Georgia Peach goes to the Big Apple…. and eats
Now I do not know much about New York, but I do know they have good food, crazy people, and more Instagram worthy opportunities then any city I have traveled.
A birthday weekend for a sweet friend brought me to the city of tall buildings for a cinco de Mayo celebration (or cinco de Maegan as we call it). We ate all the food, took all the pictures and celebrated like we were all back in Athens, Georgia (home of the beloved University of Georgia).
After navigating the tiny LaGuardia airport, getting past all the airport construction and finally finding my Uber. I headed into town, starving and unsatisfied by my airport peanuts. Maegan (my friend who lives in NYC) was blowing up my phone with dinner choices and me, being the mini health nut I am, choose Dig Inn. This is a cute, trendy order at the counter New York restaurant. They serve farmer’s market bowls. I got a farm green bowl with mint and added herb roasted chicken, roasted kale with
caramelized onions, coconut roasted carrots and sautéed broccoli. All of this healthiness followed up by splitting a Ben and Jerry’s pint before heading to bed.
Friday morning was spent exploring the Upper East Side alone while Maegan was at work. I had two stipulations, I wanted to see as much of New York as I could and do everything in my power to not take the subway alone. So, that meant 25,000 steps of exploring. I grabbed a mid morning brunch at Blue Stone Lane, where all the bloggers and instagramers are plotting their perfect pictures of avocado toast and lattes. Blue Stone Lane has multiple locations, but this one was right by Central Park. You can eat
there or take it to go and since I was doing some solo site seeing. I took my Brekkie Board of avocado toast and yogurt granola combo to Central Park to snap my Instagram. This food was so dang tasty and felt so New York eating on a park bench. My friend Jenna got into town soon after that and we did, what we do best and ate ice cream at the Met.
Friday night we went to The Jeffrey Craft Beer and Bites for dinner and drinks. This place had an adorable back porch with a full service bar and food, however, due to noise ordinances they kick (and I mean literally force everyone inside) at 9pm and it is a mad rush for any table. I had a delicious Tuscan Kale Salad with pine nuts, root veggies, pomegranates, aged asiago and truffle vinaigrette with a glass of Rose (my favorite!). We then jumped on the subway (I faced my fear with friend!) and headed to UCB for a comedy show. We got $12 dollar tickets for a really funny show! The only downside was they only take cash, so we were scrambling to find an ATM or grocery store in the area.
Saturday morning was spent sipping on mimosas and hopping around from rooftop bar to rooftop bar. We started off at Union Bar and Kitchen for their Bottomless Brunch. This was a $36.00 per person brunch which was an 1.5 hour limit filled with one main entrée and bottomless Bloodys, Bellinis and Mimosas. We honestly had a blast, I got the Baked Portobello Caps and they were so yummy and let me tell you, they keep the mimosas coming. When they say bottomless, they mean it. For that hour and half they will keep your cup filled. Michael was one of the servers and he was FAB!
Next we did a hop and a jump over with a subway and a little walking to Gallow Green and no joke, if they had this rooftop bar in Georgia, I would be there every weekend if they drinks weren’t so dang expensive. It is a gorgeous garden rooftop with flowers overflowing from every corner and views of the skyline that are dreamy. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area, however the drinks were SO expensive that it’s not worth going out of your way, but the views and vibes were killer. We then traveled over to the Arlo Hotel for the Heights bar that had a great view of the Empire State
Building and a glass bottom floor. Drinks here followed by a classic NYC Shake Shack stop wrapped up our weekend of drinks, cake and celebrating our dear friend Maegan.
All in all if I had to recommend one thing, I’d pull the classic white girl move and say head to Blue Stone Lane for to avocado toast and granola. Yes, it’s a little pricey, but who expects to go to New York and not spend a little money? So, grab those Instagram filters so we can see your avocado toast in the air.
-Morgan M.
Notes from Lauren: Looking to add more to Morgan’s New York friend weekend? Catch a Broadway show, add an exclusive Adventures by Disney New York Long Weekend for a luxury view of the city or hop on a 4 night Disney Cruise out of the port in New York. So many options!
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