New York State of Mind: Day 1

Steve and I are back in Chicago today after a FABULOUS trip! I *loved* New York a little too much...if it weren't for the high price of living, I think Steve and I would move there in a heartbeat.

Thursday - Day 1

We got into the city last Thursday afternoon and hopped a cab to our hotel, the Royalton. (Oh and please excuse the hotel pictures - I forgot to take them on check in, so our room was VERY messy by the time I snapped these.)

The bed was big, comfy and had a flat screen tv on the adjacent wall for your viewing pleasure.


While the space wasn't huge, we had a fabulous lounge area that was basically covered with all of our crap throughout the trip.


The room didn't have free WiFi, but it did come with an iPad that we could use to order room service, check other hotel amenities, and surf the Web. While nice, free WiFi would have been even better as we already had our own iPad with us.


I didn't get a shot of the bathroom, but it was cool, modern, and had a phenomenal rain shower. Heaven!

After dropping off our bags, we left the hotel and explored the surrounding area (we were in Midtown near Bryant Park), and then hopped on the Subway to Union Square.

We checked out the Cupcake Cafe, where Steve was going to have a meeting the following night. Since I was positively starving, we shared a cupcake. Pretty, right? Unfortunately, the taste didn't live up the the looks. It was fine, but I've had better.



Later that evening, we met up with Serena from Big Apple Nosh (aka Weddingbee blogger Mrs. Hamster) for dinner. Serena definitely lives up to her foodie status! On her suggestion, we decided to restaurant hop around East Village.

First, we stopped off at Yakitori Taisho for a few bites. We don't have (or at least I've never seen them) hole in the wall Japanese joints like this in Chicago, and I loved it!


Serena ordered us up all kinds of meats on sticks (yum!) and some fabulous shrimp. These were perfect sharable bites.


After listing off a few different options for our next stop, we walked over to Veselka, a nearby Ukrainian restaurant.


While Serena showed restraint by just ordering a potato pancake, Steve and I opted to order every single type of pierogi they offered. I'd never had pierogis before, and they were amazing. Even better, there was a complete element of surprise, as we had no clue what we were biting into!

We sampled: potato; cheese; meat; broccoli & cheddar; sauerkraut & mushroom; sweet potato; arugula & goat cheese. I can't wait to try and make some pierogis of my own!


Deciding we had sampled enough for the evening , we headed back to the subway. Only, of course, to cross paths with a belgian waffle food truck. Yes, please! Check out the Wafels & Dinges web site the next time you're in NYC to track them down. You'll be very happy you did, especially if you've never had a traditional Belgian waffle.


The wait was just long enough for Steve and I to agree on what waffle to share.


We opted for the Throwdown, which was featured on a Bobby Flay episode. It features speculoos spread - speculous is a delicious Dutch ginger cookie, and the combination with the waffle was amazing. Obviously Steve was enjoying himself!


After we parted ways with Serena, we walked through Times Square on our way back to our hotel, and I made Steve take an obligatory tourist picture of me. Love being on vacation!


While not a full day in New York, it definitely was a tasty one! I can't wait to share the rest of our trip (including photo shoots, street food, and my major "oops" at the best restaurant in the country!)...stay tuned!