The Big Apple

When David was scheduled to travel to New York City last month for work, I jumped at the chance to tag along.  I hadn’t been to NYC since 2007, and David had never been before, so I was excited to not only show him around, but also see some new things.

We were able to fly direct into JFK from Austin (one of the perks of Austin’s population boom is all of the new direct flights to places like Cancun, Vegas, and New York).  David had already been in New York for nearly a week before I met him on Thursday. 

I left Texas super-early in the morning, which got me into Midtown Manhattan by 11:00.  David was waiting for me at the W Lexington, our home-away-from-home for the long weekend. 

Visiting NYC in January is nice because it isn’t as crowded with tourists, and we were able to get a great hotel room rate by purchasing on Cyber Monday.  The downside of visiting in January is that it is absolutely freezing outside.  For being in the city that never sleeps, we spent a lot of afternoons back in our warm bed, napping, or next to the fireplace in the W Living Room, sipping hot chocolate.  Because it was so cold, we vetoed a lot of outdoor activities on our site-seeing list, like strolling through Greenwich, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge or doing the Highline near Chelsea.  But that’s okay, it just gives us an excuse to plan a springtime or summer trip back!

It was below freezing outside when I met David, so after checking in and dropping off our bags, we decided to spend the afternoon close to home.  We walked a couple of blocks to Grand Central Station to admire the painted ceiling and have lunch at Shake Shack. 

There are so many great places to dine in NYC that we were torn between visiting some of our old favorites from London like Balthazar or Nobu, and trying new places.

First world problems, I know.

We decided on splitting up our meals into a little of both.  Shake Shack is an old favourite from London, and even though they are opening one in the Austin Domain (yay!) in a few months, I couldn't resist those juicy burgers and cheesy fries.  The ratio of bun to burger is just perfect, and the creamy frozen custard completes the meal.  But since it was below freezing, I opted for a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery instead of a cold dessert.

Laura gifted me with a Magnolia Bakery cookbook a few years ago, and everything I’ve made so far has been delicious, so I was excited to compare it against the real thing in New York.  I got a plain vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting, which was awesome of course, and David ordered the cream cheese brownie, which was just as good.

Grand Central station in the shadow of the Chrysler building

We walked back through Grand Central Station and then down the block to the New York Public Library.  This beautiful building has been featured in countless movies, so it was cool to see it in real life.  The library offers free, 30-minute, guided tours so David and I strapped on our audio-guides to learn a bit more about the historic library.

The actual Winnie the Pooh dolls belonging to author 

Christopher Robin Milne are on display in the library

From there, we made the short trip to Rockefeller Plaza.  I’d been to the top of the Empire State Building before, but we’d heard the view from the Top of the Rock was better.  I did think it was, since I could actually see the Empire State Building this time.  

The Top of the Rock gave us great panoramic views of the city, 

including Central Park

After taking in the view, we braved the cold and went ice skating on the famous rink below. 

Later that afternoon, we went back to the W for a nap before dinner, but I was out like a light.  David ended up grabbing pizza and a stromboli for us from a hole-in-the-wall near the hotel, and we ate dinner in bed while watching old movies.  It was perfect.

On Friday morning, we ventured into Soho to try the original cronut at Dominique Ansel.  We’d figured that since the cronut has been around for at least a year and copies were being produced all over the world (our favourite are the cronuts at Cocomaya in London), that there would no longer be a line at Dominique Ansel.  We’d heard horror stories of people waiting for hours, only to be turned away as the delectable donut-croissant hybrid sold out.

Well, we were wrong.

We slept in and made it to the bakery at 10:00, two hours after they opened… and the cronut was sold out!  The cashier told us that we needed to be in line by 6am to have any chance at getting at cronut.  Nope.  Not gonna happen… it was not worth standing out in the cold for two hours for a tiny ball of fried dough.  I can’t believe that anyone would actually do that.  What a bunch of weirdos.

I settled for the new best thing – Ansel’s best-seller, the DKA.  The DKA is a flaky pastry, like a croissant, but with a caramelized crust.  It was so sweet, and so tasty.  David opted for the ham and cheese croissant, which was yummy, but not even near the level of my DKA.

After breakfast, we walked to the World Trade Center to view the 9/11 Memorial.  Last time I was in New York nearly eight years ago, that area was still a giant construction zone, so it was great to see the finished product.  The memorial is very well-done, and really moving.

White roses are placed in the carved names of the victims on their birthdays

We continued walking to Battery Park, and then hopped on a ferry to visit Lady Liberty.

The ferry then brought us to Ellis Island.  My great-grandfather, Salvatore Cocchiarella, came through Ellis Island on March 23, 1911 when he was only 13 years old.  I can’t imagine how terrifying that must have been… a small, thirteen-year-old child leaving home forever without any family, to travel across the ocean to a country he’d never been to before, where they spoke a language he didn't know.  That took a lot of bravery!

The Great Hall where immigrants waited to be inspected and processed

On Ellis Island we learned that Salvatore took a ship called the Cretic from Naples, Italy, near his hometown of Fragneto L’Abate.  We were able to find a picture of the ship, but the hard-copy passenger records were all recycled during WWII, as there was a paper shortage across the US.  

Salvatore’s father, Mattaeo Cocchiarella, came through Ellis Island a few years later but his information was not available in the system.  However, my mom’s cousin, Thomas, commemorated both Salvatore and Mattaeo on the Wall of Honor just outside the main building on Ellis Island.  I never met these men.  Sadly,  Salvatore died a few months before I was born, at 86 years old.

When our ferry docked back on Manhattan, we walked a few blocks into the financial district so David could see Wall Street and Trinity Church… and take a picture with the bronze charging bull.

We hadn’t had lunch yet, and it was getting late, so on the way home, we stopped at Katz’s Deli, where Harry met Sally.  We split a giant reuben with a huge side of fries and homemade pickles.

Later that evening, we caught Bradley Cooper on Broadway in the Elephant Man.  The show was spectacular, and Cooper did a phenomenal job.  The emotional play was very well done without any special makeup or suit.  Bradley transformed himself into the Elephant Man to the point where he was nearly unrecognizable.  It’s been such a success that they are taking the play across the pond to the West End in London for the summer.  Between press for American Sniper, performing in the Elephant Man almost every single day on Broadway, and attending awards shows like the Oscars, I don’t know how Bradley Cooper has time to sleep!

David and I were exhausted after our long day of site-seeing, so after the show, we dragged ourselves back to the hotel and indulged in meatball sliders and hot chocolate next to the fire before heading to bed. 

The next day, before walking through Central Park to the Natural History Museum, we headed to Sprinkles Cupcakes for breakfast!

We’d heard great things about Sprinkles, and they lived up to the hype.  They were pretty dang good... but the best part about Sprinkles is the cupcake ATM outside!  

Every city needs a cupcake ATM

We worked off all of those calories by strolling through Central Park, and then wandering around the Natural History Museum for hours.  That place is huge, and so much fun!  We got to relive our safaris in the Hall of African Animals, and say hello to some friendly dolphins in the Under the Sea exhibit, while also learning about space and dinosaurs.  The museum offers something for everyone.

Hey, it's Rex from Night at the Museum!

For our last dinner on our weekend trip, we chose Tom Colicchio’s Craftbar in the Flatiron District.  Colicchio is famous for owning various restaurants around the states, and for being a host on Top Chef.  I ordered the pecorino fonduta to start, which was like a mini fondu with pecorino cheese, acacia honey, a bit of pepper, and pine nuts served with crostini.  David had the East Coast oysters.  For our mains, I had the veal ricotta meatballs, which were melt-in-your-mouth good, and David had the pappardelle with lamb ragu, root veggies, leeks, crème fraiche, and mint gremolata.  The pasta was so hearty that we didn’t even have room for dessert. 

Somehow, we managed to wake up the next morning, and be hungry again for brunch at Tavern on the Green!  We found ourselves back in Central Park on Sunday at the iconic restaurant, along with Kyle Richards, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Paris Hilton’s aunt.  I don’t even watch those awful Housewife shows, and yet I still knew who she was, which made me sad.  She seemed like a nice person in real life, though, having brunch with some girlfriends and offering to take pics with fans, even as they interrupted her meal.  Unfortunately, that was our only celebrity-siting on our trip, unless you count Bradley Cooper (but I don’t, since we paid to see him).

Tavern on the Green recently reopened, and we were glad they did.  David’s lobster stew was rich and satisfying, in a creamy broth topped with caviar.  I was still a little full from all of the pastries and cupcakes and pasta over the past few days, so I just had the creamed vegetable soup with cheese toasts, which was perfect for me, and still gave me room for a raspberry tart for dessert, along with some ice wine from upstate New York.

After brunch, we headed to JFK to fly home to Austin.  I’d say David’s first trip to New York was a success – a great combination of site-seeing, delicious meals, and relaxation.  We are looking forward to our next visit (when it’s a bit warmer)!