New York City Activities
Tuesday: Arrival
As I wrote in the Flights & Hotels post, I arrived very late Wednesday morning, so I slept in.
Wednesday
My first full day in NYC. I walked to the Chelsea Pier, which was like any other Pier, and less than exciting.
Then, I walked over to the Chelsea Market, which was a panoply of places to eat. I might go back there and try another place later in my stay. I decided to try Miznon, because it looked very popular. I had the Pita with Wild Mushrooms, and it was pretty good. I wouldn’t go back for that, but might try something else.
From the Market, it was a short walk to the High Line, which used to be an elevated railroad track. It was quite a pleasant walk, mostly because there were some very interesting buildings along the way. A nice diversion, and I would recommend checking it out.
Had dinner with some friends from college that I haven’t seen in years- that was fun! Lucky that they chose a restaurant on Resy, so I used one of my Personal Platinum cards for the quarterly credit.
Thursday
Had lunch with my cousins at Shuya. It’s highly rated on Yelp, but I was disappointed. I had the Vegetarian Ramen, and the broth was tomatoey and opaque- it was weird.
Then, I went to TKTS in Times Square for discounted theater tickets. I ended up getting Lost Boys, and really enjoyed it. The things they can do with the stage are incredible and worth the price of admission.
I had a quick dinner before the show at Mittr Thai. The place was jammed, and I had to wait for a seat at the bar. I ordered the Poe Taek Seafood Hot Pot. The broth was fantastic!! But the seafood was primarily squid, and I’m not a huge fan. I would order that again, but ask for different seafood. Note to self: make a reservation!
Mittr Thai is on Resy, so I used one of my Personal Platinum cards to pay for the quarterly credit.
Friday
Took the Subway to the 9/11 Museum. That was a sobering experience. I did work on the 97th floor of WTC1 a few years before 9/11, but I’m lucky that I didn’t lose anyone that day.
After the 9/11 Museum, I got a slice at L’industrie Pizzeria in Greenwich Village. There was a long line to get in, but it only took about 20 minutes. I had the Margherita slice, and it was quite good, but I'm not sure it was worth the hype. I can get pretty good pizza in California. This had a very thin crust, but held up to being folded really well. Enjoyable!
Then I went to the Brant Foundation to see an exhibit of Keith Haring’s work. His work is very recognizable, and lot of fun to see so many of his pieces in one place.
I bought some bread and cheese at Whole Foods and had a light dinner.
Saturday
Started my day with lunch at Mala Hot Pot, and ordered the Vegetable Maocai. It was fantastically flavorful with lots of Chinese vegetables. They also had a “Sauce Bar”, or at least that’s what I think the waiter called it. It had lots of sauces, raw garlic, scallions, cilantro, and chopped red chili peppers. I added raw garlic and the hot broth cooked it- it was fantastic. Going there again before I leave.
Then, I walked over to the Museum of Modern Art. I love that place, and I go every time I’m in NYC. I’m a big fan of Picasso and Van Gogh.
For dinner, I went to SeoulBap and had the Vegetarian Bibimbap. All of the components were nicely presented and nicely cooked. It was very good. It was jam-packed, and I was seated at the bar area, but off on the side, so not a great location, which impacted my overall enjoyment. But at least I was seated right away.
Sunday
Enjoyed my meal at Mala Hot Pot so much that I went back and had the Vegetable Maocai again.
I have cousins in Brooklyn, so I took the opportunity to visit the New York Transit Museum. This is a fantastic museum that traces the history of the New York City Subway, starting with its construction. There are also many antique subway cars in the lower level. Definitely a great way to spend a couple of hours.
We had dinner at Al Badawi, a Palestinian restaurant. This was my first time trying Palestinian food. My cousin is a regular there. He ordered Fattat Jaj, which is a “6-layer dish of roasted chicken, rice, chickpeas, mint yogurt, crispy pita, garlic sauce & slivered almonds”- it was delicious! Highly recommend this place.
We collect Starbucks mugs from every place we travel to. Looks like there’s a mug for every borough, because I was able to get both Manhattan and Brooklyn mugs.
Monday
I met my friend from High School and his wife at the Museum of Natural History. I was vacillating between Natural History (Dinosaurs!) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (love Egyptology!). I ended up choosing Dinosaurs.
We had lunch in the basement at a food court. Not remarkable, but convenient.
Then, we wandered through the Dinosaurs. The most interesting point for me was how old the Earth is and how relatively young life on Earth is. Not news, but they had some graphics that made it easy to understand.
I had previously made a list of restaurants that I was interested in trying, and I hadn’t had Italian yet, so that was my focus. Ramerino was my choice. I must say it was mixed. They had complementary bread which was accompanied by a plate with some very dry cheese (Parmesan?) and some salami (complimentary!). The waiter offered 4 different breads, and the two that the table chose were both very dry.
We ordered the “tableside” Caesar salad, but it was prepared somewhere, not tableside. It was pretty good, but heavy on the Dijon mustard. We were asked if we wanted anchovies, and I said yes. I was brought a plate of a dozen anchovies, which I cut into small pieces and added to my salad. Overall, it was fine.
I ended up ordering the special with squid ink pasta, a couple of scallops, a couple of shrimp and half of a lobster. The squid ink pasta was fine, and the scallops and shrimp were nicely cooked. But the lobster was literally a half lobster, so I had to navigate cracking the claw. I was hoping for a lazy man’s lobster. My companions liked their entrees more than I liked mine.
I always ask how much the special costs, and this one costs $58. I would not order this again, and I’m unlikely to recommend this restaurant to others.
The ambience was upscale, but the food was just meh.
Tuesday: Departure
I’ll cover my lunch here, but please see NYC Flights & Hotels for more details.
My last day, and probably my favorite meal! I went to Gaia for the $39 price fixed lunch. Started with the hamachi crudo: 4 bites with a small slice of red chili pepper on top and avocado spread underneath- delicious! My main was pacheri pasta with mushrooms. It was served very hot, which I really appreciate, and had a little shaved truffle on top. Rich and filling but very tasty. For dessert, I had the mango & raspberry sorbet - it was good. And two(!) complimentary (small) glasses of dessert wine!
Highly recommend! Would love to come back for dinner!
Then, I took an Uber to Laguardia, which took longer than normal. Even though the LIRR strike was officially over, not all trains were running, so more commuters in cars.
At LGA, I accessed the Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounge using my Sapphire Reserve card. Curiously, there is a Centurion (Amex) lounge right next door. In my experience, I consistently prefer the Sapphire Lounge to the Centurion Lounge. The food is better, and you can order off a limited menu that is delivered right to your table. I usually order the Impossible burger and eat a few things from the hot buffet. Definitely a level up from the typical Centurion Lounge.
Unfortunately, my flight was delayed until the next day due to Air Traffic restrictions at Chicago (ORD), so I was re-booked onto an early morning flight out of JFK. I had to Uber to JFK and book a hotel for the night. Ugh!
Conclusion
This was a great trip! I did a bunch of tourism stuff, saw friends & relatives, and paid for my hotel and flights with points. I also leveraged the Resy credits on my 3 Personal Platinums, so that the actual out-of-pocket cost was quite low, especially considering I spent a week in Manhattan! Looking forward to coming back with my spouse.
