17/50 NYC Adventures: East Village Tour

East Village Tour
This is a continuation of our Alphabet City Progressive Dinner tour. The East Village is one of the city's most eclectic hubs, ripe with ethnic restaurants, itty-bitty bars and funky shops. If you're a purveyor of rich food and off-the-beaten-path atmosphere, allow your feet to wander all over this hood. You could walk around this area of town for hours and never see the same restaurant twice.

If you take the subway to Astor Place, you will exit right by Starbucks. If you're interested in doing a bit of pre-game people watching, grab a beverage and sit in this massive window. This particular Starbucks location has the most perfect view of Astor Place, looking all the way down St. Marks Street. You can check out all the chic fashionistas walking by - and you don't feel like such a creeper, staring from your perch on a bench. Because instead, you're a creeper behind the glass. Just sayin', it's a bit of an upgrade.

Once you've had your fill of crowd-watching, dive into the mix and start walking down St. Marks. There are some of the CUTEST little shops in this area. Resist going into everything, because then you will never actually get to the eating. Which, in my opinion, is the best part.

Mighty Quinns
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
mightyquinnsbbq.com
Cuisine: Merger of Texas & "the Carolinas"-style Barbeque
Must Order: Burnt Ends, Pulled Pork, Brisket BBQ, Edamame & Sweet Pea Salad, Baked Beans (and I don't even LIKE baked beans, but these were scrumptious), plus all the Pickled Add-Ons (cucumbers, celery, red onions, chilies)
Impression: So, about a month ago I wrote a post about the deliciousness of Harlem's Dinosaur Barbeque (and I will stand by that review!), but I have to admit - THIS IS BETTER. Also a completely different style of barbeque. Mighty Quinns is smokier, steeped in juicy sauce and tenderly, joyously falling off the bone. Into my mouth. Warming my heart. The Burnt Ends Pork was probably my favorite, but its a real toss-up, because all the meat was so freakin' delish. And the atmosphere is awesome, kinda country (I mean, as country as it gets in the middle of Manhattan) and staffed with folks who know their barbeque. This place had a 30-minute line out the door, and it was completely worth the wait. GO TO THERE.

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
125 East 7th Street, New York NY 10009
biggayicecream.com
Cuisine: Ice Cream
Must Order: Salty Pimp (vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt, chocolate dip), American Globs (vanilla ice cream, pretzels, sea salt, chocolate dip), Gobbler (vanilla ice cream, pumpkin butter & maple syrup OR apple butter & bourbon butterscotch, pie pieces, whipped cream)
Impression: It's pretty self-explanatory. It's a big, gay ice cream shop. There is a gigantic unicorn painted on the wall. And there is really, REALLY good ice cream to be eaten, if you don't mind the insanely long lines. There are benches outside where you can eat and enjoy the sunshine, although beware - the serving sizes are huge and your ice cream might do some melting in the spring sunshine :)

The Far East. Village, that is.
Once again, many many, MANY mad-crazy thanks to our bright-eyed guides to the East Village, dearest Anthony & Jessica. Geez, I'm so thankful to know you. And to glean from your foodie research and wisdom. You two are just the creamiest of the crop. Love you both :)

16/50 NYC Adventures: Progressive Dinner in Alphabet City

Alphabet City Tour
Okay, so we were officially hip for ONE NIGHT of living in this city. Most of the time we are seriously homebodies, cooking up a storm and watching Netflix. Most recently, this tradition has been supplemented by an evening walk in the park or a foot rub, per my husband's generous heart. Bless that man for being so kind while I whip up a baby. But on this one amazing night, our dear friends Anthony and Jessica "showed us the ropes" and took us on the most fabulous foodie tour of Alphabet City, which is a super cool, semi-gritty, chock-full-of-delicious-restaurants-neighborhood in East Village. Anthony and Jess are serious about their taste buds. They cook. Like, they really cook. And they attend all these fancy city dinners and chef award celebrations and they're up on the poshest places to eat your heart out. So we really couldn't have gotten luckier when they offered to tour us around these Alphabet City gems. People, I was sampling cuisine I never knew existed. Tasting recipes with ingredients I had never heard of. How delightful it is to experience and savor the many ways pork can be served. Yum.

Please forgive the grimy iPhone pics. Just know that all this food rocked my face off, so if you're ever visiting this area and want a rec... this post is your pot of gold!

The Blind Barber
339 E 10th St, New York, NY 10009
blindbarber.com
Cuisine: SPEAKEASY
Must Order Cocktails: Strawberry Fields, Batman, Blackjack
Impression: This place wins the chic/awesome/city-swanky award BY FAR. Guys, this is a speakeasy, hidden in the back of a real barber shop. Yes. There is a secret door that takes you to a back room, "the cocktail parlor", they call it, and in the parlor there are a series of rooms, including a library, where one can imbibe prohibition-style. Pretty stinkin' cool. Don't worry, I had a dressed-up lemonade, sans alcohol. But I still felt like one of the bad girls from the roaring twenties. And that was fun enough.

Momofuku Noodle Bar 
171 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003
momofuku.com/new-york/noodle-bar
Cuisine: American-style Ramen & Noodle Bar
Must Order: Pork Buns! PORK BUNS!!!
Impression: Since this was a progressive meal, we only did a quick appetizer here, but of course we could have stayed longer and indulged. Instead, because the restaurant was so packed, Anthony ran inside, ordered pork buns to go, and we scarfed on them in the dark, wonderful New York moonlight. While all the urban hipsters pushed passed us, huffing on their American Spirits and scurrying off to their uber-hip dinner plans. The bunsssssss. Deliciously juicy and seasoned, the pork is housed by a light, yeasty dough that is just. Perfect? Yeah, perfect. We scarfed in decadent silence. And sadly walked away from the thumping restaurant.
Affiliate Restaurants: Ssam Bar, Booker and Dax, Ko, Ma Peche

Porchetta
110 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009
porchettanyc.com
Cuisine: Slow-cooked Italian Fast Food
Must Order: Italian Porchetta Sandwich, Chicken Saffron Sandwich
Impression: This joint is tiny, and more akin to a souped-up food truck, with about 4 barstools crowding the front entrance. And that's about all the seating you get. But you don't come to Porchetta for the seating, you come for the MEAT. Porchetta is a Roman-style herb-roasted pork that will make you cry, it's so good. Seasoned with fennel, sage, garlic, rosemary and pollen... it's just out of this world. And the Chicken Saffron Sandwich? It was a special when we were there, and I hope it remains especially on the menu :) Those Italians. They even do their STREET FOOD right.

// We are disgusting. I already know. //

Somtum Der
85 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009
somtumder.com 
Cuisine: Isan Thai (from the northeastern region of Thailand)
Must Order Entree: Pad Ki Mao Pork & Basil (flat noodles with diced beef, scrumptious), Pad Thai with Crab (it sounds kind of weird, but it's kind of awesome), Papaya Salad (everyone loved it, I'm not a huge fan of this kind of salad in general), Sa Poak Kai Tod Der (deep-fried chicken thigh, yes, you read that right), Fried Pork Basil with Egg (self-explanatory and soooo good)
Impression: Inexpensive food (nothing is over $15), and surprisingly delicious, with an excellent mix of sweet-savory in each dish. I've had some strange Thai food since I've been in this city and that have made me a bit gun shy at new places, so I came into Somtum Der with a critical palate - and was pleasantly surprised at how good everything tasted. And from what I've heard, this place is seriously authentic.

More to Come!
We continued to hit up some yummy places in East & West Village, but I will have to split this post up into several because there is just SO. MUCH. TO SHARE. So stay tuned.

Anthony & Jess, how can I best profess my undying love for you?? Thank you for being the hippest, swankiest, most "in-the-know" New Yorkers we know and letting us accompany you on this tasty tour of the town :)

7-Month Bumpdate

7-Month Bumpdate!
Well, Happy Memorial Day, folks! I hope your weekend has been splendid :)

We are currently driving down to the beach for a fun family vacation - I can't wait to put my feet up and soak in some rays for SIX DAYS IN A ROW.

I can't believe I am 7.5 months pregnant. I felt like I was stuck at the 4-month mark for quite a long time... and yet here we are! The belly is growing fast, I have a crazy line running down the middle of my abdomen, and this little one inside of me has decided to take up kickboxing as his first sport. More like kickmommy.

The Progress.
I love how Jenny over at Jenny Highsmith has been doing baby bump updates during her pregnancy. Here's mine:

How Far Along: 7.5 months (30 weeks!)

Gender: Boy!

Name: Everett Lee Hale. Ahh I just love typing it!

Sleeping? Yes, thanks to my handy-dandy new pillow that I lovingly refer to as "my leach baby". It grosses Stevie out like crazy, but the brand is literally called Leachco (find it here!), and you know me, once I get a schtick its reeeeal hard to let it go. Beat that dead horse and such. I held out for SO LONG on buying a pregnancy pillow because I knew it wouldn't fit in our queen-size without someone getting kicked out of bed (Stevie, duh), so I kindly deferred purchasing. Well, things changed. I started waking up angry, feeling robbed of my sleep for weeks on end. Which resulted in a sleep-deprived, panic-stricken flurry of Amazon Prime purchases, one of which was this gigantic, larger-than-a-human, snake-like pillow. You know. My leach baby.

Eats: Trying to eat healthy, but it seems that my taste buds have shifted again. Salad is the enemy. I wish everyone would stop trying to feed it to me. I KNOW I should be scarfing down tons of greens at this point, but I detest salad. I caught a whiff of kale last night and gagged. Trying to add it in other ways, like green smoothies and homemade kale chips. In the mean time, I just really enjoy berries. And pizza. Burgers with avocado. Tacos. Yeah okay I see why everyone keeps trying to feed me salad.

Emotional Check: Doing pretty good, especially since I am still in the midst of processing the fact that we are moving this month and having a baby in less than 3 months. Oh, and we have to buy a car, figure out a childbirth class and you know, prepare for the babe. I currently have one package of diapers. Yikes.

Movement: ATHLETE. That's all I have to say. Because the twirls, twists, kicks and just overall stature of this child is seriously my entertainment. Gross details? Okay. At the end of every night, I roll up my shirt and just watch my belly dance. I'm not bellydancing, I'm watching my belly dance. Because clearly this is the time Everett chooses to exercise. He really knows how to put on a show.

Looking Forward to: Decorating his nursery! I have literally bought ONE THING for my child (this custom-made name print by Jenny Highsmith). I don't know anyone who has waited this long to begin the "nesting" phase of their pregnancy, but I truly haven't had the space to store baby gear of ANY kind in this tiny NYC apartment. After we move to Atlanta, I am really looking forward to putting together his sweet little baby space (let's be honest, the nursery is going to be more like MY ROOM), and letting myself shop a bit for him :)

I hope you have the happiest, sunniest holiday ringing in the superior summer season.
XOX

15/50 NYC Adventures: The New York Botanical Gardens

The New York Botanical Gardens
If you want to spend a lovely Saturday away from the maniacal urban jungle of Manhattan, the New York Botanical Garden, located in the Bronx, is the perfect prescription. Just a stones throw outside the city, this expansive green space will give your lungs the full breath of fresh air they’ve been longing for. We had been hearing so much about this little escape outside the city, so we made a plan to catch the spring blooms for the beginning of May. Let me just tell you – it was PERFECT. Making it even more perfect? My delightful Aunt Shirley drove over from Connecticut and joined us for a day of lounging, waltzing around the gardens, and sniffing about every kind of bloom imaginable. And her company is always a pleasure, so it was pretty much the most. Perfect. Day.

Getting There.
There are several ways to get out of the city and up to the Garden. We took the C train from the 86th street stop and then switched to the D train at 125th (which is an express) and took that all the way. Our total travel time was about 50 minutes. It was just so easy. However, we learned a small lesson by taking the subway. You want to ride one of the cars in the back of the D subway. We rode in the front car and came up out of the subway several blocks away from the Garden entrance. Thankfully, an adorable 65-year old Italian New Yorker was standing outside a convenient store, clutching his tiny cup to-go cup of coffee, kibitzing with a few others in the sunshine. He stopped us in our tracks,

"Hey, you two trying to get to the gaahden?"

He was very New York. I just grinned at him in wonder. What an excellent accent.

"You don't look like you're frahm around he-ya. The entrance to tha gaahden is 3 blahcks away. You gahtta sit on tha back train cah next time."

Then he proceeded to congratulate me on my burgeoning belly and told us some stories about his three grandchildren. He was precious. People are just precious. Thankfully, his advice was sound and we wound our way around the Bronx and found ourselves at the entrance to the garden. It was mesmerizing from then on.

// We got in trouble for walking on this grass. Yes, seriously. //

The Garden.
What can I say? There is SO MUCH to do at this garden, you can't really do it all in a day. However, you can ride the trolly around the entire landscape and at least get to see most everything, even if you don't experience all the different exhibits up close.

// My dear Auntie Shoil. Love her almost too much. //

Azaleas
The Azaleas swept through the entirety of the garden, lighting up the green space in epic hues of hazy pink, rad purple, splashy red and whispery blue. They looked ripe and ready to usher in a wedding party.

// These two. Makes my heart sing. //

Conservatory
The fancy victorian-style Conservatory housed an ethnic variety of plants and flowers from different ecosystems from around the world, including more orchids than I had ever seen. Very exotic, indeed.

// These seriously looked like candy. I wanted to just reach out and snatch a bite. Stevie forbade it. //

// We walked a LOT, so I sat a lot, too. Gotta take breaks for the tootsies! //

Native Plant Garden
The Native Plant Garden guided us on a historic walk, designed entirely in a modern aesthetic, and showcased plants and wildlife indigenous to northeastern North America.

// It's like he's checking out her booty. Even ducks like a good round behind! //

Everett Children's Adventure Garden
One of my favorite parts was the Everett Children's Adventure Garden (of course!), outside of which there was a bustling (free!) wine and cheese mart. I couldn't indulge the way Stevie & Aunt Shirley could, but it was still so much fun, basking in the sunlight, admiring the explosive cherry blossoms and eating fancy cheese.

// Oh geez. I can only imagine that he was peppering her with incessant questions about the hops/malt/yeast used to design this brew. Those life-long-learners, you gotta watch out for them. //

// I feel terrible that I don't remember their name, but this band played for several hours and they were great! //

// Yeah, I know. Stevie is an absolute GENIUS with our camera. I mean, POW. //

// We three! //

// I swear, someone must have paid these children to play ring-around-the-rosie. I mean, it's just too perfect, right?? //

My Recommendation.
This place is absolutely stunning. If I were going to be around NYC all summer, I would certainly take another trek up to the Garden for the Rose Garden Celebration in July. We got to see the rose bushes on our trolly ride, but to experience their beauty in full bloom would be absolutely Disney-magic-esque. Cmon, New Yorkers, you can do it! Get up out of the city! There are sights to be seen!

Moving.

Moving.
I hesitate to even type the words.

We are moving out of New York City.

Cue the saddest violins.

There are a myriad of reasons that contribute to this decision. Most of them revolve around the fact that Stevie & I want to give our first son Everett, due in August, the best possible first year of his life. After a harrowing winter here in NYC... I just can't imagine being cooped up in such a tight space with a baby next winter. And with the husband's job taking him on the road a bit more over the course of this next year, we decided that it makes the most sense to go back to our roots and embrace the loving support of our family. Our incredibly large, overly affectionate, wonderful, goofy delicious family that makes my heart pound with pride.

Selfishly, I don't want to leave New York. This is the city of dreams, especially mine, and it's been an absolute adventure exploring this town with Stevie over the past year. I relish the fact that he's fallen in love with this place that I've always held dear in my heart. He's found a job that he loves walking to, a wonderful group of work friends that encourage and empower him, and a rhythm of "his own" here. I love that we've made such to-die-for friends for LIFE that are really, far too good for us. I love that I've attempted to GO for a life-long dream and actually experienced the pain, challenge and euphoria of walking out that dream. It's a funny thing. Dreams in your head certainly manifest differently in real life. And yet I'm thrilled that I've had the opportunity to pursue that dream. This has been the city for it. And my husband has been my #1 supporter. How lucky am I?

However, when I try to think unselfishly (it's HARD), and consider what would be best for my little boy-to-be, I ask myself, "What would be the best possible environment for him?" Being exclusively in my care for the first year of his life? Well, that's a given. But anchored to a tiny apartment with limited ability to take the subway (no elevators for strollers), take a cab (no carseat bases), and potentially just us for days on end while daddy travels? Or... would it be best to be surrounded by 4 incredibly invested, loving, healthy grandparents? Along with a bevy of jolly aunts and uncles and a gaggle of precocious, precious, passionate little cousins? Not to mention the wondrous community of friends we have that are also having their first, second, and third children in Atlanta. The easy access to big box stores, quick ability to hop in the car to run by the grocery store, and SPACE for a baby room just adds oomph to the case for the move.

I know that millions of people have children in the city. I'm not saying that I won't have kids in an urban city one day. We are already dreaming of possibly moving back to New York, or another exciting metropolitan hub, at some point. The point is, I know it can be done. And I don't judge anyone for doing it! New York City must be an incredible place to grow up, with so much culture and opportunity for young children. But when faced with my own personal decision on the matter, my conviction stands strong. Stevie & I have such a peace about relocating back to our hometown, and soaking up the warmth and comfort of our family's embrace for this next year as we welcome our first son into the world.

So it is with bittersweet sentiment that I begin to pack my belongings (again!) and prepare for a relocation back to Atlanta for the year. With Stevie's job, we will be faced with another move in July of 2015, and at that point, our little man will be close to a year old. Perhaps then, we will be ready for another city adventure. If you've been following our New York journey from the very beginning, I thank you for discovering this city with me! Over the next several weeks I will be amping up our 50 NYC Adventures as we attempt to see/do/taste everything in sight before we leave! We are open to suggestions on any must-see recommendations before we fly this coop!

14/50 NYC Adventures: Walking the Brooklyn Bridge

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
This is such a fun, iconic New York experience. The Brooklyn Bridge is an emblem of New York's ambitious heartbeat. It's been in SO MANY movies and TV shows over the years, it's impossible to name them all (is it bad that the first scene that comes to my mind is when Miranda and Steve decide to give their marriage another go by meeting on this bridge in Sex & the City? Don't judge me. That was a good, good moment.) But if you've seen any bridges depicted in New York-inspired art or film, it's most likely been the Brooklyn Bridge. Because this gateway to Brooklyn is just that epic.

// Under the bridge. So you know you're on the right track. //

// Manhattan-facing, this is a glimpse of Brooklyn Bridge Park to your left. Yes, that is a park on a pier. And yes, that is a cool, cool idea for a city park. I think they know what they're doing. //

// Walking the bridge toward Manhattan, this is your right-facing view. Not too shabby. //

At the time it opened, in 1883, this was the longest suspension bridge in the US. Today it connects (duh) Manhattan to Brooklyn. And it lets goofballs like us flutter across its firm foundations and take too many pictures and bask in its grandness. So there's that, too.

// View of the financial district. The gigantic building you see is Freedom Tower. We talked about that once here. //

// And that tall beauty is the Empire State Building. We caught closer nighttime views of that bad boy here. //

Try It!
I personally like taking the subway all the way to Brooklyn, enjoying the DUMBO hood, and then walking across the bridge toward Manhattan. Because you get ALL THOSE VIEWS (please see above.) It's incredible. Then you can just pop on the subway at Chambers Street or City Hall and get back to wherever you came from. And if you already explored DUMBO like I showed you and ate the most delicious coal-fire brick oven pizza at Juliana's (and maybe even enjoyed a cone at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory!), then you will be reeeeeeallly ready to walk the mile-ish journey across this East River beauty.

// BFFFFFFSSS. And yes, Stevie's hair is looking pretty righteous here. Cue haircut. //

// These two. I am not kidding you when I say they are as wholesome AS IT GETS. //

// Clearly I am pregnant in the front AND the back. //

// She. Is. A wonder. //

A Word on Friendship.
This girl. I could sob just thinking about how wondrous she is. But I'll spare you, because she's got a baby and I've got one on the way so there's already enough crying quota reached without adding to that mess of ladylike emotions. I am so grateful that this gal has visited me in all the crazy places I've lived. And she's celebrated me a ridiculous amount, no matter which season of life I've been in (thriving or, ya know, diving.) She's been there through my graduation, pursuing an unlikely career path, dealing with family drama, unexpectedly (and wonderfully!) getting knocked up, moving from place to place, and all the while, she's throwing me parties left and right like it's her job... and she HAS a real-people job. Like a really, really good one! She's just always been there. One might even venture as far as saying she's been "my bridge over troubled water" (ahahaha see how I tied this all together? See?! Don't hate me for my cheese.) But seriously, this gal has been so rock solid. Ready to encourage. Ready to find that silvery lining. To tell you the truth, she's been the silver lining, weaving her blissful being into each season's unexpected adventures. And we've had quite a few together :) Tricia, thank you for being the best friend a girl could ask for. Thank you for letting me eat the last slice of pizza. And thank you for walking across this insanely long bridge with me while I took too many pictures and made you pose longer than your comfort level allowed. You, my sweet, are the truest, dearest kind of friend.