New York City
Hi beautiful bebes! I wanted to do a mini recap of our trip to New York for you!
It's been waiting for ya!
NYC is hands down my favorite city and I can't wait to go back soon. Let’s get started!
To start off our trip, we decided to brunch at NOMO Kitchen in SoHo. Ironically, one of our friends we were traveling with is very close with the branding guru behind this brunch spot. We were not aware of this connection till after we brunched here but needless to say, the branding of this place is brilliant. From the fantastic arched vine tunnel inviting you in, the whimsical bronze statues enjoying tea, to the gorgeous chandeliers dancing across the glass ceiling, NOMO is undeniably enchanting.
This spot has an Alice in Wonderland meets funky NY socialite vibe & needless to say, I’m obsessed.
Before dining here, I did some research (thanks Yelp & Trip Advisor, you the real MVPs) and there were multiple complaints about service being “bad.” I wouldn’t label NOMO’s service bad (our waitress was actually V sweet), however the pace that everyone moves here is certainly slow (especially for NY). If you do decide to dine at NOMO, just know going in that it may take a little while and use that extra time to really enjoy the décor!
When eating at NOMO for brunch, you have to, have to, HAVE TO order the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. This is the most popular brunch dish on NOMO’s menu for good reason. These cakes come to you thick, fluffy, piping hot and covered in fresh mixed berries. YUMMMMMAY people.
Hands down the best pancakes I have ever had… subsequently, I now dream about them every morning.
#fatchdreams
Ross got the breakfast sandwich which he enjoyed but the sandwich didn’t come close to how delicious my pancakes were.
After brunch, we made our way to the 9/11 museum and memorial. We recommend buying your tickets online prior to skip the ticket line. Also make sure to bring your headphones as there is a 9/11 museum app that can be played on your phone that serves as an audio tour throughout the museum. Be prepared for the museum to be fairly crowded; take your time and be patient between each exhibit. The museum will allow you to explore the timeline of 9/11 events and the implications of that horrific day. This experience is an emotional one but it’s incredibly humbling and we would highly recommend going if you never have.
After visiting the museum, the 9/11 memorial pools, the One World Trade Center, and the Oculus all surround it so there is a lot to check out in this area.
Once we finished at the 9/11 museum, we headed to lunch at Cull & Pistol Oyster Bar in Chelsea Market. The Chelsea Market was bustling and it was fun to maneuver our way through and find Cull & Pistol among the flurry of activity.
Cull & Pistol is a seasonal raw bar that is v quaint with a smaller, more intimate setting tucked into Chelsea market. We were seated at the bar which ended up being SO much fun as we were able to socialize with the employees shucking the oysters as well as customers sitting around us.
Socializing was certainly spurred on by two bottles of Chablis (Chardonnay) Jean Marc Brocard and Ross and I enjoyed every sip!
We started with the Blistered Shishito peppers that were served with smoked salt and Nuoc Mam fish sauce. The peppers were great! For my entrée, I ordered the Chef’s Sampler which is a rotating selection of the best oysters Cull & Pistol has to offer. DELISH. I tend to gravitate towards oysters that have high salinity and the Chef’s sampler had their fair share of these! Cull & Pistol is famous for their raw bar options but also for their lobster rolls. Ross ordered the Lobster Roll – Connecticut Style, which is a warm lobster roll served on a kewpie mayonnaise toasted top split bun. This lobster roll was the best lobster roll either of us have ever tried! We can’t wait to visit Cull & Pistol again next time we find ourselves in NYC.
On Friday night we went to The Stanton Social on the LES (Lower East Side) which is a three level restaurant/lounge. This is an incredibly sexy spot where we enjoyed appetizers, fabulous drinks, and great music. We sat in the Cherry Blossom Lounge on the second floor to be close to the DJ which was a great choice for more of a party atmosphere.
The Stanton Social specializes solely in shared plates that are meant for the entire table to share throughout the entire night rather than main courses. This was a super fun & trendy twist on dinner. We indulged heavily on the cocktail side of things and we were dancing on the booth in about an hour.
Seriously, give me an elevated surface and a couple vodka sodas and it’s ON.
Luckily, The Stanton Social’s booths were close to the floor. #help #ivefallenandicantgetup
On Saturday, we had a late start to our day and headed to Le Bain around 3pm. Le Bain is a penthouse disco bar in the Meatpacking District with incredible views of the city. If you want to try Le Bain out, be sure to not be dressed like a scrub and apply makeup if necessary. Upon entry, we saw the doorman turn three girls away who were looking a bit rough around the edges.
So what is acceptable to wear to Le Bain? #letmetakeaselfie
Call me face. Duck face. #ootd
Moral of the story here? Le Bain values their exclusive image so make sure you look the part before trying to go.
We started getting after it at Le Bain (who doesn’t like a good darty?), and after multiple pitchers of mojitos, I wanted to listen to Taylor Swift (shocker lol). I go up to the DJ and offer her a $20 bill in order to play a TSwift song. She looked at me like I was crazy and said “NO”. For those of you who know me, I don’t like being told “no”. Like ever. So when the DJ denied me the joy of listening to TSwift while I was drunk as a skunk, cue a mini melt down.
I marched myself over to a Le Bain bartender to complain about the DJ, flapping the $20 bill above my head like a psycho (I’m such a treat lol, wanna to party with me?).
Get ready for this. The bartender was even ruder than the DJ.
“This is LE BAIN. We DON’T take requests.”
Well good sir, this is LE TWENTY DOLLARS and I want to listen to LE M’FCKING TAYLOR SWIFT!
No, I regrettably did not say that lol; BUT I did end up telling the life-ruiner bartender that I was going to “tell his manger on him” (v articulate). At this point, the bartender got visibly upset with me so I ran off like the little unbearable tattle tale that I am.
Rather than successfully hunt down this bartender’s manager, I started dancing, because you know, priorities (& my attention span is pretty much non-existent after 6 mojitos).
BUT, I can say that dancing under Le Bain's disco lights was much more enjoyable than finding a manager to b*tch to about their TSwift hating employees.
On Saturday night we ended up raging face at Pizza Beach on the LES. This place was packed and we had a blast. I was three sheets to the wind at this point so I can’t really give you a thorough review aside from it was fun and they serve vodka sodas…v detailed, I know.
& that concisely sums up our trip to New York babes! You now have some new spots to check out the next time you find yourself in the Big Apple.
xoxo, till next time NYC!