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A Weekend in New York City



What a weekend! If you were following along my Instagram Stories, then you definitely have a good sense for just how jam-packed the weekend was!

My girlfriend and I spent Thursday night – Sunday in New York City to explore and to visit my sister. If you’re considering a weekend trip to the city and want to pack as much in as possible, then I would suggest checking out our itinerary below.

Thursday Night

Evening arrival and a late check-in to the hotel. We headed to Murray Hill to see my sisters apartment and head to a super cool rooftop spot - Salvation Taco. The great part about this NYC rooftop bar is that it doesn’t have that same stuffy feel that a lot of the NYC rooftop bars have. It was more vibrant, lively, casual and still had amazing views!

Friday

From Midtown we headed over to get some traditional NYC bagels from Ess-a-Bagel. The 30+ minute wait was well worth it! I’m still thinking about this bagel right now and am considering flying back just for another! From there we headed to Brooklyn to check out the Greats Brand new studio. It’s located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, so be sure to check out their very cool shops! We had coffee at the most hipster coffee shop ever - House of Small Wonder. I mean there is literally a tree growing through the middle of the shop! We also walked over to the water since you get a great view of NYC.

From Brooklyn we headed over to the Flatiron district, which is one of my favorite areas of NYC. The architecture is incredible and the shops are even better! I got to catch up with @AdamGonon for a bit, which was a blast! We met in Chicago before he moved to NYC. Be sure to check out his page for that NYC style inspiration. In the Flatiron area we stopped into the Red Fleece store and café and also the NYC Eataly. I also had another destination in this area since this is the location of Thursday Boots. And WOW is their shop cool! It’s literally the perfect space for the boot company and I can best describe it as a rustic chique.

After the Flatiron area we headed back up by our hotel to get some pizza from Ray’s Pizza. It was that classic NYC slice we were hoping for! We definitely asked them to cook it longer than normal so it was extra crispy.

Friday night we went to see Book of Mormon on Broadway and were blown away with how funny the show was! Growing up in Pittsburgh I was used to much larger theaters and one thing I didn’t realize about Broadway was just how small the theaters are. We truly felt there was no bad seat in the theater! It was much more intimate than I thought it would be and the talent is, of course, incredible!

After the theater we headed back towards the Murray Hill area and went to a great speakeasy - Middle Branch. It’s definitely hard to find since there’s not sign, but you’ll notice there’s a second floor lofted area that’s dimly lit. It wasn’t too crowded for Friday night which made it even better! They're so trendy they don't even have a website ...(or maybe that's just weird, IDK).

Saturday

We got moving as soon as we could and headed to brunch in Noho at Coco and Cru. This is a really ‘hip’ brunch spot that will get you nicely fueled up for some shopping and hanging out in Soho. We walked around and headed in and out of a lot of the stores prior to making our way south towards the One World Trade Center Memorial. The One World Memorial is a must if you are in NYC. We continued the walk down through Battery Park and made our way to one of the world’s best bars.

The Dead Rabbit was definitely a destination and it worked out really well that we got there around 5pm when it wasn’t as crowded. Being ranked one of the world’s best bars definitely has the bar set very high (no pun intended). We got a table in the parlor on the third floor and had some amazing cocktails and truffle fries. The bar lives up to the hype, but it’s not because it’s the best cocktail, it’s because of the story about the bar and what the owners have been able to accomplish. There are a lot of great articles about it if you just google “The Dead Rabbit”.

After recharging for a bit at the hotel, we headed back to the Soho area for dinner at one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants, Gato. This is definitely a classic NYC restaurant with a vibrant crowd and incredible food. The service was fantastic as well, which isn’t always the case in these high volume restaurants. The Vegetable Paella is a must! I would highly recommend the JP cocktail if you think you can handle the heat.

Sunday

Our day kicked off at brunch in the Flatiron at a very cool spot called Union Fare. On par with the other places we visited, the food was amazing and the décor was on point. From there we headed over to explore the West Village and then north to Central Park. No matter how many times I go to Central Park, I’m always amazed at how this MASSIVE park just sits in the middle of one of the busiest and most densely populated cities in the world.

Summary

We might have accomplished too much in one trip, but it was all worth it! We also were able to get some late night food at the famous Katz Deli which was a bonus for the weekend! No matter how much you try and do in NYC, you’ll never accomplish it all. While we only saw the Statue of Liberty from a far and we didn’t make it up to the One World Trade Center Observatory, we chose to spend our time exploring the neighborhoods. It’s important to get out of Times Square and try to challenge yourself to see the city in a different way.

On top of all of it, we managed to get in several photoshoots and I’m really excited to release the content over the next month or so. I also had the incredible opportunity to meet several individuals in person that I have been working with for quite some time. It's one thing to form the relationships virtually, but to actually interact with the people and brands in person is incredible.

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

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