It occurred to us that we
both had the hope of visiting New York during the
Christmas season not long after knowing each other. Like
many, my initial image of Christmas came from watching
Home Alone 1 and 2. The shrill cries of the burglars after
that succumbed to an alarming number of booby-traps placed
by a little kid, the running throughout the streets of New
York and Central Park in particular, and the pigeon lady
was my idea of the holiday season for many a years. While
we were both well older than the little boy in Home Alone,
we both wanted to come to this city and satisfy our
childish dreams of seeing the City during this time of
year.
This trip we wanted to accomplish a few things including
seeing the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, ice skate
outdoors somewhere in the City, window shop just to get
a glimpse of the holiday window decorations, and eat to
our hearts content. Although we had both been to New
York before, one of us seemed to miss out on a lot of
the tourist attractions the first time around so we went
and did some of that as well.
Walking around the city, we realized how small we were.
The buildings tower over you from all sides. Vancouver
sure isn't like this by any means and neither is London,
mind you.
T H E A C T I V I T I E S
We did a lot during our short stay in the City but
without a doubt one of the highlights was seeing the
Nutcracker at the Lincoln Theatre. Performed by the New
York City Ballet, it was really something else. I think
living in Europe introduced me to musicals and
orchestras and I'm glad I got to see this after because
I wouldn't have appreciated it as much had I not known
what to expect. A good way to jump start the holiday
cheer I think!
Among the other Christmassy things we got up to included
going to the Rockefeller Center (we ice skated under the
Christmas tree, went up to the top of the rock, and took
a crap load of pictures), walking along the decorated
5th avenue, and eat to our hearts content.
I N D U L G E N C I E S
With all the food options available in NYC, we had to
come up with a list of places we wanted to try out prior
to our trip. This also forced us to make reservations
early considering some of the restaurants that we wanted
to go to are usually booked at least one month in
advance. Our list included bakeries, food trucks,
diners, cafes, restaurants and food stalls at the
Christmas Market. Some of the places we visited that we
would recommend to anyone?
Degustation
An amazing restaurant recommended by
Alice, this restaurant was located in the east
village. The space was small but the food was
innovative, extremely tasty, and the portions small
enough that you can a variety of dishes. One of the
best meals that we've ever had, hands down. We will be
writing a review on this restaurant so stay tuned for
that.
Sushi Yasuda
Sushi in New York when we have loads
of such establishments in Vancouver? I may have
doubted it at first but not anymore. The omakaze was
delicious and the sushi was some of the best I've ever
had. I would rival it with Sushi Sam's in San Mateo,
California as the best sushi I have had the pleasure
of eating.
Basso 56
I have been to this restaurant
before but Janice had not. Located centrally between
Times Square and Central Park, this is a small italian
restaurant. I had the wild boar ragu with in-house
made pasta once again and it was just as I had
remembered it - delicious. She had the seafood pasta
pictured below.
Clinton Street Bakery
One of the breakfast spots that I
was most excited about visiting was without a doubt
this restaurant. We were lucky to get a seat so
quickly but soon after there was a queue out the door.
We had the caramelized banana waffle and the blueberry
pancakes. Sounds simple right? Well, if it is, they
simply did it better than anyone else. Could rank as
the best breakfast I have had anywhere in the world.
Shake Shack
One rainy afternoon, as I was pale
with hunger, we visited this fast food place that is
commonly compared to In and Out Burger in California.
I might have been trembling at the time but I was
thoroughly satisfied. Great burger and great fries. We
were lucky to even get a seat, there was a ton of
people there looking for them. Would definitely come
back here again.
Honorable Mentions
We'll let the pictures do the
talking :)
T H E A C C O M M O D A T I O N S
We stayed at the Paramount Hotel in Times Square.
Affordable and extremely central. Between cabbing and
taking the subway, we got to all our destinations
without much of a hitch. Just one oddity we noticed?
Cabs will not pick you up during certain times of the
day (something like a changeover period). So if you
notice that you're failing to get a cab at a point
during the evening, that may be it?
T H O U G H T S
Though it was our second time in New York, I think it's
safe to say that we enjoyed New York more this time
around. The food we had was fantastic and I can't wait
to come back again - if only for the food and coffee.
This blog post turned out to be uber long so I apologize
for that - it is definitely picture heavy! We hope you
enjoyed it though!
We will be churning out a few restaurant reviews for
this City so tune in for that soon!
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