New York Weekend Trip Report
Aug 20th, 2007, 12:40 PM
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New York Weekend Trip Report
I am just back from a quick weekend trip to New York, so here is my trip report.
Day 1 (Friday)
I arrived Penn Station at 6:45pm and took the #1 subway to 50th Street and walked the 4 blocks to my hotel, The Muse. The Muse is situated on 46th St between 6th and 7th Ave, so from Penn Station, you could either take the subway to 42nd Street or 50th Street and walk. I choose to go to 50th Street- my thinking being it might be marginally less crowded to navigate that area with luggage than 42nd St. Though the area was very congested, I arrived at my hotel with just a few minutes walk. Check in was fast, friendly and efficient, taking only about 2 minutes. I had reserved an executive king room and was assigned room 705. This was my first time staying at The Muse (I usually stay at the Omni Berkshire) and my particular room was smaller than those I have received at the Omni. However, I am just one person, so it worked out fine. My only “complaint” is that the windows were set back on a 2 foot ledge, which was about 5 feet high, so it was really impossible to look out the windows down to the street below, unless you stood on a chair. You really only looked up. I know this is a small thing, but I like being able to see below somewhat. This room looked onto 46th street.
After settling into the hotel room, I walked over to Swizz (53rd St between 8th & 9th http://www.1291swizz.com/index.html ), where I had an 8pm reservation. Upon arrival, it was almost empty, so I needn’t have bothered with the reservation. Anyway, I was given my choice of tables which was nice. I ordered the Traditional Cheese Fondue for one. I really enjoyed the fondue, though it was a little sweeter than I am used to, but the flavor quickly grew on me and I finished the whole pot. For dessert, I selected the Jacques Torres chocolate fondue (which can also be prepared for one according to the waitress, though they don’t tell you that in the menu). This was delicious! It was very rich, smooth and chocolately and was served with marshmallows, strawberries, pineapple, banana and a fruit I did not recognize. Service was fast and attentive from both the waitress and the host—keeping water glasses filled etc. By the time I left around 9pm or so, it had gone from being nearly empty to being full. I will definitely keep this restaurant on my list of places to return to.
After eating all that food and having sat on the train for 3.5 hrs earlier, I decided to walk around the city. It was a nice night for a walk—perfect temperature of high 60s, so I ended up walking over to Rockefeller Center and then up 5th Ave to the Upper East Side. I strolled around and took note of restaurants to keep in mind for future visits. I ended up at Dylan’s Candy Bar, which is always touted on various boards. It looked crowded but manageable, so I went inside to look around. There are 2 levels—the first floor, where you enter, contains various candies of course and also the desserts/soda fountain section. I didn’t buy anything, but the menu/photos didn’t look like anything really special to me. The lower level contains more varieties of candy. The store also has loud “candy themed” music blaring—I guess if you really like candy it might be a fun place, but nothing that was for sale there really looked any different than what any other store may sell in the way of candy. It is really just the sheer volume that is impressive.
Upon arrival back at the hotel, there were a couple of furniture delivery trucks parked outside with mattresses and apparently other items for the hotel. It appears they may be redoing some of the rooms. I had no complaint with the condition of my room’s furniture, carpet etc, so perhaps it was one that was recently redone. Everything was very clean.
Day 2 (Saturday)
Today I got up early and walked around Central Park. It was very busy with joggers and people walking their dogs. I walked around there until 9:30am or so, at which time I walked down to Rockefeller Center to the NBC Experience Store, to purchase a ticket for the NBC Studio Tour ( I wanted to do the tour on Sunday, but wanted to buy my ticket ahead of time). After that I took the subway down to Herald Square where I then began my trek up and down the streets shopping for sewing supplies. I love coming to New York to purchase trims, ribbons, beads etc. There are so many wonderful stores with incredible selection of merchandise, it’s hard to choose what to get. The fabric stores are amazing as well, but I wasn’t looking for fabrics this trip. Some of the trim stores I went to include M&J, Daytona, Tinsel trading, the Store across the street.
I interrupted my shopping to take the subway to 23rd street to have lunch at Shake Shack (Madison Square Park http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/ ). I arrived around 11:15am, so there was next to no wait in line. I got a cheeseburger and a Shack Attack concrete. The Shack Attack is described as chocolate frozen custard with chocolate pieces, hot fudge, truffle cookie dough and sprinkles. However mine seemed to be missing the hot fudge and instead had pieces of chocolate toffee instead. The wait for the food was about 15 min. Both the burger and the concrete were delicious and the concrete was very filling.
I then continued my ribbon shopping until about 2pm, at which time I was getting tired and needed to sit down briefly. So I took the S train from 42nd St to Grand Central and then the #6 up to Bloomingdales. After sitting down in the subway for a few moments, I wandered around inside Bloomingdales and then made my way down the East side, zigzagging onto different streets and stopping in stores along Madison and 5th until I arrived back at 46th St and cut back over to my hotel, where I could finally drop.
I was exhausted from being on my feet all day. But I couldn’t rest long. I wanted to have an early dinner,, as I had a ticket to the Lion King 8pm show that night. Dinner was at Mi Nidito (8th Ave between 51st & 52nd http://elnidos.com/minidito/media/websiteminidito.html ). It was not one of my favorite New York restaurants. Service was inattentive—had to hunt them down for water refills etc. The chips and salsa that come with the meal were good; the salsa tasted fresh. I ordered the Ultimate margarita, which I did not like. It was way too strong--- I know many people love a good strong drink and feel like they are getting lots for their money when the bartender goes heavy on the alcohol, but I prefer a more moderate taste. It was just way too strong—I only drank one third of it. For the main course I got cheese enchiladas, which I did enjoy. They were large and very good. The refried beans they were served with were good, but I found the rice to be bland. Overall, I just didn’t care for the atmosphere in this place, so will not be returning.
For dessert, rather than staying at the restaurant, I went to Tasti D-Lite and had a small cup of butter pecan. I’d never been to Tasti D Lite before even though they are all over the city and I thought it was good.
I picked up my ticket to the Lion King from the box office and overheard them telling people who wanted to get tickets for that night that the show was sold out. I had reserved my ticket ahead via ticketmaster on the Wednesday before the show, so I was glad I did. I was in the 3rd row but had the last seat on the end. So while I was close to the stage, being on the very end was less than ideal. However, when I bought the ticket it was all that the online system would come up with!
The show started at 8pm and lasted until about 10:45pm. I thought it was great! I loved it and am glad I finally got to see it.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Today was my final day, so I stored my luggage downstairs for the day. I then went over to Rockefeller Center for the 9:30am NBC Studio Tour. On the tour they showed us the studio where Conan O’Brien tapes, SNL studio, control room and a news studio mock up. The tour lasted about an hour. It was interesting, as I had never been in a studio before. If you’ve been on studio tours before then you may not find it as interesting.
I then walked around and made my way over to Brooklyn Diner (57th between Broadway and 7th Ave http://www.brooklyndiner.com/ ) for lunch. I ordered a chocolate egg cream, Cheeseburger Deluxe and coconut layer cake. The burger was huge. The patty is about 1.5-2 inches thick and is served on a toasted bun with cheddar cheese, bacon and frizzled onions and is served with fries. It was so high, I had to pull off most of the onions in order to have any hope of getting it into my mouth. The coconut cake was 3 layers and had toasted coconut covering the outside. I would plan to go here again—though it is not one of my top choices, I liked it enough to consider it if I’m in that area and can’t decide where else to eat.
After lunch I took the F train down to Delancey St and walked around a bit before my Lower East Side Tenement Museum Tour. I went to Economy Candy. I liked this store better than Dylan’s—they had more unusual types of candy (in addition to common varieties) such as foreign candies and old fashioned varieties. It was also less busy.
I took the 2:45pm Piecing It Together tour at LES Tenement Museum. This tour takes you into 2 apartments: the Levine apartment and the Rogarshevsky apartment. They tell you a bit about the 2 families that lived there—what their lives were like, what they did for a living etc and you get a sense of what it must have been like to live there during that time. I really enjoyed my tour and would like to return to the museum to take one of the other tours offered.
After the tour, I headed over to Sugar Sweet Sunshine (Rivington St between Essex and Norfolk http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/ ) to get some cupcakes. I have always loved cupcakes—even before they became so popular- so I have been on a mission to find my favorite cupcakes in NYC (among other places). I got one Ooey Gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream frosting), Pistachio, Black and White (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting) and a Sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting). Frankly, I didn’t find these to be among my favorites ( I didn’t eat all 4 myself—I brought them home and cut them up with family members that evening). The Black and White and the Ooey Gooey cakes seemed a littler drier than I would like. Also I though the frosting didn’t have that much flavor. The Pistachio and the Sunshine, the cakes was more moist, but the frosting still lacked flavor to me. I’d say of the lot the Pistachio was my favorite. Of the cupcake places I’ve tried so far, these are my rankings: #1 Billy’s Bakery, #2 Magnolia, #3 Crumbs, #4 Buttercup Bakery, #5 Sugar Sweet Sunshine.
After the stop at the bakery, it was time to head back up the Muse to pick up my bag and catch the subway back to Penn Station. Once again, I had a wonderful weekend in New York. I'm looking forward to the next one already! I'd be happy to answer questions if anyone has any.
Day 1 (Friday)
I arrived Penn Station at 6:45pm and took the #1 subway to 50th Street and walked the 4 blocks to my hotel, The Muse. The Muse is situated on 46th St between 6th and 7th Ave, so from Penn Station, you could either take the subway to 42nd Street or 50th Street and walk. I choose to go to 50th Street- my thinking being it might be marginally less crowded to navigate that area with luggage than 42nd St. Though the area was very congested, I arrived at my hotel with just a few minutes walk. Check in was fast, friendly and efficient, taking only about 2 minutes. I had reserved an executive king room and was assigned room 705. This was my first time staying at The Muse (I usually stay at the Omni Berkshire) and my particular room was smaller than those I have received at the Omni. However, I am just one person, so it worked out fine. My only “complaint” is that the windows were set back on a 2 foot ledge, which was about 5 feet high, so it was really impossible to look out the windows down to the street below, unless you stood on a chair. You really only looked up. I know this is a small thing, but I like being able to see below somewhat. This room looked onto 46th street.
After settling into the hotel room, I walked over to Swizz (53rd St between 8th & 9th http://www.1291swizz.com/index.html ), where I had an 8pm reservation. Upon arrival, it was almost empty, so I needn’t have bothered with the reservation. Anyway, I was given my choice of tables which was nice. I ordered the Traditional Cheese Fondue for one. I really enjoyed the fondue, though it was a little sweeter than I am used to, but the flavor quickly grew on me and I finished the whole pot. For dessert, I selected the Jacques Torres chocolate fondue (which can also be prepared for one according to the waitress, though they don’t tell you that in the menu). This was delicious! It was very rich, smooth and chocolately and was served with marshmallows, strawberries, pineapple, banana and a fruit I did not recognize. Service was fast and attentive from both the waitress and the host—keeping water glasses filled etc. By the time I left around 9pm or so, it had gone from being nearly empty to being full. I will definitely keep this restaurant on my list of places to return to.
After eating all that food and having sat on the train for 3.5 hrs earlier, I decided to walk around the city. It was a nice night for a walk—perfect temperature of high 60s, so I ended up walking over to Rockefeller Center and then up 5th Ave to the Upper East Side. I strolled around and took note of restaurants to keep in mind for future visits. I ended up at Dylan’s Candy Bar, which is always touted on various boards. It looked crowded but manageable, so I went inside to look around. There are 2 levels—the first floor, where you enter, contains various candies of course and also the desserts/soda fountain section. I didn’t buy anything, but the menu/photos didn’t look like anything really special to me. The lower level contains more varieties of candy. The store also has loud “candy themed” music blaring—I guess if you really like candy it might be a fun place, but nothing that was for sale there really looked any different than what any other store may sell in the way of candy. It is really just the sheer volume that is impressive.
Upon arrival back at the hotel, there were a couple of furniture delivery trucks parked outside with mattresses and apparently other items for the hotel. It appears they may be redoing some of the rooms. I had no complaint with the condition of my room’s furniture, carpet etc, so perhaps it was one that was recently redone. Everything was very clean.
Day 2 (Saturday)
Today I got up early and walked around Central Park. It was very busy with joggers and people walking their dogs. I walked around there until 9:30am or so, at which time I walked down to Rockefeller Center to the NBC Experience Store, to purchase a ticket for the NBC Studio Tour ( I wanted to do the tour on Sunday, but wanted to buy my ticket ahead of time). After that I took the subway down to Herald Square where I then began my trek up and down the streets shopping for sewing supplies. I love coming to New York to purchase trims, ribbons, beads etc. There are so many wonderful stores with incredible selection of merchandise, it’s hard to choose what to get. The fabric stores are amazing as well, but I wasn’t looking for fabrics this trip. Some of the trim stores I went to include M&J, Daytona, Tinsel trading, the Store across the street.
I interrupted my shopping to take the subway to 23rd street to have lunch at Shake Shack (Madison Square Park http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/ ). I arrived around 11:15am, so there was next to no wait in line. I got a cheeseburger and a Shack Attack concrete. The Shack Attack is described as chocolate frozen custard with chocolate pieces, hot fudge, truffle cookie dough and sprinkles. However mine seemed to be missing the hot fudge and instead had pieces of chocolate toffee instead. The wait for the food was about 15 min. Both the burger and the concrete were delicious and the concrete was very filling.
I then continued my ribbon shopping until about 2pm, at which time I was getting tired and needed to sit down briefly. So I took the S train from 42nd St to Grand Central and then the #6 up to Bloomingdales. After sitting down in the subway for a few moments, I wandered around inside Bloomingdales and then made my way down the East side, zigzagging onto different streets and stopping in stores along Madison and 5th until I arrived back at 46th St and cut back over to my hotel, where I could finally drop.
I was exhausted from being on my feet all day. But I couldn’t rest long. I wanted to have an early dinner,, as I had a ticket to the Lion King 8pm show that night. Dinner was at Mi Nidito (8th Ave between 51st & 52nd http://elnidos.com/minidito/media/websiteminidito.html ). It was not one of my favorite New York restaurants. Service was inattentive—had to hunt them down for water refills etc. The chips and salsa that come with the meal were good; the salsa tasted fresh. I ordered the Ultimate margarita, which I did not like. It was way too strong--- I know many people love a good strong drink and feel like they are getting lots for their money when the bartender goes heavy on the alcohol, but I prefer a more moderate taste. It was just way too strong—I only drank one third of it. For the main course I got cheese enchiladas, which I did enjoy. They were large and very good. The refried beans they were served with were good, but I found the rice to be bland. Overall, I just didn’t care for the atmosphere in this place, so will not be returning.
For dessert, rather than staying at the restaurant, I went to Tasti D-Lite and had a small cup of butter pecan. I’d never been to Tasti D Lite before even though they are all over the city and I thought it was good.
I picked up my ticket to the Lion King from the box office and overheard them telling people who wanted to get tickets for that night that the show was sold out. I had reserved my ticket ahead via ticketmaster on the Wednesday before the show, so I was glad I did. I was in the 3rd row but had the last seat on the end. So while I was close to the stage, being on the very end was less than ideal. However, when I bought the ticket it was all that the online system would come up with!
The show started at 8pm and lasted until about 10:45pm. I thought it was great! I loved it and am glad I finally got to see it.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Today was my final day, so I stored my luggage downstairs for the day. I then went over to Rockefeller Center for the 9:30am NBC Studio Tour. On the tour they showed us the studio where Conan O’Brien tapes, SNL studio, control room and a news studio mock up. The tour lasted about an hour. It was interesting, as I had never been in a studio before. If you’ve been on studio tours before then you may not find it as interesting.
I then walked around and made my way over to Brooklyn Diner (57th between Broadway and 7th Ave http://www.brooklyndiner.com/ ) for lunch. I ordered a chocolate egg cream, Cheeseburger Deluxe and coconut layer cake. The burger was huge. The patty is about 1.5-2 inches thick and is served on a toasted bun with cheddar cheese, bacon and frizzled onions and is served with fries. It was so high, I had to pull off most of the onions in order to have any hope of getting it into my mouth. The coconut cake was 3 layers and had toasted coconut covering the outside. I would plan to go here again—though it is not one of my top choices, I liked it enough to consider it if I’m in that area and can’t decide where else to eat.
After lunch I took the F train down to Delancey St and walked around a bit before my Lower East Side Tenement Museum Tour. I went to Economy Candy. I liked this store better than Dylan’s—they had more unusual types of candy (in addition to common varieties) such as foreign candies and old fashioned varieties. It was also less busy.
I took the 2:45pm Piecing It Together tour at LES Tenement Museum. This tour takes you into 2 apartments: the Levine apartment and the Rogarshevsky apartment. They tell you a bit about the 2 families that lived there—what their lives were like, what they did for a living etc and you get a sense of what it must have been like to live there during that time. I really enjoyed my tour and would like to return to the museum to take one of the other tours offered.
After the tour, I headed over to Sugar Sweet Sunshine (Rivington St between Essex and Norfolk http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/ ) to get some cupcakes. I have always loved cupcakes—even before they became so popular- so I have been on a mission to find my favorite cupcakes in NYC (among other places). I got one Ooey Gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream frosting), Pistachio, Black and White (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting) and a Sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting). Frankly, I didn’t find these to be among my favorites ( I didn’t eat all 4 myself—I brought them home and cut them up with family members that evening). The Black and White and the Ooey Gooey cakes seemed a littler drier than I would like. Also I though the frosting didn’t have that much flavor. The Pistachio and the Sunshine, the cakes was more moist, but the frosting still lacked flavor to me. I’d say of the lot the Pistachio was my favorite. Of the cupcake places I’ve tried so far, these are my rankings: #1 Billy’s Bakery, #2 Magnolia, #3 Crumbs, #4 Buttercup Bakery, #5 Sugar Sweet Sunshine.
After the stop at the bakery, it was time to head back up the Muse to pick up my bag and catch the subway back to Penn Station. Once again, I had a wonderful weekend in New York. I'm looking forward to the next one already! I'd be happy to answer questions if anyone has any.
Aug 20th, 2007, 01:05 PM
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Miramar, your report still has dreaming of what I would do on a weekend in New York if it was just me...oh, the possibilities...I don't have the fantasy totally fleshed out, but it would also include Broadway (maybe a play instead of a musical!) and cupcakes!
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