White Coffee Cups: Weekend Update!

Sorry that it has been a while since my last post. This weekend was pretty hectic/fun/stressful/sunburnt/awesome. This weekend was full of festivities and FOOD! My favorite part about NYC is the variety of food offered here. There is no where else in the world that you can eat the best Mexican, Italian, Southern Style, Asian, American or French food in the same weekend.

Friday
After becoming miserably full at Carmine's, we walked to the small but inviting Magnet Theatre to see a long-form improv show with Jarrod (and the rest of the gang). The suggestion was "Penicillin", so they did a 45min show just based on that one word.

Saturday
We used this day to recover from (my) week of work and failed attempts to meet up with my friends after work. The last thing I wanted to do was walk more. Chris and I ate at Dos Caminos in the Meatpacking District. We had made to order guacamole, tacos and enchiladas.

Chicken tacos!!

The best guacamole EVER!

Happy food!

Sunday

Brunch is probably my favorite meal of the day, and unfortunately it is only served on Saturday and Sundays. Chris and I woke up and ate at La Botegga in the Maritime Hotel. One of my NYC roommates, Arielle, works there as a hostess. It was raining.*Side note* it is miserable when it rains here because there is no getting out of walking. But we went instead and had a very lovely time and drank about 5 cups of coffee each.

Coffee with sugar cubes

Lox bagel

THE MET

We also saw the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the MET. 2nd time for me, first time for Chris. We stood in line for an hour and a half, but it was so worth it!

Lee McQueen (1969-2010) committed suicide at the age of 40. He was known for his impeccable tailoring, the juxtaposition of strength and fragility in his work and his extremely provocative shows that left his audience feeling uneasy and sometimes disturbed. He was a great talent and will be missed by the fashion industry.

My review of Southern Hospitality

After the exhibit, we ate at Justin Timberlake's restuarant, Southern Hospitality. We, of course, were very critical of the quality of the food and atmosphere. The wait staff wore shirts that had the Tennessee flag and the area code (901) on them. The girls complemented their southern pride shirts with bandannas and jorts. There were country music lyrics lit up around the restaurant and there was a ram skull in the bathroom that was made to look like an outhouse. The tables were covered in red and white picnic pattern tablecloths and we were given a roll of paper towels instead of napkins. Needless to say, they went overboard with the whole "southern charm" theme.

The food, however, I cannot knock. It was so good, I only wish I could've eaten it all! Jay ordered chicken and waffles against our waiter's suggestion of the BBQ pork sandwich. The chicken and waffles, in Jay's words were "bangin". Since I am picky about my BBQ, I chose not to be let down and ordered fried chicken with mashed potatoes and cole slaw. We ordered 2 pitchers of beer even though is was hard to pass up the cleverly named "901derful" drink that was on the menu *sarcasm*. I even found that the waitstaff was not very knowledgeable about the owner, Mr. JT. Some NY locals that were eating next to us inquired about the whole "901" theme. All the waiter could tell them was that 901 was the name of JT's brand of tequila. I had to inform them of the rest and unfortunately make the waiter look dumb....sorry!

In conclusion, Southern Hospitality has great food with a large side of a misinformed waitstaff and stereotypical gimmick-y decor. I was able to eat fried (very fried) food and drink lots of beer, so all-in-all I was happy with our choice of restaurant. At least there were no quotes that said "Put some south in your mouth".

Monday - Happy 4th!

What is more American than attending a Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest?! We traveled an hour on the subway to Coney Island just in time to watch the devouring ensue. We stood in the mass of people while we watched and grimaced at history in the making.

After watching the spectacle that was a gross misuse of food, we rode carnival rides, ate snow cones and baked in the hot sun.

Chris made this picture of the Cyclone look really creepy....This was probably the most violent ride I've ever been on

At the end of the day, we couldn't leave Coney Island without eating some Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs!

Chili - Cheese- Ketchup

Sun burnt and tired on the way back to Manhattan for the fireworks! (Chris found out very quickly that long subway rides do not bode well for people who get carsick)

Fireworks!

I cannot begin to tell you about the crowds that were in the streets on NY this past Monday. But what a great city to be in on the 4th! We thought that we could sit in the parks along the Hudson to watch, but then we soon found out that the grass was for VIPs and everyone else had to sit in the street...gross. Fortunately, Jarrod has a very welcoming friend who lives in an apartment building that has a rooftop view of the Hudson. Score! But, because of the masses of people, it was very hard to get food, go up the elevator, call each other, find each other, etc. In the end it all worked out and we saw an amazing fireworks show!