Read. Teach. Travel.: New York-style Foodie Adventure (and the Courtney Wedding)

We've been back from New York for a week now, but (being birthday week) it was a bit busy and I didn't have a chance to blog all of the tasty things we ate yet, so here it goes. (Beware, this is a lengthy post with lots of details about several course meals.)

Joe and I had both been to NYC on several occasions both separately and together before this, which released us from the pressure to site-see and tourist-it-up on this visit. We were mostly there to celebrate the wedding of our friends Devin and Amy, for which Joe was a groomsman. The wedding itself was in Connecticut, but the bride and groom live in Manhattan and JFK is the easiest airport, so we used the opportunity to cash in our last three free hotels.com reward nights (saved from our European travel adventures last year) and have a relaxing few days in the city, filled mostly with wandering from one gourmet experience to the next.

Devin and Amy live on the Upper West Side, so we situated ourselves mostly on the lower west corner of Central Park near everything we cared about: nature, restaurants, Shake Shack, the Hayden Planetarium, the Natural History Museum, and more trees than cars. Yup, just like in London, we like to trick ourselves into thinking we're not actually in a bustling metropolis by surrounding ourselves with an oasis of green.

Central Park, walking the plane off

First day:
We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and took the subway in to our hotel (after a year of nothing but public transportation, there was no way we would spend $60+ for a taxi; the subway is easy enough from JFK if you plan your suitcases accordingly and definitely have a working map app. I used CityMapper, the same app I used in London, which works in many major cities around the world.)

One of the things we definitely can't readily get in north county San Diego is good dim sum, so that was a priority. We chose Red Farm for its location but we would have traveled further if it hadn't also been on Zagat's top 10 lists for Chinese food, dim sum, AND soup dumplings in Manhattan. Three separate Top 10 Zagat distinctions for one restaurant in a city known for its restaurants? Sold.

Dim Sum choice: Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings
Pac Man was a tempura sweet potato on a stand of guacamole (weird for a Chinese restaurant but actually delicious). Each of the little "ghosts" had a different flavor combined with shrimp: lobster, leek & mushroom, blue crab, bamboo shoots. This is a Red Farm specialty and was recommended by our server. (A+)

Soup Dumplings: Pork and crab mix.
We'd never had soup dumplings before, but since we'd heard that Red Farm was one of the Top 10 places to get them, we had to at least try them. Basically, soup dumplings are exactly what the name suggests: soup in a dumpling. There was a soy mixture to pour into the dumpling once you'd drunk the broth part, but I preferred them without. Either way, yum. (B)

Main Dishes: Wok Fried string beans and brussel sprouts, BBQ'd beef fried rice
Drinks: Blackberry Ginger-Lime soda, Cucumber Thyme cooler
For the whole first trimester of my pregnancy, green vegetables have been a MAJOR food aversion. Even the smell of broccoli could put me off my whole dinner. Joe and I both commented many times throughout this trip how happy we were that my eating has basically stabilized, especially because I would not have enjoyed our cuisine adventures nearly as much (or at all) if this trip had been just a few weeks earlier.

One example is this dish of green beans and brussels sprouts. It was tossed with a savory blend of garlic, onion, and sweet brown sauce and was absolutely delicious. (A+)

The drinks were also extremely tasty, if also especially pungent. Mine was listed as blackberry ginger-lime, but it should've been GINGER (blackberry-lime) for better accuracy. It was distinctive and yummy but had more than a little bite of ginger. Joe's, similarly, was VERY cucumber with a little thyme, which he loved. (B, mostly because some people won't go for drinks this strong)

The fried rice dish was also good, though I'm the wrong person to ask about meat dishes at the moment. Joe thought the beef was delish, though, and ended up eating most of what I left behind. (B)

I'm not going to lie, Red Farm was expensive for us. We both agree that it was completely worth it and we knew that having a food-based vacation in Manhattan meant we'd have some steep bills, so we would absolutely recommend it to others looking for the experience. (overall A)

After dinner we walked down Broadway to the corner of Central Park and eventually made it back to our hotel via a quick detour to Shake Shack for evening treats - a strawberry almond milk shake for Joe and a creamy, strawberry cheesecake "concrete" (frozen custard) for me. More on Shake Shack later, though.

Day 2
Breakfast on Day 2 was at Good Enough to Eat, a comfort food stop that was highly recommended for us and I'm shocked wasn't covered wall-to-wall in Americana. We got the apple pancakes (B) and Astoria omelette (A) with a side of thick-cut, crispy bacon. We enjoyed our breakfast enough that we forgot to take pictures, but if you're on the Upper West side and have TWO days for big breakfasts, save one for this place (the first one should go to our other breakfast stop).

From there we decided to head down to the southern tip of Manhattan for one site that we had not seen (because it wasn't done yet): One World Trade Center. A few weeks before our trip, Joe saw this video of the elevator ride to One World Observatory and, since we can't pass up a high place with a sweeping view, we knew this newest of New York sites had to be on our itinerary.

southern facade from directly below

Walking up to the tower is somewhat daunting. Even in NY, this building is meant to stand out and the symbolism of the whole area hits pretty hard. The 9/11 memorial, which can feel like a park if you are just enjoying the scenery, is pretty spectacular. (My photos didn't do it justice, so I borrowed some.) The spots where each of the towers used to stand is now a recessed multi-level waterfall into an infinity pool. It has the illusion of falling directly into the ground forever. Each is bordered by a ring that bears the names of the people who died and the police and fire stations who came to the aide of survivors. Moving but also beautiful.

The elevator to the See Forever observatory ascends over 100 stories in less than a minute and includes video that takes the rider from the prehistoric bedrock of Manhattan to modern day in the same time. When you arrive on the observatory deck, the "reveal" is also breath-taking, but it's worth not spoiling it for those who will have the experience themselves, especially since it had been open for less than a month when we got to go.

Downtown, with the Empire State Building almost dead center

view of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges

The day we went was a bit hazy, but sometimes you can't do anything about that. We've both seen the view of the city from the Empire State Building and now from way down south, but we still have one high place to knock off our list: Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. (We've been told that this is actually the best of the views, despite not being the highest, because you can see all of the major landmarks - Empire and WTC included - PLUS Central Park, which is one thing we couldn't see from the One World Observatory.)

Thursday evening was the Rehearsal Dinner at Calle Ocho inside the Excelsior Hotel. When choosing our first hotel for the weekend we were between this one and another but quickly decided on Excelsior when we realized it would give us zero commute to the rehearsal dinner. Great option even if you don't have an event there - it's less than a block from the 81st Street Subway station, one street over from the Natural History Museum and faces Hayden Planetarium. It's on the corner of 81st and Columbus, ridiculously close to Central Park, Shake Shack, and tons of great restaurants - all of the amenities we cared about. The room was decent-sized, too, especially for Manhattan; we even had a small sitting room in addition to our bedroom.

Calle Ocho is a Latin restaurant with exciting takes on traditional dishes and drinks. They're known (partly) for their extensive sangria options, which I was particularly disappointed about missing out on (I don't miss wine really, but damn I could go for a cocktail sometimes). We were on a limited menu because of the event, but Joe has already agreed to go back to this restaurant the next time we're in New York because there are so many things I still want to try (Chivita salad and Langosta ceviche just to start). Here's what we did have:

Appetizers
Arepa: sweet corn cake, ropa vieja, creole salad, crema nata (A+)
This dish was excellent. Everyone who had it couldn't stop commenting about how rich and wonderful it was and how we all would've eaten it as a main course. Honestly the sizes of the appetizers here was really satisfying and it might be possible to make a meal out of a few of them, especially if you want to do a tapas-style dinner and share with someone else.

Calamari frito with honey, cashews, salad (B)

Mains
Vegetarian Mushroom Paella, chosen entirely because I'm having a major aversion to chicken and I didn't want steak or fish. If I had had the whole menu to choose from or I hadn't been pregnant, this would have been a very different story. (B-)
Bistec: steak with chimichurri verde and steak fries - delicious but not enough veggies to please Joe (A-)

Dessert:
Crema Catalana - basically coconut and dulce de leche creme brulee (B+)

Afterwards we headed out to a few local bars for the after party. I, of course, couldn't drink, but Dive 75 did have candy!

with the bride- and groom-to-be

Friday morning we had time for one more big breakfast in the city, so we chose to walk a few blocks west to Sarabeth's. In terms of atmosphere, Sarabeth's is the absolute opposite of Good Enough to Eat - chic, white, and clean, though it still felt comfortable and homey. This, again, was a bit of a splurge but definitely worth it. There are 5 locations, so if you're near any of them, it's worth going for breakfast or lunch.

We ordered the Four Flowers juice (A++), Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (A+), and Spinach & Goat Cheese Omelette (A). Everything was completely scrumptious and filling. We couldn't even finish the famous scone and jam that came on the side of the omelette we were so full. The lunch menu, it should be said, also looked amazing and there were definitely items we would go back to try, especially after seeing the flight of ice cream sandwiches delivered to a nearby table. (O.M.G.)

After breakfast, we wandered Central Park for a bit before taking the train to Connecticut. Here's me at 18 weeks pregnant and Joe, just because.

In Connecticut we stayed in Stamford. I have no idea why anyone we know would be going to Stamford, but if they are we would recommend the Sheraton hotel. It's walking distance to the train station and a cute little downtown that had a bunch of restaurants that looked worth trying. The hotel itself also had a pretty tasty menu and a nice bar area.

The Main Event:

Amy & Devin's Wedding at Waveny House

#thedevinandamyshow

Introducing Benjamita

Congratulations, Courtneys!

With just one full day back in the city after the wedding, we went full fledge gourmet and jumped on Benjamita's reservation at Lincoln Ristorante, a Michelin-rated, locally-sourced, Italian experience in Lincoln Center. At $76 pp for a 4-course prix fixe meal, we felt this was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. The menu changes regularly depending on seasonal ingredients and various themes, so it doesn't make much sense for me to give specific recommendations. Instead, you can drool over these:

Appetizer:
Caprese salad made with mozzarella di bufula, heirloom tomatoes, basil, and mint (A+ - even Joe loved this and he usually won't eat raw tomatoes)

Primi:
Strozzapretti Neri: squid ink pasta, shrimp, pork sausage, beans, basil, bread crumbs for texture (A+)
Ravioli di Piseli: English pea and ricotta filled pasta (separately - I've never seen anything like it), shiitake mushrooms, brown butter (A+)

Secondi:
Anatra Arrosta: Duck breast and confit of leg, grilled peaches, and peppercorn-cardamom au jus (A+)
Bisteca alla Griglia: Wagyu top sirloin, parsnip puree, spring onion (A+)

Dessert:
Cheesecake: Goat's milk & ricotta cheescake, pistacio sauce, limoncello cream, honey ice cream (A+)
Chocolate & Hazelnut: Chocolate gelato, hazelnut cream (A+)

We honestly can't say enough about this restaurant and have vowed to embrace the Michelin experience whenever the opportunity presents itself again. We were lucky enough to share the event with two other amateur gourmands, Ben and Amita, who savored every course with as much appreciation as we did. (Lincoln also offers a wine pairing for the 4-course, which is absolutely worth sharing with another person., like they did.)

Our last day in New York had only one major event on the schedule: Shake Shack. Fortunately, this was also on Devin and Amy's schedule. (For this last part we stayed at the Warwick Hotel just south of the park, which we would also recommend though it was a bit noisier.)

There are many people with opinions about hot dogs in New York, and I know there are probably thousands of options, but Shake Shack is the only one we care about. They also serve burgers, frozen custards, and crinkle cut fries with the best cheese sauce you've ever had. The outdoor location in Madison Square Park has been featured in movies and television shows, but we tend toward the one at the corner of the Natural History Museum on the corner of Columbus and 77th. No trip to New York would be complete without a visit. (Each location does have a slightly different menu, though, and the frozen custard and shake flavors vary, which could be fun to try.)