Christmas in New York Part 2 & 3

I know I said I was going to do my New York City trip in three parts, but I am going to combine the first two days into one post. So here goes nothin’. We arrived in New York City early Saturday morning and picked up my brother and his girlfriend Ashley from the airport. Then we headed to our hotel to get settled in, have some breakfast, and get ready for the show. We stayed at The Hilton on the Avenue of the Americas.

For a little snack/late breakfast my mom packed some mini blueberry muffins, and these awesome power balls. They had peanut butter, oats, coconut, raisins, and mini m&m’s. I think there were some other things in there, but I can’t remember. I had some coffee, a couple of these balls, and couldn’t help but take in the beautiful view from the hotel window.

We got all bundled up (I’m talking 2 pairs of tights, jeans, and 3 layers of shirts and sweater, plus coat, scarf, hat, and gloves) because it was downright freezing out. We headed to one of my favorite restaurants in NYC called Rue 57. I snapped a few pics of the city Christmas decorations on the way.

I love Rue 57. This place is so cute, and always decorated so beautifully for Christmas. It has such a warm feel, and the food is great too.

We started off with some Bellini’s and other morning type drinks, and I ordered the Eggs Benedict. It was two poached eggs with ham over top a toasted croissant and topped with hollandaise sauce. MMM MMM

By this point it had FINALLY started snowing (meanwhile it was a blizzard back in DC), and I got so giddy that I was in NYC at Christmas time with my family AND it was snowing. I was so happy! Of course I took some more pics on the way to the show. This one reminded me of me on the computer. It was one of the window displays of my favorite store, Henri Bendel.

It’s not NYC with out chesnuts!

We rushed to the show. We saw Billy Elliott, the 2009 Tony Award Winner, and it was SPECTACULAR! I think I cried about 15 times through out the entire show. It was so moving, the acting was great, the dancing was great, and the entire show was just really something else. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves musicals.

On our way back to the hotel we snapped a few pics in the snow. It was just lovely!

We had dinner that night at a place called Thalia. This was an experience I will never forget. We had great wine, great conversation, and the food was out of this world.

I started with tuna tartar, which was light and refreshing. A great starter to excite the palate.

For my meal I ordered braised lamb with roasted vegetables and butternut squash risotto. The vegetables with the risotto was a celebration in my mouth. INCREDIBLE! And I had some red wine on the side. I believe this is a Rioja, but we drank so much wine that weekend that I can’t keep track. Whatever it was, it was plush and juicy, and structured, but still soft.

Chris got the fillet which I had a few bites of as well.

Dessert was a chocolate martini with Godiva white and chocolate liquor. MMMMM

Meanwhile it was a blizzard in NYC so we decided to just go back to the hotel bar for a cozy night in with some drinks. Beautiful snow though!

The next day we got up and walked around the city to see all the Christmas decorations, and check out all the stores decorated for Christmas. This is a tradition in my family. We always have to check out the decorations at The Plaza Hotel, Saks, Macy’s, etc.

We stopped for lunch at The Stage Deli.

This is another family tradition. We always have to eat at least once at a true New York City Deli. The Stage Deli is one of our favorites. The service is always good, and the food is always good. I ordered half of a Reuben with corn beef, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

I loved this meal because it wasn’t too much food, and it was perfect for such a cold day. After lunch we walked around some more, and of course we did some major shopping at Macy’s.

My favorite new experience this year was Bryant Park. I had never really been there at Christmas time before, and I thought it was just beautiful.

And of course we stopped by the tree, and Saks to see the Carol of the Bells Snowflake show. This never gets old!

After heading back to the hotel bar for a glass of wine to warm us up, we decided to get ready and head out to a restaurant in West Village called BoBo. This was recommended by Ashley’s friend, and it lived up to all the expectations. This place we so tiny, and quaint, and reminded you of an old town home. It was so adorable, I could have stayed the whole night!

We started with a duck confit appetizer, and split a delicious salad. The salad was romaine lettuce topped with beets, fresh chevre, golden raisins candied pecans, and a wonderful light dressing that brought all the flavors together.

Ashley got a squash soup that looked fantastic. It deserved a picture on the blog.

For my entree I decided to get the Special. The special was sliced beef (I forget the name if it, but it is very close to Kobe beef) over top of fresh mashed potatoes, and vegetables. The vegetables were green beans and baby carrots, but I asked to swap Brussels sprouts for the green beans, and it was the best decision ever.

I savored every bite of this meal. It was really delicious. After dinner we met up with two of my best friends from college, Angie and Kristen, who live in the city. We went to a bar that was close by called Klimat. It was so great seeing my friends, and we just caught up on lost time. Here I enjoyed a new drink to me-hot wine. It was actually pretty good. It reminded me of spiked Apple or Spiced Cider. It definitely had some spice to it, and was very soothing on the throat.

Such a fun night with everyone. Our third day in NYC was the Chinatown Food and Culture Tour, which I have already shared with you. So now we are all caught up. It was honestly one of the best times I have had in the city, and I am so glad to have such a great family to experience trips like this. The times were great, the food was incredible, and there was never a dull moment. So much fun!

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