So, I have been remiss in not doing a NYC post. Not just because it's a great city and I've traveled there quite a bit over the last year, but because my boyfriend has a play off-Broadway right now. I'll take a moment and apologize to him once again for ignoring this point thus far on my blog.
Cory and our friend Elan (who you've read about here and here) wrote Channeling Kevin Spacey a few years ago, and after some tours in Canada and Florida, the boys have brought it to the Big City. The play has been open since April 15, and we've done a lot of back and forth between NY and DC since then. Luckily, the show has been doing very well! There have been some developments recently to add shows, which I'll write more about soon. In fact, I plan to dedicate a whole post to more info about the play in a few days. For now, here's a link for anyone interested in checking the play out at the St. Luke's Theatre: http://www.ckstheshow.com/
For now, this post is all about a recent NYC trip we took over July 4th weekend. Like most of our recent NYC travel, the trip was heavy on the CKS (that's Channeling Kevin Spacey for those of us playing the at home version). But some other factors made this weekend extra special. One, it was the anniversary of our country's independence from imperialist England. Just kidding. We all know who's side I'd be on in that fight...look here if you're not sure.
No, we were super excited for this trip because my Dad would be joining us for the weekend, all the way from Florida. Also, our good friends Ben and Kacey were moving to Philadelphia just a day after we arrived. Not that we were happy they were leaving, just that we would get to see them before their Exodus.
Here's a pic of our room at 70 Park Avenue. Yes, that is the hotel's name as well as its address. This is how the rooms look before your suitcase explodes on it.
And this is a picture of the dinner we had with B&K in the Village. Ben is a chef and I think he was a little over-proud of how much we were able to eat.
We hung out a bit after dinner and got a little photo happy. Here's me and Ben, looking normal (and the first pic of me on this blog since I cut off 10 inches of hair!):
Here's Cory and Ben, looking un-normal:
Here's me and Kacey trying to look as strange as Cory and Ben. Except Kacey looks pretty, and I look like a jerk:
The next day, Dad arrived. I have a fun history of sharing places with my Dad, like here and here. He checked into the same hotel as Cory and I so it was a quick trip down the elevator to find each other. His first night in we went to Kuma Inn in Alphabet City. This place is amazing, it's a tiny Asian fusion restaurant built in somebody's old apartment. There's, like, six tables in the whole place. Here's a blurry photo of us enjoying the spot:
After Kuma we saw Anything Goes. I think I liked it a whole lot more than the boys. Whatever. It starred Sutton Foster and, more importantly, Joel Grey. All you Cabaret fans holla' out there!
The next day Cory attacked the TKTS booth. I mean he nicely encouraged TKTS patrons to kindly buy tickets to his play. In the meantime, Dad and I visited the Bouchon Bakery in Rockefeller Center for some homemade Nutter Butters and HoHos. Also, we saw Avenue Q. I was lucky enough to see this in London and I knew Dad would enjoy it. Fortunately, he did. So, in one weekend I got to see a theater legend and other people got to enjoy themselves as well.
That night we went to CKS then Sparks Steakhouse. It's a tasty place famous for being the spot where Mobster Gotti had some famous other-mob dude killed. Plus, they do a mean filet, so we all won. I know, I know. Bad photo...
Afterward we went to Little Branch, a speak easy bar in the Village. The place was first introduced to us by B&K so it seemed appropriate. The bar has no sign outside, you just have to stand near an unassuming brick building and wait for someone to appear from behind a secret door. The place has lots of fun drinks named after Prohibition-era peeps, like The Hemingway and The Fitzgerald. There was also a tasty drink I sampled called the Bobby Burns, out of place for the era they were going for but still appropriate as it was made with Scotch. Come on Rebecca, I know you know this one...
Here's another blurry pic of me and Dad hanging out:
Our last day I made Dad walk a really long way to Papaya Dog where we had, he admitted, the best hot dogs ever. We then moseyed down to the Upright Citizen's Brigade in the Lower West Side, an improv comedy club started by Amy Poehler. We saw John Lutz from 30 Rock and Zach Woods, who plays the really tall and pale guy Michael Scott can't stand on The Office. It was very entertaining, and then we had a nice dinner at ABC Kitchen. I say nice, but I mean fantastic. ABC Kitchen was named the best new restaurant in the city for 2011, and I agree. We'd been trying to get in for a while ever since our friend Ben (yes, that Ben) began as a chef there last year. It seemed appropriate to finally sample the place the weekend we honored Ben and Kacey's leave from the Big Apple. And it was well worth the wait.
The four-day weekend was a great time. I find sharing the places you love with the people you love is always good fun. Now, I leave you with this amazing mash up by the Glee kids. Please take note, Finn is standing on the TKTS iconic red steps in the first shot. Some people, like those named Erica, Cory and Lindsey, like to stand there and peddle CKS tickets...a lot. Also, in the first shot you can see a huge poster behind Finn of Daniel Radcliffe promoting HTSIBWRT, a delightful madcap. You can read about my giddy opinion of this musical here. New York, New York indeed!
