New York, Part 1

I’m going to break up my New York recap over a couple of days since I have tons of photos and delicious meals to share. It was exactly what I needed after a really stressful week last week — get out of town, see friends who I sadly don’t see too often and eat my way around the city.

Kristen and I took the early bus up to the city and made it to Teddy‘s gorgeous condo just past noon. He and his sister own a great place on the Upper East Side, just blocks from Central Park.

We dropped off our stuff and headed straight for the Met. Haven’t been there in years!

Teddy was able to score us free tickets — thanks! — and we headed straight for the Egyptian wing, where an entire temple has been transported to New York.

Next, we headed over to the newly-opened American wing. Isn’t this a pretty space?

Wouldn’t this be a great addition to a house?

Next, we headed way uptown to the Cloisters, an ancient monastery brought over stone-by-stone from Europe. It’s hard to believe you’re still in Manhattan up there.

I was so happy to be out of DC that I jumped for joy… and almost flashed Manhattan.

With my lovely host:

Can you believe this is still New York City?!

Walking around was like being back in Europe. Very peaceful and filled with European art ranging from 1000+ years old to just a few hundred. The Cloisters is also home to the famous Unicorn Tapestries.

Heading back to Teddy’s condo to change for dinner, we passed by the Guggenheim. Still haven’t been there!

For dinner, we went down to the East Village to Westville, which I first read about on Leslie‘s blog. They emphasis sustainable practices and fresh market produce.

The highlight are the market sides, which you can order individually or as a platter, which is naturally what I did.

It was packed! We had to wait more than 30 minutes for a table but it was absolutely worth it.

I ordered a market sides platter with broccoli rabe, honey dijon brussels sprouts, sweet potato fries and sesame seed tofu.

These brussels sprouts were phenomenal–by far the best I’ve ever had. I could have eaten an entire bowl and been perfectly satisfied! The sweet potato and broccoli rabe were also perfect.

The only downside was the tofu, which was so salty that I couldn’t eat it. By this point, though, it was nearly 9:30 and I didn’t want to waste time by complaining about it, plus I was totally stuffed after eating the other three options.

Westville: awesome. But avoid the tofu!

One final stop that brought back memories: norebang!

Oh, yes, I have many a-picture like this from my Korea days. Gotta belt out some Whitney Houston!

That’s right, private room karaoke. So fun! We sang until nearly 1am before calling it a night and taking the bus back to Teddy’s place for some much-needed sleep — Kristen and I had been on-the-go since 6am!

Tomorrow: coffee with a long-lost Londonite, brunch with my ‘twin’and foodie paradise at Chelsea Market.