Right after Las Vegas we had a trip booked to NYC. In hindsight, it was not the best idea, (so exhausting) but we really did not have a major choice in dates as we were going for a North Dakota hockey game.
Chicken enchilada from Barrio at Terminal 2 at MSP.
Al pastor burrito
Our flight was on Sun Country and was on time and uneventful. We got our bags and took Uber to Manhattan as there was still a promo for a free ride from select airports over the holiday. It would have been a $70 Uber ride, so it saved us a ton. Though the 17 mile ride took almost an hour. Traffic.
We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Times Square on IGH points from a contest last year and from credit card sign up. Check in went smoothly and we got a nice view of Times Square. The room was nice, but a bit worn in some places, like the head board of the bed and scrapes on the furniture. Also, I don't think I'd say so close to Times Square again. There is no reason to stay there and it is just a crazy busy, congested area.
After settling into the room, we went to the lobby to watch the second half of the Vikings game and use some free drink vouchers we were given at check in.
Times Square from room
After the game we went to Reunion Tiki for a couple drinks. I had a man tai and John got a couple cheapo beers for free from the bartender who was quite fun and amusing to talk to once the place slowed down for the night. We ended up staying out kind of late and got back to the room around 1:30am.
Reunion Tiki sign
We were up around 9am, a little late due to the previous night's drinks.
subway station mural
subway train
We took the train all over, as it was a quick and easy way to get around. Though it was one of those things that makes you feel like you spend more time in a train station than actually seeing the city.
We had breakfast at Bubby's on Hudson Street. It is Southern food and everything was very good. John had the Griddle Special.
I had the jalapenjo scramble. It was on a biscuit with grits and very delicious. The service was good and were got a table easily.
After breakfast we took the train down to Battery park to see the Statue of Liberty. We had bought tickets to get into the pedestal ahead of time, but which line to get into was very confusing. There were huge lines for security to get onto the boat and also security again to get into the pedestal.
It was chilly and windy but it was cool to see in person. Also lots of stairs just to go into the pedestal. Must be a million to get to the crown.
view of Manhattan from Liberty Island
Next, we grabbed late lunch at Joe's Pizza. Pizza slices are certainly a controversial topic, but we found these to be very good. We went wth slices with real mozzarella as it was what was ready. It was quite good.
After pizza, we stopped back at the room for awhile to rest and then headed through Times Square on our way to Grand Central Station.
I do not see the allure of Times Square. It is a lot of people in what is basically an outdoor mall. Most of the stores are the same as we have at home anyway, so I didn't shop much.
Grand Central Station ceiling. We also walked through a holiday market in a hall off to the side. I did find a cute glass christmas ornament.
Oyster bar at Grand Central Station
The variety of oysters was quite large and everything was very fresh tasting. We sat at the diner style table in the middle. Looked like there was a bar on one end and full service seating on the other.
After eating we walked around the shops in the station and looked at some of the other dining options downstairs.
We had a dinner reservation at Craft so we headed over that way eventually. We were a little bit early for our reservation so we sat at the bar for a round of drinks.
lights like Craftsteak in Vegas
scallops
aligot potato- very cheesy
Brussels sprouts
Beef short rib
doughnuts with carmel and chocolate sauces
sorbet sampler
comp truffles
The food and service at Craft was perfect and impressive. The food was all very good, but not especially memorable, except for the prices, which were very high.
After dinner we walked up the street to a Marshalls and TJ Maxx and wandered around. Didn't find anything interesting, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. It was a long day and I had over 19,000 steps on my Fitbit.
Saturday, we started in line for breakfast at Evergreen Diner near Times Square. The food was OK, nothing great, would not go back.
We walked over to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree, skating rink and NBC studios.
Taping for the day was over by the time we went by.
We went to the Empire State Building where we encountered more lines for security. Don't forget to add in extra time for that these days.
from 86th floor looking up to the antenna
Can see Central Park in this one
We also went up to the 102nd floor observation area for an extra $20. Very compact area, but the line was short. Very small area as well.
We grabbed lunch at Shake Shack. They are everywhere and very, very popular, for good reason. The food is affordable and fantastic.
We went back to the hotel to rest a bit and get ready for the evening plans. We had some extra time so we went to the Union Square holiday market. There were some cool vendors, but things were high priced overall and it was quite crowded.
Up next, a bit of a warmup for the North Dakota hockey game at Beer Authority (the place was PACKED) before heading to Madison Square Garden to play Boston College. North Dakota won the game handily and the facility was very nice. Tons of North Dakota fans there as well, probably made up 90% of the crowd!
Empire State at night
After the game we found a random dive bar on Yelp called the Holland Bar. We had a couple and called it a night.
Sunday morning we tried to go to a couple popular places for brunch, but everywhere had two hour long waits. So after wandering all over the place we ended up grabbing bagels at Heaven's Hot Bagels.
Bagel sandwich for John
Everything bagel with cream cheese for me. I have no idea if this place was on any top bagel places lists or not, but it was what was nearby at the time and it really hit the spot.
We took an Uber over to the Word Trade Center area to save time. One of the reflecting pools is shown above.
This is the new World Trade Center Building. We also wet through the 9/11 memorial and museum. It was a very well done museum, but very intense to relive that day with the all the video and audio and photos. The room showing photos of everyone that died is especially moving.
We walked through the fancy new Westfield mall adjacent to the WTC and found an Eataly in Buiding 4. We ate the Il Pesce fish restaurant.
tuna steak
spaghetti busara
High Line park & walkway
Chelsea market
We had a dinner reservation at the Redhead on 13th Street. It was not busy, so I guess a reservation was not necessary. We started with chips and dip.
burger topped with bacon
shrimp and grits
The food and service were all great, though the server mentioned they were closing at the end of December.
stopped by the Ed Sullivan theater on the way back to the hotel
Monday morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. We had gotten coupons for the buffet for $10 and we wanted to allow enough time to get to the airport before our 11:30am flight. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, though having TSA Pre-check helps lot. In other news there is a Dunkin Donuts and Shake Shack at JFK, which is nice.
We enjoyed our visit to NYC, but next time around I would not go so close to another trip. Two trips with tons of people around got to be a lot. It would be nice to go when the weather is a bit warmer so we don't have to rush from place to place.
