New York State of Mind

As I usually do at least one weekend a month, I spent this weekend in New York City.  I love New York, and I love it even more since I have family and friends there.   I stayed on the Upper West Side with my sister and brother in law.  The three of us and my brother had a late dinner Friday night after I arrived at Five Napkin Burger.   The place was bustling and loud; louder than I had remembered from previous visits.   I don’t remember who said it but we all agreed that we wanted to sit somewhere else.  I used to say, if it’s too loud you’re too old.  Does this mean I’m too old?  Don’t answer that question.   We scored four seats at the bar and waited for a table outside.

At the bar we had one of my favorite cravings from this place.  If you haven’t been, you might not believe me when I tell you, but FNB has the best (and I mean the best) sushi.  There is one roll in particular that is especially crave-worthy in my opinion; the Southwestern roll.  It’s spicy yellowtail, cilantro, chayote and jalapeno and it is beyond delicious.  So we snacked on the sushi rolls and some chicken wings (which are also crave-worthy in their own right) while at the bar and then found our way outside to enjoy the gorgeous New York evening and the rest of our dinner.  My sister and I shared the original Five Napkin Burger, cooked perfectly medium rare and smothered in gruyere and caramelized onions and the foot long Kobe beef hot dog with sauerkraut.  Both were totally delicious and I felt like a gluttonous moo-pig at the end of the meal but a satisfied moo-pig.  

Saturday morning we hopped down to the weekend madness that is Bloomingdale's so my sister could return several pairs of shoes and to meet our friend MJ.  For the last few years, my sis has been wanting to buy her first Chanel bag.  She already knew what she wanted (black, classic Chanel and large).  And she also knew that the prices had just gone up in August.  So we strolled into the Chanel boutique at Bloomie’s and she tried on THE bag.   I loved all the chains and pearls in the window.

The darling salesman was kind enough to let us know that the prices were going up AGAIN on November 1.  He also clued us in to the fact that if she opened up a credit card, she could get 15% off.  Neither of us usually falls to that temptation but for a Chanel bag, well 15% is substantial.  At this point, she knew she wanted the bag and the only question was did she want the gold or silver chain strap.  We figured we could ponder this important point as we shopped the rest of the store.  And shop we did, I on my sister’s pending 15% discount plus the 10% extra they were giving if you have an out of state driver’s license. 

I bought:

Joie lace top

Michael Kors rose gold watch previously posted about here

My sis bought:

My sis' new bag

She saved (yes saved) $850 with all the discounts including the $250 Bloomie’s gift certificate coming her way for donating $15 towards breast cancer research.  After plunking down such a big chunk of change on one bag, she was having heart palpitations so we decided the next move needed to involve adult beverages. 

At MJ’s suggestion, we headed to Patsy’s for pizza and wine.  One very large salad, one pizza and two bottles of wine later we felt replenished.   

We poked around in a few more stores (MJ bought a few fabulous things at Zara) and then it was back to the UWS for an evening in.  First stop, Salumeria Rosi to pick up the needed cured meats for antipasti, then to Levain Bakery for cookies for dessert, then Zabar’s for cheese, pasta and bread, then back to the pad to relax and hang out.  After a brief IPod jam session we tucked in to watch Anthony Bourdain’s Fellini-esque No Reservations episode about Rome.  Ahh, Rome, how much do I love and miss thee?  But that is not the point at hand.  While tucked in with Bourdain’s Rome and wine and antipasti, my industrious and beyond talented brother in law prepared us a batch of the most tasty and delectable fusilli All'Amatriciana imaginable using this recipe as his inspiration.   

Fusilli all'amatriciana

Add that to a big old batch of cheese bread and we were in carb-load-heaven.


Gooey, toasty, cheese bread



So there you have it folks, that wraps up my weekend in NYC.  New York, until we meet again…