A Less Processed Life: nyc

Long story short, my weekend visit to New York City was fantastic. Eating, walking, and (window) shopping were the major themes of the weekend.

With the help of Yelp, on Friday night, Jenny and I ate dinner at Kashkaval, a cheese market and wine bar (and Mediterranean restaurant) in Hell's Kitchen. The reviewers didn't lie -- the food (and ambiance) here was fantastic. And, apparently the night before, ScarJo had eaten at the booth next to ours. So, there's that. We started our meal with glasses of wine and a Mediterranean tapas sampler, including (from left to right) tzatziki, artichoke dip, spinach with feta, and hummus.

{Mediterranean tapas}

From there we ordered dinner. I opted for the spinach borek, a "traditional pie of spinach rolled in phyllo dough and served with Greek salad." It was really good -- and quite filling. Though we were both near to bursting, we still ordered dessert -- the small house pastry sampler. We barely made a dent before boxing up the rest, but the pastries (including a particularly delightful baklava) were really tasty.

{lemon and ricotta pancakes}

On Saturday morning, Jenny and I made our way down to Central Park, where we stopped at Sarabeth's for brunch. This restaurant was a suggestion from an acquaintance of mine on Twitter, and it was an excellent choice. The food was a bit pricy (but, hello, the restaurant's Central Park South location meant that the prices weren't that much of a shock), but the food was really good. I opted for the lemon and ricotta pancakes with fresh berries (admittedly in part because I want to try to make them at home), which I washed down with a hot apple cider. (The wind was quite brisk in the city on Saturday!) Following our super-satiating breakfast, we headed downtown (at least, I think the direction would be considered downtown?) to Times Square, where we stopped off at a box office to get tickets to a play we were interested in seeing that night. Tickets in hand, we continued on our merry way to the Flatiron District.

{Manzo menu}

Once there, we wandered into Eataly, which I had visited the last time I was in the city. We bellied up to the bar at Manzo for a little respite from the cold and wind outside. I was too stuffed to even contemplate lunch (which made having to decide between the calf's brain or warm calf's tongue that much easier), so I opted to drink my lunch instead, and ordered a blood orange mimosa. I definitely need to make one of those at home.

{blood orange mimosa}

After our early-afternoon pick-me-up, we headed off to the requisite girls' weekend manicure. Again, with the help of Yelp, we found Enjoy Nail Spa, a highly-rated nail salon in Kips Bay. The place was hopping, so there was a short wait, but you can't really beat a $7 manicure. I may have to go into the city more often just to take advantage of that deal!

{oh, the furniture!}

Following our manis, we headed over to ABC Carpet & Home for a little browsing. I've only ever known of this place through their full-page ads in The NewYork Times, and this six-floor furniture and home furnishings ~~store~~ extravaganza definitely did not disappoint. If only I had the $$ to purchase $10,000 sofas and glistening chandeliers! Maybe some day. (Ha!)

Following our long walk from 53rd Street to 19th Street, we opted to take a cab back to the hotel. Following a short rest, we were back out on the town for a pre-theater dinner at Scarlatto, another Yelp choice that fit the criteria of being located in the theater district and not being too expensive.

{Scarlatto menu}

Though our waitress was nervous that we'd miss our 8p show, our meal was served and we finished eating with plenty of time to spare.

{ravioli di zucca (pumpkin ravioli}

Following a look through a variety of theater reviews, Jenny and I decided to see Other Desert Cities, which featured the ensemble cast of Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, Judith Light, Elizabeth Marvel, and Justin Kirk. Given that it was named "The best new play on Broadway!" in a review in The NYT, we had high hopes, and we weren't disappointed. Gotta love family drama!

{shhh, don't tell the usher I took a picture of the set before the show started}

Following the leap forward for Daylight Savings Time, we opted to skip our planned run (vacation decadence!) and headed to brunch instead. Yet another Yelp find, this time we headed back to Hell's Kitchen for brunch at Eatery. We really lucked out with our restaurant choices all weekend long, as we always were seated immediately. Eatery reminded me a lot of Snooze, and the food was quite good, though the music (and thus conversations) were a bit loud. Is this a sign that I'm getting old?

{Eatery menu}

Since it was our last meal in NYC, I opted to start brunch with a standard mimosa.

{mmm....mimosa!}

I was in the mood for something savory to eat, so I ordered the Santa Fe Sweet Potato Hash Brown -- basically a sweet potato latke topped with scrambled egg whites, guacamole, and cilantro, served with a side of whole-wheat toast. Another meal I must recreate here at home!

{Santa Fe Sweet Potato Hash Brown}

Following breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to finish packing, but of course, I had to pick up one last souvenir before leaving: the requisite black & white cookie, this time from Crumbs Bake Shop.

{black & white cookie}

At 1p, Jenny and I parted ways, and I headed back to Philly while she returned to DC. All in all, a great weekend with some much-needed girl time. And now, after a day back at work, I am so ready to plan my next trip back to the city!

As you may have guessed from Thursday's post, I scored a last-minute ticket to be in the audience for the taping of Martha's exercise show this morning in New York City. After donning my exercise gear (required!), I headed to the television studio bright and early for the 10a taping of her show. This was the first time that I was a member of a live studio audience, and the experience was a lot of fun. I'm glad I got to see her show live before its expected end in April. Here are a few pictures from this morning: