As I explained here, I do not feel appropriately experienced in all or any of what New York has to offer in the culinary department in order to name this post "where to eat". So, rather, as they always say, 'talk about what you know', these fine places, my friends, are what we now know.
Every New Yorker knows that you have to have a great breakfast/brunch place in your area. You're allowed to venture out and try new things but you have to have a great staple where you're assured of a great breakfast place every time. For us living on the upper west side (UWS), our go-to breakfast place is good enough to eat. It's close enough that you can walk but far enough to justify a cab on a chilly or rushed morning. The have brunch specials which allow the menu to vary enough that you don't get bored and they have a white picket fence outside, what's not to love?
Characteristic strawberry butter to go with their homemade biscuits/scones (not pictured). Oh. Yum. Comfort food has found a name. I think that is Lucia's apple pancakes with cream shown above. Oh my.
So after breakfast you definitely need a few good lunch spots. We ventured outside of the UWS first to the West Village where, again courtesy of A Cup of Jo, we found Mary's Fish Camp. The lobster roll is the bomb and what the place is known for but at $32 you may think twice about ordering it. In addition, it's not the largest roll ever so it's probably just a taste if you share, but man, it was delish. I don't have a picture of it because it was gone that quickly!
Typical Village style tables - where if you didn't know the person sitting next to you before, you will now!
Alternatives to the lobster roll include the fish tacos. Yum. Definitely not playing second fiddle just different.
Next up for lunch is another little gem, this time in Soho. Hampton Chutney actually has three locations, including one in the UWS so next time I don't have to go down to Soho, where I am permanently tempted by Madewell, Bloomingdales and All Saints Spitalfields, to enjoy an eye-popping dosa and mango lassi (both pictured below).
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are insufficient meals after a busy day gallivanting around the city so one cannot forget about afternoon tea. I have raved about Alice's Teacup on this blog before here but I will never tire of introducing new people to its colonial greatness.
I recommend ordering the Mad hatter's platter for two and coming hungry. This is more brunch+lunch+afternoon tea wrapped into one rather than a snack-stop. This platter has two different types of scones each, two or three choices of sandwiches and a choice of dessert (lemon tart, chocolate mousse, cheesecake etc - go for the lemon tart!), plus various cookies (biscuits) thrown in! I have always had a take-away box after leaving Alice's. I think half the time I fill up on the tea! If you're on holiday and thus flexible with your time, try and go at off-peak hours as this place fills up fast and often there's an hour or two hour wait. It's also a fun place to buy quirky, Alice-in-Wonderland themed gifts like little packets of tea, cookbooks and potion necklaces!
How cute are the details in these teapot stoppers?! Everyone's teapot is differently decorated and appears to hold unlimited cups of tea! The magic of Alice!
So dinner! Definitely the meal of the day, for which New York is famous. I read somewhere that you are not a true New Yorker unless you eat dinner after 10pm. I think that is a function of trying to get a reservation! For the second dinner restaurant here, I think our booking was only for 10:45pm! Have a nap and you're good to go and in my opinion eating around that time can sometimes be totally worth it, for the New York Saturday night vibe is in full swing!
More A Cup of Jo recommendations with the following two restaurants. We basically went down her list! The first is The Mermaid Inn which has a few locations, one of which is on the UWS. If you like seafood (think oysters and white wine) this is a great place. We had an unexpectedly great time here especially as it was the first time that all three of us, including Ryan, had had an opportunity to go out for dinner since Lucia arrived. Ryan and I sucked it up (quite literally) and tried some oysters for basically the first time (I think trying one at the age of 10 doesn't really count especially if the experience was unpleasant) and found them to be fabulous and a true talking point.
The gem of the trip was trying this secret restaurant. It's so secret, that we don't have a photo of the name and you can't see it from the street. Hudson Clearwater in the West Village is a great little find with incredible food and homemade cocktails.
We took this picture at the end of the night in the 'secret garden' pictured above. Make sure you have a reservation as this was the place that we had a booking for after 10:30pm. Oh and p.s. Lucia's dress is from Anthropologie where she lucked out and found it for $10! OMGosh..
I would like to say that dinner would be the last stop but hang on for dessert! You may have seen this movie starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale in 2001. It was partly filmed at Serendipity 3 and as such attracts large amounts of tourists after its famous frozen hot chocolate and ridiculous sundae. I mean ridiculous! The problem I found here was that there is a minimum charge (so you don't just order drinks and take up a table) which means you have to order at least two items off the menu. Honestly, this place gives large portions a bad name. I am glad we went to check it out but we barely made a dent in our Humble Pie Sundae and Frozen Hot Chocolate. In addition, ice-cream is not something you can easily take away, therefore I left Serendipity, feeling gluttonous and wasteful :( Still, I think this place could be a lot of fun for a large group of people who are able to share the desserts and be content with not finishing everything. It's not number one of my list to go back but it was a worthwhile experience.
We finally made it to the end! Disclaimer: we did NOT eat everything in one day (haha)! The above research took place over approximately two weeks and lots of rest periods in between! Thank you to Lucia for letting me use a lot of her photos. I really appreciate it!
