Picture of the Week: May 28th - June 3rd

Saturday 2nd June was a big day in my world. Not only was it my birthday - tipping me over the the 'early twenties' mark and taking me to the grand old age of 26 - but it was a great day to get all patriotic in NY. It was of course the Queen's Diamond Jubilee!

I celebrated with a few of may favourite things (no raindrops or roses included). Brunch at the uber-chic Gramercy Park Hotel Terrace, an afternoon in the sun on the Highline, several drinks on The Frying Pan, a boat moored on the Hudson river and finally a rooftop party. Thanks to all who made it and those who sent messages...it was an epic day!

Oh and the following day I join the family on a helicopter - something tells me 26 is going to be my favourite year!

That meal that mixes breakfast & lunch...

New Yorkers love to brunch...there is a style and a place for every type of brunch predilection, whether you want greasy and English, elegant and French or just good old fashioned American...it all comes with alcohol and that makes it my favourite type of meal!

So here is a run down of those lovely brunch spots I have managed to frequent since moving over:

1. The Sunburnt Cow
This is an Australian bar with an epic brunch offering. $18 covering unlimited alcohol and a brunch meal. This bar is down and dirty and requires absolutely no graces...I loved it! The food was fine, the bloody mary's were okay and but most importantly the price was perfect.

2. Il Bastido
This is an all you can drink champagne option. $18 for the alcohol and then food on-top. This is a great place, it feels elegant and it is huge so a big group (there was 24 of us) is not a problem...and they're not desperate to turn tables, you can drink away for hours! The main draw is the booze choice and the free-flowing bubbles...amazing.

3. Balthazar

In no way comparable to the previous two mentioned...it is beautifully done, very much focused on incredible service and excellent french brunch. I headed here with Mr & Mrs D and the food a was great, the company was great and the wait for a table was 45 minutes! It's not a cheap option by any stretch of the imagination but man was it good! Very much the place to be seen...

4. Agave
Wow, I would love to describe this place in detail but my memory is incredibly fuzzy! The frozen margaritas are the draw here...with 9 choices and a menu the offers eggs every which way this place is potentially my favourite so far, I just need to go back so i can remember exactly what it was like without getting ridiculously drunk by 4pm!

so many more to try...

XOXO

What not to do on a first date...

So after much faffing and one false start I finally arranged to meet with Curb guy on Sunday.

Whilst not wanting to over burden myself I had still managed to book myself in for an early afternoon brunch with Mr & Mrs D and agreed to cook for 4 others that evening. With this in mind it was probably over ambitious to shoehorn in a first date with Mr Curb but I’m a woman of many talents, I figured it couldn’t hurt.

I think the first mistake I made was to shove on the same clothes I had worn the previous evening in a massive rush in the assumption I would get the opportunity to change...I didn’t. This meant that despite the 25degrees I was in over the knee leather boots, this is not attractive when you’re sweating distinctly. Oh and then failing to shove any make-up on!

I think the biggest mistake was to agree to go for, albeit very enjoyable, coffee. It is widely known that I am far more interesting and better company after a drink so sitting in the park with a Joe's coffee is not ideal. I'm not sure what we discussed, what I remember is spilling coffee all over his foot and resorting to asking about his sister...oh god!

Needless to say I shan't be seeing him again.

Time to pick up the pace and find a new boy or two!

Pre-weekend gaming...

Keeping a blog is much harder than I first expected. Early last week I didn’t update because I had very little to say then once I started doing things I suddenly didn’t have time to update it.

Thursday I have class right next to Grand Central Terminal. Normally this wouldn’t be worth noting but for the fact that I was joined by two lovely ladies for a trip to the Campbell Apartment upon the completion of two pointless hours of chat (or a seminar as some individuals might call it). For those of you with the good taste to watch Gossip Girl you’ll know that the Campbell apartment is the bar in which Nate and Sereena get it on, for those not in the gossip girl loop it is a beautiful old school bar with dark wood, a fair and great cocktails. It has the feel of sexy old money yet is helpfully positioned within the terminal.

Friday the venue was an altogether different style of venue...after leaving work late and joining some friends near Times Square for some very happy hour cocktails and a burger we headed to the New York dive bar institution Rudy’s! This is the kind of place where they use sawdust on the floor rather than wiping, where pitchers of beer are $7 and you get a free hotdog with each pint. This is not a classy place and definitely not the place to meet someone...god knows I would never give my number out, well apart from the guy who called me on Saturday to invite me out for his birthday! I can’t seem to help myself it seems!

Saturday and Sunday I brunched...but I will detail that in a separate post. I also drank, we hit beer-pong bar Three Sheets and finished up in Cafe Wha. I was drunkety drunk! I’ve decided that it is time to leave the West Side and begin to sample the offerings of the East Side next week...wish me luck!

My Kind of Riding...

I spent much of today with two of my favourite people miss Sozzler and Dr H. This was done in the best possible taste in what has to be my new favourite places in London...the Riding House Cafe.


Only open a couple of months, this place is beautifully styled and just the right balance of busy brasserie and chilled out cafe. I know that for the next 9 weeks I will while away many and hour with a Sunday paper in here...it couldn't have been better. 

Kudos to the staff for never once trying to move me and my delightful friends on, despite having spent many hours sat in the same place - I did admittedly order tea and macaroons many times over!