New York City State of Mind - Part Two

This is part two of our trip to New York for our five-year anniversary, to read part one, click here

This was a different type of New York trip than Eileen and I had taken in the past.  Past trips featured activities such as the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Today Show, Times Square, National History Museum, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, China Town, and even riding one of those double-decker busses for the entirety of a day.  Don’t get me wrong; if you've never been to the city, they’re kind of cool to do.  But they’re not New York.  When you’re strolling through Times Square and shopping at the M&Ms store, you’re pretty much doing the same thing you’d be doing at the Mall of America.  I’ll never understand the people who travel to New York and then have dinner at the Olive Garden.  Endless salad and bread sticks are great, but really?  This was our 6th trip to New York, so it was time to cut free from the regular touristy areas of the city (for the most part).

I wanted this trip to be all about good food – and food that we couldn't get back home.  For that aspect alone, this trip was a success.  Some of the highlights of the stay included sushi at Momoya, an amazing dark chocolate bar with pistachios from Mario Batali’s Eataly, pizza in Little Italy, outstanding fish tacos down in Chelsea, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (a beer that is 18% ABV and is next to impossible to find), and salmon eggs benedict from Sarabeth’s.  As far as food highlights go, I could write an entire post dedicated solely to how good the brunch was at Sarabeth's.  The restaurant faces Central Park South and is spitting distance from The Plaza Hotel – highly recommended.

I had surprised Eileen early in the spring with this New York trip to celebrate our five-year anniversary.  On the night of our anniversary we had dinner reservations at The View before heading over to the Minskoff Theater to see The Lion King.  The View is a rotating restaurant that sits atop the Marriott Marquis hotel on the 48^th floor.  I was hesitant at first, because the Marriott Marquis is in the heart of Times Square.  The best thing about the 48^th floor in Times Square though, is that you can’t see Times Square.  So it was like we weren't even there, which was fine by me.  The meal was very good – not the best meal that I've ever had, but definitely the best meal that I've enjoyed while watching the sunset over the Hudson River.  The restaurant’s name is apropos – the sights were astonishing.

At the Minskoff Theater before The Lion King

When our waiter approached us after dinner to inquire about dessert, we kindly declined and asked for his recommendation for a great, local dessert joint.  Upon sight, I could instantly tell, with a high probability, that this gentleman adored Broadway (if you catch my drift).  Without hesitation, he suggested his favorite after-Broadway hangout, a bar/restaurant named Joe Allen.  He mentioned that this particular bar is a favorite spot for the actors to visit after their performances.  With much vigor, he exclaimed, “If you’re lucky, you might even see Nathan Lane”.  I gave him a quick smile and a nod of the head while trying to hold back what I really wanted to say, which was “Who the hell is Nathan Lane?”  A quick IMDB search on my phone at the table showed that he was the voice of Timon in Disney's The Lion King.  Not exactly a showstopper, but at least he had a nice tie-in to the evening.

After dinner we headed over to the theater a little early so that we could take some pictures before the show.  Since I purchased the tickets five months early, I had my choice of any seat in the theater.  I opted for the front row of the balcony, with two seats in the dead center of the stage.  My thought was that Eileen is short and I didn't want a tall theatergoer to sit in front of her and block her view.  The front row of the balcony would be perfect…..so I thought.  As soon as Eileen sat down I noticed that there might be a small problem.  When I looked over to see her leaning forward in her seat uncomfortably, I knew there was a problem.  Eileen couldn't see over the balcony railing.  My wife needed a booster seat.  Need to read that again?  My wife needed a booster seat.  The proud husband that I am, I walked over to the usher to request a booster so that the vertically-challenged love of my life could enjoy the show.

After the show, we made our way to Joe Allen for dessert.  The bar/restaurant certainly was hopping with energy.  Little did we know, reservations were required, even for dessert.  There were a large group at the bar having drinks.  The hostess knew the group, as they were regulars and approached them for us to see if they would let us have two seats at the bar since their table was almost ready.  We thanked a man in the group for allowing us to join him for that brief moment.  As we sat down he questioned whether we were old enough to even sit at the bar.  I let him know that my 30^th birthday was only five months away, so I would be fine. 

Needs no explanation

He asked what show we saw that evening – you could just tell that this guy was a Broadway mover and shaker. The disinterested look on his face when I told him that we saw The Lion King kind of said it all.  It was pretty much the equivalent of going to a bar where stand-up comics hang out and telling somebody there that we just saw Carrot Top and absolutely loved his act.  The Lion King is the tourist pick of shows, kind of like Cats at the end of it's run in the late nineties. It didn't help matters that we were at the bar with a Lion King sippy cup that they served soft drinks in at the show.  Oh, and we ordered two Cokes in the bottle - no alcohol.  To top things off, our dessert was three chocolate chip cookies with ice cream.  Just to summarize: chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, Coca-Cola, and a Lion King sippy cup.  The man I was talking to was enjoying a nice glass of The Glenlivet 18, while I was enjoying preschool dessert options.  No wonder our age was seriously in question that evening.  

By the way, our waiter from The View was right; we would see celebrities in this bar.  At one moment, the man at the bar pointed out that the entire cast of Pippin walked in.  The only way I would have known this, is if they were in full costume, toe tapping around the place.  We would have been better suited just going to a touristy cheesecake place – at least we wouldn't have been the least cultured people there.

Our last night on the Brooklyn Bridge

Our trip concluded with a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge at night.  This is something that Eileen has always wanted to do – and it was totally worth it.  It was one of those moments where you feel like you're in a movie.  Much like our entire trip, the views of the city that night from the bridge were remarkable.  Spending our five-year anniversary in New York with each other was just the escape that we needed.  We still laugh about that damn sippy cup a month later – I mean, who brings cheap souvenirs into a bar?  That story is a microcosm of our relationship.  Although grown adults, we really are still kids at heart.  For all of the stresses and struggles that come along with life, I am most thankful that I have somebody by my side to laugh along with me.  It makes going through the tough time just a little bit easier.  But above all else, I’m just happy that Eileen gave me a pass not once, but twice on forgetting to buy her a card for the weekend.  I’ve gotta be on my game for next year.