As  mentioned in my post about our weekend in Washington, I came home less impressed with the food when I traveled to New York City over the summer.

Towards the end of August, my mom, grandma and I took a girls’ trip to the Big Apple. We flew east on a Wednesday and came home that Sunday. My mom and I went to New York a few years ago but it was a short trip so I was excited to be there longer and to show my grandma around.

As to be expected, the food at SFO and on the flight to New York weren’t anything to write home (or blog!) about. We arrived at our hotel in Tribeca around 11pm ET and, being that we were in the city that supposedly never sleeps, I didn’t think it would be much trouble to find a place to eat so late. Sadly, I was mistaken. After a walk around the block we realized there weren’t many eateries in the area. We also had a suspicion that our hotel wasn’t located in best neighborhood and it was probably better to stay in for the night*

Despite the hotels sketchy location, it was really nice. We somehow booked with VIP lounge status, which was conveniently located right across the hall from us. The lounge had rooftop access, snazzy chairs and tables to dine (or social media lurk) at, free snacks, waters and sodas throughout the day, plus complimentary breakfast in the morning, and fresh baked cookies in the afternoon. Not mad about it!

On our first night, since we couldn’t find anywhere to eat, we ended up ordering room service and eating it right there in the lounge. In theory, I can end this post here because this was actually (disappointingly!) the best meal we had in NYC…! We ordered a salad and spaghetti to split 3 ways with a side of bread. Full, but mildly disappointed in our first night of the trip, we went to bed right after in anticipation of the next day ahead.

On Thursday we woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast at the lounge, and headed out into the crowded, congested, annoying, amazing streets of New York City!

Our first stop was Gramercy Park via Starbucks for iced teas because of the heat and humidity. We walked to Chelsea Market after for some exploring (and more iced tea!) and then to Tortilla Flats for lunch. All three of us love Mexican food so I thought Tortilla Flats would be a hit. The restaurant was cool and I’m glad we went but I think living in California and having access to  authentic Mexican food sets a standard that the east coast just can’t compete with. I got the cheese enchiladas with rice and beans; it was too greasy for my taste and lacked flavor but we chatted with the owner and got free shots of tequila so overall not a complete waste. 😉

Next we did a bunch of touristy things including finding Carrie Bradshaw’s “apartment,” the Friends building, and grabbing cupcakes at Magnolia’s Bakery, as featured on Sex in the City.  I’ve been to NYC three times and every time**, I’ve gotten a cupcake here! Sometimes there is a reason things are touristy (because they’re good!).

After enjoying our cupcakes in a nearby park, we stopped at The Spotted Pig for a drink. Our drinks were insanely overpriced (as to be expected in New York) and, in my opinion, horrible (!) but we were still in Greenwich Village, which is by far my favorite NYC neighborhood so the location (location, location, location!) made up for it.

After lunch, cupcakes and drinks it was time for a walk to work off all of those calories. We walked the 1.5 miles back to our hotel where we relaxed for a while before going to a Broadway show. We saw BEAUTIFUL The Carole King Musical and it was ah-mazing! Before the show we split a margarita pizza in Times Square and after, we met the star of the show, Chilina Kennedy.

The next day we had a carriage ride through central park scheduled first thing in the morning, so after a quick breakfast at the hotel we were on our way. The carriage ride was (also) expensive but I think worth doing if you’re in New York City. We explored Central Park  after, seeing the memorial for John Lennon, and a few other things while walking to the upper east side for lunch. Word to the wise, do NOT go to Madison Avenue hungry and without a designated eating spot. We ended up at a place called EAT  and I should have Yelped it before because all of the one star reviews are spot on. I ended up ordering a $20 Cesar salad that came with romaine lettuce and dressing and that’s it! Not even a single crouton or sliver of parm…

Unimpressed with lunch, we moved on to the museums. We explored the Metropolitan Museum and The Guggenheim (and when I say “explored” I mean walk by and take a few pictures) with more iced beverages in hand! It was so hot, having something to drink was a necessity while walking around. I splurged for an iced mocha (usually sticking with iced coffee) while my grandma and mom got lemonades. We also bought a few bags of those famous NYC roasted nuts to snack on while walking and, let me just say, well worth the $9 spent.

I had made reservations at Serendipity months before our trip for dinner on Friday night and regretted it. The food was sub par and their legendary frozen hot chocolate wasn’t anything special. Beyond that, the restaurant is tacky (in my opinion) and the service was terrible… Oh, well. At least we’ve tried it.

Overall though, day two turned out to be another disappointing day, food wise. (If you don’t count the roasted nuts!)

On our final day in New York, we had essentially done everything we planned to do so, last minute, decided to take a harbor tour.

After another breakfast at the hotel, we took the subway to Times Square with the intention to walk to the harbor from there to catch the 12pm tour. We were doing great on timing …until I realized I had accidentally lead us in the exact opposite direction of where we needed to be going. We could have quickly turned around and hustled to the harbor, but there was another tour leaving at 2pm so we took our time righting the wrong.

Which turned out to be a good decision because we were able to visit the New York City Public Library, something that I wanted to see but didn’t want to go out of the way for it (on purpose). The library is as beautiful and grand as you expect. The security guard gave us a map (a map of the library!) and pointed out where Carrie B. was supposed to get married in the SATC movie (can you tell I’m a fan?). Interesting side note: he also had to check my backpack and my grandma’s purse as we were leaving to be sure we didn’t take any books! I guess there is a demand for NYC library books online… who would have thought?

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After exploring the library we walked to the harbor where we had a quick lunch before the tour. I didn’t expect this meal to be anything special, which could be why it didn’t disappoint. (Expectations! …they’ll get ya every time.) We ate at a small concession stand nearby that basically sold “theme park food;” burgers, chicken tenders, fries, etc. I ordered a veggie burger (because I much rather not know where my soy beans are coming from than my meat!) and split an order of fries with my grandma and mom. As mentioned, my burger wasn’t that bad and kept me full during the 3 hour harbor tour.

The tour was a great last day activity for us. It was nice to get a history of Manhattan and see the Statue of Liberty – plus some other cool sights that we likely wouldn’t have seen – all the while sitting down and enjoying the breeze! We walked back to Times Square to get on the subway to go to the hotel but, by this point, we were hungry again. Having had bad luck with NYC eateries so far, we decided to eat dinner at Chevy’s in Time Square. Typically I much rather dine at a hole in the wall than a chain restaurant, especially when traveling, but honestly, I just wanted something I knew I was going to like at that point. So, another round of cheese enchiladas it was!

We got back to our hotel and a friend from college met me for a drink on the rooftop of our hotel. It was so good to see her and another great thing about traveling; having the opportunity to see old friends and make new memories.

Overall, our trip was great but not because of the food! It was so much fun to experience New York City again with my mom and grandma. I truly do love that city and recommend going if you ever get the chance to, just don’t expect every meal to be as amazing as the city.

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

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*Later, my friend who lives in NYC confirmed that we definitely should not have been walking around that area late at night.

**For your viewing pleasure, a picture of the first time I visited New York/Magnolia’s …Back when bleached blonde hair, fake nails, and dangling earrings were all.the.range.

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** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe. **