The Bon Appétit Diaries

Posts:

• Restaurant: Prune
• Restaurant: Shake Shack
• Experience: Smorgasburg, Brooklyn

September 2011

I went to NYC for 10 days over Labor Day. It was fantastic. I hadn’t been since I was in college, and it was great to be in the hustle and bustle of the big apple, there really is an energy there like no other. I steered clear of Times Square and spent my time wandering the villages below midtown, Chelsea, the upper sides… I did a ton of walking and tried to live like a local. I didn’t press myself to go to museums I’d been to before, didn’t freak out about what restaurants to try (I only made one reservation) and loved it. As much as I love seeing new places, I do find it so refreshing to be able to visit a city I’ve been to before because you can enjoy it for what it is and relax in the fact that you’ve already been to the ‘must see’s’ before.

Accommodation: Friends on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and West Village

Highlights:

• The Met roof top garden - I’d seen this in movies and finally got to visit this seasonal exhibit. Very special and great views of the park.
• The Cloisters - part of the met, it’s a building assembled of all rescued pieces of old churches, the M4 bus ride up through Harlem and Washington Heights was actually great too
• Real New York Bagels
• Dinner on the roof deck of apt. #1
• Kingswood Restaurant - in the West Village, cool atmosphere and excellent food
• Running in Central Park