A Short Report About a Too Short Trip to NYC to see Hamilton
Jan 12th, 2016, 09:27 AM
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A Short Report About a Too Short Trip to NYC to see Hamilton
Sometime in October or November, my husband and I downloaded the music for Hamilton after hearing several recommendations for it. We started listening to the album, and the first listen was good. Then we started listening to it again, picking up more of the lyrics, and then we were googling Alexander Hamilton, checking out Chernow's biography, looking up Lin Manuel Miranda, following him on Twitter, and listening to the album all the time.
I posted a thread sometime in mid-December about the music, and it turned out another Fodorite had tickets to see Hamilton on Sunday, January 10th, but she couldn't use her tickets. I started playing around with our FF miles, checking hotel prices, and my husband's teaching schedule, and it turned out we could probably make this trip work. It turned out that the Sunday tickets meant we wouldn't see Lin Miranda in the role of Hamilton, so I ended up purchasing tickets from Stub Hub for Saturday night (expensive). I booked airline tickets, and a hotel, and all of a sudden we were going to NYC for our first time and seeing Hamilton.
I posted a thread sometime in mid-December about the music, and it turned out another Fodorite had tickets to see Hamilton on Sunday, January 10th, but she couldn't use her tickets. I started playing around with our FF miles, checking hotel prices, and my husband's teaching schedule, and it turned out we could probably make this trip work. It turned out that the Sunday tickets meant we wouldn't see Lin Miranda in the role of Hamilton, so I ended up purchasing tickets from Stub Hub for Saturday night (expensive). I booked airline tickets, and a hotel, and all of a sudden we were going to NYC for our first time and seeing Hamilton.
Jan 12th, 2016, 09:49 AM
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We had a 7 am flight out of Montana on Friday morning. We had to change planes in Denver, but Denver had a snowstorm so we were on ground delay. After three hours of waiting in Montana and rescheduling our flight out of Denver three times, we landed at LGA around 7 pm (three hours later than anticipated).
We caught the M60 bus from the terminal and then the subway at Astoria Blvd (thank you Doug Stallings for the directions) to Times Square. It was a bit surreal to walk up the steps of the subway station and walk into the Times Square area. It didn't seem too busy for 8 pm on a Friday evening, but I don't know that I'd want to hang around Times Square when it was any busier.
We had a quick walk to our hotel. We stayed at The Muse, a Kimpton hotel. We had a king deluxe room, which had been recently renovated and was very nice. We also received a $15 minibar credit and two cocktail tickets for the Nios Bar and Restaurant, which is adjacent to the hotel. Nios was offering half price champagne after 8 pm, and it was 8:05 pm, so we bought a bottle of Brut Rose to take back to our room: it seemed like a decent reward for traveling all day.
I had previously made dinner reservations at Porsena for 8:30 pm. However, due to our snow storm related flight delays, there was no way we could make our reservation. We called the restaurant from the subway and were able to reschedule for 9:30 pm. We changed clothes, had a glass of champagne, and then caught the subway to Porsena.
http://www.porsena.com/
We ordered a bottle of wine, burrata, annelloni pasta with lamb sausage, and the pork chop with polenta. I loved the lamb pasta. The pork chop was good but not as good as the pasta. The service was mediocre.
After dinner, we decided to walk to the NoMad Bar as we had heard that the cocktails were great.
https://www.thenomadhotel.com/#!/dining/menus/cocktails
It was fairly warm and a nice walk, but the bar was crowded, and it was midnight and we were getting tired, so we skipped the cocktails and took the subway the rest of the way to our hotel. I think we made it back around 1 am and went to bed.
We caught the M60 bus from the terminal and then the subway at Astoria Blvd (thank you Doug Stallings for the directions) to Times Square. It was a bit surreal to walk up the steps of the subway station and walk into the Times Square area. It didn't seem too busy for 8 pm on a Friday evening, but I don't know that I'd want to hang around Times Square when it was any busier.
We had a quick walk to our hotel. We stayed at The Muse, a Kimpton hotel. We had a king deluxe room, which had been recently renovated and was very nice. We also received a $15 minibar credit and two cocktail tickets for the Nios Bar and Restaurant, which is adjacent to the hotel. Nios was offering half price champagne after 8 pm, and it was 8:05 pm, so we bought a bottle of Brut Rose to take back to our room: it seemed like a decent reward for traveling all day.
I had previously made dinner reservations at Porsena for 8:30 pm. However, due to our snow storm related flight delays, there was no way we could make our reservation. We called the restaurant from the subway and were able to reschedule for 9:30 pm. We changed clothes, had a glass of champagne, and then caught the subway to Porsena.
http://www.porsena.com/
We ordered a bottle of wine, burrata, annelloni pasta with lamb sausage, and the pork chop with polenta. I loved the lamb pasta. The pork chop was good but not as good as the pasta. The service was mediocre.
After dinner, we decided to walk to the NoMad Bar as we had heard that the cocktails were great.
https://www.thenomadhotel.com/#!/dining/menus/cocktails
It was fairly warm and a nice walk, but the bar was crowded, and it was midnight and we were getting tired, so we skipped the cocktails and took the subway the rest of the way to our hotel. I think we made it back around 1 am and went to bed.
Jan 12th, 2016, 10:40 AM
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Saturday, Day 2:
We had a bit of a late start; the two hour time change meant we didn't wake up until almost 9 am. After we got ready, we walked up Fifth Avenue towards Central Park.
We stopped at St. Patrick's. Then we stopped at Tiffany's to look around a bit. I liked the Art Deco features of the building. We also stopped at Cartier because I'd love a tank watch, but, you know, budget and all that. Then we walked across the street to the Plaza Hotel. The main dining room is lovely; so Victorian! We had two egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches and an Americano from Epicerie Boulud.
We walked around Central Park and checked out the highlights: boat house, Bow Bridge, Shakespeare Gardens, Strawberry Fields, etc. The Park is beautiful, even in winter.
We exited the Park near Tavern on the Green so that we could walk some of the Upper West Side. We checked out several streets between about 60th to 75th Street, I think. It's certainly a beautiful neighborhood, and I suspect we certainly cannot afford to live there.
We crossed back into the Park near the Museum of Natural History, and then walked over to the Upper East Side so that we could see the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim. We walked up to the Guggenheim, but we didn't feel like we had time to check it out beyond the exterior.
We walked back to the Met and spent about three hours there. Or course, that's not nearly enough time, but we didn't have nearly enough time to do everything we wanted to do. We did check out the Jacqueline de Ribes Costume Exhibit (wonderful), part of the Asian collection, and part of the modern European painters collection.
We left the Met around 4 pm to start back to our hotel. We stopped for drinks at the King Cole Bar on our way. The mural is great, and the drinks are predictably expensive (about $60 for a glass of champagne and a Bloody Mary with tip). But that champagne tasted quite good after having walked ten miles.
We got back to our hotel around 5:30pm and had a glass of wine in the lobby (complimentary wine reception every evening from 5 to 6 pm). We had tickets to see Hamilton at 8:30 pm, but we hadn't made any dinner plans and we were too tired to contemplate doing anything other than getting ready to go to the show.
We ended up ordering a prosciutto, tomato and mozzarella pizza for delivery from Don Antonio's. It showed up around 6:30 pm, and we had that in our room with a glass of champagne. The pizza, unfortunately, was underdone. The toppings were good but the crust was too doughy. The champagne was perfect.
We walked to the Richard Rodgers Theater (about a block from our hotel) around 7:30pm. We each got a glass of champagne and went to our seats. The theater is beautiful and we had a better than expected view from our seats (right rear mezzanine).
It turned out that Lin Miranda was sick and did not perform Saturday evening. We knew he had been ill on Friday and did not perform, so we were not surprised that we didn't get to see him on Saturday evening. It was disappointing in that we had very much wanted to see him, and that was why we purchased Saturday evening tickets instead of Sunday matinee tickets. However, his replacement was very good. And, of course, Leslie Odom, Jr. is completely amazing as Aaron Burr; he has all of my favorite songs. Well, almost all my favorites, I do love Jonathan Groff as King George.
We also saw a few San Antonio Spurs players at the play. Shout out to Tim Duncan.
The play is just brilliant: the casting, the music, the set.... We loved it so much! I know we spent a lot of money to see it, but I'm so glad we were able to go. It was fantastic.
After the play, we walked back to our hotel, stopped at Nios for a drink (used our two free cocktail tickets), and talked and talked about the play. I think we made it to bed around 1 am.
We had a bit of a late start; the two hour time change meant we didn't wake up until almost 9 am. After we got ready, we walked up Fifth Avenue towards Central Park.
We stopped at St. Patrick's. Then we stopped at Tiffany's to look around a bit. I liked the Art Deco features of the building. We also stopped at Cartier because I'd love a tank watch, but, you know, budget and all that. Then we walked across the street to the Plaza Hotel. The main dining room is lovely; so Victorian! We had two egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches and an Americano from Epicerie Boulud.
We walked around Central Park and checked out the highlights: boat house, Bow Bridge, Shakespeare Gardens, Strawberry Fields, etc. The Park is beautiful, even in winter.
We exited the Park near Tavern on the Green so that we could walk some of the Upper West Side. We checked out several streets between about 60th to 75th Street, I think. It's certainly a beautiful neighborhood, and I suspect we certainly cannot afford to live there.
We crossed back into the Park near the Museum of Natural History, and then walked over to the Upper East Side so that we could see the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim. We walked up to the Guggenheim, but we didn't feel like we had time to check it out beyond the exterior.
We walked back to the Met and spent about three hours there. Or course, that's not nearly enough time, but we didn't have nearly enough time to do everything we wanted to do. We did check out the Jacqueline de Ribes Costume Exhibit (wonderful), part of the Asian collection, and part of the modern European painters collection.
We left the Met around 4 pm to start back to our hotel. We stopped for drinks at the King Cole Bar on our way. The mural is great, and the drinks are predictably expensive (about $60 for a glass of champagne and a Bloody Mary with tip). But that champagne tasted quite good after having walked ten miles.
We got back to our hotel around 5:30pm and had a glass of wine in the lobby (complimentary wine reception every evening from 5 to 6 pm). We had tickets to see Hamilton at 8:30 pm, but we hadn't made any dinner plans and we were too tired to contemplate doing anything other than getting ready to go to the show.
We ended up ordering a prosciutto, tomato and mozzarella pizza for delivery from Don Antonio's. It showed up around 6:30 pm, and we had that in our room with a glass of champagne. The pizza, unfortunately, was underdone. The toppings were good but the crust was too doughy. The champagne was perfect.
We walked to the Richard Rodgers Theater (about a block from our hotel) around 7:30pm. We each got a glass of champagne and went to our seats. The theater is beautiful and we had a better than expected view from our seats (right rear mezzanine).
It turned out that Lin Miranda was sick and did not perform Saturday evening. We knew he had been ill on Friday and did not perform, so we were not surprised that we didn't get to see him on Saturday evening. It was disappointing in that we had very much wanted to see him, and that was why we purchased Saturday evening tickets instead of Sunday matinee tickets. However, his replacement was very good. And, of course, Leslie Odom, Jr. is completely amazing as Aaron Burr; he has all of my favorite songs. Well, almost all my favorites, I do love Jonathan Groff as King George.
We also saw a few San Antonio Spurs players at the play. Shout out to Tim Duncan.
The play is just brilliant: the casting, the music, the set.... We loved it so much! I know we spent a lot of money to see it, but I'm so glad we were able to go. It was fantastic.
After the play, we walked back to our hotel, stopped at Nios for a drink (used our two free cocktail tickets), and talked and talked about the play. I think we made it to bed around 1 am.
Jan 12th, 2016, 11:42 AM
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Sunday, Day 3:
Another somewhat late start. We left the hotel around 10:30 and it was pouring rain. We took the Subway to Brooklyn. Still pouring rain. We stopped at a small deli and ordered two egg and cheese sandwiches and hoped the rain would stop. It didn't. Our plan was to walk the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, and I was thinking that this was a pretty poor plan given the rain and wind, but my husband was determined. By the time we made it to the bridge, it stopped raining and we had a bit of sunshine.
The walk was great. We loved the views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
We then walked to the 9/11 Memorial. The trees and pools are beautiful and hopeful.
We also walked to Trinity Church and saw Alexander and Eliza Hamilton's graves.
We had wanted to eat at Russ & Daughters so we thought we'd walk there as we wanted to see more of downtown and the city. So we walked, took a couple of incorrect streets, and walked some more. When we finally made it to Russ & Daughters (at about 2:30 pm), we discovered that they were no longer adding to their seating list as they were closing early for a private holiday party.
We had already walked about 8 miles by this point, and we hadn't eaten anything since Brooklyn. We decided to head over to the Flat Iron District to check out either ABC Kitchen or Eataly. It was another almost half mile walk to the subway station (actually, it could have been shorter, but we were both tired and didn't read the map correctly).
We got to the subway station, took the train, got out on the wrong stop, realized that ABC Kitchen was closing in five minutes, and, well, it's moments like these that remind my husband just why he would never take me on the Amazing Race.
Ahem.
So, anyway, we got back on the subway, rode to the correct stop, and walked to Eataly. We went to Il Pesce, ordered a bottle of champagne, a dozen oysters, fish soup, and fritto misto. Champagne and food do wonders for my sense of humor (thank goodness).
We also made a quick stop at Fishs Eddy: great store!
After lunch/dinner, we walked back to NoMad. We got there right at 5 pm when they were opening. We each had a cocktail. Great mixes and a beautiful space.
We walked back to our hotel by way of the New York Public Library. Loved the lions. I think we made it back to the hotel about 7 pm, and we were exhausted. My husband volunteered to walk to Shake Shack to pick up burgers and fries. We ate Shake Shack in our room and alternated watching the Golden Globes and football.
Monday morning:
We packed our bags, left them at the hotel and went back to Russ & Daughters for breakfast.
We had the Bissel of Caviar, bottle of champagne (sensing a theme?), and two different sandwich boards. It was our favorite meal of the trip. The salmon was so thinly sliced and the bialy's were perfect.
We had enough time to get back to the hotel, collect our bags, and take the subway and M60 bus back to LGA. Our flights were all on time and we made it home by 9 pm.
There was so much we wanted to see and so much that we didn't see. We very much enjoyed our stay, and our list of must-sees and must-do's and must-eats is long, so we'll have to back soon.
Another somewhat late start. We left the hotel around 10:30 and it was pouring rain. We took the Subway to Brooklyn. Still pouring rain. We stopped at a small deli and ordered two egg and cheese sandwiches and hoped the rain would stop. It didn't. Our plan was to walk the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, and I was thinking that this was a pretty poor plan given the rain and wind, but my husband was determined. By the time we made it to the bridge, it stopped raining and we had a bit of sunshine.
The walk was great. We loved the views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
We then walked to the 9/11 Memorial. The trees and pools are beautiful and hopeful.
We also walked to Trinity Church and saw Alexander and Eliza Hamilton's graves.
We had wanted to eat at Russ & Daughters so we thought we'd walk there as we wanted to see more of downtown and the city. So we walked, took a couple of incorrect streets, and walked some more. When we finally made it to Russ & Daughters (at about 2:30 pm), we discovered that they were no longer adding to their seating list as they were closing early for a private holiday party.
We had already walked about 8 miles by this point, and we hadn't eaten anything since Brooklyn. We decided to head over to the Flat Iron District to check out either ABC Kitchen or Eataly. It was another almost half mile walk to the subway station (actually, it could have been shorter, but we were both tired and didn't read the map correctly).
We got to the subway station, took the train, got out on the wrong stop, realized that ABC Kitchen was closing in five minutes, and, well, it's moments like these that remind my husband just why he would never take me on the Amazing Race.
Ahem.
So, anyway, we got back on the subway, rode to the correct stop, and walked to Eataly. We went to Il Pesce, ordered a bottle of champagne, a dozen oysters, fish soup, and fritto misto. Champagne and food do wonders for my sense of humor (thank goodness).
We also made a quick stop at Fishs Eddy: great store!
After lunch/dinner, we walked back to NoMad. We got there right at 5 pm when they were opening. We each had a cocktail. Great mixes and a beautiful space.
We walked back to our hotel by way of the New York Public Library. Loved the lions. I think we made it back to the hotel about 7 pm, and we were exhausted. My husband volunteered to walk to Shake Shack to pick up burgers and fries. We ate Shake Shack in our room and alternated watching the Golden Globes and football.
Monday morning:
We packed our bags, left them at the hotel and went back to Russ & Daughters for breakfast.
We had the Bissel of Caviar, bottle of champagne (sensing a theme?), and two different sandwich boards. It was our favorite meal of the trip. The salmon was so thinly sliced and the bialy's were perfect.
We had enough time to get back to the hotel, collect our bags, and take the subway and M60 bus back to LGA. Our flights were all on time and we made it home by 9 pm.
There was so much we wanted to see and so much that we didn't see. We very much enjoyed our stay, and our list of must-sees and must-do's and must-eats is long, so we'll have to back soon.
Jan 12th, 2016, 11:56 AM
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Sounds like a great weekend, kureiff! I'm glad Hamilton didn't disappoint. Sometimes you just have to splurge on an experience! It's too bad Lin was sick, but a nice opportunity for Jon Rua. Plus, bonus points for the Tim Duncan sighting. (While the Knicks are my hometown team, I love the Spurs organization and TD.) Glad you were able to see Leslie Odom Jr. as Burr.
(Unfortunately due to a work conflict, I had to sell my seats for this weekend. But I've been stalking TM and snapped up another pair today for another evening. I can't wait.)
I'm glad you were there during the milder weather, and that you enjoyed your first trip to NY (and plan to return)! It's difficult because there's just so much to fit in, but on the plus side, it always gives you reasons to go back.
(Unfortunately due to a work conflict, I had to sell my seats for this weekend. But I've been stalking TM and snapped up another pair today for another evening. I can't wait.)
I'm glad you were there during the milder weather, and that you enjoyed your first trip to NY (and plan to return)! It's difficult because there's just so much to fit in, but on the plus side, it always gives you reasons to go back.
Jan 12th, 2016, 12:07 PM
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It's difficult because there's just so much to fit in, but on the plus side, it always gives you reasons to go back.
Too true! I wasn't sure what to expect from such a large city in terms of being easy to explore. I was surprised by how walkable the city is. We also truly lucked out with some great weather for January. It was just starting to get cold yesterday morning.
Yes, Leslie Odom, Jr. is so great. I couldn't help but cry during Wait for It and Dear Theodosia. And Renee Elise Goldsberry just kills it as Angelica. I also love Christopher Jackson and Daveed Diggs. It was such a great play!
Too true! I wasn't sure what to expect from such a large city in terms of being easy to explore. I was surprised by how walkable the city is. We also truly lucked out with some great weather for January. It was just starting to get cold yesterday morning.
Yes, Leslie Odom, Jr. is so great. I couldn't help but cry during Wait for It and Dear Theodosia. And Renee Elise Goldsberry just kills it as Angelica. I also love Christopher Jackson and Daveed Diggs. It was such a great play!
Jan 12th, 2016, 02:10 PM
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HappyTrvlr, thanks. I think we both find the subway to be fairly intuitive; however, I'm hopeless on a bus. I commuted by bus for year in Seattle, and I never really felt comfortable or like I would be able to figure out an alternate route, if necessary.
We did waste two fares by entering before checking whether the sign said downtown when we needed to go uptown.
Also, having GPS on your phone makes navigating so much easier when you come out of the subway! We make fewer wrong turns in cities now that we have smartphones (except when we're tired and hungry, then all the GPS in the world does not help).
We did waste two fares by entering before checking whether the sign said downtown when we needed to go uptown.
Also, having GPS on your phone makes navigating so much easier when you come out of the subway! We make fewer wrong turns in cities now that we have smartphones (except when we're tired and hungry, then all the GPS in the world does not help).
Jan 13th, 2016, 04:25 AM
#17
What a fantastic first trip! I love the champagne theme. So glad you got to Fishs Eddy. It's ridiculous how happy that store makes me. I always buy something, even if it's just a 99cent creamer from the back sale shelves.
I'm glad seeing the show was as wonderful as you imagined. Sorry that Lin wasn't there. If you haven't seen the youtube video of his surprise at his wedding reception, watch it. It's priceless. Especially love his dad and the bride's father.
Glad you liked the Muse. We stayed there on one Thanksgiving trip and loved the location. So close to the theaters but not in the crazy feel of TS. We loved going down to the corner and watching the parade for a few minutes, and then coming back up to watch it in bed. You did what we so often do - wear ourselves out walking around all day and enjoying an easy dinner in the room before a show. The egg salad sandwich from my favorite no-name deli is one of the things I miss the most about NYC. Did you try the chocolate dipped apricot slices?
Caviar and champagne to end the trip? I love the way you roll. Can't wait to read about your next trip. I bet it will be sooner than later.
I'm glad seeing the show was as wonderful as you imagined. Sorry that Lin wasn't there. If you haven't seen the youtube video of his surprise at his wedding reception, watch it. It's priceless. Especially love his dad and the bride's father.
Glad you liked the Muse. We stayed there on one Thanksgiving trip and loved the location. So close to the theaters but not in the crazy feel of TS. We loved going down to the corner and watching the parade for a few minutes, and then coming back up to watch it in bed. You did what we so often do - wear ourselves out walking around all day and enjoying an easy dinner in the room before a show. The egg salad sandwich from my favorite no-name deli is one of the things I miss the most about NYC. Did you try the chocolate dipped apricot slices?
Caviar and champagne to end the trip? I love the way you roll. Can't wait to read about your next trip. I bet it will be sooner than later.
Jan 13th, 2016, 09:16 AM
#18
I was in New York with my husband the same days last weekend. Didn't run into kureiff or elberko. Very fortunate with the weather, it only seemed to rain when we were inside theaters or museums.
Kureiff, I am very impressed with the way you got around on your first visit and how much walking you did. I think your husband ought to reconsider taking you on the Amazing Race.
Kureiff, I am very impressed with the way you got around on your first visit and how much walking you did. I think your husband ought to reconsider taking you on the Amazing Race.
