The Dutch @ NYC Restaurant Week

The New York Restaurant Week started yesterday and will be on until August 10th. I have already started enjoying the deal and went to have lunch with a friend at The Dutch yesterday. For 24.07USD you get 3 courses (appetizer, entree and desert) for lunch and 35USD for dinner. You can't complain, can you? :)
The Dutch was on the list of places I would like to go in New York and as soon as I saw it would be taking part in the New York Restaurant week I made a reservation. I wanted to know what all the hype is about...
The Dutch specializes in American Nouveau/Traditional and Global cuisine and has a location at the W Hotel in Miami as well. The restaurant belongs to a very famous chef in New York called Andrew Carmillini. He has worked in some renowned restaurants in New York such as Le Cirque, Café Boulud, A Voce and Locanda Verde, winning a Michelin star whilst working at A Voce.
The food was lovely and my favorite bit was the delicious warm loaf of cornbread. Yummy!!!!!! I would definitely go back if there were not so many places to go first lol
For more details in regards to the restaurants taking place at the New York Restaurant Week click  here.
Hope you enjoy!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Brunch @ Cookshop in Chelsea

As I have mentioned before, one of my favorite programs on the weekends in New York is to go out for brunch.
Cookshop had been on my list of places to go for a while. It has a very good reputation about being one of the best brunches in town. Besides, it is very close to my work and flat.
Boy, I am glad we went!!!! The food was delicious, so fresh, so beautiful!!!! The cocktails are to die for as well.
Apparently, it is supposed to be a celebrity hot spot. Emma Stone was there with Andrew Garfield last month. Anyways, does not make a lot of difference to me... Just curiosities about Manhattan's life lol
Hope you enjoy!!!! I had a beautiful French Toast and hubby the Huevos Rancheros!!!! Yummy!!!!
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Must Read: Time Out, NYMag and Eater

In a city that offer so much, it is so difficult to keep up with the 1000 events taking place at the same time + all different options of places to eat. One of the best things we have done was subscribing to Time Out. Every Wednesday we receive our magazine with all the events taking place during the week as well opening restaurants and the restaurants receiving great reviews.
The New York magazine and Eater are so helpful as wel. And the best thing about them all is that you can check most of the content on line on the following websites: Time Out , NYmag and  Eater.
Therefore, if you live here or are planning a trip and would like to find out about all different sorts of events, restaurants, etc. those are great the places to go :)

Hope you enjoy!!!! xxxxx

Happy July 4th + Hubby's Bday @ Hotel Americano

July 4th happens to be my husband's birthday as well. As it was our first July 4th in the US, we wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. And of course, I wanted him to feel special with the fireworks I had prepared specially for him lol ;-)
I was amazed how people embrace the date and with the amount of people on the streets.
On our way to Hotel Americano, where I had made a reservation for dinner, we were shocked to see the queue for the lifts in our building. As many flats have a great view of the Hudson river, it was a perfect place for house parties whilst watching the fireworks. One of our neighbours was giving a party and she said people were queuing up for 35 minutes in the lobby to get a lift!!!!!
Anyways, we had a lovely time at La Piscine at Hotel Americano. The hotel is quite new and we could see some of the fireworks from the roofdeck. In spite of the chaos, the service was amazing :) The views of Manhattan skyline are breathtaking as well.
We will indeed go back with friends for drinks, brunch and whatever else!!!!!
It was a very unforgettable experience indeed :)
Hope you enjoyed! xxxxx


Hotel Americano:518 West 27th Street  New York, NY 10001

View from the bar with the Empire State in the background

The smallest swimming pool I have ever seen in my life. Nevertheless a very stylish one.

The fireworks

View from our flat. What a beautiful evening!!!

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

The Big Aple Barbecue Block Party takes place one weekend each June at Madison Square Park (in front of the Flatiron building and Eataly). This year it happened on the 9th and 10th of June. Basically, it is a free admission event to celebrate award-winning barbecue and Southern-inspired fare from the country’s top pitmasters available for $8/plate. There was a great Motown style band playing when we were there. The weather was absolutely beautiful and everyone was having a great time.
I truly enjoyed it!!!! As the queues were so long, we didn't have any food from the stands. Next year, I definetely will :) xxxx

Booking a restaurant in New York - Open Table :)

I am still in shock with the amount of restaurants New York has to offer! Besides, it is impossible to get inside some restaurants without the right connections.

If you are planning a trip to New York, I would definitely advise you to book restaurants at least 1 month in advance. Mainly if you are looking for the restaurants of the moment or even the classic and old school new york venues. The restaurant scene here seems to have so much more excitement than London. People are so passionate about where they eat!!!! I love it :)

So far, for me, I would say London wins in regards to flea markets and museums, but New York is miles ahead when it comes to eating.

Open Table is a good place to start :) Alongside Yelp (I already have spoken about it here  ), it will help you loads.

Hope you enjoy xxxxxxxxxxx

NYC - cupcakes' capital of the world!!!!

Cupcakes follow you everywhere in New York. Even the Sex and The City tours started having a stop at Magnolia Bakery. They are cute, delicious, yummy, go beautifully with a coffee or tea. It is just so hard to resist!!!

In order to experience what this cupcake city has to offer, I decided to start my own cupcake rating system :) Just have to make sure I keep hitting the gym nearly everyday, otherwise I will become a balloon with so many cupcakes!!!

Here we go:

1. Little Cupcake Bakeshop - These have been my favorite so far. They have a very wide selection of different cupcakes!!! You can find them in 3 different addresses: 30 Prince Street, 9102 Third Avenue

Brooklyn and inside Bergdorf Goodman. Believe me, to be inside BG, they have to be very good!!!!

2.  Baby Cakes - Dairy and Gluten free and natural/healthy cupcakes (if possible at all! lol) -  The location on Lower East Side is so cute and vintage. Since I saw a post on Garance Dore's blog about Baby Cakes' owner (see here) the name was stuck in my mind. Wandering in the Lower East Side I finally found it and had my first and unforgettable Baby Cakes cupcake. When you order you cupcake they ask if you have any allergies. Brilliant!!! 248 Broome Street

 

3. Eleni's -   This has to be one of the most tempting shops. The presentation is so beautiful. The cookies make beautiful gifts as well for all sorts of occasions. It is located inside Chelsea Market (75 Ninth Avenue) and on 1266 Madison Ave (between 90th and 91st).

4. Magnolia Bakery  - Definitely the most famous by far for out-of -towners and Sex and The City addicted. To be honest I expected much more from Magnolia Bakery. It is very good, but not that amazing comparing to many others. They are all over the place....401 Bleecker Street, inside Bloomingdale's, 1240 Avenue of Americas (Rockefeller Center), 200 Columbus Avenue, and Grand Central Terminal. 

5. Dean and Deluca - In spite of not having cupcakes as a speciality, I loved the Banana with Nutella cupcake I had at Dean and Deluca. So yummy!!!!!! Plus the amazing cappuccino (one of my favorites so far...). They have 6 different location in NYC: Soho 560 Broadway at Prince Street, One Rockefeller Plaza (between 5th and 6th Ave.), 1150 Madison Ave (At 85th Street), 620 8th Ave Retail Space B,  235 West 46th Street (Between 7th & 8th Ave) and 156 West 56th St.

6. The Buttercup Bakeshop - It is very tiny and located in Midtown Eats, where we were staying as soon as moved to NYC. I can say I started my cupcake experiences in the city there as it was so close to our flat. Such lovely cakes! 973 2nd Avenue (Between 51st and 52nd Streets)

7. Burgers and Cupcakes - No it is not a joke. There is really a place called burgers and cupcakes in this city!!! lol Very healthy, I know. It happens to be very close to my flat, and I had a lovely marble cupcake with peanut butter that was out of this world!!!! The burgers were not bad either. 458 9th Ave (36th St. & 9th Ave.)   

Having cupcake craving feeling now!!!! lol I am sure this cupcake list will get longer and longer as there is still so many cupcakes to try :)

Hope you enjoy! If you have any tips about cupcake places in NYC, please let me know!

Love xxx

Magnolia Bakery

Baby Cakes

Baby Cakes

Baby Cakes

Dean and Deluca

Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Elenis

Buttercup Cake Shop

Il Laboratorio del Gelato - the most unusual ice cream flavors in NYC

If you love ice cream, and boy, there are lovely ice cream places in this city, Il Laboratorio del Gelato has to be on your list of places to go and experience the most unusual ice cream flavors you will possibly ever see.
Earl Grey, Green Tea, Ricotta, Basil, Olive Oil, Sour Cream are among the nearly options...Take your pick!!!!! Amazing and delicious :):):)
It is located at the Lower East Side (in front of the famous Katz's Delicatessen) and you can watch the ice cream and sorbets being  made as there is an open plan kitchen.

Il Laboratorio del Gelato: 188 Ludlow street  (at east houston)

East Village rocks :)

Another brilliant place to go for a wander. Every time I walk around East Village, I feel 10 years younger!!!! There is such a great atmosphere there. People seem so laid back and down to earth. Besides, it reminds me a lot of East London :) There are great independent and quirky shops and restaurants - which are supposed to be some of the cheapest you can find in Manhattan.
The East Village has been home to many artists, politicians and literati. The musical Rent was inspired in what happened in the area in the end of the 80's, when artists were struggling to make ends meet and HIV, drugs and high crime were in the scene to made things even worse.
It is an area full of students as NYU (New York University) owns many buildings around.

St Marks Place and 3rd Avenue with the Chrysler Building in the background

St Marks Place

One of the cute shops in the area

St. Marks Place and 1st Avenue

Tompkins Square Park - dogs playground

Tompkins Square Park