Big Apple Summer || Part Two

This summer I had the opportunity to take a second visit to NYC - this time with my mom and one of my two sisters - Kristen [Candidly Red Blog]. I know I already shared a few photos from this trip in my last post, but I realized that there were events in this trip that were pretty key in my current post-grad developments, so I'll share a few in these next couple of posts. There were a few reasons for this trip, but here's a nice graphic laying out the highlights:

After making over a dozen trips to the concrete jungle, here are five foodie joints that make the Martin's top list:

• Friend of a Farmer - Holy cow. If heaven serves breakfast in little iron skillets, I imagine the food inside will look a lot like the breakfasts here. From the Irving Place Omelette to the french press coffee to the Old Fashion Pumpkin Pancakes (& not to mention the precious, quaint atmosphere and waiters in ties), this place has us coming back trip after trip - thanks, Tiffany Martin, for the discovery!
• Serendipity - I know, I know...we can't pretend like we discovered this restaurant, but boy do we claim it. It's almost always worth the wait, and even though we've been on countless occasions, we are ashamed to say we've hardly tried half of the desserts...because the frozen hot chocolate wins every time. And if you click your heels just right, you can pretend you're John Cusack...(I call Kate Beckinsale.)
• Cara Mia - My sister, Tiffany, discovered this little italian restaurant, too. It's in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, and we've taken several of my mom's large high school choir groups to this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and they are always SO accommodating. Oh yeah, and the food is the bomb.

  

  Patty says, "Mmmm, Cara Mia..."

• Dixby's - We love this little sandwich shop! My mom grew up in Summit, NJ, and one of her fondest memories was a local sandwich shop's "sloppy joe's." And lo and behold, we found a shop with an identical sandwich right next to Rockefeller Plaza! Sandwiches, salads, soups & a fun location, it's one of our favorite family stops.
• And finally, a new favorite ... Shake Shack - Holy. Vanilla. Milkshake. When Rachel & I went to SpringboardNYC earlier this summer, we marveled at the CONSTANT heavy lines flowing out of the Shake Shack next to the Manhattan Theatre Club where we had class. We figured there must be a reason but assumed it was "too overrated" to be worth the line. Welp, color me ignorant. My mom, Kris & I finally went to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park - and it might've been raining, but that outdoor eating experience was one of our fondest memories from the trip! (Not to mention getting kicked out of an outdoor covered area because we either looked like solicitors or vagabonds with our wet hair and milkshakes.) Needless to say ... that wasn't our last milkshake of the trip. #vacationcaloriesdontcount

The rest of our week was spent walking the High Line, Chelsea Markets, Soho, Central Park, Washington Square Park...name a location on the island of Manhattan with concrete & we walked it. We are used to 4 or 5 day trips but this week-long trip was just too exciting! We wanted to see everything and then see it again! We also ate. We ate a lot. Magnolia Bakery, the Meatball Shop, Buvette, Schmakery's, Don Giovanni & about a million coffee shops. [We especially loved Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea.]

Finally, we were a little nervous about spending the 4th of July in NYC, but we had a wonderful day trekking through Soho, grabbing dinner in Greenwich Village & we even managed to snag a few items in Chinatown! (What are we, tourists?!) We ended the night by watching the fireworks from afar at the edge of the Hudson, and it was a pretty awesome time. Despite our genuine and valiant intentions of going apartment searching while there, those plans didn't come to fruition. BUT did I mention I attended my first Broadway EPA & ECC? [EPA stands for Equity Principal Audition - for the lead roles - and ECC stands for Equity Chorus Call - for the, well, chorus.]

More on that in the next blog!

Until then, here are some pics to wake your taste buds (now I've caught your attention) - 

Yes, my blogging peeps, those are Friend of the Farmer pumpkin pancakes.

This is from a trip a couple summers ago - my hair has long-since grown;)  
Photo of Max Brenner's Dessert Pizza

This was us & our Shake Shack ... right before we got shooed away by a doorman.

Your NYC foodie rookie,
Kelsey

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