Tanya and I were looking for a weekend trip to kick off the new year and lucky for us we stumbled upon cheap airfare to NYC.  We booked it on the spot!   With no plans in mind, just a plane ticket and a room at the Sheraton Times Square - we set off to make the most of a few days in NYC.   We had both been to NYC several times, so we did a couple touristy things, but mostly just wanted to walk around, relax and find some awesome food and drinks.  ​Read below to see what adventures we stumbled upon!
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Tanya and I in Times Square

Trip Highlights


  • Share a pizza and salad at Don Antonio.  Note though - it's Neapolitan pizza, not a NY slice!  Still delicious though and a nice way to kick off our weekend.
  • No matter how many times you've been, walk over to Times Square just to take in all the sights.  This time we walked up the red stairs over the TKTS Ticket booth to sit down on a step and enjoy the amazing people watching and flashing lights all around. 
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Times Square from the Red Stairs

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  • Bacon and Beer...need I say more?!   Head over to BarBacon  in Hell's Kitchen on 9th Ave.   We intended to go for happy hour and then grab dinner afterwards, but we were so full we called it a night after this.   Really great place - seemed like a lot of locals hanging out at the bar after work.  
  • Order the Beer & Bacon Flight...but keep in mind it's a lot of bacon!  It's perfect for sharing though because they give you 2 pieces of each bacon flavor.  
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The Beer & Bacon Flight
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Central Park
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  • How do you work off all that beer and bacon - you enjoy a morning walk through Central Park!  In all my visits, I'm not sure if I've ever really taken a minute to just walk and enjoy Central Park.  It was a perfect morning!  
  • We walked from our hotel and made a small loop through the park - entering at 59th street and exiting around 75th street.  Tanya wanted to find the Alice in Wonderland statue, so we walked towards that direction - and then headed back to the hotel down 5th Avenue  
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Alice in Wonderland Statue
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Conservatory Water
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Breakfast Quesadilla at Phillip Marie
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Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery
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  • Enjoy brunch at Phillip Marie in Greenwich Village.  The entree price includes bottomless Mimosas!  
  • Save room for a cupcake across the street at Magnolia Bakery afterwards.  
  • We took a quick walk through Chelsea Market.   Very cool place!  Tons of restaurants, markets and interesting shops to browse through.  At the end we found this place that had a lot of vendor booths - jewelry, art, etc.  We browsed around for a bit and both ended up buying nail art stamp kits - cause why not!  
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Chelsea Market Store Listing
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Chelsea Market
  • I finally made it down to the World Trade Center Memorial.  Not much needs to be said about this - I'll let the pictures speak for themself.  But I'm so glad I got to see it - very moving. 
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World Trade Center Memorial South Pool & new WTC Building
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World Trade Center PATH station
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World Trade Center Memorial South Pool
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World Trade Center Memorial North Pool
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World Trade Center Memorial South Pool
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World Trade Center Memorial South Pool

  • Visit New York City's oldest operating saloon - McSorley's Old Ale House.   We waited in line to get inside for just about 10 minutes.  Once in it was packed - and the waiter pointed us to a table to share with another group, which seemed to be the norm.  A couple at the table had just gotten engaged that weekend, so we had something to celebrate with new friends.
  • They only serve 2 types of ale - dark and light.  And when you order, you get 2 mugs.  Order a pair of each style and then you can swap a mug and each try both kinds.  Oh - and it's cheap $5!
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Tanya and EJ at McSorley's
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Our tasting glasses at Proletariat
  • Continuing our evening of bar hopping, we went to a place recommended by a friend in the East Village - Proletariat.   A narrow spot with just enough room for the bar and barstools.  If you enjoy trying new and unique beers as much as we do - this place is a must!  
  • They had about 10 beers on tap and you could buy small pour tasters of any. I picked 3 to try and Tanya tried 4.  They were all amazing!   ​This place definitely stays on my list of bars to return to some day.  
  • After sipping and enjoying our beers we went out to find dinner.  We couldn't believe at almost 9pm the wait times were still so long! (Welcome to NY, right?) If we had known, we would have put our name on a list earlier.   (Lesson learned).  But we lucked out and a place just across the street got us in after about 20 mins - Cafe Mogador.   Moraccon food, and it hit the spot after a long day of walking and adventures.  We split some hummus and labne dips, and I had the chicken kebabs for my meal.  Great way to end the night!
  • ​Just how much did we walk today - check that apple watch photo out!
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Lots of walking!
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Brooklyn Heights
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EJ on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade
  • We decided to take the subway to Brooklyn on our last day.  We ended up in Brooklyn Heights, but after getting there and realizing there wasn't much to see - we found out we should have gone to Williamsburg instead.  Next time!
  • But never-the-less, the view of the NYC skyline from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was pretty spectacular.
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View of the NYC Skyline from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade
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Dominique Ansel Cronut
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  • And finally, to end the trip on more good eats!  
  • We had to try a cronut at Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho.  The line is long - but it moves fast.   I have to admit, it was good...but too sweet for me!  I ate half at the bakery and saved the other half for a snack at the airport.  

  • For lunch we walked around Soho and found this tiny little Italian restaurant - Piccola Cucina.  
  • ​Tanya and I split the Insalata Caprese and this to die for pasta - Orecchiette with shrimp, burrata and cherry tomatoes. Yum!!
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Piccola Cucina Insalata Caprese
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Picola Cucina Pasta
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