Sunday
After checking in to the W Union Square, we headed out to start our week in the city. Since we were both here for work, Mrs. ATX Jetsetter and I wanted to make the most of Sunday to see the sights. The weather was cold but clear which was nice as we were expecting rain/snow later in the week. Our first order of business was brunch, especially since we missed breakfast at the SpringHill Newark Airport, so we headed down to Lil’ Frankies at the corner of First Street and First Avenue on the northern end of the Bowery.
We had reservations and were seated immediately. We started off with coffee and mimosas. nFor our mains, I had the eggs any style with bacon while Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had the poached green eggs and ham. The service was well intentioned but slow and we had to remind our server multiple times of things we had ordered. Also, the restaurant is cash only, an anomaly in our current cashless society.
We walked back towards the hotel through Thompson Square Park where we saw our first sign of spring. As we got closer to our hotel, we stopped at FIFTYLAN so Mrs. ATX Jetsetter could get bubble tea.
We stopped back by the hotel to add an extra layer of clothing as the weather was starting to get colder before hopping on the Subway up to 34th Street to go and visit Legends Bar, the NYC watch bar for my LSU Tigers.
Legends Bar was decked out in UConn gear as the Big East Championship had been played the day before. I chatted with the bartender and manager and promised to make a return trip during an LSU game. We had a pint and watched some soccer before heading back out to explore.
Mrs. ATX Jetsetter wanted to go and walk the High Line so we walked over to Penn Station to catch the PATH Train down to West Village where we started at the bottom and worked our way back towards Hudson Yards.
At the end of the High Line, we found ourselves facing the funky looking Vessel (I have no idea what purpose it serves) and decided that we deserved a snack. We stopped into Scallywag’s for a bite and pint before cutting through Times Square (which was stupid) to head towards Midtown East, passing Bryant Park and the NYC Library.
We ducked inside Grand Central Terminal and grabbed a coffee at one of the shops in the food court before starting up Park Avenue. Mrs. ATX Jetsetter did some window shopping and we popped into a couple of stores but thankfully she didn’t find anything that she had to have, though I did find some pretty sweet shoes.
With an hour or so to kill before our dinner reservations on the Upper West Side, we stopped at The Plaza hotel for a drink in The Palm Court Bar. Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had a glass of champagne while I had my second choice of bourbon as they were out of Blanton’s.
At 7:15p we made our way outside to our waiting Uber Black for the ride through Central Park to Mrs. ATX Jetsetter’s favorite restaurant, Red Farm. In the past I have been able to use Red Farm as an excuse for crazy connections/layovers in NYC but, with them opening a restaurant in Austin, I fear that opportunity may be going away.
The hostess seated us immediately and we settled in for an hour and a half of delicious decadence. We started with a couple of orders of the pork and crab soup dumplings, always on our list at Red Farm. We followed that with some oxtail lamb dumplings and a side of asparagus.
Though we were completely stuffed from dinner, we had reservations for a nearby tiki bar so we made the short walk over to Tiki Chick at 85th and Amsterdam. We had some fun tiki drinks, including one served in a shark glass, before calling it a night and hopping on the Subway back. We had to transfer in Times Square and popped out one station early to see the Flatiron Building near our hotel that I, despite all of my trips to NYC, had never seen.
Monday
The next day we both had to go to our respective offices but met up for dinner at The Smith. I had a delicious burger and fries and afterwards, though it was raining, we walked over to Chapel Bar on Park Avenue for a nightcap. As the name implies, Chapel Bar is located in an old chapel which made for a nice atmosphere and the drinks were fantastic. During the walk home we stopped to grab Mrs. ATX Jetsetter a slice of pizza before calling it a night.
Tuesday
We both had work events on Tuesday night so we didn’t have much of a chance to see anything. Though we did meet at the Headless Horseman for a nightcap near our hotel. The staff was extremely friendly and treated us like old friends once the manager realized we were from Austin as he had spent time there as well.
Wednesday
Since I had no in-person meetings on Wednesday I decided to work from the hotel and walked over to Chelsea to meet Mrs. ATX Jetsetter for lunch at her office, which had some great views over downtown and New Jersey.
After work, we grabbed dinner and headed to see Bad Cinderella at the Imperial Theatre. We won one of the discount Broadway ticket lotteries and managed to get our seats for only $25 per person. While the show was good, it wasn’t great. I’m not sure if this was due to the 5-7 understudies playing in the show or if the overall production just fell a little flat.
Once the show was over, we made our way around the corner to a cool, 80’s themed speakeasy called The Woo Woo. We made reservations in advance and were given a password. Unlike many places that advertise as speakeasies, this one was actively turning people away that didn’t know the password.
Once inside, we were shown to our table and offered complimentary shots that were served with a vinyl record of powdered sugar. Combined, it tasted like a SweetTart. We arrived just before the kitchen closed and ordered the truffle fries which were delicious and had a couple of drinks before calling it a night.
It was just before midnight when we left so we decided to walk through Times Square as it was empty enough to not feel overly congested. From there, we hopped on the Subway and made our way back to the hotel.
Summary
Though the weather was less than ideal during our trip and we only had one real day to explore, it was an enjoyable time in the city and I can’t wait for our next trip back. Thankfully, between work and pleasure, we have the opportunity to visit 2-3 times a year.
