Holt Happenings: New York

My postings have been lacking due to some technical difficulties so I am trying to madly catch up. Here is my long overdue New York trip back in October. Brock and I were able to get away to NY for 5 glorious days! Lauren and Michael generously took our kids, I think they have just barely recovered. We decided pretty early on that this trip would be mostly devoted to food. We've seen & done and decided what we mostly wanted to do was eat.

Day 1- The Met & Gray's Papaya

I LOVE the Met, who doesn't? Each time I'm there it's like seeing old friends. Here are some of my favorites. We always start in the Egyptian wing b/c its close to the entrance & I love to see this temple and the location of the "Pecan Pie" scene from When Harry Met Sally. This stained glass window is so beautiful, it blows me away. I love the soft colors in this painting of a woman sewing.

How can you not just love this Van Gogh and of course a little Jackie.

I was in love with the bright colors of this china and cabinet and of course this amazing Sargent.

Gray's Papaya hot dogs were great, I forgot all about taking a picture until mine was nearly gone. But I have to say the Papaya juice wasn't my favorite, next time I'd try another flavor.

We went to China Town that night for dinner but I unfortunately forgot to take any pictures. We ate at Joe's Shanghai and had fabulous dumplings and then to China Town Ice Cream. Brock was more adventurous than I and got Black Sesame and Lychee flavors. I preferred the Black Sesame but both were good.

Day 2- We decided to head to the East Village for the day. We hit Strand Book store, did some shopping and Max Brenner / Chocolate by the Bald Man. We hadn't been before so we were very excited. We shared an entree (Club sandwich & fries dusted with cocoa) and got the dessert for 2 that was a bit of everything. A waffle with chocolate & berries, chocolate cake, chocolate bark (which was sooooo yummy), ice cream with chocolate wafer balls, chocolate fondue with fruit AND a grill to toast your own marshmallows and dip. It was heaven.

We met Reghan at her work after and she took us over to theatre that puts on all the performances she works with. It is in a beautiful, historic church. It was neat to see the space she has talked about. We then headed over to walk the Highline Trail. It is some old raised railway tracks that they have converted to a park. It turned out really nice.

Then Chelsea Market for dinner. This Hale and Hearty Soups hit the spot on that chilly evening. I had the crab bisque and it was delish.

We stopped but Magnolia for dessert. I strayed from a traditional cupcake and got a delicious lemon bar and Brock had a chocolate flourless torte he loved. Although, Reghan's favorite is their banana pudding.

Day 3- Saturday we planned to rent a car and drive out to Long Island. After making a reservation the day before, they of course didn't have a car for us. It turned out to be ok because it gave us enough time to go to the Shake Shack in the park. Burgers, fries and shakes - need I say more?

We finally got a car and headed to Long Island. We toured Old Westbury Gardens. A 70 room mansion completed in 1906 on 200 acres of formal gardens. The mansion was beautiful and the grounds amazing.

This little cottage was a gift to the families only daughter on her 10th birthday. Your own little English cottage playhouse in the woods, pretty nice.

The cute newlyweds, Reghan & Kristian

We wanted some great seafood for dinner and drove around searching for just the right place and did not find it. We settled on the Breakers and it was terrible, NEVER go there. The chowder was bad and we had the lobster in a pot which you can't really mess up so it was okay. But Reghan's fish was awful along side her frozen green beans and Kristian's mussels left something to be desired. It makes for a good story though.

Day 4-Sunday we went to church with Reghan, Kristian had a clerk job to take care of. On the way home we stopped at this street fair to eat. We happened upon the Waffle & Dinges truck we had been searching for. I was so excited. Bobby Flay had done a show down with them and when I was watching it discovered that they make the extraordinary liege waffle I'd had in Europe years ago but never knew what it was. It is made of more bread like dough with sugar crystals inside. The Belgians managed to keep it a secret from the rest of the world for a long time. I got mine with spekuloos (a gingerbread spread). Brock headed back for a strawberry and chocolate one.

He also got this pastrami sandwich he is still talking about trying to recreate. That evening we went for a walk along Battery Park -right across from Reghan & Kristian's place. They have recently redone the whole park and it is beautiful.

Day 5-Monday was our last day. We headed to Soho for some shopping and pizza. The shopping was great and the pizza, at Lombardi's (claiming to be NY's first pizzeria) was so yummy- I wish I had some right now....