My Last Post on New York City (probably)

Thirteen More Things We Did in New York City

Believe it or not there are several more things that we did in NYC that I have not yet blogged about. For my sake I want to finish journaling this wonderful trip (for those tired of reading about it, I will move on soon, probably, I mean, yes, I will move back to reality...)

Mr. Geek's Activities - I know some of you are thinking, "Was this trip just all about you, AbFab?" The answer is, well yes of course it was, hah. But don't feel sorry for Mr. Geek you can tell from the pictures he was also having a great time. Mr. Geek also had his own list of things to do in NYC, and he accomplished most of it.

1. Running along the Hudson River . This was recommended by one of the many gracious people we met in NYC. We found that most people were happy to help us find whatever we were looking for and loved to tell us of there personal favorites, not to miss. I had to start writing things down so I would be able to remember them.

2. Running though Central Park. As Mr. Geek was running through Central Park, he noticed several traffic cones. Eventually he saw several runners wearing numbers. There was a race that Saturday morning. He considered just joining in, but by that time he was five miles into his run and did not think he could make it the race distance. (On the list for next trip to NYC, run in a race in Central Park.)

3. Visit a Bike Shop. As I explained to the man in the store trying to sell us something, "Some people come to NYC to visit museums, we visit Bike Shops." We stumbled across This Store in Soho. It was run by a hippie, who apologized that we had missed seeing the "real" New York by thirty years. He did give us to directions to a restaurant "the only one even close to what New York used to be." The restaurant is on the list of things to do on the next visit to NYC.

4. See a ghost bike. Ghost Bikes are memorials designed to honor a person killed while riding and a plea for awareness of community support.



Other Museums



5. Museum of Natural History. I mentioned that we visited this museum, but I left out the highlight which was the planetarium show, Cosmic Collisions.

6. The Tenement Museum . This is a very cool museum that shows the actual homes of the immigrants after they passed through Ellis Island. We took the tour Piecing It Together which included the early "sweat shops" which is when the clothing was made in homes. To think of the family raising four boys (and two girls) in that amount of space was truly unbelievable, because I don't believe that the Middle Geek could have even spent the time for the hour tour confined in that space.

7. Speaking of sweat shops, I tried to find the building where the Triangle Fire Tragedy occurred. This accident has been covered in my safety class and I wanted a picture of the commemorative plaque on a NYU building. Unfortunately it was getting dark about the time Mr. Geek and I passed through here and we must have walked right by it. (One more thing on the list for the next visit.)

8. Chelsea Market We did not luck out into a tour of The Food Network, but we did walk through the market. We walked up to Craft Steak (Tom Cochlicio's Restaurant) and Morimoto's, it would be cool to visit those, maybe our next trip will come with more money that will make visiting these places possible. The highlight of this visit was the "Ask a Chef" table. I went to the table and started more of a "Chat with a Chef". No he could not get us into the foodnetwork studios (worth a try huh?), to eat at CraftSteak, etc it was better to visit during Restaurant Week (two weeks later- yes it is on our list), I wrote down his recommendations for meals at the market, casual dining and more upscale dining. Oh the best, the chef was originally from Jeff City, Missouri.

9. Visit the United Nations Building - The Tour Guide on the Circle Line Tour stated that the United Nations gave tours every day but Sunday. We headed there on Saturday to find..


We did get a picture of this Property Corner Marker (to prove we were Geeks.)




Random Restaurant Reviews (not previously reviewed)


10. Tick Tock Diner I agree with most of these reviews. The restaurant is open 24 hours, which is not as common in NYC as I was led to believe by television. It feels like the diner from Seinfield, that is a plus. The food was good. But the service was borderline non existent. I asked four people for water, we sat forever waiting to order. The only thing that kept us in our seats was the weather outside and optimism. I think it may be the type of place that all tourist should visit though. Later we found an actual diner that real New Yorker's eat at and the service was much much better.

11. Pizza in Time Square. I do not remember the name of the Restaurant/ Bakery that we ate at. I enjoyed the pizza alot. The crust was more like a pastry crust and it was delicious. Unfortunately I was not able to cross off "Eat real NY pizza" from my list.

12. Chelsea Diner - I am pretty sure this is the place. We found this place at the end of a long, cold walking day. The place is pure comfort food. We order baked chicken and Cajun chicken. The portions were very generous (good thing Mr. Geek was starving) and the customers were a great mix from the neighborhood, it was a great spot for people watching.

13. Vice Versa This was recommended by our personal friend and Chef from the Chelsea Market. (He had also recommended Dogmatic, our second favorite restaurant, so we had high hopes.) Short story - don't bother. Longer Story - If you go , order the veal Ravioli (the dish recommended by our Chef) and then go finish your meal elsewhere. Mr. Geek ordered the Price Fixe Menu and the meal was similar to the meal he had eaten at the Chelsea Diner at three time the price. Okay the salad was steps above, but the beef was really pot roast (call it what you want) and it was served unimaginatively with steamed (really plain steamed) broccoli and mashed potatoes. Seriously? And the service, very snooty, it was one of the few places in NYC that we felt unwelcome.

My Thirteen Favorite Things I did in New York

1. Avenue Q - This is a very funny show that is best described as Sesame Street for adults or Muppets Gone Wrong. We bought tickets that day and ended up in row E, center- woohoo. Warning - there is full muppet nudity and the next day you will find yourself humming entirely inappropriate songs.





2. Equus - Quite possibly the exact opposite of Avenue Q, this play was a serious look at a young man's (Daniel Radcliffe) time in a mental ward following a horrible crime. Minimally staged and also with nudity and no puppets but men dressed as horses, oh, I think you just have to go see it.



3. My First Time - An off Broadway play about, you guessed it, the first time. There is a website you can visit to read of others experiences or post your own. Many of these narratives have been selected and performed (well read, not performed if you no what I mean, I mean this play actually had no nudity, puppet or otherwise.) The results are both funny and poignant. Before the play the audience is given cards to fill out as to their first time experiences. There were three virgins in the audience that night and the average age for the first time was just over 18 (higher than the national average in the US of just over 15).



4. Purchasing the tickets - even buying our tickets was an adventure. I bought the tickets to Equus and My First Time before we left for New York, but I had to visit the famous TKTS half price ticket stand. We got in line about an hour before the line opened. This gave us lots and lots of time to gawk at the lights in Time Square and meet our fellow line waiters. We met two girls visiting their friend (an au pair) from Germany, a family from the UK and a woman from Brazil. We discussed the Euro dollar exchange rate and found that ipods can be cheap if you are coming from the right country.

Landmarks finally visited (after seeing them all my life on television and in movies.)



5. Statue of Liberty - We saw this from the Circle Line tour. Here is a picture of us before we wimped out from the cold and went inside.









6. Empire State Building










7. Washington Square












8. The Tree at Rockefeller Center




9. Bryant Park - I looked for Tim Gunn, he did not show.



10. Macy's - Santa unfortunately was gone. We did ride all the way up on the escalators and back down again. Can you say tourists?












11. Museum of Natural History and Central Park

12. Grand Central Station - I desperately wanted to make a phone call from there so that the person on the other end of the call could say, "Where are you, it sounds like Grand Central Station?"

13. Union Square - This was extra special because on the day we went there was a farmer's market. We were able to watch a live band. I bought this fantastic scarf from a girl who was sitting there knitting them.

And a block away we ate at our second favorite restaurant - Dogmatic. You see they toast the inside of the bread on these special toasting rods (see them in the background) then they put one of five different homemade sausages into the bun with your choice of sauce.

Yes we made all the appropriate sophomoric jokes and then we went back for seconds. I still have the frequent buyer card harboring the illusion that I might really make it back there.

The Hotel

This post is not only for all of you following along on our New York adventure, but for those who will find this later by searching google. Welcome fellow googlers and I hope this review is helpful. (You see I looked a lots of reviews and blogs when planning our trip so I figure I should return the favor.)


The first hotel that I made reservation for was The Pod Hotel. The hotel came as a recommendation from my niece Angie. She said it was a reasonably priced hotel that was in a great location. She and her husband had stayed there and even stayed in the bunk bed room with a shared bath to same some money. I am not opposed to saving money but for my anniversary, I splurged and reserved the room with a queen size bed and private bath (for $20 more per night). The good thing about having your anniversary in January, is that the prices get much cheaper after New Years.

A friend had also recommended searching http://www.travelzoo.com/ for bargains. There did not seem to be alot of bargains until the trip got closer. Next I made reservations at the Empire Hotel, across from Central Park. (I always asked for the cancellation policy before I made reservations.)


I could not just accept that so I kept checking travelzoo daily (you might call it an obsession). Next I saw an ad for the new Wyndham Gardens. The price was even less than what I had booked the other hotels, so I immediately became suspicious. The map showed that it looked like it was in a good place, but what did I know about locations in New York. Finally I called and made another reservation (not cancelling the others as to leave my options open).

The lady that took the reservation was quite possibly the nicest person I talked to between all the hotels. She said for the lowest rate, I could have a king size bed in a new allergen free room, plus $20 in food credit in the hotel. I made the reservation, still somewhat skeptical. I goggled and searched and read every review that I could find. Because it was such a new hotel there were not alot of reviews and they were a bit mixed. However most of the bad reviews were not because of location.


Finally I canceled all reservations and we ended up at the Wyndham Garden- Midtown Convention Center .



Short Review - It was really wonderful. The bed was very comfortable. The employees were so nice. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. My biggest fear is that as word of the new hotel spreads I will never be able to stay for the same rate again. ever.

Long review - We took the Supershuttle from Newark Airport and the hotel is on the other side of the Lincoln tunnel. We were the first passengers to be dropped off. The street in front of the hotel is narrow and there is parking on both sides. When our driver dropped us off, he basically stopped in the middle of the street. He turned to me, eyes serious, and said, do not open the door, wait for me. Okay then. Also as he took our bags out the doorman grabbed them quickly, I said oh I have them, and he said yeah but okay lets just get out of the street. Good Idea. In all it was an exciting entrance to New York City.


I had requested a room for early arrival and the room was waiting for us at noon. The front desk manager wished us a Happy Anniversary (I had told the reservation lady) and gave us vouchers for free drinks at the bar.


The room was not huge (by midwestern standards), but the king size bed was very comfortable. I even liked the pillows which very rarely happens in hotel rooms.







We used our free drink vouchers that evening where we met our very favorite bartender. She gave us lots of ideas where to eat for breakfast, lunch and after the show, because after the shows many restaurants are closed. (this was a bit disappointing to me, so much for the city that never sleeps) We traded stories of our adventures with her everyday.



The only real complaint I would make would be with the cleaning staff. You could tell that all the employees were new and some had the job training down better than others. On the good side, there was no job burnout and everyone (I mean everyone) was smiling and friendly. On the other side the room cleaning was very random.

Also the amenities in the room seemed to change as the time progressed. It was if they were still supplying the rooms as the hotel received inventory. There was an umbrella in the room that came in very handy. Then the second day we ended up with robes, slippers, and a bathroom scale. Another day we got a makeup mirror. It became part of our fun to discover what might show up in our room that day. The Chocolate fairy was also random. Some evenings we didn't get any chocolate, one day we got one piece (I ate it, sorry Mr. Geek) and the last day, two truffles.(This time I did let Mr. Geek eat one, although I considered hiding it.)

The worse was one day there was a knock on the door about 8:30, I said we were not yet gone, to come back. What the maid apparently heard was, Go away we don't want you to clean in here. We got no maid service that day.

I just checked travelzoo while I was typing this and the rate is $129 per night. Seriously go there. Tell the concierge AbFab sent you. (And go to the Knife and Fork, I beg you, and tell me everything that you ate, talk slowly.)

The Anniversary Dinner - The Story

Yes, I brought my laptop on vacation with me. Not only could I post pictures of our trip in almost real time, but more importantly, I was not far from my best friend Google. I love google! Why? Well this entire evening started with a google search. I typed in, "What Restaurant in NYC for anniversary dinner?" (Luckily google doesn't check for correct grammar.) Sure enough there was several forums where this exact question had been discussed. One even mentioned he was trying to eat for less than $100, I looked up each of the recommended restaurants, reviews and location. (It is good to be a geek.)

Soon I uncovered Knife and Fork . On the menu was a six course chef's choice tasting menu. We called to see if we could get a table and what the dress was. You see the day had been really rainy all day long and one of the criteria was we wanted the restaurant to be somewhat casual. The man on the phone gave me a reservation and assured me that it was casual. I went to google map and plotted our trip. (Have I mentioned how much I love google.) Two subway rides later (Okay three, we missed our stop with the connection and had to backtrack, oops.) and a few blocks walk and we walked into the place.

The restaurant was very small with a large table in the center. It almost felt like we were entering a private party. (Oh and of course they were all in suits and black dresses, so much for casual.) The waiter greeted us warmly, explained that the group was there for a rehearsal dinner (he was wrong they had actually been married that day). Mr. Geek exclaimed, what a coincidence, they are just getting married and we are celebrating twenty five years of our marriage. They could look at us and see their future! (I am sure he meant it in a good way.)

Soon the waiter brought us two glasses of Champagne and gave one to the bride. He announced that we had a common celebration of marriage, a new one and 25 years of one. The wedding party applauded us, their photographer actually took pictures of us! Everyone at the table toasted us and congratulated us.

Then the food began...

Oh my! First course was Salmon with Wasabi Creme Fraiche and Wasabi Caviar on pickled vegetables. It was indescribable. We had braised pork belly, they always make on Top Chef and now I know why. It was served with several sauces and I considered licking the plate. The only course better was the Duck schnitzel with parsnip puree etc., I did almost embarrass myself with that one. Followed by Creme Brulee. (excuse me , I just need a moment.)



Many of the wedding party were from Ireland. They talked the groom into singing a folk song. The party continued with several more rounds of drink and more folk songs. They asked us several times to make sure they were not bothering us. Bothering us? It was like being part of a wonderful party (and you know how we love parties).



More than one person from the party came up and told us how amazed they were to meet someone that had made it 25 years. They were so happy for us. I am not sure where these guys were hanging out, but it was like Mr. Geek and I were celebrities. When when getting ready to leave we stopped again to congratulate the couple and asked if we could take our picture together to remember the day. They took our picture too, I am not sure how they will explain these pictures to their children. One guy gave Mr. Geek a big bear hug good bye.



The waiter met us as we were putting on our coats and gave us a bottle of champagne that the couple wanted us to have. When we left we promised to meet everyone at that exact place in another 25 years.

Here is Mr. Geek and I with our wonderful waiter and yes I believe I had that stupid grin on all evening long.

The Last Day in New York!

We will be home tomorrow!!

New York - Day 4 -Even More Pictues

New York - Day Three

Random Sightseeing!

Can you guess where we have been?

New York - Day Two- The Anniversary Dinner

New York - Day One

Here are some quick pictures to make you all wish you were me. heheheh