfect cover rate!  Right before the show we saw the giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and after the show Lynne had some perfect New York cheesecake while I enjoyed a shake for a late dessert.

On Saturday we headed for Brooklyn.  I’ve enjoyed a few excursions into the borough on past trips, but Lynne had never been.  We planned on having brunch at Talde, the Park Slope eatery of Top Chef star Dale Talde.  I was very excited, so we had a brief walk through Prospect Park and then arrived when it opened and had a brunch that I would replicate every Saturday, if I had the appetite, budget, and lived near Park Slope.  The men is a lot Asian fusion and features so many delicious options that we had trouble choosing.  Lynne went traditional with the apple pancakes with Surryano ham.  I was a bit disappointed that of all the fun options she chose one that seemed boring, but the waiter promised it would be the best pancakes she ever had, and they were.  We also enjoyed pork and chive dumplings that are made in a pretzel wrapper, which now I want all of my dumplings to be made in that style.  The most atypical thing was the shiitake mushroom and scallion Chang Fun, which were incredibly spicy with lots of sliced red chiles.  I enjoyed them, but it was a little too much for Lynne for “breakfast.”  My main dish, and the award for “most creative thing I’ve eaten in a long time” was the breakfast ramen.  I love ramen, but wasn’t sure about it for breakfast.  The waiter convinced me after explaining how they make the broth by cooking and straining liquefied buttered toast.  Toss in some thick chunks of bacon and egg, and it’s very “breakfasty,” and so delicious I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

The dumplings

Chang fun

Pancakes

Ramen

So obviously we ate a ton of food, and it was all so amazing, but the best part was the end of the meal.  I was ready to go walk it off, but Lynne had to use the restroom.  While waiting for her, Dale himself walked in to chat with the guy at the front of house, so on our way out we were able to briefly say hi, thank him for a fantastic meal, and shake his hand.  Pretty cool, even if he was making eyes at Lynne (can I blame him?).  I really want to go back to try the other things on the menu, but I’m not sure the next weekend I’ll be in the city or Brooklyn.

We walked for a while in Park Slope, visiting little shops and a yard sale outside a school, on our way to the Brooklyn Flea – a giant flea market housed (in the winter) in a giant old bank.  It was a very eclectic mix of vendors (including the brother of the former coworker I referenced above), but a little too crowded inside (even though it was nice and unseasonable warm outside).  After that we went to some cool Brooklyn thrift stores (and found some great items) and happened by a Thai restaurant specializing mostly in ice cream but also northern Thai cuisine.  We had dinner plans later, so we each had a couple scoops of ice cream (I recommend the durian and the lime), and continued our walking adventure.  Before we left Brooklyn to return to Manhattan for dinner, I had to make one more stop to let Lynne try some poutine at Sheep Station.  Despite it being a trendy food, it’s not that popular in New York (maybe because it’s so unhealthy?), but I had enjoyed some a few years ago at a location near where we were.  Nothing like spoiling your dinner with some cheese curds, fries, and gravy, right?

The new Barclays Center (home of the Brooklyn Nets)

Brooklyn Flea

Thai ice cream!

We met up with my friend Orchid and her fiancé Eric for dinner at Pig and Khao on the Lower East Side.  To make our day even more Top Chef themed, it was the new eatery of TC alum Leah Cohen.  It was a fun meal with friends, and although we don’t have any pictures, we enjoyed the sisig, green mango salad, and khao soi (which was so spicy the others didn’t really like it, but I did!). Then we joined our friends for a holiday party (it was the last day of Hanukah) that their friend hosted at her large East Village apartment.  Nice to hang with locals after a few days of being an ultimate tourist.

On Sunday morning it was a bit rainy, but we had exciting brunch reservations.  Yes, you guessed it, another Top Chef contestant’s restaurant – the winner of season one, Harold Dieterle.  We both really enjoyed his Thai place, Kin Shop (I’ve been twice, it’s that good), but we had never been to his first restaurant, Perilla, which is more like a neighborhood joint.  We had apple French toast, shrimp and grits, and a plateful of thick-cut bacon.  Since the rain wasn’t going to allow us to enjoy a trip to Central Park, we headed downtown to the 9-11 Memorial, which was quite sobering.

French toast

Grits

Bacon!

World Trade Center Memorial

It was a great trip, and I’m not sure if the girls or Otis even missed us since they had a lot of fun of their own.

(some of these photos are via camera phone, some are with the camera – bet you can spot the difference!)



King of New York

Due to my work schedule I found myself having to spend a week in New York, including a weekend.  It was definitely hard to be away from Lynne and the kids that long, but I tried to maximize my time in the city.  Given all I was able to do, including full days of meetings at work, I think that may be an understatement.  Here’s a brief* rundown of my days, including some photos (some with the DSLR, but unfortunately some with just my phone).

*Yeh, this isn’t brief at all, sorry!

Thursday morning I took the train to New Jersey for a small staff retreat, my first time in the state in many years.  That night I headed to Coney Island in Brooklyn with some coworkers.  I had never been, and they had tickets to see the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) minor league team play.  We enjoyed the game, where I also got see Purdue Boilermaker Kevin Plawecki play.  He was drafted in the first round by the Mets (quite a big deal for Purdue), but I didn’t remember until I saw his name and picture on the scoreboard.  After the game I ate a ton of food at the original Nathan’s Famous, rode the Cyclone rollercoaster, walked the boardwalk, and kicked some sand on the beach.  We then walked down a ways to Brighton Beach, the old Russian-populated area of Brooklyn, for some herring, oysters, caviar, potatoes, and vodka on waterfront.  It was a lot of fun and well worth the hour-plus on the subway

Nathan’s Famous

Brooklyn Cyclones park

Purdue’s Kevin Plawecki

The Cyclone.  We were the last ride of the night at 10:30pm, which made it even more fun.

The Wonder Wheel

On Friday we had a special team lunch at Eataly’s beer garden Birreria. I’ve written about my great trips to Eataly before, but I had never been to the rooftop beer garden due to the long waits in the evening.  Fortunately there was no wait for an early lunch, and we had lots of time to enjoy some amazing small plates and beer.  Through a partnership with Dogfish Head and two Italian breweries, they brew three beers on site and serve them on cask.  Per the waiter’s recommendation, I had a pint of the Gina, a thyme pale ale that was perfectly balanced and delicious.  For our food, we enjoyed the following, all incredibly excellent:

• A cheese plate featuring parmigiano, asiago, taleggio, gorgonzola, and robiola, served with their warm bread and honey to dip
• Probusto pork and beef sausage served with potatoes and mustard greens
• Maitake mushrooms in a cream sauce
• An heirloom tomato salad with some of the best tomatoes I’ve had (outside my own garden of course!)
• A chicken dish I can’t find on their menu right now (must have been a special), but it was juicy, slightly crispy, and perfect

That evening I had a mojito with some coworkers and then walked to the theater district to see a show.  When Lynne came with me to NYC in June, we had a list of shows we were interested in seeing.  One I really wanted to see, One Man Two Guvnors, she wasn’t as keen on, so I figured it would be good to see solo.  It also only had one week left in its Broadway run, so I was thrilled to have the chance to see it before it disappears, likely forever since it centers around one star British actor.  The play is hilarious and won numerous awards when it premiered in London before heading across the pond.  The lead actor, James Corden, even won the Tony this year for best actor in a play. The play is so unique, incorporating music, breaking the fourth wall, and planting humorous things in the audience. (Yes, I realize I quote a song from Newsies in my title, so some of you are wondering why I didn’t see that musical on Broadway. Honestly, I didn’t want to potentially taint my memories of that great film and all the childhood memories it generates, and it’s always more fun to see something you haven’t already watched 50 times before).

On Saturday, I knew it would be a little lonely, so I made sure to have plenty of new activities to do around the city.  I decided to spend some time in Brooklyn, since I usually only get there a couple times a year on weekday evenings.  Also, I decided it would be fun to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge from the East Village.  That was a lot of fun, but it took about 90 minutes, and after an entire day of walking, by Saturday night my feet were in bad shape.

Once I got into Brooklyn, I headed to Williamsburg for Smorgasburg, a fun mini-food fest gathering that happens every Saturday.  It’s right on the waterfront, and the eclectic food selection from many Brooklyn restaurants and food truck staples was a little overwhelming, especially at 11am.  I was met by one of m Brooklyn-ite coworkers who showed me around, and I enjoyed the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten from Dough, fried anchovies from Bon Chovie, and ramp vinaigrette from Right Tasty.

After that, I headed to a special saison tasting at a local bar, a tour of Brooklyn Brewery, and then I hopped the subway to Prospect Park.  This large park in Brooklyn had a completely different feel than Central Park, with more families of all ethnicities grilling out and playing.  I was able to find a quiet spot on the lake to read, and then another local coworker met me for a walk around the park (yep, lots of walking).  We then met up with another colleague for dinner at Brooklyn Fish Camp, where I enjoyed some fried green tomatoes, mussels, and hush puppies.

Even with a fun day in Brooklyn, I had more plans and took a very long subway ride up to south Harlem (Morningside Heights) where a coworker was having an apartment warming party.  I had fun there, but maybe most importantly learned about a fun event I needed to check out the following day.

The view of Manhattan from Smorgasburg

Brooklyn Brewery was packed, but they had some great beer you can’t get in Indiana

Beautiful Prospect Park

A quiet spot near the ducks

On Sunday I wanted to start the day by heading downtown to Battery Park and taking the ferry to Governors Island, basically a large park set up where the army used to be stationed to protect the waterways of New York.  There are still old buildings and barracks there, along with a fort and battery.  Part of the fun in visiting is getting out on the water and getting a good spot to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  After walking around the island (and taking lots of photos), I headed up to Central Park to see my friends Erik and Amanda, who were in town for a wedding.  Yes, Erik and I had just spent some quality time together at a tennis tournament in Cincinnati, but I swear we don’t always plan our travel together.  Erik and Amanda were also celebrating their one-year anniversary, which was apropos because he originally proposed in NYC.  We chatted while they had a caricature drawn, and then we had a late lunch before they headed back to Cleveland.  It was nice to add a trip to Central Park to my itinerary, since I hadn’t planned for that.  Thank goodness for the speedy subway.

Originally I didn’t have any plans for Sunday night, although I knew of a few options for free plays and such.  On Saturday night, thanks to a coworker, I learned about a free music festival in downtown Brooklyn I should attend.  I had never been to that part of Brooklyn, so to make my “all over Brooklyn” weekend complete, I decided to go.  The music festival was called Afro Punk Fest, and it was a blast.  It featured a BMX/skateboarding park where guys were doing stunts, lots of food trucks, and two stages with popular urban artists. I got to see Janelle Monae, who I’m now a big an of, and a band I already liked a lot, TV on the Radio, perform.  Both put on fantastic live shows, and I was glad I made the trip.

A view from the ferry

Downtown Manhattan

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty

I ran into a couple goats on Governors Island.  Not expecting to see that in NYC.

People enjoying a picnic on the island

The battery

Fort Jay

The Brooklyn Bridge in front and Manhattan Bridge behind

The skate park at Afro Punk

The Empire State Building, as seen from downtown Brooklyn (DUMBO – Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)

On Monday night, I was lucky enough to win an online lottery for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, a summer ritual of putting on world-class plays in an outdoor theater in Central Park.  The only way to get tickets is to wait in line for seven hours or enter the daily online lottery.  I tried every day I was in the city, and it was so exciting to win on Monday.  It was even better, because it was the final week of the show, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, which featured Amy Adams.  I went with a work colleague who was also a musical theater buff, so I learned a lot including some unique things they did in this production.  The cast was phenomenal, and the show was superb.  The Broadway veteran playing the witch sounded quite familiar, and I realized afterwards that she voiced Mother Gothel in the Disney Rapunzel film Tangled.  These are the things you notice when you have a three-year-old.  We enjoyed an evening on the Upper West Side with a fantastic dinner at Vai (some of the best ravioli of my life, and fried artichokes are always a good thing) and drinks at a few local pubs.

Tuesday was my day at the US Open, but I’ll post about that separately.  It was amazing, and I spent the entire day and evening there watching tennis and crossing Grand Slam number two off the list.  If I had to be away from the family for so long, at least I was able to do a lot of fun things to maximize my time away, but I couldn’t wait to get home. The work meetings also went really well, for what it’s worth.