My first time in New York was in 2008 and I hated it. I’m trying to remember what my expectations were. My guess was that it was going to be cute, quaint and romantic, a seed I’m sure was planted from the many romantic comedies set in New York. I was here with my family and from what I remember, our agenda was statue of liberty, wall street and the new York Stock Exchange, Times Square, the Empire State building observatory and Grand Central. Some of the views are certainly arresting but nothing about it was cute or romantic and New York just isn’t quaint.
Fast forward 14 years to today. I’ve lived here for almost 4 years and every day feels like another page in my love letter to the city. Over the last couple of years that I’ve lived here, I’ve met people that have polarizing opinions about New York. They either love it or hate it. It’s either too loud and messy and chaotic or, if you’re like me, it’s just loud enough, the mess is tolerable and the chaos is exciting. Coming here from India, crowded and noisy is normal so a life without that just feels boring. One of my best friends told me she was moving to New York this year and had a similar feeling about New York to me pre-living here. If all you see of New York is Times Square, it’s hell on earth. When she was trying to make the decision to move, she came to visit and all I had to do to change her mind about New York was seem happy and not go to Times Square. Worked like a charm and she moves here in October.
This past week, I had another friend from college stay with me. She had never been to New York so wanted to see everything and do everything. She even shared a spreadsheet with me with a list of everything she was interested in. I can’t think of anything (other than food) that is more my love language than being asked to plan something with defined expectations and using a spreadsheet. I was on cloud 9. Now that the week is behind us and I can confirm that it was a resounding success, I wanted to memorialize what we did so you and I can both recreate this for the New York lovers and haters.
Day 1
My friend arrived on a Saturday afternoon. The summer humidity heatwave had just ended and it was cool outside – already a good sign that the week was off to a great start. After eating some homemade aloo paratha and dal (not a traditional accompaniment but hey it was hot and available so why not?). We then headed out for Bathtub Gin, my favorite speakeasy in Chelsea. I also love gin so this isn’t surprising. After a quick, fancy gin and tonic there, we walked to Rosa Mexicano by Union Square for dinner. We were so full on the aloo paratha and gin that we just ordered a couple of margaritas and chips and guac. The semi dinner really gave us a second wind and we walked all the way up Fifth Avenue to Bryant Park and then meandered over to Times Square. Yes we did go to Times Square on day 1. It was a request that I couldn’t deny but also if you start there, the agenda for the rest of the week just seems incredible right?
New York Moment: Times Square at night 🙂
Day 2
I was particularly excited for this one because this was my ideal Sunday. We woke up late, got bagels at Leo’s and sat by the water to eat them. My go-to bagel order is a toasted Sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese and a slice of tomato. The only time that changes is when I’m hungover and then it’s egg and cheese on a toasted sesame bagel. I used to be a buttered bagel gal but I don’t have bagels nearly enough to give up the creamy oniony experience (and definitely not in peak tomato season).
After the bagels, we headed out to Central Park for a little picnic. We picnic’d with Wolffer Estate rose, dutch cubed cheese, crackers with lemon and dill hummus, olives, grapes and brownies. I can’t think of a better picnic spread. Oh wait, we also played Taylor Swift and Harry Styles the entire time. Now I can’t think of a better spread.
After walking through the park (the lake, the great lawn, the weird snake man by Bethesda Fountain), we made our way to Dhamaka in the East Village. We were pooped at this point but not pooped enough to enjoy a fabulous meal. (I’ve talked about my feelings on Dhamaka here but the TLDR is it’s always excellent)
New York Moment: Everything about this day. Good food, central park and views
Day 3
Day 3 was a Monday and we both had to go to work with after-work events planed on both ends so the foodie in me took a backseat as I manifested my inner Chad while golfing. WOW
New York Moment: Not food related but the Empire State was colored orange, white and green for India’s Independence day and I cried
Day 4
Today was ramen and a comedy show- another Vish eats (slurps) delish classic night. We went to Ippudo which is my absolute favorite ramen in the city. I love all noodles but the vegetarian ramen at a lot of other ramen places that I’ve tried takes backseat to whatever pork option is available. Ippudo is an exception. My go-to is the Nirvana Karaka Spicy with an added egg (tamago). I can’t get enough of it. I’ve eaten at both the east village and the upper west side locations but slightly prefer the east village location because the decor and table set up is really cool!
We walked to the Cellar after and laughed our bums off. 10/10 all around.
New York Moment: Comedy!
Day 5
All the walking and exploring left us dersiring a brief break so this was our stay in day so we ordered in Chinese food and watched a movie. Han Dynasty is my latest takeout Chinese food favorite. Their Dan Dan noodles are sticky and peanut-y and amazing. We didn’t order it this time but I also love their Mapo tofu. An added benefit is that they offer a no pork option which makes my vegetarian heart oh so happy! We also watched Rachel Getting Married and hmmm..confusing..
New York Moment: Couch Chinese takeout
Day 6
We each had our plans for this day (mine were laundry and washing my hair while hers were actually going out) but fate intervened and we had the option to explore again. We wanted to get Thai food and visited another one of my takeout go tos – Lan Larb Chiang Mai. I’d never been to their actual location because of the joys of delivery but was excited to try. Since we went heavy on the noodles all week, I was craving their spicy basil fried rice that I never order because I’m usually craving noodles. You know how sometimes you look forward to something for hours and then the real deal disappoints because your expectations were too high? That did not happen. The fried rice was truly incredible. We ended the night in bed watching Princess Diaries because we needed a cleanse after last night’s movie
New York Moment: Great food for every mood
Day 7
We worked from home on this day so I had to bring out a impress my house guest classic – homemade parottas and egg curry. It’s easily one of my favorite meals so watching someone else enjoy it gave me so much joy. My favorite parotta recipe is linked here. I don’t even speak Malayalam but 1) i love the sound of the language and 2) it’s a foolproof recipe. I don’t have a special egg curry recipe but I do use the Aachi egg curry masala. Buy it ASAP. It’s so yummy.
I was hyped for the evening’s plans. We got dolled up and went to La Pecora Bianca for dinner, after which we saw Hadestown. I’d never been to La Pecora even though everyone I know has been multiple times. We were still a little full from the parottas so we each got a pasta and a drink. I got a negroni per usual but they had one with prosecco instead of gin which I now have to recreate at home and may be woven in to my cocktail rotation. I ordered the garganelli which was mushroom-y and basil-y and was scarfed down in a few minutes. There were two sets of people that sat at the tables around us that had very entertaining conversations that we eavesdropped on the entire time.
After dinner, we walked to the Walter Kerr theatre for Hadestown. I’d seen this one before but I was so sure my friend would love it and really didn’t mind watching it again because of how incredible it is. It all went according to plan and we listened to the soundtrack for the rest of the trip (Waaaaaaait for me, I’m comiiiiiiing) and debated following your heart vs. being practical. We capped off the night with a stroll to Rockefeller Center, around Radio City Music Hall and took the subway home from Grand Central.
New York Moment: Broadway!
Day 8
After a slow start to today, we were going to Brooklyn. I whipped up some peach french toast that was perfect (if I say so myself) and we prepped for the long walk ahead.
We walked the Brooklyn bridge into Dumbo – one of the first things I did on my first solo trip to New York after the first visit when I hated everything. It was untenably hot so that was not ideal but there was a cool breeze in the air that made it slightly bearable. I haven’t spent a ton of time in Brooklyn so some of this stuff was new to me too but we went to the Brooklyn flea market, I bought a stunning pear of turquoise earrings and took our lunch break at the Time Out Market. My friend had some spicy basil fried rice at the Wayla outpost because she just couldnt get it out of her head after the other day and I had some bhel puri from Chote Miyan because I can never get bhel out of my head. We were both so exhausted from our time in the sun so don’t really have any pictures from that excursion. It was also a perfect day to have some ice cream so after lunch, we walked across the street to Oddfellows and walked over to Brooklyn Bridge Park to be lazy in the shade. I tried the “Journey to Outer Space” which was a miso caramel flavor and really enjoyed myself. My friend had a strawberry sorbet which was incredibly refreshing. We were stopped by two women at the park who asked us where to get the ice cream because we were visibly enjoying ourselves.
After some shut eye in the park, we walked by the water to Fornino – my favorite spot for sunset views of Manhattan. The music is questionable at best but the vibe and the pizzas never fail to impress. After the long and tiring day, we had a couple of beers and split a delightful mushroom pizza. I’ve been here a bunch of times and I also recommend the corn. It’s so cheesy and crunchy and sweet. I haven’t had a disappointing evening or pizza here.
We went home at what felt like 11 pm but was actually only 8 pm and slept several hours. Huge success.
New York Moment: A view that takes your breath away
Day 9
Our final day together. We woke up early for a non- Formula 1 Sunday (8:30 am) and made our way to Dominique Ansel’s Bakery in Soho to try the famous cronut. We were there about 40 minutes after they opened and waited in line for ~20 minutes before we could go in and order. I pivoted in the moment to also order the DKA which they had dubbed one of their specialties. I had tried a kouign amman in Hawaii as well and it was salty sweet and interesting that I had to try it again. We had a mango chocolate cronut which was so flaky and every bite melted in our mouths.
I don’t have the biggest sweet tooth so it was a little too sweet for me but I can certainly appreciate it. The DKA stole the show for me. It was the right salt and sweet mix that really hit the spot. That and the coffee together made for a great breakfast.
We walked by the water and once home, my friend packed her bags while I prepped my ultimate goodbye meal – rasam rice and beans (but also broccoli because I ran out of beans) poriyal. I’ve talked about rasam ad nauseum on here and what else can I say – it is the ultimate comfort food. I had rasam rice for 3 days straight when I had covid and I’m convinced it cured me. She went back to Dallas, hopefully with a belly full of rasam and a head full of memories.
After she left, I went on a long run, talked to my family, did a face mask and went to bed. I fell asleep content.
New York Moment: Waiting on line for something instagram famous
This was the longest blog post I’ve written and there’s still so much I haven’t talked about. I’m obsessed with this city and that it’s the backdrop of my life today. This week, it was the backdrop for two old friends reconnecting over Rachel and everybody else getting married, over the same quirks, over new habits and of course, over food.
P.S – Thank you Ashika for some of the pictures and all the company 🙂
Vish Eats Delish 