When it comes to choosing holiday destinations, give me a big city over just about anything else any day. And what better place than New York? I had never travelled on my own before, but I got to enjoy it very quickly, exploring at my own pace and seeing whatever the heck I wanted, with no one to tell me that I was spending too long shopping!
I immediately fell in love with the place, falling more with every day that passed. Of course it all went by way too fast, but I know I’ll be back again one day soon. I loved the charming buildings and the typography on the signs. I loved walking the city and exploring aimlessly – it was easy to walk 60 or 70 blocks before you knew it – which surely entitles one to an extra slice of pizza!
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
I’ll focus mostly on the food in this recap, but I have to say that the Museum of Modern Art had to be my favourite thing that I did, in fact it might just be the best $25 I’ve ever spent. I spent more than five hours wandering through the museum and still didn’t manage to see everything! I left completely inspired.
Also make sure you check out the design shop across the road for some very cool and quirky souvenirs and gifts, and the Museum Book Shop for an incredible selection of art and design books.
Museum of Modern Art, 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019, United States
Open 7 days from 10.30am
Union Square Greenmarket
This was the only place on the whole trip that I went to twice, on Monday and again on Wednesday. There are few things better than buying directly from the growers, and with it being summer in the Northern Hemisphere, stone fruits, berries, delicious heirloom tomatoes and beautiful flowers were out in abundance!
I got excited about the tart cherries and yellow sugar plums, as both are fruits we don’t see very often in Sydney. I got a punnet of each.
It was also lovely, as with any good farmers market to talk to the growers about their blueberries that are grown in Jersey or the way they make their fresh tart cherry juices, and try lots of yummy samples. Take your market purchases and sit in Union Square Park for a little lunchtime picnic! The park is quite cute and has free wifi. Also check out their website for updates on which growers participate on which days and any events that they have on.
The Greenmarket is run by GrowNYC who also operate over 50 other markets in the New York area, as well as running heaps of other community projects from gardens to recycling to youth-oriented.
Union Square Greenmarket, near Union Square Park near E 14th St, NY 10003, United States
Open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 8am-6pm
Momofuku Milk Bar
Not too far away from Union Square is the East Village outpost of the infamous Momofuku Milk Bar, one of six of their current locations. I was expecting a huge display case filled with crazy cakes in mind-blowing flavour combinations, but the shop itself was quite tiny with the menu simply written up on a chalkboard.
I tried a Cereal Milk soft serve with cornflake crunch, which was a really interesting flavour and not as sweet as I expected. It went down a treat on this particularly hot and humid day, and then also bought a slice of Crack Pie and a few Compost Cookies to take home.
The Crack Pie is good but a tiny bit underwhelming, especially after all the hype it’s received over the years. And coming in at over $5 per slice or $44 for a whole pie, it’s not cheap either! The cookies were my favourite, a jumble of chocolate chips, potato chips, oatmeal and pretzels come together to form a delicious cookie with salty notes that really work well. I am looking forward to trying out this recipe from Christina Tosi’s cookbook soon.
Momofuku Milk Bar East Village, 251 E 13th Street, NY 10003, United States
Bait & Hook Seafood Shack
After walking from the Upper East Side to the East Village, I was getting peckish and stumbled across this place. To be honest, I went in because I liked the look of their logo and cute nautical decor! It was quiet inside with only a few other tables dining, but picked up a little throughout the time I was there with a few people stopping in for a drink at the bar and quick lunch.
I originally had my eye on the Lobster Roll, however was informed that the kitchen was only doing lunch specials, and decided on the Fried Fish Sandwich instead. The lunch special was actually fantastic value – choice of salad or soup for appetizer, a meal (from 10 or so choices) and a glass of wine for $10. The ‘sandwich’ was served on a sesame seed brioche burger bun, and the fish was delicious and crispy with homemade tartare sauce. I wished just that there had been some salad on the burger itself rather than on the side. The chips were delicious, golden and crispy as well, I have a thing for chips where the potato skins have been left on!
I would like to come back for dinner one day, hopefully the place has a little more atmosphere and I can try a few great sounding dishes off their full menu. I have a feeling they would do the classic seafood dishes really well here.
Bait & Hook, 231 2nd Ave (between 14th St & 15th St) New York, NY 10003
Balthazar
A New York institution since 1997, one that was definitely on my list of places to visit. I treated myself to a tremendously decadent solo lunch, followed by some window shopping (and a small amount of actual shopping) on nearby streets. Balthazar serves French bistro fare all day, from breakfast to late night, with their bakery next door as well.
I arrived at about 11.30, at an awkward time between breakfast service ending and lunch service beginning. I was offered a table and the bakery menu, and while although the crossiants and pastries sounded incredible, I waited it out with a coffee and my book until midday. It was actually lucky that I had arrived early because shortly after 12 the place filled up, and when I left there was a line out the door of people waiting for tables.
After much deliberation I chose the Pan Roasted Chicken with Chanterelles, Crisp Spaetzle, Beet Greens and Riesling Jus. I’ve got to say, it was probably the best thing I ate in New York! All of the different elements worked together really well from the lighter-than-air spaetzle to the perfectly cooked chicken with its crisp skin and juicy insides, to the decadent jus that brought it all together. A beautiful dish.
I was going to skip dessert, but when the lovely waitress mentioned a Fig Frangipane Tart as one of the daily specials, I couldn’t say no. And just look at this thing of beauty! The nutty filling teamed well with the cooked figs that started to take on a jam-like texture. Get all of this in one forkful with a little of the creme anglaise and it was heaven. The only thing I thought didn’t fit well here was the flaky pastry crust. While it was delicious, I think a simple almond or even unsweetened shortcrust would have actually been a nicer texture with the filling.
Balthazar, 80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012, United States
Central Park
Of course a wander through Central Park is just one of those things you have to do in New York. I was in town for almost a week and I still didn’t manage to see the whole park! However it was fun to just walk, recognising a few locations from films and TV on the way.
It’s a lovely park with much to explore, and nice to get amongst the trees and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I met a couple of cute little squirrels, walked all the way around the JKO, watched loads of people walking their dogs.
Looking through all these photos makes me miss New York like crazy, but I still have sooo many more photos to sift through, so stay tuned for Part 2 very soon! xx