Got back from NY tonight, two days and one night is a nice teaser for the city and enough to get in the mood for a LOT more.
Day one, 4:30am, put everything and us into the car for the drive to the train station. We get there exactly on time (30 minutes before boarding). Dad and Pam arrived right when we did so we parked and made our way to the terminal. After a short wait we jumped onto the train for a 4 hour commute to New York’s Penn station (we weren’t on the Acela for the ride in). We caught each other up on Christmas happenings and other stuff and went over a few things we wanted to check out/do. My first suggestion was lunch.. I really need to remember to eat.
We got to Penn right on time and after a little confusion we found an info booth, everyone grabbed pamphlets and we found out how to get to the hotel (cab of course). We made our way to the streets to find that everyone wanted to take a cab to the hotel and we would have had to wait in a line (in light rain) to get a ride. We just decided to make the walk up to the Westin with luggage in tow. I think I was the only one who didn’t mind that walk, but we all agreed that it was better than waiting. We left the luggage at the desk and hit the streets again.
First task, get something in my stomach (mmmmm, food and beer). We found a Dallas BBQ a few buildings away from the hotel, and since it was the only place in the immediate area (besides BB Kings) that I’ve never seen before, I suggested it and everyone agreed. A few moments later we were on the second floor by the big Vegas like sign in the window ordering beer and watching ppl come and go on the street below. For the first 10 minutes or so we were the only ppl in the place (other than staff). They had opened minutes before we walked in. I had the initial, oh, we’re dorks being here this early but got over it fast as the Stella Artois was cold and tasty and the menu looked decent enough. I ordered my BBQ burger and everyone ordered their stuff and we waited a few for the vittles to arrive. It was actually really good. The burger was cooked to perfection, the fries crisp and tasty and the onions were actually onion rings which I found to be more pleasing than the pile of red onion so many places put on your sammich. The only problem I had was the service was a little weak, it was probably just my server. Natalie had the chicken and ribs and I can’t remember what dad and Pam had, but we all really enjoyed the meal. I originally thought this was a chain, but a quick google just turns up http://www.bbqnyc.com/. If you’re going to NYC and want some rich BBQ eats, it’s certainly worth checking out.
After that we went across the street to Madame Tussauds for a look at the wax museum. I’d never been to such a place and enjoyed the touristy fun of it. Got some good pics, had fun making fun of things and rating the wax works. Some were actually eerie, the Whoopie in the lobby felt as if it was staring at you and there was one other that gave the same impression, I just can’t remember who it was. I realized that I’m just a typical crappy American stereo type… I found the celebs far more interesting that the historical figures. At least I knew who they were for the most part and wasn’t a complete fool in that room. The only complaint I have is the House of Horrors. There were only 2 scares, Pam said there were at least 2 places she would have expected spooks to be. Maybe they were on break, but they should replace them with other staff if that’s the case. Definitely worth checking out if you’ve never done it before.
Next we made our way to 30 Rock/Top of the Rock, another cool experience for all the country mice. Once we got there we decided to grab a coffee before making the trek to the observation deck so we hunted around the shops until a really nice lady directed us to Starbucks (which was a typical SB experience). We chilled and chatted for a bit and then grabbed tickets to the observation deck. The ride up was pretty damn cool. The elevator has a glass top and lighting so that you can watch a little video (though I can’t remember what it was) and the ceiling approaching. I couldn’t look away, I dig the insides of things and exploring an elevator shaft just works for me 
The deck itself was great, you get a great view of NYC (though it was a little cloudy that day). I even checked out one of those binocular things until I started thinking about all of the other eyes that have been on it. I got a little freaked and bailed, I can just see myself getting conjunctivitis while trying to peek in on muggings in Central Park.
We then decided to head back to the hotel and clean up for the show, I was really hoping to visit the hotel bar for a martini, but there wasn’t enough time. Natalie showered and I watched the news. We met up w/dad and Pam and made our way to the WaMu Theater @ Madison Square Garden for Wintuk (Cirque Du Soleil). This was the inspiration for the trip. The show was a LOT of fun, these ppl are really amazing at what they do. There were 1 or 2 mistakes by the actors, but I think they did a nice job recovering and moving on. The show is very much worth checking out if want to see amazing athletes do some crazy things with bicycles, balls, ropes and whatever else they come up with. These are some really talented folks and shouldn’t be missed.
After the show we needed some chow.. Since we left our guide at the hotel and couldn’t remember the name of the French/Thai place we really wanted to check out, I suggested BB Kings. Some were skeptical, but we all agreed. We made our way back and went in. At first I was ready to bail as there was some hip-hop show going on, but that didn’t impact the dinner/blues area so we stayed (thanks to Pam and some dude confirming that dinner was no where’s near the sea of ppl). The music was good, the drinks were killers, dad and I had 2 Thrills, the house specialty, while Pam had 2 Peach thingys and Natalie had Cosmos or Pomegranate martinis (can’t remember which). We all enjoyed the food and music and it was a really nice dinner. After that we all went back to the hotel, I protested, I wanted to hit the Comedy Cellar and hopefully catch Jimmy Norton working out some material but it wasn’t gonna happen this trip. I was able to convince Nat to hit the hotel bar for a night cap. I had a PERFECT dirty Ketel One martini and she had some red drink thing which she enjoyed.
Day two, we hit the streets looking for breakfast and settled on the Hard Rock (after walking past GMA’s recording). I don’t know why I can’t remember that I don’t like the food there until I start eating it, but that’s the way it goes every time. I’ve never had a good meal there and it was no different here. Just your standard buffet fair and not cooked particularly well. Moving on.
We made our way down to 5th Ave and checked out the tree, skating rink and Trump Tower. All good and fun We spent a few minutes in Tiffany’s where dad and I were about as bored as we could be (that must be where I get my lack of interest in shiny things). We had coffee @ Trumps. That dude puts his name on EVERYTHING. He never misses an opportunity to brand something. After that we walked down and dad grabbed a scarf (looking dapper man) and we admired the MAC store. I would have liked to have gone in, but the line was just waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long.
We walked a little further down to Central Park and grabbed a carriage ride. The driver was just OK. He kinda chimed in once and a while to point something out. He was more interested in chatting w/a cute Italian chick in a Nissan SUV or chatting with other carriage drivers. The ride itself was nice but I much preferred the walking of the park that followed. We didn’t actually get through the whole park but we did check out a lot. We got to the boat house, poked around on the Ramble and Belvedere Castle. After that we were wiped and just wanted to eat.
We made our way to the Tavern on the Green for a nice late afternoon lunch. The food was good (not great) but the place itself was fun. We’d all heard of it on TV and radio and wanted to check it out. The service was exceptional and they did a great job decorating for Christmas. We all enjoyed the hell out of this low key NY afternoon.
The rest of the day was dedicated to souvenir shopping and travel, none of which would make for interesting reading.
Nat and I are in agreement, NY is a place we’ll be going back to. We never made it out of Manhattan (and there’s still more than enough to check out there) and I never got to visit any of the places I hear about every day on O & A. I’d like to check out a Conan O’Brien recording next time too.
