TL;DR

• Stay
  • Courtyard New York Manhattan/Upper East Side, 410 E 92nd St, New York, NY 10128
    • Comfortable hotel a short drive from LaGuardia and super convenient to walk to anything on the Upper East Side
  • Chicago Marriott Suites O’Hare (where my car stayed – use SpotHero to book a space), 6155 N River Rd, Rosemont, IL 60018
    • Cheaper to park here and shuttle to the airport than to Uber both ways.
• Eat/Drink
  • Paris Baguette, 1270 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10028
    • Stopped in for a raisin danish and to rest my weary feet.
  • The Shanty, 79 Richardson St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
    • Dark, dank kind of place – and that’s a good thing. A great place for a drink, a date, or just hanging out. But the lighting is super dim so don’t come here looking to read peacefully.
  • Bonnie’s, 398 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
    • Instead of the standard short paragraph, I am simply going to list what I ate and drank and what went into each dish. You may either replicate my menu, ignore my suggestions, or somewhere between these two.
    • dao gok (chinese long beans, fermented bean curd garlic butter + yauh ja gwai)
    • wun tun en brodo (fish + shrimp wontons, superior citrus parm broth)
    • fuyu cacio e pepe mein (cacio e pepe, fermented beancurd, black pepper + pecorino)
    • gnow yuk chow mein (velveted black pepper steak, charred onions & peppers + crispy hong kong egg noodles)
    • cha siu mcrib (cha siu glaze, steamed ribs, chinese hot mustard, b&b pickles + milk bun)
    • yeung yu sang choi bao (whole fish) (deboned / stuffed rainbow trout, shrimp, green mustard condiment + lettuces)
    • chow nai sundae (malted fried milk, ovaltine hot fudge, vanilla ice cream + buttered peanuts, + pork floss $2)
  • Birria Landia Truck, 491 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
    • I did not eat here. I saw it when I came out of the subway at Metropolitan Avenue, and I lost my shit. During the pandemic in 2020, Hulu dropped a show called the Eater’s Guide to the World and highlighted this taco truck called Birria Landia. So for months while I didn’t travel, this was the scene I watched over and over thinking about how I might never travel again. So seeing this right at my subway stop made me cry – mostly because I was going to Bonnie’s and couldn’t eat here before an epic Bonnie’s dinner.
  • H&H Bagels, 1551 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028
    • Stopped in on my walk to work and got a breakfast sammy (ham, egg and cheese on a poppyseed bagel – FYI this is the way to my heart, if you didn’t know)
  • New York Birria, 1300 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019 (it’s a food truck)
    • Happened to walk by here and left both full and pleasantly surprised.
  • Empire Halal, 1107 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10065 (it’s a food truck)
    • This was my second dinner of the night, and I dare say it rivals the 53rd and 6th original Halal Guys in terms of flavor
  • Zucker’s Bagels, 1065 6th Ave, New York, NY 10018
    • Ordered a bunch of bagels to go (to bring home to the family)
  • Centurion Lounge LaGuardia Airport, LaGuardia Rd, Queens, NY 11371
    • If you’re fortunate enough to have a platinum AmEx, this is the place you want your layover.
  • Admiral’s Club LaGuardia Terminal B
    • I align to American so my credit card gives me access to Admirals Clubs, which is a nice way to wait for a flight.
• See/Do
  • Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Ave, New York, NY 10029
    • I came for the Food in New York exhibit, but what stole the show was the Stanley Tucci-narrated Timescapes, a 20-30-minute film that takes you through the history of New York
  • New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
    • Feels much more like a big museum – or maybe it’s because there was a private party renting out one of the galleries or that the main theater looks like a mini off-Broadway stage.
  • Jaeger LeCoultre Boutique, 701 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10065
    • This is not for the masses. Unless you’re a watch nerd.
  • Ji Li Tui Na Center Spa, 801 Lexington Ave 2nd floor, New York, NY 10065
    • Ask for Wendy

Trip Background

New York is winter is traditionally cheap – and I can’t for the life of me understand why. This is still Manhattan.

It still feeds you, entertains you, and makes you happy even if the weather is a bit chilly or snowy. I decided to purchase a winter ticket because I wanted to see NYC and also see some friends but work had decided to limit travel. The ticket was $230 roundtrip so I bought it back on December 3, 2022, and by the time this trip was ready to begin, I had plenty of things to see and places to eat.

Day 1 (January 29, 2023)

I drove my Subaru to a hotel near O’Hare Airport to park it for a few days so I didn’t have to pay the exorbitant costs to Uber to and from the airport. For short personal trips of under five days (or work trips in which I won’t get reimbursed like this one was), this has turned out to be a godsend.

The flight to LaGuardia was smooth, but the approach over Manhattan revealed a particularly gray day in the city.

Here’s the wild thing though: I landed at 11:45 AM and was in my hotel room at the Courtyard New York Manhattan/Upper East Side by 12:28 PM.

WAIT, WHAT?

That is wild! Now granted, this hotel’s location on the UES made it easier to access than say, Tribeca, but still!

The drive from LGA to my hotel also brought up another example of why I enjoy New York. Sometimes my drivers don’t talk. But on this morning, I met Ahmad – who is originally from Palestine but married a Moroccan woman. We discussed Marrakech, Fes, and Tangier, and I shared how much I loved all three places.

I knew I wanted to see some museums before I met up with friends for dinner. So I walked from my hotel to the Museum of the City of New York. But the 18-minute walk took me through streets I’d never traversed, and I found the walk utterly charming.

I came for the Food in New York exhibit, but what stole the show was the Stanley Tucci-narrated Timescapes, a 20-30-minute film that takes you through the history of New York. It’s brilliant, and personally, I just enjoy Tucci’s voice. By the way, if you haven’t read or listened to Taste: My Life of Food, you need to. I recommend the audio version for obvious reasons, and also because the way he talks about some of his experiences really comes out better when Tucci explains it.

To understand the evolution of this center of global capital, one should spend a couple hours here letting each of the exhibits wash over them. As I walked from station to station, listening to the evolutions of New Amsterdam into the salad bowl it is today, I got to know stories I’d never been exposed to and other stories that I thought I knew (and did not).

There was a particularly awesome exhibit called “Activist New York” which prominently featured artwork by Brooklyn-based artist and neuroscientist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, whose Instagram handle is “alonglastname“!

I decided to buy some cheeky gifts from the gift shop and then I set off for the New-York Historical Society. This journey of 1.7 miles (as prescribed by Google) should not take too long, but I found the meandering walk to be super relaxing. I called my wife and kids while walking past the Central Park Tennis Center and trying to not block the runners alongside the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir before a long straightaway on Central Park West took me past the American Museum of Natural History.

I timed it perfectly, arriving at 3:28 PM for a scheduled 3:30 PM timed entrance and my first stop was the “I’ll Have What She’s Having” exhibit dedicated to the Jewish Deli.  The photos, videos, and the 2nd Ave. Deli sign (lord knows where they got that!) were a wonderful reminder of the warmth and satisfying nature of the Jewish deli. I only wish they’d had pastrami sandwiches with some spicy mustard on hand for the guests! The theater has a fascinating video without Stanley Tucci’s commanding voice and the Meet the Presidents and the Oval Office exhibit is also worth a visit.

Knowing I was supposed to meet some friends for dinner, I decided to wander a bit, ending up at the Paris Baguette on Lexington and 86th, where I stopped in for a raisin danish and to rest my weary feet. After some light reading, I took the subway to Brooklyn to meet one of my dining companions before dinner. When I came out of the Metropolitan Ave. subway stop, I saw something that made me super excited – but I dare not tell you until after we talk dinner.

My friend Rebecca met me at The Shanty, a dark, dank kind of bar – and that’s a good thing. It’s a great place for a drink, a date, or just hanging out, but the lighting is super dim so don’t come here hoping to read. Rebecca and I had a quick drink before walking over to Bonnie’s, where we met my friend Diana.

Now I’d heard of Bonnie’s from a Bon Appetit video entitled “A Day With A Line Cook At Brooklyn’s Hottest Chinese Restaurant”, which features Bonnie’s line cook Tristan Kwong (whose Insta handle is @fruitsomm – you’ll see why if you watch this video). Although that video focuses on Tristan (and rightfully so), one of the highlights is Bonnie’s take on the mcrib sandwich and the deboned/stuffed fish, both of which I knew I had to get.

Now, if you’re hungry, I advise you to stop reading right now and go get a snack – because I am about to go in-depth into what we ate and I use a lot of CAPS. Rebecca and Diana didn’t know one another prior to meeting me – Rebecca was my colleague at Pinterest briefly and Diana and I used to work at LinkedIn. I asked both if they wanted to join me at Bonnie’s and they were both down, so we three met up! Diana didn’t know how to order so Rebecca and I studied the menu. Chinese tradition calls for a balanced meal – a veg, a starch, a meat, maybe a fish – so we decided to ensure that we had a representative menu with a bit from each category.

What we ate:

• bonnie’s negroni (gin, pineapple campari, ming river baiju + hibiscus vermouth)
  • My wife got me started on negronis when we started dating, and while baijiu (a potent Chinese liquor) has a rough history with me, I decided to try it. It was sweeter than I expected, and I liked that, given how most negronis are usually bitter (and for good reason).
• wun tun en brodo (fish + shrimp wontons, superior citrus parm broth)
  • Won ton soup is comfort food – and somehow these were so soft and flavorful, it stopped me in my tracks.
• dao gok (chinese long beans, fermented bean curd garlic butter + yauh ja gwai)
  •  we picked these chinese beans to start with. Soft but still crunchy, with flakes of garlic all over it – YUMMMM.
• fuyu cacio e pepe mein (cacio e pepe, fermented beancurd, black pepper + pecorino)
  • I’ve had solid cacio e pepe in Rome so when I saw this, I had to try it. The thick noodles were chewy and springy, the cheese and pepper took me to Italy then to China, and I wish I could have eaten this all night.
• gnow yuk chow mein (velveted black pepper steak, charred onions & peppers + crispy hong kong egg noodles)
  • That looks like a bird’s nest but it’s not. It’s chow mein fried into a crunchy container holding the steak, onions and peppers. A good dish, but not my favorite here – and one I could have done without!
• cha siu mcrib (cha siu glaze, steamed ribs, chinese hot mustard, b&b pickles + milk bun)
  • I can’t remember if it’s bad luck to stick only your chopsticks straight into your food (what about knives?) but this take on the mcrib was DOPE. The milk bun reminded me of all those pastries I get in Chinatowns across the country, the sweetness of the sauce was balance by the pickles and onions. Dude. Buy this. Buy this. Buy it now.
• yeung yu sang choi bao (whole fish) (deboned / stuffed rainbow trout, shrimp, green mustard condiment + lettuces)
  • If you watched Tristan’s video, this was the star – and it reminded me of fish cake I have with hot pot and that sauce was DOPE.
• black tea penicillin (pu’er scotch, ginger, lemon, spiced honey + peated scotch)
  • My nightcap was made with pu-er scotch – not bad but also not as memorable as the food!
• chow nai sundae (malted fried milk, ovaltine hot fudge, vanilla ice cream + buttered peanuts, + pork floss $2)
  • Wait a damn minute. You put pork floss (rou song) on an ice cream sundae? GENIUS. The dry, salty flavor of the pork floss gives a nice contrast to the ice cream and all these toppings. A hell of a way to end the meal.

So here we are – it’s about two hours after we first arrived, and we are STUFFED.

Now I get to take you back to when I came out of the subway before going to the Shanty. The moment I emerged, the first thing I saw was the Birria Landia Truck and I lost my shit. Now let me be clear – I did not eat here.

But way back during the pandemic in 2020, Hulu debuted a Maya Rudolph-narrated show called “The Eater’s Guide to the World” and highlighted this taco truck called Birria Landia. So for months while I didn’t travel, this was the ONE scene I watched over and over, thinking about how I might never travel again. So seeing this right at my subway stop made me cry – mostly because I was going to Bonnie’s and couldn’t eat here before an epic Bonnie’s dinner.

Aaaaand with that story done, Diana and I split an Uber back to Manhattan and I got to rest my weary feet (and stomach).

Day 2 (January 30, 2023)

I decided to walk from my Upper East Side hotel to my office, which is near Times Square. There is something magical about New York winter mornings when the skies are clear and the sunshine gets coupled with some incredible shadows. Restaurants that have been around nearly a century, restaurants that have not, homes, and hospitals all get to bask in this glow and it makes for a delightful walk. I also stepped into the H&H Bagels on 2nd Ave. for a breakfast sandwich (ham, egg, and cheese on a poppyseed bagel, which was delicious), but this was not the highlight of the walk.

My pre-work destination was a bit of a treat/tease for me: the Jaeger LeCoultre Boutique. I am obsessed with watches and in particular, the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface watch. If you want to be super pretentious like me, learn how to pronounce Jaeger LeCoultre. It really is a stunning watch and perhaps one of these days, I will own my own!

A busy day of meetings gave way to an evening free in the big city and I decided I would again walk as far as my feet would take me. My journey took me up the Avenue of the Americas and I had another panic moment when I thought I saw another Birria Landia truck. Sadly, it wasn’t the same brand, but it was a truck called New York Birria. It was a little brisk out and I was feeling the hot soupy feeling that birria comes with (the consumme) so I stopped, ordered a pair of tacos and a side of consumme, and took 15 minutes to sit down and enjoy my birria tacos. Quite good and I would come back, for sure.

I kept walking and now I started to realize the error of my ways. The walking distance from my office to my hotel three and a half miles – and while that’s not terribly far (maybe an hour and ten minutes), my feet were getting sore (I was not wearing comfortable shoes). I happened upon Ji Li Tui Na Center Spa and though I had my doubts, I decided to give it a shot. What I got was a hell of a massage that I would recommend to ANYONE – and ask for Wendy if you go there if you need proof.

As I continued walking, I walked past the Empire Halal food truck. I got about 15 feet past it, turned around, and walked back – placing an order for chicken and rice with white sauce. It was delightful, and I appreciate my colleague Yader for recommending it in the first place. It was as good as the Halal Guys at 53rd and 6th, but nothing will ever replicate standing at 53rd and 6th late at night in my youth (and definitely not sober).

Now realizing my hotel was still over a mile and a half away, I broke down and called for a Lyft. The driver had one other person in his car and she got dropped off first, maybe three blocks from my hotel. She was sitting in the back left seat, I in the back right seat. But when we pulled over to drop her off on the right side of the road, she started to motion to open her door. I told her to stop, opened my door, got out, and made sure she didn’t have to open her door into traffic. I wished her a good night and the driver turned around to shake my hand.

“We don’t have enough people doing shit like that these days, dude. You a good dude.” It brought a smile to my face.

After I got back to my hotel, I took care of one last critical item: placing an order for Zucker’s Bagels for the next day (a sandwich to bring on the plane, bagels for the family).

Day 3 (January 31, 2023)

My last day of this short trip was spent busily meeting colleagues before my afternoon Uber took me back to LaGuardia. I was fortunate enough to get to experience the Centurion Lounge LaGuardia Airport since I added myself as an authorized user on my wife’s platinum Amex.

If you can handle the annual fee, this is the place you want your layover. Delicious food including soy ginger chicken, fusilli pasta, maple mashed sweet potato, and green curry roasted cauliflower – I mean come on!

I walked out of the lounge and headed toward my gate then realized that my flight was delayed. I decided to take advantage of my other lounge access and enter the Admiral’s Club LaGuardia Terminal B, where the service was excellent and I had a cocktail before heading to my gate.

And to cap off a perfect trip, I got upgraded to first class! Huzzah!

My plane landed at O’Hare at 10 PM where 4-degree winter weather awaited me. Waiting for the shuttle to get to my hotel took longer than I would have liked, and I felt bad for all the poor folks who had neglected to bring gloves or a warm jacket. This would be a rough wait for them, for sure.