Adventures In NYC {Part 2} – 24 Hours In The Big Apple

Friends…I spent 26 hours in NYC last week. What a whirlwind – but such a great time!! I haven’t been to New York in a couple of years (here’s a fun recap of the last time I visited NY with my husband) and I was excited about getting back up there even for just a quick trip. It was a dreary, rainy day when I arrived – but cleared up beautifully the next morning. Look at that gorgeous sky!

The reason for my trip was to meet with Fisher Nuts and … Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. Yes, that’s right. Chef Alex. From Food Network. What an honor and treat it was to hear her talk and watch her cook a few recipes for us. She was incredibly witty, a great storyteller and really passionate about food. I loved hearing her talk about her love of food, and the grace she gives herself when recipes don’t turn out. Can’t we all totally relate to that? Even professional (celebrity) chefs have bad days in the kitchen. And it’s ok. Just keep on cooking! Her approach to food is so natural, she shops the markets and is inspired by what’s in season and looks right. I was definitely inspired.

The event was held at her beautiful restaurant, Butter. The food was amazing, especially her Walnut and Fontina Macaroni and Cheese. I couldn’t stop thinking about this one. So savory and delicious. I think it would be a great recipe to serve to friends and family over the holidays honestly. A very grown up twist on mac and cheese, but still the ultimate comfort food.

Our tasting menu included so many wonderful recipes created by Chef Alex. A few of my favorites:

Walnut Stuffed Cherry Tomato Halves

Grouper with Almond and Asparagus

Spicy Walnut and Chickpea Hummus

You can find more recipes created by Chef Alex here.

Our event was held at Butter, which was attached to the Cassa Hotel. I thought the rooms were very clean and comfortable and I would stay there again.

The rest of my short time in NY was spent exploring and eating with a few of my blogger friends. I can’t tell you what a treat it is to connect with other bloggers in real life. Most of us have “known” each other for years online, but have never met in real life or maybe just a couple of times.

 (me, Jenny, Rachel and Carrian)

We hit up Chelsea Market that evening, it was my first time and it is one of my favorite places ever — a food lovers paradise! Such fun shops and restaurants, so much to see and choose from.

Where we ate:

 Los Tacos No. 1 — oh my, these tacos are the real deal. I highly recommend the Adobada (marinated pork in a smoky sweet adobo sauce) Taco. I am dying to recreate the sauce!!

Friedman’s Lunch — loved this place! long wooden community tables, very friendly and great vibe. Enjoyed a nice glass of wine and shared a B.L.A.T, Rosemary Herbed Fries and Sweet Potato Fries with friends. So good.

Fat Witch — so fun being out and about with Jenny, she is the queen of sweets and knows where to find them! We popped in to Fat Witch to grab some of their brownies (particularly the Snow Witch, their blondie). Such a cute shop!! I brought a few home to share with my family.

I think we finally got the “hailing a cab” thing down by the end of the night.

The next morning was truly glorious. The air was crisp (brrrr) and the sky was so blue.

I had nothing planned before my flight…until I ran into Kristin of Iowa Girl Eats in the lobby of our hotel. She was on her way to Rockefeller Center to see the big Christmas tree being delivered! Um, how cool is that?! We were just a few blocks away so off we went, coffee in hand. It was great to get to know her better in the hour we spent together exploring. I’ve been reading her blog forever, we both have baby (toddler?) boys around the same age and I really enjoy her recipes. She’s just as down to earth as I thought she would be – she’s good people!

After walking Kristin back to the hotel so she could catch her flight, I grabbed some breakfast at Pret a Manger (um, LOVE the concept of this place. I saw them around in different spots. Fresh, healthy, grab and go. Seriously great). I had picked up some soup there the day before and it was delicious so I was excited to see what they offered for breakfast.

Kristin told me about a park nearby, Bryant Park, so I took my breakfast and walked a few blocks over to check it out.

 Breakfast from Pret A Manger: Southwestern Breakfast Wrap and a cold pressed green juice — good stuff!

This park is a gem. It was truly a nugget of paradise in the middle of chaos. Loved eating under the trees and walking around. They were set up for their winter festival with lots of booths and an ice skating rink. Such a cool place to check out if you are in the area.

New York is so interesting and I always feel nostalgic when I am there (I lived in Mount Vernon, NY until I was 10 years old). The busy-ness of the city definitely makes my head spin, but there it’s always a unique and interesting vibe about it all. If you like to people watch (I do), well, that’s always pretty entertaining too.

It’s always fun to get away, but it’s so great to get back home. Especially to warm and sunny Florida in November. 🙂

Have a great weekend!

(Thank you to Fisher Nuts for sending me to this event. I am in a long term partnership with Fisher Nuts and will be sharing recipes using their nuts on my blog as part of their Fresh Thinker Network.)