ive been in nyc for 6 days...and here is why it's been great...

ok here we go!

so first of all, i totally forgot that i can take pictures on my iphone of these stuffs so that you can all see aforementioned stuffs. i have a few. but i'll try to have more in the future. ok LETS GO!

DAY 1: Saturday, June 5th.

If i'm being fair, (and i am) i should mention the stuff i ate on the plane to NY because it was not too shabby! im never flying on anything other than Virgin America again. the luxury! so i bought a sandwich. for like $9. which is crazy but was pretty good for an airplane. it was turkey and mozzarella and basil and tomatoes and some kind of olive tapenade spread and it was on a cheesy ciabatta roll. oh, i also bought some pringles. deeelish. (i also bought It's Complicated to watch...)

boring.

on to the good stuff!

so i get there and Nate meets me outside on the corner where the cab drops me off and we go upstairs to our RIDICULOUSLY SMALL apt and i literally dropped my stuff, grabbed my purse and said, 'lets go get a beer. pronto' and so we did!

we went to Back Forty
i started with a Captain Lawrence Pale Ale (for no reason in particular. i don't even like pale ales...but it was COLD and refreshing and delish) garret met up with us and we sat at the bar for a bit and then we were seated in the back garden. lovely! (don't you wish you had a picture of this garden?! i'll go back to all these places at some point and re-post...) so we started with a special Pork Belly with cherry coulis and Tokyo turnips. it was decadent! i couldn't decide on what i wanted so went with the Chicken Liver Mousse with cracklins and crostini and the Baked Swiss Chard Gratin with Von Trapp Oma Cheese and Crispy Phyllo.
Both were great but i ate too much chicken liver mousse. no one should eat that much pate in one sitting. i felt like i was gonna ralph. Nate had Ancho Pepper Lamb Sausage with Chickpea Ragout and Spiced Yogurt Sauce. Garret had The Grass Fed Burger with Homemade Spicy Ketchup. we were all SO FULL but the waiter told us about the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and that was enough to convince Nate...

all in all, great first meal. (despite the barfy liver mousse feeling but that was totally a user error)

then we went out and out and out (to places i can't remember) and i saw more tall guys in one place then i have ever seen ever. and it was awesome. and we met a friend named Sharq (with a Q) who said he was going to show us the real NY and knew about all our favorite places in SF. i have his number. i might still call him. why not?


DAY 2: Sunday, June 6th

when you stay up until 4am, you accidentally sleep until noon. it's really easy. so thats what happened. (btw, we were sleeping on aero beds- sleepover style and we STILL slept till noon)

our destination was to go to a free Camera Obscura show in Brooklyn. what we found was an AWESOME flea market. ohhh! i have a picture of this!

hmm. its not a great picture but it was AWESOME. it was in this great old train station? bank? sdfjofjwf? whatever it was, it was dope. and there was TONS of stuff to look at. but i think it was like 1:30 or 2pm by the time we got there and we were STARVING. so we found food! Garret got a fish taco that looked awesome and Nate and i both got grilled cheese sandwiches from

Milk Truck . We both goth the Classic with a Twist which- aged gruyere, grilled onions, whole grain mustard on rye. Deeeeeelish!

After realizing that it was way way too crowded to see Camera Obscura we moved on. since i had been wearing the same clothes for 3 weeeeeeekss i was feeling desperate for some new duds so we went to Beacons Closet which the boys quickly peaced from and i stayed and got a dress and a white mesh shirt (?!). but we were still hungry!! so we met with G & N's work friend Matt at

Smoke Joint. We all had Abita beers and Garret and i split some Brooklyn Wings sweet and spicy crispy wings.

Oh and by the way it was a full tornado warning for 6 counties in NY. nutz. we saw trees fallen over. annnnnnyway. when the storm had passed and the sun came out again we moved on. next stop was

Habana Outpost. so cool! we had super cheap beers from SixPoints ($2.75!) and we shared two Cuban Sandwiches roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, and pickles with chipotle mayo. (they boasted it was the best cuban sandwich in ny...preeeettty damn good.) I didn't get a picture of it. BUT i got a picture of the place! so cool!

i shoulda taken a picture of the truck where you order the food but ya know. i'm still learning...
onward! next stop was Hot Bird which was a new bar. cool. whatever. at that point i had done a lot of day drinking in the hot hot muggy heat. soooo.

we finished the day with a movie. Get Him to the Greek. very funny. and we ate popcorn and sour patch kids. the end.


DAY 3: Monday, June 7th

this is when things started getting really good you guys....

so i wake up at noon again (whatever, i was adjusting...)
and i did some resume stuff sorta kinda from the internet i was stealing from the building. thanks Haley! and then i left the house to meet G to get dumplings. lemme tell you, if i didn't have my iphone i would be so fucking lost. and yet, i still got lost... no matter, i found the place called

Vanessa's Dumpling House.
(i guess it was in the lower east side?) ok so we ordered 6 Chive and Pork Steamed Dumplings and we each got a Sesame Pancake with Duck. total cost??? $5. the dumplings where ONE DOLLAR. for six!!! and the pancake deal was $4. sooooo so so good. one of the best things ive ever had. the pancake thing was like a sandwich with sesame seeds and on the inside it had a sweet plum sauce, duck, green onions. ughh. and the dumplings! shut the door!

so Garret and i are on a quest to eat cheap cheap stuff all the time. $10 a day! cheap eats! yeeeoww! so when he got home we went to get dinner at

Mamouns (thanks Jen Phannguyen!!) and got Falafel Sandwiches Falafel in a pita bread stuffed with lettuce, tomatoes and tahini sauce. for $4. awesome. oh, plus a drink.

a $10 day people!

i hung out with Brett Helms that night at the wine shop where he works Tino Fino and we drank some Rose and some Albarino. refreshing!

end of day. ANOTHER night sleeping on the aero beds. baaah! the worst.


DAY 4: Tuesday, June 8th

so productive! (but still slept til 11:30-12...) first things first, to find a place with free wifi and decent coffee. hey wow, i found one! its like i'm living in nyc or something! ask you shall receive! Hello Arlo & Esme! (from the website it seems to be some kind of club/lounge! knew to me...when i was there it was a very small quiet cafe with free wifi and mediocre coffee...) anywho, got some work done there on the ol job hung and then met Garret for our next try at $10 a day at a Vietnamese Sandwich place called

Banh Mi Saigon. it was in the back of a jewelry store. so weird. so you can get your Banh mi with a side of necklace. or ring.? weird. BUT the sandwiches were awesome! we both got the #1 Classic Bahn Mi, Pork spicy! $3.50. and dopppppppeee. super crunchy bread, warm, and the pork was awesome. sweet and crunchy. i headed over to Think Coffee and had a green tea and did resume stuff.

i met up with my friend Tyler Parker and we walked around and sat in Thompson Square Park for a bit and chatted. about Barbizon among other things. funny. and lovely. but while i was chatting the TP, i TOTALLY forgot about going to the fucking Coach party with all my fav fashion bloggers!!! (although maybe i probably, definitely, absolutely forgot on purpose because i didn't have any of my clothes yet and how can you go to a party with fashion bloggers in duds that you've been wearing for 3 weeks?) oh well...next time.

but i got a treat for dinner! Garret and Nate's boss Mitch and his lovely wife April took us all out to dinner at Double Crown. the first thing they said was, "just to warn you, we always over order". it was like music to my ears...here is what we got (we shared it all family style)

FOREVER CRISP CHICKEN WINGS Szechuan style

DUCK STEAMED BUNS with hoisin sauce

CRISPY PORK BELLY with chili caramel and cucumber

DOUBLE CROWN FRIES with Chinese sausage, sriracha mayonnaise

YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI with cucumber, hijiki, citrus-truffle dressing

SEARED TUNA with wasabi tobiko, bonito custard, and sweet sake sauce

PRAWN DUMPLINGS in a hot and sour broth

SWEET & SOUR EGGPLANT with tofu and pickled bean sprouts

STEAMED SNAPPER with prawn gyoza, sesame broth, bok choy

BIG BRAISED SHORT RIB Guinness and five spice sauce, brussels sprouts

JASMINE RICE

CHINESE BROCCOLI with ginger dressing

dear god. we ate like kings. amazing. wonderful! my favorite thing were the Prawn Dumplings. they were served in this amazingly fragrant broth with lemon grass and ginger. mmm!

the company was just as good as the food. Mitch and April were delightful and so so generous to take us all out (including me!) after dinner we headed over the secret gin bar in the back of the restaurant called Madamn Geneva and we had some delicious gin cocktails.

and with alllllllll that food, we still only spent $3.50 on Bahn Mi for lunch! success!!

DAY 5: Wednesday, June 9th.

not a great day for seeing and eating folks. i was up at 10:30 (before noon!) and i walked out to get a cup of coffee and a somethin somethin somewhere close before the movers came. found Coyi Cafe. cute. got a bagel and cream cheese and and iced coffee ($4) i'll be back because they have Bahn Mi there too. (but for $6.75...s'no jewelry shop Bahn Mi...)

and then the mayhem began...

we had movers coming in and out with our boxes and then the internet guy showed up and was installing the thing and at one point he had his ladder IN THE DOORWAY while the moving guys were trying to move our boxes in. nutty.

i spent most of the day putting together our kitchen which was crazy because we have just way too many appliances. i get it why new yorkers don't cook that much. there is just no fucking room. but i will MAKE ROOM. its really not that bad.

after alllllllllllllllll day of moving the boys came home and we moved and unpacked and then realized we were STARVING so we headed over to

Black Iron Burger where i had one of the best meals of my life. it had a lot to do with the timing of it all. sweaty and tired from moving stuff the perfect meal was a Black & Blue Burger with blue cheese and cajun seasoning and a cold beer (can't remember what kind) Nate got Onion Rings and Garret got Veggie Fries (which were green beans breaded and fried like french fries) the Veggie fries were pretty good but come on. Onion rings?! gimme a break. Garret also got a Strawberry Shake that was kinda so so but maybe it was because the burgers were so awesome that we didn't give two shits about a freakin' shake.

looong day. and dear lord it was good to have BEDS!!

DAY 6: Thursday, June 10th

Did some unpacking and some resume-ing and then met G & N for lunch at

Porchetta. If you have ever been to Italy and specifically to Florence and even more specifically to the indoor market in Florence you may know how DOPE it was to discover this copy cat in my neighborhood. Obviously we got the Porchetta Sandwich which was literally just the crispy, seasoned, juicy pork on a ciabatta type roll. no condiments, just PORK. so. fucking. good.

we ate in silence.

and then i immediately called my parents to brag. they LOVE the aforementioned Porchetta in Florence and are always trying to find a substitute or re-create it. well guys, i found it. and i promise to take you there first thing.

the rest of my day was laundry and more unpacking. in the move our box with all the stuff from our pantry (which i INSISTED on packing because by God i have built up that pantry for the last year and we are taking every single spice and sauce in it!) had some mayjah spilliage. onto other boxes. mainly my sheets...so my sheets smelled like vanilla, sesame oil and soy sauce. super weird. luckily there is a laundromat like 4 doors down. nbd.

the boys got home and nate and i wandered off to get food. this was the first meal that was kinda unmemorable. we went to a place called

Mamas Food Shop which serves homestyle, southern food like Mama's Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes and Mama's Fried Chicken with Mac and Cheese which is exactly what Nate and I got, respectively . HUGE portions for a good price (but more than either of us could eat) pretty good. didn't blow me away.

then Rob Medkeff came over and we went out to do some drankin'. and we did! went to bars 151, (dark and underground- this is where i saw all the tall doods the first night) Blue and Gold (which is so so cheap and reminded us of 500 Club which was comforting) and The International.

AND THEN I HAD A LIFE CHANGING PIZZA MOMENT.

we're standing outside The International and Garret pulls me aside and says, "i need to show you something". the something was South Brooklyn Pizza. They don't even have a website up because they just moved to Manhattan from duh, Brooklyn. we walked by and saw a hot, fresh Pizza Margherita coming out of the oven and i. had. to. have. some. GOD DAMN YOU GUYS! get a load of this beauty....i couldn't even wait to take the picture before i had a bite!!!

this one gets the center pictures spot because of its glory. there was just enough basil on it to permeate the flavor throughout the whole piece, the sauce was light and spicy, the cheese was evenly distributed for it being fresh mozzarella and the crust was crunchy and tender and crispy and thin and ughgoasfiwajef;ijwaefj;aowejfow.

ridick. im in love.

(and since i was kinda buzzed i left the place saying "thank you! thank you so much! thank for existing!!" hahaha)

phew.

thats all i have. and its a lot. thats 6 days of stuff i ate at places and other things like that. i'd like to make this a daily or bi-daily kind of thing so that it doesn't take hours and hours to write and 10 min to read...

xo, L