by Ester Harrison
I love the Northeast. There is something about all the history, culture, and architecture that has always made me feel at home. I also appreciate the fact that I can usually get my fill of sights, sounds and tastes when I am there.
Last Fall, Matt and I had planned to surprise a friend in New York for his birthday. But, with all the chaos of his accident and the knowingly frigid temperature in December, we rescheduled for this Spring. We are lucky to have a ton of friends and some family in and around New York City, so staying there is always a bit more interesting and easier on the budget.
Our first stop was booking it from Laguardia to Brooklyn- Bushwick to be exact. I've stayed here before, so I knew my way a little better this time. I truly love Brooklyn. It's funky, and still developing into it's own. It is a good blend of sketchy meets artsy meets hip. While we waited for our friends to get off work we wandered off to find some libations to pass the time. Our choice? Little Mo's was a recommendation that our hosts had, and it was awesome. Specializing in Vietnamese treats meets hipster, I selected the Shorty Rice Bowl and a canned Underwood Rosé from Oregon. 'Nuff said.
After meeting up with our friends and wandering through the Jeppe Heim Please Touch the Art benches at Brooklyn Bridge Park, we ventured to Roberta's for our Texas meets New York welcome dinner. We felt so lucky that six of our friends (traveling from various points in NYC) were able to meet us for out of this world pizza in this well established piece of heaven in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The night ended as any night should, chatting and walking the streets of New York.
The next day we set off for our city adventure to see the Munch and Expressionism exhibition at the Neue Galerie. After spending a couple of hours in the museum soaking in all of the beautiful German Expressionism, I needed some sustenance of the tube-shaped variety. I can't venture to New York City without having at least one hot dog, and this trip was no exception. Friends and family have all laughed at me, but in my opinion the best (must be: all-beef kosher) hot dog in the city is on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What's the name of the stand? No clue, but I've always found it there.
After strolling through Central Park, it was time to head to the train station for our next adventure. While waiting for our train, we decided to get a last drink and bite near Pennsylvania Station. We were all surprised to see The Pennsy, a new food hall concept located right at Madison Square Garden. A glass of wine from the Pennsy Bar and a Country Ham, Truffle & Cheese sandwich from Pat La Frieda's, and we were off to catch our train to New Jersey.
Our train took us to the sleepy New Jersey college town or Madison, where we were visiting family. We were able to slow it down a bit. We spent the next days exploring Drew University, cooking together (we made a pretty amazing Chicken Curry), playing card games and getting to check out some real estate in the Morristown and Essex Counties. Our hosts are in the market to buy and homes in the Northeast are very different from Texas houses. Sometimes you need a couple of days in the fresh air and large trees to regenerate from the city. From there it was on to our Hudson River Valley adventure, which I will talk about further in another post.
After our road trip in the Hudson River Valley, we said goodbye to our Mini-Cooper rental in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow and caught the Metro-North Railroad—Hudson line train to Harlem to stay with friends from Texas. After some homemade chicken enchiladas and a board game later we were off to explore the bar and restaurant scene in the East Village. Never would I have imagine the crazy adventure in store for us over the next 12 hours. After getting caught in some serious train congestion and rush-hour traffic we wandered, slowly, down to Cienfuegos. A hip little restaurant featuring shared punch bowls and Cuban delicacies. Next, we met the rest of the group (the New Jersey contingency) and walked over to PDT, a word of mouth bar hidden inside Crif Dogs that features classic cocktails as well as some twisted creations and adult-style hot dogs. Make sure you get a reservation, or you won't get in. From there we wandered back to Harlem, since our flight was in the early hours. Always planning in advance, I set my alarm and figured I was good to go.
Wrong. We woke up late and nearly missed our flight but for some seriously amazing luck. I blame the punch, the Staggerac and the hot dogs, but if I had to relive it- I wouldn't change anything about that day. Except maybe grabbing our bagels on the way out of town.
SEE:
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Neue Galerie
- Central Park
- East Village
Dine:
- Little Mo's
- Roberta's
- Pine Box Rock Shop
- Cienfuegos
- PDT: Please Don't Tell
- The Pennsy
Stay:
- We stayed with friends. However, there are so many choices and I always go with Hostelworld or AirBnB in a pinch. Areas I prefer include- the East Village and Upper East Side in Manhattan or Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn. Check access to subway and dining for the best locations.