Turkey Day in New York City

Thanksgiving - November 26th, 2009

I arrived in New York City at 6am at JFK airport after an uncomfortable red-eye on Delta. Luckily, the Super Shuttle was already there picking up people so I jumped in the van. It's $20 to Manhattan on the shuttle versus $45 for a taxi. We sped to my hotel, the Sheraton Towers, on 7th and 53rd, just in time for me to brush my teeth, meet up with my mom, and head outside to jostle for a good parade view.


We had selected the Sheraton Towers because it is conveniently located on the Macy's Day Parade route. We had a great view from the top of the stairs and made friends with a myriad of travelers staying there. The balloons were larger than life, the bands were loud and proud, and the excitement of the viewers literally electrified the air. I have to say the Pillsbury Dough Boy balloon was by far my favorite. They even had a string they could pull that would make him chuckle, just like in the commercial!


Santa ended the parade with cheers and singing and then the 3 million people who had attended the parade ran off to find food. We had gotten our spots at 7am, the parade started at 9am, got to our area by 9:30am and then ended around 12:30pm so we were STARVING.

We walked up the street to STAGE Deli, famous for their giant sandwiches.


My mom and I split the Tiger Woods Reuben, which was an open-faced pastrami sandwich with hot sauerkraut and muenster cheese. It was really good! My mom also got her first taste of some Jewish classics like latka and Matzo ball soup.

From there we decided to walk around the 5th Ave shopping district to see the crazy Christmas decorations. All the stores were closed because of the holiday but that just made it easier to see the window displays without people walking in front of you. Saks, Bendels, and Bergdorf Goodman all had fantastic displays with lights and trees. We also made a quick stop inside St. Patricks Cathedral. It's really random to see a giant cathedral squished in between a bunch of skyscrapers...


Our sightseeing carried us all the way up 5th Avenue to Central Park where we spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the southern section taking in to the remaining autumn leaves and carriage rides. It's a weird feeling to be immersed in nature only to look up at the skyline and see yourself surrounded by buildings.


We were cutting it pretty close to our Thanksgiving dinner reservation so we headed back to the hotel to change. We then walked to Abboccato at 136 W. 55th right between 6th and 7th street. It's a little Italian restaurant that feels homey yet modern. They were really accommodating and allowed us to order just one of the Thanksgiving meals to share. We went with the option that included a wine to taste with each dish and added on the housemade mozzarella with tomato confit, basil and 25 year old balsamic. The mozzarella was a little hard and there wasn't enough confit to eat with the cheese but it was alright overall.


The first course was the Zuppa di Zucca, which was butternut squash soup with crispy sopressata, mascarpone, and pumpkin seed oil. It was served with a glass of Villa Antinori Toscana 2008. The soup was phenomenal. Sopressata is an Italian dry-cured salami that tastes essentially tasted like really good bacon. The crunch and saltiness of the salami paired with the sweetness of the butternut squash and the slight bite of the mascarpone made it a perfect dish. The wine was okay.


The second course was Ravioli del Plin, which was pinched ravioli filled with pear and Taleggio cheese with a sage and Italian butter sauce. It was paired with a glass of Barbera D'Alba, Pelisseroi, Piemonte 2006. Yet again, I was impressed with the taste and texture of the raviolis. The portion would have been too small if it wasn't part of a four course meal but in terms of taste it was incredible. The sweetness of the pear contrasted with the slight bitterness of the sage and the sharpness of the cheese. It was cooked perfectly so that the pasta was soft but not squishy. Again the wine was passe.


The third, and main course, was the Tacchino, which is roasted boneless turkey stuffed with Porcini mushrooms, Pancetta, and carmelized onions. It was served with sweet potato dumplings and white truffle gravy, and a glass of Rosso Di Montalcino, Le Chiuse, Toscana 2007. I really disliked this dish and, again, the wine. The turkey was very dry, I dislike the taste of mushrooms, and the gravy to meat proportion was limited.

Dessert was Crostata di Mele: A Jonagold apple pie with vanilla-caramel sauce and green apple sorbet. It was served with a Moscato D' Asti, La Caudrina, Piemonte 2008. The apple pie was really mushy which I dislike in an apple pie. The caramel sauce was overwhelming and they didn't provide very much sorbet. The dessert wine, on the otherhand, was quite good with a sweet peach taste that wasn't too intense.


Overall, it was a strange meal since I really loved the first two dishes and really disliked the last two! In terms of portions though it was a satisfying meal when split between two people. It came out to $92 total plus the mozzarella salad which again for two people wasn't bad either - especially in New York!

By the time we had finished dinner, it was only 7:30pm so we couldn't go to bed, regardless of how incredibly tired we were. We had been told by the hotel staff that the Empire State Building is really cool at night so we decided to ward off impending sleep by forcing ourselves to travel to the 102 floor. We bought the express tickets from the hotel for $62 (regular tickets are $37). They promised us it would be worth it since express makes the wait 20 minutes versus 3 hours for the regular tickets.


Upon arrival at the ESB, we walked into a completely empty lobby devoid of a line. My mom was infuriated that she had paid for the express tickets and continued to mutter evils about the hotel staff until we rounded a corner right after security that was about 300 people long!

We walked up to one of the many "uniforms" and held up our express tickets. We were personally escorted to the front of the line, right into the elevator. My mom was suddenly LOVING the express tickets. We got some really evil glares from the people in line...

First we were taking up to the 86 viewing floor and then made our way up to the 102 floor. The view is incredible, especially at night. You can even see the ice skaters in Rockefeller Square! My favorite building by far was the Chrysler building which shown like a white diamond amongst the darkness of the city. You could even spot the flame of the Statue of Liberty way out in the distance.

Overall, it was definitely something I wanted to see and was glad I saw it but it's not something you need to do more than once, although it would be cool to see the city by day as well. The express tickets were SO worth it especially when the elevator trick worked again on the way down.

We then trudged back to our hotel room and passed out. New York is WILD!

Check back tomorrow for "Shopping in Soho."

Dirty Hot in Tempe, Arizona

This last weekend, we traveled to Tempe, Arizona, for the USC v. ASU football game. Home of the "dirty hot" girls, Tempe is hot, dusty, and pretty much revolves around drinking and football at the ASU campus (For those of you who are unaware of "dirty hot" it's the girls with bleach blonde hair overlaying a dark brunette under layer. It is an epidemic at ASU).

November 6, 2009

We checked into the Four Point Sheraton on Rural Rd across from the campus. For $100 a night it was pretty nice and the staff was extremely helpful.

I was annoyed that since we booked on Expedia, I wasn't eligible for Starwood points. LAME. It was already really late so we immediately changed and headed out to Mill Ave, the street of debauchery.

Our first stop was Zuma, a sports bar on Mill. As luck would have it, our friends happened to be at the same bar! We ended up partying with them at their table near the door until one of them deliberately poured a beer on a "dirty hot"..... twice. We were promptly kicked out right after our friend had bought a whole round of beers. Not to be outdone, the boys popped the bottles into their back pockets and walked out of the bar.


We then barhopped to Mill Cue Club and The Library, but thanks to getting out too late the bars were singing last call within an hour so we headed back to the hotel. Not before we ate a street dog and took down two slices of pepperoni pizza each. The street dog vendor was awesome!


November 7, 2009

Slightly hungover, we woke up and walked down Rural to University on our way to our friend's hotel to sit out by the pool and begin the next day of drinking. What is it about college football that makes people fratty alcoholics? Thanks to the remains of alcohol eating away at my stomach, we were forced to stop at Chompie's on the way.

Chompie's is a New York deli in Tempe, Arizona (That should have been my first clue). It has a great atmosphere with an outdoor patio where we were seated. I ordered "Le Cafe Francais" which is crepes filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, onions, and tomatoes topped with goat cheese, parmesan and served with fries. I took one bite and pushed the plate away. The goat cheese totally overwhelms the taste of everything else and I LOVE goat cheese. Also, the "crepe" had the texture of a soggy burrito.


The boyfriend ordered the "Bagel Breakfast Skins" which are two bagels cut in half with the insides carved out and filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, onions, fries and topped with melted cheddar cheese and sour cream. This was more acceptable although by the time it came out it was cold. It took forever to get our food and someone seated after us was served before us. That pisses me off especially when I'm hungover and hungry!


After our "meh" meal, we walked across the street to the Quality Inn & Suites to meet up with our friends. We called multiple cell phones but no one answered. We decided to sit by the pool until they called us back. Once they did, we realized that we were at the wrong hotel laying out by the wrong pool. Whoops...

At this point it was getting close to game time so we went back to the hotel, changed and then took the free shuttle to the stadium. The best part about our hotel is the free shuttle. The driver is hilarious and will take you wherever you want for free. He even picked us up at 3am last night from the bars!

Immediately upon arrival at Sun Devil Stadium the boos began. It didn't help that the fastest way to our seats was past the ASU student section. One guy yelled down to my boyfriend, "I'll take care of her for you." YIKES. Finally, we made it to our seats which were AMAZING. Granted the stadium isn't that big so almost all the seats are good but these were great.


The game, on the other hand, was not so great. The final score of 14-9 Trojans was only because the awful ASU quarterback threw the ball right to one of our defense players who ran it back for a touchdown. Our offense literally didn't show up at all and our defense got penalties every other play. We did enjoy talking smack with the two ASU fans behind us who were a fun bunch. They booed every time their awful QB was put in. Poor guy!


Two major highlights of the game were the fireworks and the stadium food. They would set off fireworks any time ASU scored. For stadium food, they had chicken fingers, garlic fries, and a cart that had caramel apples and chocolate-dipped strawberries. They were outrageously expensive but I bought some anyway.

After the game, we went to a house party at an apartment complex near Taco Bell on Rural. It was pretty much 15 USC guys, an apartment full of "dirty hot," and me. The hour we were there featured one of our friends tackling one of the girls to the ground, a round robin of taking pulls from a fifth of Jack, and one of our friends making out with a random girl without permission on our way out the door. At least that was the dare, but he pussed out and just kissed her on the cheek. She was not impressed.


Off to Mill Ave we went already pretty plastered. We went to The Library and then to a club called Whip. We were there only momentarily because no one could stand anymore. We finally gave up and went home.


November 8, 2009

We woke up today feeling AWFUL. I don't think I've felt this bad since Day Three of Amsterdam! I had really really wanted to go hot air ballooning today but the only times available at 6:30am (which we clearly missed) and 3pm which would cut to close to our plane ride home. So, we decided to head into Phoenix via the tram and wander around to see the sights.

The tram is super slow, but cheap. It even provided a little entertainment when a guy got off who hadn't bought a ticket and was promptly tackled to the ground by one of the officials. Apparently, they take tram tramps seriously.

Unfortunately, downtown Phoenix is anything but exciting. We had lunch at Uno Chicago Grill. Maybe it was just that my tastebuds were fried but the pizza and chicken alfredo we ordered was pretty bland. My chicken was crunchy. It's too bad because the interior of the restaurant was really cool.


From there we went to the Arizona Science Center which is four floors of interactive science displays. It was definitely meant for people way younger than us but there were some cool exhibits. One should the vibration of a guitar string depending on how tightly it is wound and another was a 15 minute video about Arizona that featured an earthquake, heat lamps, and a little rain falling from the ceiling. You could also pay extra to ride on the tight-rope bike. In retrospect, I wish we'd done the 3-D shark show in the iMax theater there. Oh well.


Next we walked through Heritage Square near the Science Center which features the Rosson House built in 1895. You can take tours of the house but we weren't that interested.


By this point, we were bored to death and it was getting close to our departure time at the airport so we headed towards the tram. I took pictures of St. Mary's Basilica and Chase Field on the way.


While at the airport, I reflected back on the weekend. I have to say that Tempe and Phoenix, Arizona are two of the most boring places I have ever been. Granted I didn't do any outdoor activities due to lack of time but a nice hike still isn't going to get me to come back. I also was super disappointed in the food. Most of it was average if not awful. That is with the exception of Einstein's Bagels in the Southwest terminal. I had the turkey bagel sandwich which hovered close to excellent so at least I left with a good taste in my mouth.


Overall, I don't think I'm headed back here unless it's to see the Dodgers beat the D-Bags.