New York City
A somewhat impromptu trip, I was incentivized by United Airline's cheap fare and discount coupon expiring to head out to the east coast. So here I am this weekend, out to enjoy some good eats and see some friends in the city. Arrived rather late and was able to crash at a friend's place in Brooklyn. Nearing midnight, she was able to take us to a local bar that still served food. Bar Tabac is sort of french gastropub. I had an assortment of brochettes from the bistro bites section of the menu and the brochettes were very good. My favorite was the lamb kebab, excellently prepared. On a side note, the bar takes only cash or Amex....not sure why only Amex but c'est la vie. My friend also introduced me to panache - a half sprite and Stella Artois beer combination. Good stuff.
Took off for the city the next day and checked into the Hampton Inn Manhattan Chelsea. The hotel has been around for a little bit. As expected, the hallways and lobby felt a little small but the room was comfortable. Easy subway access to either the F or the 1-2-3 line, it is a good spot for my purposes. The staff was very courteous and professional, the front desk woman remembered my name every time I saw her. I like it when the hotel staff knows your name when you approach them. :) Since my room was on the top floor of the hotel, I was afforded the view of rooftops and saw a water tower which reminded me of an episode of Dirty Jobs.
Before getting to the hotel, I made a pit stop at Doughnut Plant. After watching Bobby Flay challenge the owner of the Doughnut Plant, I thought to try especially since it was a stop off the subway line. I've had people talk about doughnuts from various "institutions" in cities and I've not been impressed in comparison to the local shops in LA. After a 30 minute wait (the media blitz has worked well for them), I bought various flavors - strawberry glazed, blackout cake doughnut, tres leches cake doughnut, creme brulee, and a peanut butter with blackberry jam doughnut. I would say the yeast doughnuts had a certain chewy texture to it that I don't expect in doughnuts but the flavors were fresh. The cake doughnuts were good, not sure about the yeast versions which usually are my kind of doughnut. Good but not something I would go out of my way for in the future.
Decided to grab something more filling later and went to BonChon Chicken. Having gone to one before, I was expecting the same layout and experience. The chicken wings were tasty and the simple restaurant layout was easy to sit down and eat. After talking to the staff, I found out that the one I went to last year decided to go independent and ditch their Korean franchise. I might go back to Mad for Chicken (formerly known as BonChon) to see if it is the same or different than before.
Took a power nap early evening and headed out to Patsy's in Chelsea. One of the best NY style pizza chains in the city, I always look forward to ordering pepperoni pizza. I usually dislike eating pepperoni but it is always crispy like bacon here. Not the deli like consistency you mostly find with other pizza makers.
Afterwards, headed to East of Eigth for a drink and a Grand Marnier flan. The flan was a perfect consistency, could have done without the Grand Marnier in my opinion.
The next day, headed out to the Statue of Liberty. Decided to check out it out since the weather report indicated that it would be a nice day and didn't have much planned. I will say that getting to and from Liberty Island will take most of your day. The level of security they have can rival airports and the speed of which they process people will rival the DMV. Since I didn't plan a month in advance, the only tickets available was the ferry to the island as well as access to the pedestal of the statue. For those that don't climb on a stairmaster often, there are LOTS of steps inside the statue. Walking up to the pedestal top was 156 steps, doable but it can wear you out. I think there were elevators but I opted to get my excercise in.
Trekked to Harlem to have some bbq at Dinosaur BBQ because of Diners Dives and Drive Ins. Hoping Guy Fieri won't lead me wrong! As it was Mother's Day, the place was packed to the gills and was able to be seated after an hour. I would advise to head for the bar area and stalk the eaters there to sit down faster. If you don't, someone else will snag the open seat. The BBQ was really good - brisket and ribs were excellent. I'm not usually a fan of tomato based bbq sauces but these were tasty. An interesting side dish I've never seen in BBQ restaurants is fried rice. Not really asian style, it was still tasty and was a nice balance to the ribs I was busy chomping on. Finished it off with a chocolate ice box pie slice and it hit the spot. Luckily, I had a Black Board's code and was able to get 30% off my meal too!!
Afterwards, headed to the airport hotel - Hampton Inn JFK Airport. I decided it was better to stay by the airport since I had a 6:30 am flight the next morning and taking the subway from the city is a pain at 4 am. I did make a pit stop at H&H Bagel to take home. My usual bagel shop was too out of the way and I decided to try another. Verdict? Should have gone out of my way... ;p The bagel is good but not as good as the other. For those places that rank best NY bagels, eh.
The hotel seems a bit older. I have to say, the customer service was somewhat lacking. Either it was the timing of the night or the relative crowds the staff was dealing with, it was an average experience. The room was fairly spacious especially in comparison with the Manhattan counterpart. The only plus in my opinion.
Took off for the city the next day and checked into the Hampton Inn Manhattan Chelsea. The hotel has been around for a little bit. As expected, the hallways and lobby felt a little small but the room was comfortable. Easy subway access to either the F or the 1-2-3 line, it is a good spot for my purposes. The staff was very courteous and professional, the front desk woman remembered my name every time I saw her. I like it when the hotel staff knows your name when you approach them. :) Since my room was on the top floor of the hotel, I was afforded the view of rooftops and saw a water tower which reminded me of an episode of Dirty Jobs.Before getting to the hotel, I made a pit stop at Doughnut Plant. After watching Bobby Flay challenge the owner of the Doughnut Plant, I thought to try especially since it was a stop off the subway line. I've had people talk about doughnuts from various "institutions" in cities and I've not been impressed in comparison to the local shops in LA. After a 30 minute wait (the media blitz has worked well for them), I bought various flavors - strawberry glazed, blackout cake doughnut, tres leches cake doughnut, creme brulee, and a peanut butter with blackberry jam doughnut. I would say the yeast doughnuts had a certain chewy texture to it that I don't expect in doughnuts but the flavors were fresh. The cake doughnuts were good, not sure about the yeast versions which usually are my kind of doughnut. Good but not something I would go out of my way for in the future.
Decided to grab something more filling later and went to BonChon Chicken. Having gone to one before, I was expecting the same layout and experience. The chicken wings were tasty and the simple restaurant layout was easy to sit down and eat. After talking to the staff, I found out that the one I went to last year decided to go independent and ditch their Korean franchise. I might go back to Mad for Chicken (formerly known as BonChon) to see if it is the same or different than before.
Took a power nap early evening and headed out to Patsy's in Chelsea. One of the best NY style pizza chains in the city, I always look forward to ordering pepperoni pizza. I usually dislike eating pepperoni but it is always crispy like bacon here. Not the deli like consistency you mostly find with other pizza makers.
Afterwards, headed to East of Eigth for a drink and a Grand Marnier flan. The flan was a perfect consistency, could have done without the Grand Marnier in my opinion.
The next day, headed out to the Statue of Liberty. Decided to check out it out since the weather report indicated that it would be a nice day and didn't have much planned. I will say that getting to and from Liberty Island will take most of your day. The level of security they have can rival airports and the speed of which they process people will rival the DMV. Since I didn't plan a month in advance, the only tickets available was the ferry to the island as well as access to the pedestal of the statue. For those that don't climb on a stairmaster often, there are LOTS of steps inside the statue. Walking up to the pedestal top was 156 steps, doable but it can wear you out. I think there were elevators but I opted to get my excercise in.
Trekked to Harlem to have some bbq at Dinosaur BBQ because of Diners Dives and Drive Ins. Hoping Guy Fieri won't lead me wrong! As it was Mother's Day, the place was packed to the gills and was able to be seated after an hour. I would advise to head for the bar area and stalk the eaters there to sit down faster. If you don't, someone else will snag the open seat. The BBQ was really good - brisket and ribs were excellent. I'm not usually a fan of tomato based bbq sauces but these were tasty. An interesting side dish I've never seen in BBQ restaurants is fried rice. Not really asian style, it was still tasty and was a nice balance to the ribs I was busy chomping on. Finished it off with a chocolate ice box pie slice and it hit the spot. Luckily, I had a Black Board's code and was able to get 30% off my meal too!!Afterwards, headed to the airport hotel - Hampton Inn JFK Airport. I decided it was better to stay by the airport since I had a 6:30 am flight the next morning and taking the subway from the city is a pain at 4 am. I did make a pit stop at H&H Bagel to take home. My usual bagel shop was too out of the way and I decided to try another. Verdict? Should have gone out of my way... ;p The bagel is good but not as good as the other. For those places that rank best NY bagels, eh.
The hotel seems a bit older. I have to say, the customer service was somewhat lacking. Either it was the timing of the night or the relative crowds the staff was dealing with, it was an average experience. The room was fairly spacious especially in comparison with the Manhattan counterpart. The only plus in my opinion.
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