Notes From Date Night: New York City
My husband and I have been married for over 20 years and one thing that has remained constant is our love for the food scene in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Every week we make it a priority to enjoy a date night at a different local restaurant.
Last month, we were in NYC for Fashion Week, so there was lots to eat and drink during our short visit. Here are the places we liked best.
Other Half Brewing
We began our first day adventure shopping in Soho. I did this alone so my husband could sleep in and take the morning slow. Once the afternoon rolled around we headed to Brooklyn to visit Other Half Brewing. The location we went to was in Domino Park and had outdoor seating with a great view of the river and the NY skyline.
My husband is the beer drinker and what was great about this place was the options for non-beer drinkers. They offered cocktails! So, I had to try a an Aperol Spritz. I’ve been desperate to find a good one since returning from Italy last year. The second drink I had was a Rosé cider. It was so good!
They also offered a curated pizza menu from their neighbors, Roberta’s Pizza. We ordered a couple of pizzas and hung out enjoying our drinks, the view and the beautiful modern design of the interior.
Inside Other Half Brewing Taproom.
Gramercy Tavern
Our first night out, we ate at the Gramercy Tavern. We opted for reservations in the dining room so we could order their 5-course prix fixe menu. The menu option was an either or, so we were able to sample the entire menu. We both ordered our standard old fashions to start and the waiter delivered fresh sweet potato buns for munching. Each course was so unique and delicious. It was good on another level, like this is just how it is here, rather than making everything feel so special. It was the standard operating procedure. We loved this place!
Gran Eléctrica
Our second night in NYC, we spent in Brooklyn. I had an appointment with a jewelry designer, so we made reservations at Gran Eléctrica in Dumbo.
This place was so cool. Inside the restaurant, there was a lot of energy and stylish-looking people. You could just feel the quality of the joint by walking through the dining room. We opted for patio seating and it did not disappoint. The patio was cute and intimate with dark wood furniture, ivy growing up the brick walls and dark wood furniture.
We both ordered a Margarita de Pepino to sip on with an order of chips and guac. We were very hungry from a long day of running around, so the chips and guac went fast!. We both ordered tacos for dinner and thought we’d have room for Churros as desert because there were only 2 tacos per. We were wrong. The tacos were substantial with the amount of protein included in each. So delicious! We didn’t get the churros this time, but hopefully, we’ll be back to manage our orders more efficiently.
Leon’s Bagels
Our last day in NYC and we only had the morning to explore because we had to leave for the airport at noon. I got up early so I could walk to Chinatown and buy a I Heart NYC tshirt. After I bought my shirt, I walked aimlessly around and stumbled into Little Italy. While walking through Little Italy, I came across Leon’s Bagels.
The first morning I went in search of bagels, I was looking for Leon’s, but was unsuccessful so I was really excited that I accidentally found them on our last day. It’s a cute little walk-up window and the wait was at least 25 minutes. I was there to just get my husband breakfast because I had already had some kind of a pastry that morning, but then they offered me a free bagel if I put their new dill and pickle cream cheese on it. OK, sold.
These were the best bagels we had on our short trip. I had an everything bagel with the dill and pickle cream cheese and it was so good and chewy. It was too salty or too garlicky like other everything bagels I’ve had. My husband had the egg, bacon and cheese sandwich and said it was his favorite on the trip.
We had had such a good time eating, drinking and exploring, I can’t wait until our next visit.