Hippies Hijack Manhattan

My parents were in town this weekend! :D  They arrived Saturday in the wee early hours and left yesterday (Tuesday afternoon)…and although they were only here for four days (two of which I had to work 12 hour shifts) we still had so much fun.  I was definitely sad to see them go, but I feel pretty lucky that I was able to see them at all. 

As I’m sure you’ve heard/read by now, the East Coast weather wasn’t so kind this weekend.  Saturday and Sunday were quite the snow-filled days, which were BEYOND brrrrr (especially for our wussy west coast a$$es), but nothing makes a foot of snow more bearable than having your parents there to endure it with you.  Once we got over how poor the timing was (c’mon weatherman, work with us), we were actually able to appreciate how picturesque it was!  Ok, maybe that’s easier to say now in hindsight…it was SO cold.

It’s going to be hard to do a highlights post, since all four days were exceptional, so I’m going to do a quick (cliff notes) version followed by posts with more in-depth restaurant reviews later.  I couldn’t possibly fit it all in one post because the past few days included some of the most FAN-TASTIC dining I have ever done.  Ever.  Period.

Saturday

My parents arrived early early early.  Kyle and I brewed coffee and stopped at Hot & Crusty for some bagels before they got in.  After my parents trained in we woke up (and warmed up) with those brekkie goodies.

After that we finally layered up and went on a stroll through Central Park until we finally made it to Midtown. 

Lunch was a typical NYC made-to-order salad.  Nothing snazzy, and not exactly photo worthy (the Asian-flavored tofu was the highlight, the lack of appetizing dressings was the lowlight).  I survived. 

After lunch we saw Chicago with Ashlee Simpson-Wentz…it was great.  The talent on Broadway is amazing, and I was pleasantly surprised that Miss Jessica wanna-be wasn’t too shabby either. 

I also had a Honey Graham Z bar in my purse that came in handy at intermission. 

After the show we went to the Plaza Hotel. 

At first we were just going to pass some time (in warmth) until our dinner res, but we wound up at the Oak Room & Bar.  Famed interior aside, it was heated and sheltered from the storm…good enough for me! 

I felt like a freakin’ Rockefeller at this place.  Celeb sightings at the entryway.  Good wine on my parents dime.  Yes please!  After one glass of vino I was pretty buzzed…salty bar snacks to the rescue.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay there all night, so we bundled back up to brave the storm.  Just getting to dinner was a serious mission.  Snow.  Blah.

My Dad was more excited by the snow than I…and he took the opportunity to make an angel.  He regretted it shortly after though…once he realized that snow doesn’t melt when the temp is still below freezing.  Ha! 

Eventually we made it to Blossom.  My parents are totally open-minded (hippies) and were more than willing to go for a vegan meal, so of COURSE I chose Blossom. 

Here’s a teaser photo of the meal :)  I’ll do a full post on it later though, because we all got such fabulously gourmet meals they deserve a post of their own, and I just don’t have the space to go into detail now.

After taking the scariest cab ride back home (skidding on ice the whole way), we tucked in for the night.  You know you’re an adult when you are able to host your parents in your own home.  You know you’re still a child when your parents buy you flannel sheets the following day because sleep-overs are never as fun in reality as they sound in theory.  Their hotel reservation started on Sunday night, so the guest bedroom was only a pinch hitter for Saturday.

Sunday

We had an early wake up call for the Christmas Spectacular at The Radio City Music Hall.

Dual organists.  Chandeliers.  Christmas lights.  Awesome!

This show was SO SO great.  It put me in the best holiday mood.  It had a little bit of everything: the Christmas Story, Santa Clause, dancing, marching, ballet, ice skating, the Nutcracker, and (the best of all) the Rockettes!!!

Starbucks and shopping followed.  The phrase “shop ‘til you drop” has a new meaning for me now. 

We stopped in for lunch at Fig & Olive in midtown.  I was impressed with the menu, but regretted my order.  I followed the waitress’ suggestion and wasn’t all that in love with my meal. 

Well, that’s not entirely true.  I liked my meal, but didn’t like the portion size (or lack thereof).  More on that later…

After lunch we split up to divide an conquer Manhattan.  My dad and Kyle went to move my parents’ stuff into their hotel.  My mom and I went to Saks Fifth Ave for (you guessed it) MORE shopping.  We had a very specific mission you see…we were searching for a dress for my mom for the wedding.  Now before you start thinking I’m some kind of baller, perusing the dresses with $10000 price tags (not even exaggerating), you should know that we were actually looking for dresses to have copied made by a seamstress.  How odd to have people waiting on you and hanging hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of clothes in a private room.  Do people really live that way?  What a bizarre lifestyle.  We were definitely illegally photographing everything. 

27 dresses and a ton of ideas later we waved goodbye to 5th Ave.

We met up with the boys and then split off to get ready for dinner.

I don’t even know where to begin with Del Posto.  Mario Batali is a genius so it was no surprise that the meal was exceptional (to say the least).  There’s a reason this restaurant is so highly rated. 

They can accommodate ANY food preference, allergy, or avoidance.  How great to have a seven course vegan menu.  My dad was in wine heaven too, and we were quite friendly with the sommelier by the end of the night.  I’m pretty sure he will be visiting our family vineyard in the near future. 

Don’t worry, I’ll do a more detailed post on this meal later, too.

Monday

Sadly I had work on Monday.  Knowing I would be dining into the wee hours on Sunday night, I packed my food before heading to Del Posto. 

Bars, apples, and a spinach salad with my mom’s leftovers from Blossom.

I know this doesn’t look like very much but that’s because Monday was our work holiday party and gift exchange, so I knew there was going to be a LOT of food to supplement my packed eats.

Work was fine, although the fact that I got home after midnight the previous night wasn’t working in my favor.

I had THIS to make everything better though.

 

Whole Foods’ vegan chocolate cake…for ME!!!!  The person who had me for our work Secret Santa exchange was one of my besties, and she is clearly the sweetest person on the planet (and knew that being vegan at an event that centers around dessert foods would suck for me).  She now works the night shift and went out of her way to stop by the holiday party to bring me this chocolate vegan treat.  I was so excited to have something for me to eat at our holiday party that I may have gone a bit overboard 😉

So now you understand why the amount of food I packed wasn’t as massive as my typical hippie lunches are.  

I also had a ridic portion of Stacy’s pita chips.  Those things are more addictive than nicotine.  Have you ever seen the Costco size bag of Stacy’s?  Let me show you…

ONE POUND!?!?!  Lord help me.

After work, my parents and Kyle met up with me for dinner at Hearth. 

I had no idea this place was so close to where I worked!  It was close enough for me to walk to without losing feeling in my fingers.  While we ate, they stored my vegan cake in the fridge for me :) 

Tuesday

Again, I had work.  How sad to be stuck in the hospital while your parents are visiting from across the country.  Reason #294701 to move home.

Here is the lunch I packed.  Add in several unpictured (and uncounted) amounts of pita chips. 

This salad had spin, chickpeas, BN squash, cherry toms, leftover brussels from our Tabla dinner, and raisins.  So yes, to everyone who asked if I took home the Tabla leftovers (I’m a hippie remember?).  The bars were the standard faves (Clif, Z, and Lara), along with some edamame, and Chai tea bags.  I’m still going strong without buying my own coffee…and did you see the Starbucks Via packet?

More presents from work peeps!! (My coworkers know me so well)

Anyways, work went well, I said goodbye to my parents 🙁 and then this morning said goodbye to Kyle 🙁 …so now I’m solo in NYC until the 30th.  To pass the time I’ll be working working and working, along with posting about all those meals I just glossed over above.  Cool? Cool.