Traveling with Laura

So, just what can you accomplish with a mere 48 hours (or less) in the Big Apple? As it turns out, quite a lot. You can enjoy an indulgent Italian dinner, have a leisurely breakfast/brunch, tour the largest art museum in the United States, visit an iconic holiday market, eat a Neapolitan pizza, have another leisurely breakfast/brunch, and wander aimlessly through Central Park. 

I had been wanting to return to the Big Apple for months, but just hadn’t had the opportunity to do so until this fall. After a quick 38 minute flight from Boston and half hour cab ride later, I was ready to head out for my first dinner in the city.

Many restaurants have streetside structures set up for outdoor dining and I was happy to grab one of the quaint tables at Il Corso. Service wasn’t fast, but it was a treat to just relax and enjoy the cozy patio strung with tea lights. Dinner consisted of a rich cacio e pepe served in a baked/edible parmesan bowl followed by a creamy vanilla bean panna cotta.

Saturday found me dodging raindrops as I made my way through Central Park and the Upper West Side en route to my breakfast destination, Good Enough to Eat. As the name suggests, the food was good enough to eat, but I wouldn’t add it to my amazing breakfasts list. I opted to eat on the enclosed streetside patio and chose a combination I’ve never had before: a “Gramercy Park” omelette filled with Granny Smith apples and cheddar cheese. While I was intrigued by the concept, I can now say that – in my opinion – apples do not belong in omelettes. The omelette was accompanied by homemade biscuits with strawberry butter. The strawberry butter added a fruity sweetness to the biscuits that elevated them well above the omelette. 

After breakfast, I headed across Central Park to the Upper East Side and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If you know that I’m an art appreciator (as opposed to an art lover), you’ll recognize that three hours at the Met was more than enough to get my fill of art for a while. I saw the obligatory painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware and the Temple of Dendur. I also saw several cut glass pieces from the Sandwich Glass Company, where my great- great- great-grandfather worked for many years as a glass cutter. Two hours into my visit, my eyes were starting to glaze over and I found myself wondering how much more I needed to see before I could walk out the door without guilt.

I needed some fresh air after being cooped up in the museum for so long and I wound my way back through Central Park as I headed south toward Fifth Avenue.

I stopped to enjoy a trumpeter in the park and quench my thirst with a bottle of water on a nearby bench. Imagine how much my mouth watered each time I opened my bag during the day and was greeted by the scent of my “two chip” chocolate chip cookie from the infamous Levain Bakery. I made it until about 1 o’clock before sampling my first bite as I rested on the park bench. (I finished the rest after dinner.)

I continued my walk down Fifth Avenue, stopping at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and on to Bryant Park to visit the Holiday Market, which had opened for the season on Friday. The mobs of people on the sidewalks and in Bryant Park were rather off-putting, so I didn’t stay long. I’m not sure what was going on with the signage on each booth, but most of the names didn’t match the actual shop in the booth, which I found quite annoying.

I passed through Times Square and walked up Broadway (with a stop at M&M World, obviously) to Saturday night’s dinner at Don Antonio. I had decided ahead of time that I wasn’t going to eat anywhere I’ve eaten before on this trip. Clearly, that wasn’t the best strategy. Hailed as one of the best Neapolitan pizzas in the city, Don Antonio had me eagerly anticipating my evening meal. Disappointment was in the cards because while the Quattro Formaggi pizza was passable, it definitely lacked a wow factor. Also, they told me I wasn’t allowed to add prosciutto. Really?? I was one for three on the food front.

Breakfast/brunch on Sunday was at Sarabeth’s on Central Park South. Given its long-standing tradition as a New York City culinary staple, I had high hopes for one last redeeming meal in the city. A strong mimosa set the meal off on the right foot, followed by the light sweetness and subtle lemon flavor of perfectly cooked lemon ricotta pancakes with real maple syrup. Sitting on the outdoor patio across from Central Park, listening to horses and carriages clomp by, and watching the clouds clear and sunshine return while I ate made for a memorable final meal in New York.

Breakfast was followed by a quick walk around Central Park before I had to pick up my things at the hotel and hail a cab back to the airport.

All in all, this wasn’t my best weekend getaway, but I don’t regret making the trip either. The weather was dreary/cloudy/rainy for most of Saturday and early Sunday morning. My meals were a mixed bag. And my hotel experience was a comedy of errors from check in to check out, from which I will spare you the details. But I also walked for miles and spent a couple of days in a completely different environment from my normal routine. There’s just something about the magic of wandering in and exploring an unfamiliar city that keeps me coming back to the Big Apple.