A New York Minute...

36 Hours in NYC

We try to get away for a quick trip every October in celebration of Mark’s Birthday. This year, we opted to head up to NYC for the night to see Chris Hardwick and enjoy the city. We had a wonderful trip filled with cocktails, celebrities, and quality time together. For this trip, we opted to walk and go with the flow. This is NOT my typical MO but it ended up working out pretty well. In this blog, I will name some of our top stops.

Hotel: Arlo NoMad

Mark found a great deal on this hotel located in the Nomad district. While it is expensive to stay in NYC, this hotel had some great bonus opportunities to get the best bang for your bunch.

First, we were greeted with two complimentary tickets for coffee from the NoMad Bodega store. Additionally, were also given two free drink vouchers to the rooftop bar, A.R.T. NoMad. This is a STUNNING rooftop bar that has views of Manhattan and a skywalk that looks down onto the streets of NYC. At Barlo, they offered a Digital Detox from 5:30-7PM which included a complimentary wine Happy Hour. Mark and I put our phones away and enjoyed each other's company. Finally, we also received a free breakfast voucher to Lamalo. This is the Arlo’s Middle Eastern restaurant which offered a beautiful spread for breakfast. In addition to all of this, Arlo NoMad partners with NYC Sports and Social Club and offers their guests free entrance as well as offering yoga classes daily at the Tonehouse or Corepower yoga. Overall, this was a one stop venue.

The rooms were very compact but offered beautiful, wrap-around, floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Our bed was comfy, in room amenities were plentiful, and overall we just enjoyed our stay here!

Drinks: Rolf’s, Loopy Doopy, and The Garret

Rolf’s (Gramercy Park):

This is an all-year German//Christmas themed bar was one we wanted to get to the previous Christmas however, it was wayyyyy too crowded. Fortunately, it is decorated all year, so we went in October with no problems. My review of this bar: GORGEOUS decor but very expensive entrees. I know it wasn’t technically Christmas so maybe the venue wasn’t on their “A-game”, but we felt as though there wasn’t anything particularly magical about this place nor was the staff overly attentive. If I would have waited for an hour to get in, I would have been highly disappointed. However, going on a random October Saturday allowed for us to enjoy a beer & grab a Schnitzel.

Loopy Doopy (Financial District):

Located on top of the Conrad Hotel, Loopy Doopy is known for their alcohol infused popsicle cocktails. I can imagine it is insanely packed on a summer night--we were lucky to have the place almost entirely to ourselves. When you choose one of their $25 cocktails, you choose a base (I chose Rose) and then a Popsicle (I opted for the Raspberry Lime Paloma which had Casamigos Tequila, Raspberry Grapefruit, and Lime. To have one drink was a great stop on our ventures as staying for more than one would obviously break the bank. From the rooftop, you can see the Statue of Liberty and have a great view of the Hudson River.

The Garret (West Village):

When I told Mark about this speakeasy and our Uber dropped us off at a 5 Guys, he was a little questionable of where I was actually taking him. I quickly Googled what we had to do to actually enter the bar area. It was as simple as walking to the back of the store (past the condiments, but not down the stairs for employees only) to a set of stairs that lead you up to a quaint bar with beautifully crafted cocktails. I ordered The First Lady, which consisted of Gin, Combier, Matcha Green Tea, Lemon, Egg White, and Fresh Basil. I wish I could have this cocktail right now as I write about it.

Sites to see: F.R.I.E.N.D.S 25th year Pop Up, Brooklyn Bridge, Caroline’s on Broadway

F.R.I.E.N.D.S 25th year Pop Up:

Before heading up to NYC I looked up tickets to this Pop Up, however, they were all sold out :( Somehow I figured out that there was a Stand-by line that typically didn’t take very long. We started our Sunday by heading down and seeing if the line was worth the wait--which it 100% was worth! Mark decided he didn’t want to go in, so I waited about 15 minutes before I headed into what was a FRIENDS lover’s dream come true. They had everything including the “Pivot” couch, the famous door, Joey & Chandler’s living room, the turkey with sunglasses, and of course the coffee shop couch. There were people stationed at each set to take photos and recreate a scene. Everyone working was so nice and helpful and more than willing to take a fun photo of whatever you wanted. I was so glad that I took the chance to head down there to go in the venue.

Brooklyn Bridge

It’s crazy the amount of times I’ve been to NYC, yet have never been over the Brooklyn Bridge. It is definitely a great spot for walking over with beautiful views. The architectural structure of the bridge is, alone, breathtaking. It was a pleasure to finally be able walk across the bridge I have awed at in movies and TV shows. When we crossed the bridge we walked straight over to the iconic spot of DUMBO that has peak views of the Manhattan Bridge. I was lucky enough to run over 5 bridges during the NYC marathon, yet neither the Manhattan nor Brooklyn were a part of that journey, so it was wonderful to take in the beauty of them both.

Carolines on Broadway!

Carolines was the venue that we were seeing Chris Hardwick at. This is an iconic standup comedy establishment that has a rich history of laughs and comics. We arrived a little early to grab a drink before he let out his earlier show. It was when his first show let out that Mark noticed Ana Gasteyer exiting. I went up to her and froze up, but she was nice enough to take a picture with me! When we entered the venue, it was small and cozy-every spot was pretty good seats. Our seats were amongst a row of two-top tables, where we had a server for drinks and snacks. The show and its opening acts were wonderful & brought us lots of laughs. We were even lucky enough to get in front of the line to meet Chris Hardwick after the show. It was funny because Mark had poked fun at me for freezing up meeting Ana Gasteyer and the same happened to him when he met Hardwick. Overall, we had a wonderful time at the show and I would absolutely recommend seeing Chris Hardwick. Fun fact: He was one of the VJs on Singled Out---obviously that is how I know who he is, not because of the millions of other things he has done with his career :)

FOOD: Eggloo & BCD Tofu House

NYC is known for their restaurants--it can be so overwhelming to choose just one spot. Normally, when we head up, we make reservations for each meal. This time, I kind of suggested just winging it. I was glad we did because we ended up at a few places that we normally would not.

The first place that was memorable was Eggloo. Eggloo is located in Chinatown and is a novelty ice cream and waffle stop. There was a menu filled with pre-made options or build your own. I decided to get the waffle cone (a literal waffle folded into a cone) with the black raspberry ice cream. It was such a beautiful treat I felt bad actually eating it...but it was just as delicious as it was beautiful!

The second place I would recommend that was off our beaten path was BCD Tofu House. As often as we eat out, I can honestly say I don't think we have ever eaten at a proper Korean BBQ. I also didn't know what I was missing out on. OMG their food was so delicious. We were the only non-Korean people in the place and it was PACKED at midnight. I will share a funny story about our meal: After we ordered, our server brought us out what can only be described as a small sized fried fish-with everything in tact. We had no clue how to eat this--so Mark just kind of went for it...bit the head right off. I am cracking up as I write this thinking of his reaction after taking that first bite..."Eww there is bones" he said. Very shortly after, a few tables around us received their own little fried fish and they certainly did not bite any parts off...they simply used their chop sticks to take pieces off of the fish to eat. Anyway....our meal experience was much better after our fish incident. Mark ordered the Hot stone Bipimpop Combo and I ordered the Japchae and it was to die for. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for Korean BBQs in our area.

Until next time NYC….