New York in the fall
After going round and round where we wanted to take a trip this fall, we decided on New York City. I hadn’t been in a few years and was excited. We took the train up from Richmond. We left on Thursday at 6am and arrived around 1pm right in the heart of the city. It was a bit chaotic in Midtown getting a cab right at Penn Station and then navigating to our hotel, but still felt like a good, decent way to travel.
We got to our hotel and were able to check in immediately. We changed and got ready for our early evening plans - The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. My mom loves Jimmy (so do my sister and I, but my mom is obsessed). I was able to sign up for free tickets a few weeks before our trip. We wandered around Midtown for a bit then made our way to Rockefeller Center. We had to get in line around 3pm and basically wait around for a little bit, then were arranged in small groups and escorted to the studio. The studio was smaller than I expected, so there was really no bad seat. A little before 5pm they got us all seated then had a hype man start to warm up the crowd. The Roots (Jimmy’s house band) was also there and their front man Questlove assisted with the crowd hype. He was funny! We were told what we needed to do during the show (laugh, clap, etc.) and basically how the format would be.
Then it started. Jimmy came out and the show began. He was very personable and seemed like he actually enjoyed doing this. He had on Robert de Niro and Chloe Fineman. De Niro apparently had been Jimmy’s first guest when he left SNL for Late Night. They talked about that and Robert’s new project. Chloe was on to promote the new SNL season. What I found most fascinating was the production of it all. Where the cameras moved for each shot, how the producer managed the crowd and the staff, etc. Jimmy would also talk to us during commercial breaks which was pretty cool. Overall it took about an hour and half. We laughed and had a lot of fun.
Then we were hungry! We tried to go to to the Rainbow Room in the building, but found out it was closed to the public and only an event space now. After walking outside and remembering (like true tourists) we were in Midtown at 6:30 and would not be able to simply walk into a place to grab a bite or drink, we decided to go to a tried and true - the restaurant at Saks Fifth Avenue. We got fries and some espresso martinis and decided on some dinner plans. We got a few suggestions from a friend of mine who lived there and decided to head to the Upper West Side to Celeste
Celeste is a cash only, hole in the wall Italian restaurant. We were greeted by the owner and sat at one of their 10 tables. We could already tell we were going to love it! We ordered a bottle of red wine and decided on a few dishes. Pizza and pasta of course! It was perfect and homey. A wonderful first meal for our first night. After that we decided to head back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Friday morning was dedicated to shopping! We wandered 5th Avenue and popped into some designer shops, Bergdorf’s, and more. After a bit my sister’s boyfriend met up with us so we could get some lunch. Thomas’ only desire was to go to Milano Market. So, off we went to the Upper East Side market. It was a classic deli. We each ordered our own (HUGE) sandwiches and walked to Central Park to enjoy them. They were delicious and the weather was perfect for a sandwich on a park bench.
Then it was time for a cheers. We headed to The Plaza to get off our feet and sip some champagne. I love The Plaza. It’s wonderful people watching and feels so glamorous. We sat and enjoyed ourselves for a bit then wandered the lobby and hotel shops.
After that my sister, Thomas, and I headed to SoHo for some vintage shopping. We popped into a few shops and then wandered around SoHo and The East Village. We stopped at a sidewalk bar for a quick beer then went to meet up with Thomas’ friend near their East Village apartment. We went to a very cute wine shop and had a great time trying wines suggested by the waitress and a gorgeous charcuterie board.
For dinner we went to Bobby Van’s Steakhouse. This was one of Thomas friend’s favorite spots that he recommended. The bartender knew the friend and even had a “special drink” dedicated to him. The steaks were delicious, as were the sides. After the dinner we sat at the bar for a bit chit chatting with the bartender and just having a grand time.
Saturday was for brunch. One of my favorite somm’s in Richmond had recommended Dirty French so we ventured downtown again. We were greeted by Cesar and he was fabulous. He sat us near the music but made sure we were comfortable with the noise level (they didn’t play too much while we were there, so we were fine). I think it took us 45 minutes to decided what to order because everything looked so good. We did start with the deviled eggs as an appetizer and they were incredible. We also got the oysters Rockefeller and again, incredible. We ended up with steak and eggs and some benedicts. We stayed several hours (at Cesar’s insistence) and had a nice leisure morning. We will absolutely remember that experience for a long time.
For the afternoon we decided to go The Met. We wandered around the ancient Egypt exhibit and then I wandered off to see the Kimono exhibit which was really interesting. We didn’t stay too long but did see a few more of the classics like Van Gogh and Monet.
We had dinner plans at The Polo Club so my sister, Thomas, and I headed out early for a little happy hour. We ended up at one of the hotel bars that was a little bland and instead found a fabulous Bar Baccarat. We loved the vibes and the cocktails. A few of the drinks were served with some theatrics. We could have stayed longer, but we have reservations.
The Polo Bar did not disappoint. We had fairly high expectations based on the legends of this restaurant and it was just as lovely as expected and the food was delicious. We ordered some wine and decided on the menu. I ended up with the special portobello mushroom burger and it was possibly the best burger I have ever had. Everyone else enjoyed their meals. We even got a soup to split that the chef served us in mini glasses so we could share it easier.
After that we wandered to a dive bar down the street where we drank cheap beer and my sister taped a dollar to the ceiling. A very high/low kind of night.
We did a few classic New York highlights, but also happily discovered some wonderful gems we had never heard of before. We headed back on the train Sunday around noon after a fun weekend.
