I adore New York City more each time I visit. 
We spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Chelsea, before and after Sleep No More.
I definitely took some random photos on our walks. 
I had some fantastic eats in NYC and I had a lot of champagne based drinks over the course of the weekend. I also had a blast with my friends. Even thought the food and drink get all the attention in this post, the people were definitely the highlight of the weekend. 
Saturday afternoon upon arrival we wandered around Chelsea and into an eclectically decorated low key pub called Bunga's Den on 137 West 14th Street.
Drink of choice: Sofia Coppola Mini Blanc de Blanc. Champagne in a can. With a straw. Brilliant.
Before the show we met up with more friends and commenced the evening with dinner and drinks at
The Half King.
Drink of Choice:
Framboise Lambic
Effervescent Raspberry Beer in a
Champagne glass
The Half King prides itself on serving pub food done right. The burgers are house made from scratch using top grade ground sirloin. Almost everyone at the table ordered a burger and was extremely pleased with it. I had the
Mexican Burger ($14) pepper jack cheese, guacamole and salsa on a back yard style bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, a sour pickles and fries.
After the show we wandered into
BillyMarks West located at 332 9th Avenue.
Random posters line the walls and sports trophies fill the nooks behind the bar of this Manhattan dive, while a neon juke box and a dart board provide entertainment.
Drinks of choice: Miller High Life Bottles | White Russians
The Champagne of beers and the "Baileys substituted for milk" (amazing) White Russian.
Once we tired of the crowd at BillyMarks we stumbled into
O'Reilley's Pub at 54 West 34th Street.
I drank another beer here. It was around 2:45am and I was feelin' it. Feeling ready for bed! Adam and I spent the night at our friends apartment in Hoboken. We took the 3:15am train home.
The Path to be precise, just a short ride across the Hudson. Trains that run until 4am?! I feel spoiled.
Good Morning Hoboken, New Jersey
This marks my first visit here! A quick visit at that, we had brunch plans back in NYC.
The line at the infamous bakery of TLC's
Cake Boss extended across the street and down the block. Nuts!
I had a serious juice craving ever since I woke up and two minutes later we walked right by:
Don't you love it when the universe answers?
It was mean to be. I ordered a
Sunrise ($3.95) fresh squeezed orange, apple and carrot juices. Back across the river (shot taken from our friends 11th floor hotel room) we reconvened and set out for brunch.
Resto is a laid back neighborhood bistro specializing in approachable Belgian food with a New York influence. Located at 111 East 29th Street in Midtown East near The Flatiron District / Gramercy Park it was a leisurely walk from the hotel in Chelsea.
We were greeted by a black iron window pained facade displaying through the glass some lush greenery of succulents and jade plants.
The interior with weathered wood floors and a marble bar was a charming combination of both homey and modern. The space was packed. Luckily we had a 12pm reservation and were sat a few moments later.
Resto's Bloody Marys are not to be missed. I highly recommend ordering one off the Bloody Success menu. I had a tough decision, but went with the
Flemish Mary ($12).
First, can we talk about these garnishes? I'm convinced all BM's should come with a pickled anchovy wrapped around a caperberry. A jolt of saltiness that melted on your tongue, an anchovy never tasted so good. I wasn't sure how to go about eating that large hunk of fennel so I let it sit as a decoration as I sipped on my amazingly spicy and robustly flavored beauty of a drink.
I wish I could say the BM was the highlight of brunch. But alas it was not. This was:
And I'm now convinced all
Eggs Benedict ($10) should be served over Lardon Leige Waffles. Best thing to happen to my favorite breakfast entree!
Slightly sweet, mildly crispy on the outside, dense and chewy on the inside, the traditional Belgian waffle cradled two perfectly poached eggs delicately coated in hollandaise.
The Benedict was complimented by lightly dressed greens and thinly sliced homefried rounds mingling with caramelized onions.
A plate of
Beignets ($5) with chocolate sauce were ordered for the table. Yum!
I was also enamored with the toast presentation. Well done.
I'm starving and I want this plate of food so bad right now! I understand there are so many amazing places to brunch in NYC, but next time / if ever you're in the neighborhood, I'd highly recommend
Resto!
And that wraps up my eats and drinks in New York City! Back in Boston this week I enjoyed a North End Restaurant Week dinner at
Bricco and a visit to the new
5 Napkin Burger. Today I hope to break out the slow cooker and tomorrow I'm finally checking out
Bergamot in Somerville. There's no shortage of good food around here, the only shortage these days is finding time to blog about it all.
As I made my way down the deserted street which borders Fenway Park to the latest Boston Brunchers outing, signs of the previous nights debauchery lingered in the snow. The Lansdowne Pub banner twinkled in solidarity, set against a blue bird sky with the Prudential Building towering in the distance. 
I was decidedly more content to settle into the spacious yet cozy Irish Pub at 10:30am on a Sunday morning as opposed 10:30pm on a Saturday night. Time of day aside, drinks were most certainly in order. (Pre-gaming for the Patriots playoff game sounds about right!) 
Many of us started off with one of three signature brunch cocktails. The Liquid Caramel Coffee combining Baileys, Kahlua, Butterscotch Snaps and milk was equally strong and sweet. There is no coffee in the drink (just coffee liqueur) so don't let the name mislead you.
It is reminiscent of a white russian minus the punch of vodka, swap in some creamy Baileys and sticky butterscotch. Liquid Caramel Russian, anyone?
Amanda was the epitome of a New England sports fan that day; and in addition to sporting her Pats jersey, she was also promoting her Boston Marathon fund-raising efforts (A virtual bake sale, which is likely over by the time I get this post up.) However, just because the bake sale is over, doesn't mean you can't make a contribution to benefit the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society on her behalf. 
Heavy and ornate lights hang from exposed ceilings that meet brick walls adorned with Guinness parephernalia and Irish Heritage decor. Pretty stained glass windows give way to snug booths and inviting rooms with iron fireplaces. 
I've been to The Lansdowne once before, last January as a matter of fact, for a Seasonal Beer Dinner, which impressed far more than I expected from a Fenway Park bar. The weekend brunch was similarly impressive, though somehow I still did not expect the kitchen to turn out dishes as delicious as they did. 
The true test lies in the Traditional Irish Breakfast ($13) which is a well received plate of Irish bacon, white & black pudding, breakfast bangers, a grilled tomato, Batchelor's bean's and fried eggs. 
The homefries ($3 for a side portion) are excellent, golden brown and pleasantly crispy, void of excess grease and nicely laced with thin strands of onion. 
They also accompany a monstrous slice of Lansdowne Pie ($10) where Irish ham, eggs, potatoes, spinach, onions and cheddar cheese are layered for days and surrounded by a toasty, flaky crust. 
Sometime around the new year, I resolved to branch out at brunch. This means straying from my typical fare of Eggs Benedict (or anything with eggs, really) and Bloody Marys - if only just for a few meals in January. (This resolution was loosely based in my mind and just for fun!) If what I ordered for brunch at The Gallows wasn't any indication, my entree of choice at The Lansdowne certainly was. If there was ever a time to order Buttermilk Pancakes ($9), it would be the time they come topped with Bailey's infused whipped cream and strawberries. 
The silky whipped cream melted into ultra light pancakes; these didn't sit heavy in your stomach like some pancakes tend to do. A thin buttery and golden lacquer formed the exterior, while the interior yielded supreme fluffiness, the buttermilk adding a nod of complexity throughout. I managed to nearly finish all three, in between swapping bites with Renee for her Irish Breakfast, where the savory and salty elements were a welcome contrast. I washed everything down with a mimosa.
Since this meal was comped, all I had to pay for was the waitresses tip. (You know I have to tell you that right? There is a blogger law somewhere that says so.) I try very hard not to let that influence my feelings about the food. Brunch here was excellent and I would have happily paid $9 for that beautiful plate of pancakes! 
