Day one of the trip to NYC started with a subway ride with Tiffany to Union Square. She recommended that I hang out there for a while, as there were shops, a green market, and loads of food options for me. I wandered aimlessly, checking out statues and searching for a breakfast locale that was not a chain I could dine at back home. I gave up and headed to Whole Foods, where I got a bagel and a latte, and started texting Randi, a friend from back home who lives in Brooklyn. She agreed to meet me in Union Square, and I settled in to write. I got one or two good jokes down, and met with Randi outside in the 30 degree weather. She took one look at my almost empty latte and said, "Let's go get you a real coffee." Yay, New Yorkers! We grabbed a cup of joe at Joe Coffee, a hip, fun shop that made me realize that there are sexy baristas everywhere in NYC.
Randi guessed that I wanted to see a few sites on my first day, so we walked to Washington Square, saw a guy setting up a portable piano, meandered past NYU and Cooper Union, stopped at a Vegan bakery and St. Mark's bookstore, then headed towards where I was supposed to meet Tiff for lunch. On the way we passed the Flatiron building, popped into Eataly, a gigantic Mario Batali created fresh food market, and caught up on each others lives. She had to hop a train back to Brooklyn for a going away party, so we planned to meet for dinner that night with Tiffany.
With an hour or so to kill, I parked my near frozen, footsore butt in a Think Coffee House. As I approached the counter, the hipster boy at the register asked what he could get for me. I told him to surprise me. He recommended a Spanish Latte, that combined fair trade espresso with condensed milk and cinnamon. HOW DID HE KNOW ME SO WELL?!?!? More writing, with more contemplation and caffeination to come.
I met Tiff at work and we headed over to a small, hole in the wall Puerto Rican restaurant. We proceeded to stuff ourselves silly on plantains, black beans and rice, and for me-shredded beef. Full to brimming, we parted ways and I decided to then walk towards Tiffany's recommendation for dessert, a little joint called Milk and Cookies. Tiffany had waxed poetic about the fresh cookies and dipped ice cream sandwiches, and though I was full, I wanted to take advantage of my time in NYC. I stepped into the cute shop, which only held two other occupants and the lady at the register. I use the term lady loosely. I approached the counter with a smile on my face, but cranky "lady" was not happy to see me. "What do you want?" she asked, lip curled. "Ummm. Uhh. The Penguin," I stammered, looking at the board and picking one that would be least likely to overwhelm my taste buds or kill me (most had nuts in them.) "Which one?" she asked, as if she did not even know her own menu. "Umm. Uhh. The double chocolate with vanilla. T-t-hanks." She slapped it together, and I took the remaining table to enjoy the treat. The other two people left, and it was just me, alone with Surly Shirley. There was an issue with her coffee machine, and she kept attempting to reach behind her espresso machine to unplug it, but her ample bosom was not allowing her to get her arm far enough back. Said bosom also turned on the milk steamer not once, not twice, but three times in her attempts. Internally, I was laughing at her steamed boobs. Externally, I was annoyed by her litany of curses. So, I took my sandwich and left. I threw it away after a couple of bites, as it didn't taste as good with the bad taste in my mouth from the experience.
I walked down Bleecker Street, as a good friend loves it. Then I walked back towards Tiff's workplace. I parked it in a wine and crepe bar, a glass of Merlot in my hand. My feet were on fire, and my cheeks were frozen. We met up, grabbed some hot chocolate, and then went to dinner at Marble Lane. Tiff has a friend who works at this restaurant, which also has ties with her company. Randi met up with us, and we sat down to a gigantic meal (I got crab cakes and Filet Mignon...and had a glass of Malbec.) Randi headed home, and Tiff and I hopped in a cab that took us to our next destination-Sleep No More NYC. And that will require a blog of it's own.
