NYC - Day 2

I guess this is technically Day 2, since it was after midnight on Friday. I went to the Bull and Bear bar at the Waldorf Astoria. Yes. Fancy. That's how I roll.

It was right across the street from our hotel.

I was going to go to Club Macanudo in the Upper East Side to have a cigar. Evidently it's one of the few places in New York that was grandfathered in for smoking. I went there a couple of years ago and had a great time. Becky was beat after our day, so I thought I'd have a quick smoke before bed.

It was closed. Holiday. So I took a cab back to our hotel. Stopped at Whiskey Blue at the W, but not really my scene. Unless I was into well dressed buff dudes.

I walked across the street to the Bull and Bear. Ended up meeting a couple from San Diego. Spanky and Jenna. Yes, Spanky is his real name. He showed me his driver's license.

They were about 8 years younger than me. Visiting New York to take his dad to a couple of Yankees games. We had a blast. They drink white russians. In about two hours, we were best friends. I think you'll find I do that. We made plans to meet up when Becky and I go to San Diego with the kids on vacation in July. Probably won't happen, but they offered to get us baby sitters and everything. :)

Saturday in the City was devoted to getting a cat for Kaitlyn. Licorice was the name. FAO Schwartz was the place. I watched a show where they did the whole Big/Tom Hanks piano thing. Chopsticks and Heart and Soul. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had lunch at Mickey Mantle's, right on the park, next to the Plaza. The Plaza is undergoing massive renovations right now. They're turning it into Condos. I think partial hotel/partial condos.

Mickey Mantle's is definitely overpriced. $15 hamburger. Cheese is extra. The Yankees were on TV. They lost. Spanky was probably pissed.

We took the Subway to Times Square to hit the Toys 'R' Us and the Virgin Atlantic Megastore. The Virgin store is something. I picked up the new Wilco album, Sky Blue Sky. Also, an older one, A Ghost is Born.

After resting at the hotel, we got our "free appetizer", since the concierge lounge was closed. For some inexplicable reason, we ordered chicken quesadillas. Becky's first words? "I guess they cook the quesadillas on the same grill that they make the breakfast bacon...."

They completely tasted like bacon. And, the chicken was basically lunchmeat. And the mango salsa was fruit and tomatoes sprinkled on top. Free. Luckily.

But then, Wicked. I've seen my fair share of musicals. You can ask my friends about my unhealthy obsession with Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff in college. Especially if it involved Julie Andrews. But, this one was one of the best. Les Mis and Phantom have always been my favorites. This is just as good.

Wicked was at the Gershwin Theater. The theater was...interesting. It was like they made a decision in 1982 to not do anything more to the theater ever. It does house the Theater Hall of Fame, but I think that the gold letters of new inductees are the only thing that has changed there. The bar was kind of futuristic. Which was kinda weird.

Our seats were amazing. That's what $300 per at Ticketmaster will get you. Row B, which is somehow six rows back. We were even with the stage. Literally 15 feet from the actors at the front of the stage. I could go on about the show, but I'm sure you can read about it elsewhere. I did try to sing a couple of Pink Floyd songs along with it, but it doesn't work as well.

Day 3 later. One of the more interesting days. It involves little Italian joints, Irish pubs, the Village, Van Gogh, and a little bar in the Lower East Side where Journey is appreciated.

New York City - Day 1

So. This is my first real blog post. I want to go back to some stuff I've done before, but this is my first outing.

Today was a great day. Friday.

Early morning, Becky and I flew to Newark from DFW. Yes, the early morning DFW to Newark crowd is as old and Jerseyish as you imagine.

Check into the Marriott New York East Side. Old hotel, but still nice. 42" plasma screens in the room, kickass AC, we're happy.

After the obligatory kid things (American Girl Store.............Oh my), headed back to the hotel.


Tonight, we went to so many cool places.

I picked out a place for dinner. Employees Only. Down in Greenwich Village. 9th St and Hudson.

We took a cab over. $13 ride. Decided to take a walk about the village before dinner. The Village is....awesome. I love it. Such a good vibe. People walking around all over. Lots of restaurants. Kind of reminded me of downtown Austin, but a lot more of it.

We were gonna have a drink somewhere else, but just decided to go to the restaurant. A little background. Employees Only was started by employees of other restaurants. Our bartender was one of the owners. As soon as I get home, I'll upload the picture. Made a killer Manhattan. Becky had a Bellini.

EO is a great place. Tarot card reader in the front. Old fashioned bar in the middle. Seating in the back, including a garden/greenhouse where we sat.

The food was absolutely amazing. The flatbread appetizer was really good, but the entrees exceeded expectations. I was a little worried that the food might be too fancy, but we both really enjoyed what we had. I had the Orecchiette (sausage, arugula, and parmesan pasta) while Becky had the roasted chicken.

I talked to the bartender, and he clued us into a couple of places to go afterwards. We ended up going to the Bitter End. Down on Bleecker. This is one of the oldest rock clubs in New York. They have a ton of cool posters on the walls of people that have played there. Bob Dylan. Jerry Jeff Walker. Joan Baez. Billy Joel. The list goes on. The band playing when we were there was Temple Hill. While not really my favorite music (they were kind of a cross between Incubus, Sublime, and any number of boy bands), they were extremely tight. They wrote all of their own music and performed it very well. It was a great show. They had lots of groupies there (hot groupies, at that). We both really enjoyed ourselves. The venue was bigger than the band, but still a good time. I will rip the songs so everyone can upload them.

Lots more of the weekend to come.

-b