TL;DR

• Stay
  • Hyatt Centric Midtown 5th Avenue New York, 16 E 39th St, New York, NY 10016
    • Good central location and an easy walk to my office!
• Eat/Drink
  • Cote, 16 W 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
    • Loved this place when I went for a sit down epic Korean steakhouse meal, but had it delivered this time – and it was still delicious!
  • Lady Chow Kitchen, 171 Hester St, New York, NY 10013
    • Introduced to me by my non-family aunt and uncle (in Chinese culture, your parents’ friends are all aunties and uncles)
  • Coppelia, 207 W 14th St, New York, NY 10011
    • This Cuban restaurant (they say pan-Latin cuisine online) has been my go-to since a work trip in 2018 found me and two colleagues enjoying a wonderful late-night meal of platanos and ropa vieja.
  • Doughnut Plant, 379 Grand St, New York, NY 10002
    • We had this delivered for a work snack, but go down to Grand for the OG location.
  • Malibu Farm, Pier 17, 89 South St, New York, NY 10038
    • This is an outstanding place for an outdoor dinner with great views of the Brooklyn Bridge to boot!
  • Ess-a-bagel, 831 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022
    • All of their locations are awesome. But you can also have bagels delivered to your office if you need to bring some home with you!
• See/Do
  • Relax Station, 185 Hester St, New York, NY 10013
    • Dropped in randomly for a post-meal massage. It was decent but nothing great and the masseur had the nerve to demand a higher tip – I told her, the massage wasn’t great. A lot of entitlement here.

Trip Background

My job requires me to travel at least once a quarter to meet my teammates since we all work in different parts of the country. For our September 2022 get-together, we decided to go to New York City – and I was happy as a clam. It had been 14 months since I was in New York and when I was here last (June 2021), the city was still groggily emerging from the Covid catastrophe that had shuttered so many restaurants and businesses. When I landed, I pulled out my phone and wrote the following.

“This town smells like it’s alive. And no that’s not a bag on New York. It’s like a homecoming.

I landed at the new LaGuardia airport for the first time and had my mind blown by the amount of modern fuel, light, and ease of access. The older LaGuardia, with its short ceilings, frequently closed stores, and crappy feel are gone. I can see the runway from the garage where my Uber is about to descend on me.

It’s not like July and August in Gotham when it’s stiflingly hot and the air drips with moisture. This is autumn in New York, as beautiful as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s voices make it out to be. I’m one midtown tunnel from being back in Manhattan’s graces again. Welcome home.”

Day 1 (September 12, 2022)

After putting my feet up at the Admirals Club at O’Hare, the flight to New York was a quick couple of hours – and although I miss the miles that come with an SFO-LGA flight, I have come to appreciate how much easier and faster it is to get to NYC from Chicago. And flowing in low over Manhattan always provides a chance to find the gems of the city. From Battery Park City to Yankee Stadium, from the southern edge of Central Park to the Verrazano bridge.

Walking through LaGuardia these days is a pure delight, given how new, clean, and shiny it is.

Each time I fly through here also seems to remind me of something new. This time, it was the “I ❤️ NY” signs.

A quick ride got me to my hotel (the Hyatt Centric Midtown 5th Avenue New York) and the hunger pangs reminded me it was time to eat. So I ordered a wedge salad and a beef bowl from Cote. SO good. This place is a super high-end Korean steakhouse (and having dined in person here, I suggest you try that first), but I had it delivered this time and it was still excellent!

Day 2 (September 13, 2022)

The next day was spent with my teammates and also hosting a few visitors at our NYC office. I was super excited as this was my first chance to explore our NYC space and meet colleagues in person.

But the evening was spent meeting family friends for dinner. On most trips to NYC, I try and see my aunt Lillian and uncle Arlan (in Chinese culture, your parents’ friends are all aunties and uncles). Arlan and my mother (who was the inspiration for this blog and passed away in 2016) were best friends in high school and both Arlan and Lillian know where to eat in Chinatown (always). They had me meet them at Lady Chow Kitchen, and we devoured chow fun, vegetables, fried chicken/fish, and oxtail. SO SO good. Something about NYC Chinese food tastes better than most of what I can get in Chicago.

After dinner I started my walk home and passed Relax Station on Hester St. So I stepped in for a post-meal massage. It was decent but nothing great and afterward, the masseur had the nerve to demand a higher tip! I told her that the massage wasn’t great and promptly left – there’s a lot of entitlement here!

Day 3 (September 14, 2022)

My morning on day 3 was similarly spent with teammates, which opened up the nighttime for dinner with my former colleague Hara, who lives just outside New York City. I had her meet me at Coppelia, a Cuban restaurant that has been my go-to since a work trip in 2018 found me and two colleagues enjoying a wonderful late-night meal of platanos and ropa vieja.

Day 4 (September 15, 2022)

During our morning/afternoon work session, my colleague Keri had Doughnut Plant delivered for an afternoon snack and I was reminded why this place is still one of my favorite donut shops anywhere.

Dinner brought me and my team to Malibu Farm which sits near the South Street Seaport. I was very pleasantly surprised as the seaport has always been a tourist trap in my mind (and it is) – but the food and drink here were excellent (especially on a warm night for an outdoor dinner) and served up views of the Brooklyn Bridge to boot! I especially loved the DJ who was spinning excellent tunes nearby.

Day 5 (September 16, 2022)

I got up early to meet two friends at my office before I left and seeing both Maryssa and Sarah was a wonderful way to begin my last day in NYC. Later in the day my friend Garrett joined me and seeing these smiling faces brought joy to my heart.

I ordered Ess-a-bagel to bring bagels home to the family (and a sandwich for the flight home) and having it delivered to my office was the perfect time saver as I finished a half day of meetings.

My afternoon took me back to LaGuardia, where I continue to marvel and how modern of an airport it is. It really makes flying into and out of New York a comfortable experience and within a few hours I was home – bagels and all.

Final Thoughts

This is not the first and most certainly won’t be the last post I have on New York. And yet despite the dozens of trips I have taken there in my lifetime, each one reveals a new element or a slightly different angle to the city I love. This trip brought out some familiar places (Cote, Coppelia and Doughnut Plant) while also giving me a chance to reconnect with several friends and show them my new workplace.

And most importantly, it felt like New York was back. Fewer masks, more people out and about, and a vibrancy and energy that was tentative or timid when I was last there in 2021. All in all, a great trip.