After the cupcakes on Sunday, Mo and I headed over to Little Italy and Chinatown.
- Embracing my Italian roots by resting my leg on the fire hydrant-classy
It was also a bit of a dreary day out. It rained on our way there but didn’t hit too much rain after that. But damage was done, my hair was starting to do some funky wave thing.
I was stoked to get some good grub but more excited about the street vendors. I’ve heard fabulous things about the purses but after checking some out, declined since I didn’t want to pay their asking price. Oh well, like I need another purse. But want another purse-hell yeah-I could never have too many purses. We didn’t hit up any Italian places but Mo had an idea in mind of where we should go to in Chinatown-a Vietnamese restaurant….you know just to be random like that.
We ordered the Beef Pho and some stewed beef cubes over white rice (not the technical name of course). Umm, yeah, both were out within 10 minutes and absolutely delish.
The Pho was pho real the best I’ve had. I like to add the sriracha to it to make it super spicy but it had tons of cilantro in it which is quite alright with me. It kept me warm and filled my belly…..loved it!
The beef was some of the best I’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot of beef in my day. When I first took a bite, Mo looked at me wondering what the verdict was and I think I smiled…or moaned I have no clue what the marinade was but I would likely ask for the marinades hand in marriage if possible. The cucumbers and tomatoes on the side were a nice touch to contrast the sweet flavor of the beef. I didn’t want this meal to ever end. Only $14 bones for two peeps which made it even better.
Afterwards we did a little shopping at Pearl River and Sephora then we kept walking. My knee was starting to bother me a bit so we took a break and had coffee. Well, she did, I just sat there. Why I didn’t want coffee though is still surprising to me. The next stop on the agenda was Shake Shack. Mo raves about their burgers and fries and says some people say it’s even better than In-N-Out Burger. Say it ain’t so! How could something be better than In-N-Out?? I had to try asap. When we got there it was dark but it was hopping. It’s nestled outside full of lights and tons of seating.
It looks like a hamburger ridden fairy-tale!
I got the Shack Burger with a side of cheese fries. If I was there, I was going to go all out.
- Mo’s beautiful patty
I’m sad to say………… it lived up to my expectations 110%!! The burger was juicy, big, orgasmic and gone within two minutes. And their cheese fries? If I could just get a tub of their cheese sauce with a straw that would be superb….I guess also just tap an IV to my hips because that’s where it would be going but totally worth it. It started to rain but I said screw it. I’m finishing my meal and continued to happily nosh on my burger and fries. Meanwhile, Mo took out her umbrella and continued to nosh on hers. When the cheese fries were gone, I may or may not have kept pawing on the left behind cheese sauce still on the container–seriously what are they lacing their cheese sauce with?? Me love Shack Shake long time. However next time I am saving room for their custard!
And that was the end of the day of food filled fun. The last stop was to Mo’s place to pick up her pup, Mickey Girl. I’ve been reading about Mickey for the last year and have had the idea in my head that she would be a perfect mate for Sir Linx-a-lot. After all, he does like the voluptuous girls.
Then the three of us walked over to Mari’s house. Mari was studying all day so she didn’t get to join us but lucky girl, she was warm….and dry!
Then we proceeded to watch “Marry Me” on Lifetime–did anyone else watch this?? It was super cute 🙂
Perfect end to a great day!
I’m happy to say that on my birthday I slept in…..until 11A! I don’t know when the last time I slept in that late was (especially without the help of my dear friend liquor) but I felt like a million bucks. I woke up around 8A, piddled around when motivated Mari went to the gym but then decided why not go back to bed? It was my birthday after all! When I woke back up at 11A, Mari whipped me up a batch of banana chocolate pancakes topped with peanut butter and syrup
These were heavenly! I am not a huge fan of the pb but like them on pancakes for some reason. She also made pumpkin cream cheese muffins and they were fabu as well (note they are no pictures because they were gone so quickly!) We hung out for a while after that, then got ready and picked up a light, late lunch at Dani’s House of Pizza.
We sat at the counter at each got a slice of mushroom pizza–so many mushrooms that we had to eat with a knife and fork-yum! When we walked out, it was starting to flurry a bit. My birthday wish in the making! Afterwards we made our way over to the city to do a little window shopping before dinner.
When we got off the subway, we passed by a kennel and they had the cutest pups in the window!
Look at those pics and tell me you don’t like dogs, I dare you.
Soon we met up with Mo and Missy for our dinner reservation at Serendipity 3.
I’ve been wanting to check this place out ever since seeing the movie, of course. Plus I heard through the grapevine that they had bomb ass desserts, so yup, perfect place for birthday dinner. And look at one of their coffee drinks!
Fate I tell you….or one may say it’s serendipitous!
I ordered the Summer Bries sandwich-smoked turkey, sliced apples, melted brie and alfalfa sprouts, served on raisin pumpernickel with Russian dressing yet they forgot the other slice of bread since I didn’t see anything about it being served as open.
Mo and I went splitsies since we both were looking at the sandwiches–she ordered the Haight-Ashbury-sliced turkey, tomato, avocado and alfalfa sprouts with melted muenster on raisin pumpernickel with Russian dressing
They were good but nothing memorable. Soon enough, it was dessert time! I really was stuffed after the sandwich and a pre-dinner Starbucks Raspberry Soy Mocha but took a few sips of Mo’s Frozen Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
Missy and Mari’s Cinnamon Fudge Sundae was absolutely gorgeous and tasty! I would order this if I were to go back there.
All in all, I wasn’t impressed with Serendipity 3. I was stoked to go there for my birthday dinner but the food was entirely overpriced (plus sandwiches don’t even come with a side), lacked in service (our water boy paid more attention to us than our server) and left feeling meh.
The last stop of the evening was to see the tree at Rockefeller Center-it was so gorgeous! I loved that they had different colored lights on it opposed to the traditional red. Rocky Center was a complete 180 from the summertime when I visited, this time everyone was bundled up and they had ice skating. Last time I was there, we were fanning ourselves off while sweat was dripping off every inch of us, yeech.
And that’s all folks! My birthday wknd in NYC was absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for more. Thanks Mari for being a great host, letting me crash and being so accommodating. Mo–thanks for the walking food tour (happy I brought my fat pants!) and Missy-nice to meet you! May the memories shall stay longer than the weight I gained with all the tasty food (we can only hope!)
PS–If you haven’t checked it out already, I have a Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway going on!
Simply Shaka 