NYC

After almost a year of anticipation, the weekend of Hamilton arrived!  Sure enough, after I bought tickets last June for the musical in N.Y., The Kennedy Center announced Hamilton was coming to D.C.  Oh well, who doesn’t love a weekend getaway to the Big Apple?

We were in town for about 24 hours total, but that time was well spent!  It may appear that we mostly just ate, but I assure you we did a few other things..

MANHATTAN:

First order of business: Food!  After getting stuck in traffic from Laguardia, we made it to SoHo for lunch at by CHLOE., a fast casual vegan restaurant.  Steve got a big acai bowl, and I got a vegan burger on a gluten free bun with air baked sweet potato fries- it was a like a healthy-ish version of Shake Shack!  There really is something for everybody in N.Y.

After round 1 of eating, it was time to caffeinate.  After wandering around SoHo, we went to Maman for iced coffee and an Americano.  They have a hidden seating area in the back with the best vases, little bunnies!

For dinner, we wanted somewhere with reservations before the show.  It was harder than I expected to find somewhere that sounded good, took reservations, and was near the theater.  So, we ended up at Friend of a Farmer, which is not near the theater.  Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too bad and we were able to take a quick cab ride uptown.  The setting was Vermont cabin, and the food was rustic comfort food.  We shared a roasted chicken with veggies and it was really filling.  Our friend had a chicken pot pie, which looked glorious.  Gluten, you little devil, ruining all the fun for us!

If we could justify more than 3 meals a day, we would have tried The Butcher’s Daughter, Two Hands Cafe, Happy Bones, and Jack’s Wife Freda.

With limited time, we missed going to The Museum of the American Gangster, but I’d like to go there sometime!  Maybe stop into Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace, too?

Instead, we walked North  toward Union Square, stopped in The Market NYC, and then on to see the famed ABC Carpet & Home store.  We covered the first 2 floors (kitchen and home goods) per the cashier’s suggestion.  There’s no way we could cover all 7 floors!

After window shopping and marveling at the ridiculous prices of shabby chic AKA peeling paint cabinets, we walked over to Fish’s Eddy.  They have really fun housewares, mugs, dish towels, etc.

There’s no shortage of street art throughout the city.

I wanted to do the self-guided tour of the NY Public Library, but we ran out of time Saturday, and they don’t open until 1pm on Sundays.  Next time!

We also considered the New Museum, Canal Street Market, and The Whitney.

On to the main event!  Hamilton was all it was cracked up to, and more.  I think I learned more in that 3 hours than I ever did in history class because it was so entertaining.  So, how about musical theater history lessons?  It would be far more memorable.  The Richard Rodgers theater itself is quite small, but really beautiful.  I was surprised they allowed drinks inside, but they had sippy cups for wine, and a gentleman near me got really comfortable after his wine and kicked off his shoes, stretching his feet into the aisle.  Let’s talk about this: do you walk around in your socks in public places?  Total aside, but I have seen people walk into the restroom on planes without shoes.  This is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen, but apparently it’s somewhat normal.  Can you weigh in here??

BROOKLYN:

On Sunday, we took the train down to Brooklyn.  After visiting the city dozens of times, neither of us have ever explored hipster paradise, so it was a must.  Turns out it was the Five Borough Bike Tour that day, and we literally saw the bikers around every corner of Manhattan and Brooklyn that we went.  Thankfully, it didn’t impact traffic too much.

We started with Brooklyn Flea in DUMBO, which made me feel like we were in the Macklemore Thrift Shop music video.  After checking out the vast collection of vintage junk, we walked along the water.  What a nice view of the city skyline, and so much quieter than Manhattan!  It felt way more neighborhoody-y with a dog park, outdoor rock climbing gym, nice playground, and a glass enclosed carousel.

Up next, you guessed it, food!  Google Maps told me the best way to get to brunch was by ferry.  Why not?  That sounded like something different to do. So, we hopped on the ferry up one stop to Williamsburg.

For about the same price as the subway, we had a great view of the skyline and even saw some daring people jet skiing.

 We walked from the ferry to brunch at 12 Chairs Cafe.  We got there at just the right time, because it filled up with a wait after we sat down.  The menu is an eclectic mix of Mediterranean and traditional brunch fare.  I got the hummus meat, which was hummus, pine nuts, ground beef, and mushrooms.  Sounds like a weird mix, but it was SO GOOD!  Stay tuned for my attempt to recreate this at home.  Steve got the fruit and granola bowl, side of bacon and eggs.  The coffee was good, too.  Always a fan of places that don’t charge extra for almond milk.

Stuffed to the brim, it was time to walk around.  Just up the road is Mast Brothers Chocolate, where they were giving out free samples.  They also offer chocolate making tours.  YUM.  Continuing on, we stopped into Catbird to check out their subtly cat themed jewelry store.  I thought I had rewards points to redeem in store, but I got them confused with the store called MeowMeowTweet.  That’s basically the same name, right??  I wonder who copied who on that one…

Lots of street art to be found around here, too.

I’m sure I could have wasted it perusing all the fun little boutiques around here.  I also wanted to stop in the Georgia O’Keefe exhibit, but alas, the unicorn was calling.  Onward we trudged to The End.  I had this spot on my radar for the OG Unicorn latte.  It’s actually not made of coffee at all, but rather blue-green algae, lemon, and a bunch of other healthy sounding things.  The place is just made for gramming.  I decided to go for the Purple Amethyst latte, because the unicorn one didn’t get the best reviews taste-wise.  Glad I did, because the purple drink was delicious!  It is made of coconut milk, lavender, macqui and goji berries, vanilla, lucuma, and tocos.  I only know what 70% of those ingredients are, but it claims to be “antioxidant bursting, free radical fighting and ultra soothing…and create overwhelming feelings of positivity and happiness”.

If there was room for another meal in Brooklyn, I would have hit Milk and Roses.

Sufficiently full, and charged with superfood tonic, our time in N.Y. drew to a close.  We hopped in a cab back to Laguardia (only 15 minutes away), to get a shuttle flight back to D.C.

Until next time, New York!