New York, New York a place so nice they named it twice.

Friday
After reading Rebecka’s post about my visit to NYC I got inspired to compose my own post about my New York minute. After a two and a half hour air traffic “congestion” delay we departed Denver for La Garbage Airport. Luckily, I was given the last first class seat (rare to get these days) so I had four bloody mary’s. La Guardia is surrounded by Flushing Bay on two sides and the buildings of Queens on the other, so landing at La Guardia is much more exciting than landing in the soybean fields that surround DIA.

The cab ride from LGA to Rebecka and Don’s apartment in Carroll Gardens takes about 40 minutes in bad traffic. The cab driver took a route that I was not a custom to, so while I lounged in the back of the yellow crown Victoria I began a text conversation with Rebecka to verify that the cab driver was not taking me for a “ride.” He was not. $35 later I was dropped off in front of Rebecka and Don’s.

Don was gracious enough to wait up to greet me. Since he had to work early Saturday morning he retired to bed shortly after my arrival. Rebecka and I decided to take in the night life that Carroll Gardens has to offer. Our first stop was at a tacky tiki bar. We each enjoyed the bar’s signature frozen orange concoction that offers a shot of 151 in the straw ensuring your first sip is the strongest sip. After tacky tiki we headed to Camp. New York being New York has so many bars that you can find a theme bar for any interest. Camp is the bar for camping enthusiasts. Well… not really. Camp has a sort of log cabinesqe feel to it. The only thing missing was a canvas tent. Sadly, we missed out on the “make your own s’mores” happy hour special.

Saturday
After a delightful brunch at Smith and Union, Rebecka was kind enough to indulge me in a Project Runway tour. After a stroll around Bryant Park it was a short walk to the front of Parsons. After gawking at the front of Parson for a while we moved onto the highlight of the tour, Mood Fabrics. To get to Mood you must ride a human operated elevator. Complete with white gloves, the conductor opened and closed the old fashioned hinged elevator doors and used a big crank arm to drive the elevator. I always got the impression, watching Project Runway, that Mood was very small. In fact, it is not. Mood offers an astonishing array of fabrics spread out over three floors of fabric bliss. My only regret from my tour of Mood is not saying “Thanks Mood” as I left the store. Saturday was full of exciting moments including my first trip to Pinkberry. I opted for a small original with strawberries. Later, I was advised that bargain savvy Pinkberry customers opt for the medium which offers quite a bit more yogurt and two additional toppings for just $1 more. After we savored our Pinkberrys Rebecka and I strolled to Union Square where we met Don and made plans for dinner. After meeting up with Wendy, a friend of Rebecka and Don’s, we all enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail at Angel Share this great little second story subdued, swanky bar. After our swanky drink we headed for Japanese barbeque at Gyu-Kaku. It was very good, but I am not into that cook your own food bullshit. Dinner was followed by a night cap at a dark dive bar in the East Village which was followed by a cab ride back to Carroll Gardens and then to dreamland.

Sunday
Rebecka and Don decided to throw a dinner party. In grand New York fashion it was time to food shop one shop at a time. First stop was the farmers market, second stop was the meat shop, third stop was the bakery and the final stop brought us to Stinky Brooklyn, the aptly named local cheese proprietor. With all the food gathered for the party we decided to reward ourselves with a movie. Pineapple Express was a bit disappointing. Who do I have to write to get those two hours back in my life? We brunched after the movie at Cafe Cubana. The dinner party was a great success. The meal that we produced from that tiny little Brooklyn kitchen was awesome. Rebecka, Don and I make a great kitchen team. The menu included: chicken, corn on the cob, a lovely salad, garlic mashed potatoes and a absolutely fantastic assorted cheese tray.

Monday
After a fantastic stroll through what must be the prettiest streets of Brooklyn Rebecka and I walked into Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. It was back to Pinkberry for us. This time we both opted for a medium with two toppings. We snaked our way through downtown to the Whole Foods in SoHo. This Whole Foods is one of the grandest in the lands. It features several eateries including a sushi bar and a fancy salad bar. There is a make-your-own peanut butter station and a pommes frites bar. After Rebecka picked up a few household items we jumped a F line train directly back to Carroll Gardens. Once Don got home from work we decided to order a pizza and watch a movie. The movie was Traffic and the pizza, from House of Pizza and Calzones, was excellent.

Tuesday
I woke up at some ungodly hour. This time the ride to La Garbage took only 24 minutes. I stood by for the 7am flight which was oversold by 20. Much to my surprise and joy I was given, again, the last first class seat. I was on my way to Minneapolis via O’Hare.