NYC Runs is a newer running group in New York (as opposed to the NY Road Runners, who puts on the ING NYC Marathon) that suffers from disorganization and apparent vendor/supply issues. However, they offer less expensive races that emphasize fun over esteem. For hard-core runners, this is probably irksome. For me, though, I can put up with some minor annoyances while they smooth out the kinks as long as they keep the entry fees low. And $20 for hot chocolate, a cute mug and a great run is definitely worth it to me!

See You in the City!

The race start was near 108th Street in Riverside Park. All of us expected a flat run, however, the organizers surprised us by mapping out a rather hilly race. 3.1 miles never felt so long.

Kristen and me before the start of the race! Kristen is one of the first good friends I made when I moved to the city and we clicked effortlessly. (We met through the Urban Girl Squad.) She kept me motivated during the race, since I was trailing her the entire time.

Come get your hot chocolate!

Brunch time! One of the benefits of burning so many calories. I had never been to Community Food and Juice before and it is delicious! I am so happy to have found such a great brunch place in my neighborhood.

A lot of places in New York don’t take reservations and this is one of them. Luckily we beat the rush and got a table rather quickly.

Congratulations on a great run! Yes, that’s my coconut vodka martini on the right.

It’s hard to put September 11 into perspective and to feel that you have appropriately paid your respects to those most grievously affected by the events of that day. The newly opened 9/11 Memorial, however, does give you a tangible way to recognize the victims and the first responders, who risked everything to clear the Twin Towers. While closure may be too strong of a word to use, visiting the site does provide a sense of peace and I, at least, left feeling hopeful.

See You in the City, friends.

The 9/11 Memorial website has helpful information about how to plan your visit and what to expect. It is free to go to the Memorial, but you must sign up for a visitor pass and bring your printed confirmation.

The Memorial has twin pools of water to represent the fallen towers. They are each an acre in size and sit in the exact location of where the towers once stood.

It really is a moving tribute to those that died that day and it is surprisingly peaceful.

The names of all the men, women and children who died in the World Trade Center attacks in 1993 and 2001 are inscribed on bronze plaques that line the reflecting pools. If you are looking for a particular name, the website provides a search function that allows you to pinpoint the name prior to going to the Memorial.

The space between.

Stay warm and See You in the City!

The Shakshuka is served with wheat or white pita for dipping scooping out the eggs and sauce. The eggs are poached in the stew and the result is very similar, if not the same, as the Italian version called “Eggs in Purgatory.” You can actually make it at home pretty easily, which I have done a couple of times.

 Brunch is only a $11.95, which includes fresh-squeezed orange juice and coffee, or go for lunch like we did and get a free appetizer. We chose falafel and labane. Labane is a soft cheese made from yogurt. We now get it every time we go there.

The cardamom-scented Turkish coffee is served in the decanter and packs a powerful punch, which is exactly what we needed the day after New Years.

The Hummus Place has four locations, one of which is a block from our place. Lucky us!

I have neglected to even mention the hummus, which is also delicious! Rich, creamy and with just a hint of tahini, it is divine. Definitely try it. Just try the shakshuka first.

The display windows are quite spectacular. Titled “Carnival of the Animals,” they reimagine various animals and their environments in an artistic and fantastical way. It took David Hoey, Bergdorf’s Senior Director of Visual Presentation, and his team an entire year to produce the windows that will remain up through 3 January 2012. As Bergdorf is a high-end fashion store, the windows prominently showcase exclusive gowns and designs by famous fashion houses. But the real stars of the show are the animals and appliqué that make the windows such a unique “holiday spectacle.”

Bergdorf’s blog provides a great write-up on this year’s theme and gives you a much clearer image of each window. I included my photos below, though, which I am also quite partial to, since you see the reflection of the city in each of the windows. Notice that in the first few, the heads of animals take the place of what should be the face of a man or woman. Definitely creepy.

See You in the City!

Kira and me in the window!

Eataly is an Italian foodie utopia. Walking through their extensive selection of meats, cheeses, pastas and wines, you can’t help but affectionately reminisce about afternoons spent wandering the markets in Rome and Florence, Naples and Turin. The smells and colors are intoxicating and for a few brief moments you think, “of course it’s reasonable to spend $19.99 on a sausage link. I’m in Italy and who knows when I will be back?” But then you smack yourself back to reality and remind yourself that no, silly, you are in New York! Maybe you should just buy the homemade pasta being sold at the outdoor market in your neighborhood. The panettone (my favorite!) is the same brand they sell at Fairway and World Market. And the wine, well, it’s overpriced. It’s just so easy to get sucked into the ambiance and sophistication that Eataly offers!

But just like the first time my pockets got plundered by a Sicilian cabbie in Rome, Eataly, too, will chip away at that beautiful veneer and jolt you back into a reality that isn’t all dolci and lattes. First, it is expensive. I mean, it’s New York, so of course it is. But you need to choose wisely. Those “buddha hand” lemons sure are spectacular looking and what a conversation piece they will be! But, really, do I need those? And the pasta selection is enormous and maybe for a special occasion, I could buy the orechiette pasta that I can never find in my local grocery store. But then again…maybe not. The biggest problem I have, though, is the customer service. And that’s really what crushes the joy of Eataly.

Take last night for example, a girlfriend and I went to wander and enjoy a glass of wine, maybe a slice of pizza, and then a beer at the (relatively) newly opened Birreria. We sat down at Le Verdure, where the counter was nearly empty and the customers in the table area were few. We were promptly and then aggressively told to leave when we explained that we only wanted a glass of vino. The waitress first told us she couldn’t serve us when we expressed our confusion and then the manager came over and told us we needed to find another place to sit. I was taken aback (in my head, I was still in lovely Italy!) and, well, they were unnecessarily rude, considering we were polite. They really didn’t have any other customers and we were planning to order, just not to the full extent they wanted us to. And, while it might be easier to offend my Midwestern roots, it’s harder to offend my girlfriend, who grew up in Brooklyn, and yet they managed to.

We did see Joe Bastianich in the Birreria, after we gave up trying to find seats elsewhere (La Piazza is standing-tables only), when he breezed by us in the bar. But by then the sheen on our evening had been lost and even a kind-of celebrity sighting wasn’t enough to resurrect it.

I recently read on Eater that Eataly may be expanding to Washington DC and possibly Los Angeles, and I understand people’s excitement. It really is a place to experience…just maybe not a place to shop.

See You in the City!

They try to visually replicate what you’d experience at markets in Italy. These stands greet you when you first walk into Eataly, from the 23rd Street Entrance.

La Piazza is standing-tables only and they offer wine, champagne, beer and a choice of small dishes.

Eataly has a whole range of pasta. While Americans usually choose their pasta based on what shape they prefer, Italians look for what will most complement the type of sauce being made. There are particular pairings that work better than others and the pasta really is the star of the show. Gourmet magazine published the best write-up I have seen about pasta choices and how to cook and serve pasta like a true Italian nonna.

The Birreria. The photo is a little dark, but so is the room. It’s got a cool vibe, though, and it’s an open rooftop in warmer weather. Unfortunately, they do not offer any Happy Hour prices.

If you are interested in seeing a concert in New York, the two best websites I have found to cull information from are: Pollstar (which actually provides you events from across the country) and Oh My Rockness (a New York specific concert/venue/band website).

See You in the City!

The marquee outside Beacon Theater. As soon as we turned onto Broadway, I knew we were going to the concert.

The Beacon Theater opened in 1929 and has hosted vaudeville acts, musical productions, opera, film and even President Clinton’s birthday celebration in 2006. It was designed by a Chicago architect named Walter Ahlschlagar in the Art Deco style and the interior walks the line between gaudy and glamorous. It has superb acoustics and remains a popular venue for all sorts of artists from Jay-Z to the Allman Brothers to the Cure and Adele.

We had seats in the balcony, which actually were pretty great. The only awkward part is that you are in a theater with seats, so…do you stand, do you sit…?

The National is an indie rock band from my home state of Ohio. They are currently based in Brooklyn. I started listening to them in 2005 when my bestie Natalie (who writes a fantastic blog called the Haute Housewife) sent me a copy of their album Alligator. High Violet is their most recent album.

This was my third time seeing them. The first two times were at the 930 Club in Washington DC when they were touring for Alligator and then for Boxer, which was released in 2007. Their songs range from haunting to soulful and from rock to folk. Here is last night’s set list.

They closed the show by singing Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks a capella. It was very Arcade Fire of them, in a good way.

My dear friend Diane and her family are coming for a few days over the holidays and, since I won’t be here, I wanted to provide them a list of possible restaurants. Hopefully they won’t feel quite as overwhelmed when considering their dining choices on the UWS. If there are any you like that I have missed, please let me know!

See You in the City!

- Lovely little cafe serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and tea. Open until 8pm

- Falafel Place. Good for lunch.

14. Rigoletto Pizza 208 Columbus Ave

- Pizza by the slice (not like Adam’s Morgan, slices in a good way). Good for lunch. 

15. Grolla Pizza 403 Amsterdam Avenue

- My favorite pizza by the slice! Limited seating.

See You in the City!

It’s a bit of a tourist trap. New York has plenty of other places where you can spend your money. Take photos, maybe buy theater tickets, but keep moving!

Part of Times Square was closed off to traffic, so that New Yorkers and tourists could walk safely through the Square and enjoy a little free, open space. This does necessitate cars/trucks/buses to navigate around this area, though, which has created controversy. Watch the Rock Center with Brian Williams report on it here.

Ok, I do love the M&M store. They have all kinds of M&M paraphenelia, things you didn’t even know you needed! 

There have been numerous complaints that Times Square has been “Disney-fied.” I understand such commercialism is grating, but just a little over 20 years ago this part of town was a seedy, crime-ridden haven for prostitution and drug dealers. Perhaps Disneyfication isn’t so terrible.

Although not everything has changed…There’s always the Naked Cowboy to remind you of the good ol’ days!

NYC can be a lot to take in when you first arrive, particularly when you are from the lovely Caribbean nation of Grenada like Alyssa. But, she and I braved the rain and the crowds to do a little tour of New York’s Midtown seasonal sites. Here are a few photos from our afternoon adventure.

See You in the City!

Alyssa took the Vamoose bus from Arlington, Virginia. The buses running between NY and DC are reliable and I have taken them a number of times. You can get really cheap tickets and a round-trip can cost you as little as $24. The bus dropped her off at Penn Station and I met her at Macy’s. We then took the Subway to 42nd Street and walked towards Rockefeller Center, an easy couple of blocks. These ornaments adorn the plaza across from Radio City Music Hall.

I saw the Rockettes perform here last year. The show is cute…really more geared towards little ones, but it’s worth seeing the Rockettes perform live at least once!

Alyssa and I in Rockefeller Center! It was the least crowded I had seen it, which was great. That’s the ice skating rink behind us and the tree over our shoulder. Even the rain couldn’t diminish how pretty everything looks.

Rockefeller Center is one of the most visited tourist sites in NYC. From here it is easy to walk to 5th Avenue, which is what we did. The very expensive store fronts were decked out for Christmas and there is some good window shopping. You also pass St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a beautiful neo-Gothic styled Catholic Cathedral, which is worth visiting if you have time.

Alyssa and I continued down 5th Avenue towards Central Park, which she hadn’t seen before. We turned left at Central Park and walked towards Columbus Circle, where we jumped on the Subway again to get some much-needed lunch! It was quite the walk. Come back soon, Alyssa!

Most, if not all, food truck operators are skilled professionals committed to providing a high-quality food experience for their customers. They tend to be run by savvy and dedicated entrepreneurs, who saw an opening in the market and jumped on it. They also give you a darn good meal. You can track your favorites on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, and the NYC Food Truck Association has links to the close to 30 food trucks that belong to it. (Crain’s reported that there are about 30 other food trucks that are not part of the association and, because some owners operate multiple trucks, there are close to 70 in the city.)

This past weekend, we stopped at Gorilla Cheese NYC for a classic grilled cheese. I haven’t had a grilled cheese in a long time and it was heaven. Gruyère cheese on multi-grain bread with a few slices of tomato. My bf had classic American grilled cheese on wheat. They were crispy and buttery on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. And when you pulled the sandwich apart, the cheese-y strings collapsed in the middle, just like they were supposed to. If you want something a little more fancy, they offer brie and pulled pork and caramelized onions and prosciutto and all sorts of things. They have a variety of sauces like sweet Thai chili and Vidalia onion (which we had), and you can get tater tots, sweet potato fries, tomato soup or mac and cheese on the side. Delicious.

If you want to help the NYC Food Truck Association push back against the city’s clampdown on food trucks, sign the petition here. I’m all for ensuring food safety and cleanliness, but that’s not what this is about. Check out the press page if you want additional reading. And be sure to stop by Gorilla Cheese NYC if you are hungry for some classic Americana.

See You in the City!