New York City.

I know, it’s been a while. I took a long weekend to visit my friend, Albert, in New York and never really caught up. Aside from being completely exhausted, New York was wonderful. The weather was a solid 30-40 degrees warmer than Saint Paul, MN (shocker) and I got to see so much of the city. Albert and I share an affinity for planning so you can bet that we had a funtivity packed day. Yes, funtivity is a word.

On Friday, I took the bus into the city while Albert was at work. Albert lives in New Jersey and I have never been good at public transportation so thank god it was as easy at it was. After finding some coffee ASAP after arriving at the bus station, I eventually figured out how to get to the 9/11 museum. Thank god for Google Maps. I would HIGHLY recommend the 9/11 Museum if you are ever in New York City, it is wonderfully done and very powerful. I went to the holocaust museum in Washington D.C. when I was in 8th grade but I hardly remember. We were also pushed in and out so fast (I was on a school trip) that I don’t think I even had enough time to appreciate it. After a few hours, I walked north on W. Broadway all the way up to MOMA, stopping at Washington Park, Bryant Park, and the New York Public Library along the way.

I was going to check out Peacefood Cafe for lunch but was starving as I walked past Bareburger on LaGuardia Place so decided to eat there instead. Now that I’m looking at the map, I’m kind of embarrassed I couldn’t make it another mile but that coffee was starting to form a black hole in my stomach. I got the Farmstead, a sweet potato and wild rice burger with cauliflower hummus wrapped in collard greens. Yeah, YUM. Let me just say that my sugar/processed food/bread/alcohol detox this past week, and not the one before.. as previously planned. I know, you’re like “Geez, didn’t even make it a week?”. Give me a break, I was on vacation in New York City – I had to eat a bagel. Is there any other place so necessary to eat a bagel than NEW YORK CITY? Okay, you get my point. Back to the detox, week 1 is going well. I have been living off edamame pasta in order to try and get enough protein. I will say, being on vacation and not having time to grocery shop didn’t help with the meal planning so I’m hoping next week will be easier. Luckily I had bread overload on the bagels this past weekend so I’m feeling okay about not eating it… so far. God damn, I love toast though. And beer, mmmm IPA. Only three more weeks, sigh.

After lunch, I walked through Washington Park, Bryant Park, and the New York Public Library. The library was beautiful but I didn’t feel the need to walk around too much, since I had wanted to get to MOMA for their free Friday admission before everyone else did, too. It was pretty crowded and my poorly equipped walking muscles were getting pretty tired. I thought the 6 miles I walked by myself on Friday was a lot. GUESS NOT, because Albert and I walked 12 MILES on Saturday. After MOMA, I met up with Albert and we went to Quintessance for dinner. Quintessance was a cozy restaurant, although I soon learned that all restaurants in NYC are rather “cozy”. I got the bibimbap with quinoa and it was deeee-licious. I had never had bibimbap, let alone know how to say it, but Albert said the sauce was very close to the authentic version. Albert got the raw savory crepe which was definitely not as good.

On Sunday, we fit in so many attractions I can hardly remember them all. I enjoyed the Met and Central Park but neither of those compared to seeing Les Miserables on Broadway. This was the first Broadway show I have been to and it was absolutely incredible. I am still in awe at the beauty of their voices and how much they can do on such a small stage.

On Sunday, we grabbed some bagels at Russ and Daughters and headed over to Brooklyn to check out the water front. It had chilled down a bit by this point but it was certainly better than the -4 degrees that I came back to. We checked out Brooklyn Brewery and then headed to Brooklyn Ball Factory for some veggie curry, bento box style. Unfortunately, all I have to show for my wonderful weekend is some crappy iPhone photos since I didn’t feel like lugging my camera around all weekend. So… my iPhone photos will have to do.

I almost forgot – we stopped by Carlos’ Bakery in Jersey to check it out. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. But fun to see where all that Cake Boss action happens, am I right?

Oh, and stay tuned because my detox has got me craving all kinds of bullet proof coffee. Coming soon!