Tonight Ryan and I went to a friend’s rooftop for some drinks and decided to stop for a bevvy beforehand. But rather than going for the usual beer, we pre-gamed in a new way: Boozy cupcakes. The cupcake fad in New York City has spun a little out of control. There seems to be a …
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July 31, 2013
…went to a beer festival
I know you must think I’m a bit of a lush after a week of inventing cocktails and necking shots of vodka, so I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that yesterday’s new experience was getting a little merry at a beer festival. Good Beer was held at 82Mercer, a sprawling warehouse-esque conference hall …
Read MoreJuly 30, 2013
…ate a pretzel
Every day when I leave work, I’m greeted by this: Usually I walk right past without even noticing the food carts, but a few days ago I took another look and realised that I’ve never had a pretzel. Even though it’s originally a European food, for some reason I connect it with New York; perhaps …
Read MoreJuly 29, 2013
…invented a cocktail
Now I don’t know if you’ve realised over the course of this blog, but I do like the occasional bevvy. So why not learn how to make them for myself? Tonight I went to Sanctuary T in Soho for a mixology class. The bar/restaurant is known for its lengthy tea menu and now they’ve branched …
Read MoreJuly 25, 2013
…went to a Russian speakeasy
Speakeasies may be hard to find, but secrecy is exactly what they thrive on. Thankfully tonight I tracked down one of SoHo’s hidden gems – a Russian vodka bar. I’ve been to a few speakeasies since I’ve been here, but none have given me quite the same surprise as when Helen and I walked into …
Read MoreJuly 24, 2013
…ate a Turkish feast
Last time I had a dinner date with Katia, we went to Africa. The time before that, it was Malaysia. And tonight we decided to pop a little further north to Turkey. We met at Peri Ela, a skinny slice of a restaurant in the Upper East Side. As a vegetarian whose only knowledge of …
Read MoreJuly 22, 2013
…played drag bingo
I have been a bingo fan for years. When I was at St Andrews, us girls would get dressed up and head to a bingo hall on the outskirts of Dundee for a night of laughing, losing and lashing on wine from plastic glasses. If you check out this review, you will see just how …
Read MoreJuly 16, 2013
…feasted at Chelsea Market
When I went to Seattle at the beginning of the year, Pike Place Market entertained me for hours. I tasted samples, grimaced at googly-eyed fish, admired teeny tiny cakes and enjoyed rustic slabs of pie. It was an indulgent, leisurely treat – one I’ve also had in London, Philadelphia and Boston. And yet, the whole …
Read MoreJuly 14, 2013
…cooked with homegrown produce
I feel like I’ve had a truly rural visit to England this time around – taking in the Sussex hills while chugging along in a steam engine and visiting a vintage tractor show – and today I concluded the trip with another countryside classic: Picking and cooking with homegrown produce. I’ve been in New York …
Read MoreJuly 11, 2013
…tasted bubble tea from Chinatown
My lunch jaunts can get pretty repetitive, so today I decided to shake it up – and headed to Chinatown for a cup of bubble tea: A mysterious – but popular – drink with black balls bobbing around the bottom. Before I went, I had to check the stuff was vegetarian. I was suspicious that …
Read MoreJuly 7, 2013
…bowled at a retro alley
A few weeks ago, I took part in a bowling league with my colleagues at Frames in Midtown. I did very, very badly and wanted to see if I fared any better by approaching the sport in a new way. And as it turns out, I would have been better in the 1970s. Ryan and I …
Read MoreJuly 6, 2013
…went to the beach in Manhattan
Some of my friends have suggested day trips to Rockaway Beach, while others have said Sandy Hook, New Jersey is the place to take a dip in the sea. Today I realised that I didn’t need to go that far to feel the sand between my toes – because there’s a beach right here in Manhattan. …
Read MoreJuly 3, 2013
…tasted gelato in Little Italy
I lived in Little Italy for 18 months but I never tested its wares, if you can believe it. I spent all of my time elbowing tourists, dismissing restaurant hecklers and tutting at street vendors plonked right in the middle of the sidewalk. I never actually looked up to take it all in. Little Italy …
Read MoreJuly 1, 2013
…ate poutine for Canada Day
Today is Canada Day. But trying to find a Canadian-themed place in New York is like trying to find a Welsh bar in London. For a city that has restaurants and supermarkets for every nation possible, it’s bizarre that New York seems to have entirely ignored its nearest neighbour. I could hardly track anything down …
Read MoreJune 26, 2013
…drank a Manhattan overlooking Manhattan
I have a pretty sore head this morning, but last night I think I went to a leaving party for my news editor, Danny. We all headed to the Jimmy, a gorgeous rooftop bar above The James New York hotel in SoHo. As well as serving up copious amounts of alcohol and teeny tiny snacks, …
Read MoreJune 16, 2013
…ate dinner at the cinema
This evening, I met my friend Dave at the Nitehawk cinema in Williamsburg. The venue is famous for its midnight showings of classics and also its original take on cinema snacks – you can order and eat dinner while you watch. So it seemed like a perfect Sunday activity sheltering from the threatened rain. We …
Read MoreJune 14, 2013
…finally went to 16 Handles
When I’ve told people I’ve never been to 16 Handles before, they’ve recoiled in horror and distrust. Today I finally decided to visit this New York Institution… mostly because I am still a little sore from last night’s festivities and could not muster myself to do anything else. For the uninitiated, 16 Handles is a …
Read MoreJune 9, 2013
…rode Jane’s Carousel
For the last stop of Bree’s New York Bachelorette Weekend, we went to Dumbo. While Smorgasburg visits Williamsburg on a Saturday, on a Sunday it comes to this gorgeous spot across the Brooklyn Bridge. I’ve never been to this neighbourhood before but it’s beautiful – rustic buildings, colourful coffee shops, a beautiful waterfront. While there, …
Read MoreJune 8, 2013
…picnicked in Central Park
A group of lovely ladies has come to the city for Bree’s bachelorette party (you remember Bree), and today, ahead of our no doubt raucous activities this evening, we headed to Central Park for a picnic. We stocked up on breads, meats, dips, chips and vats of cookies for the feast, and Janessa even had …
Read MoreMay 25, 2013
…had lunch in Jersey City
Today was crammed with lots of activities – walking across the Williamsburg Bridge, a brilliant movie, terrible karaoke – and thankfully I was ready for it all after a delicious lunch in Jersey City. I go to Brooklyn a couple of times a week, but I’ve not ventured in the other direction – heading east across the …
Read MoreMay 24, 2013
…noshed a knish
Last summer, I discovered I’m allergic to blueberries. Today, I stupidly decided to test whether I still am – and I learned that I really, really am. After a painful day at work, some moaning, groaning and a nap, I woke up famished. I needed something comforting but reasonably bland. I needed a knish. I’ve never had a knish before, …
Read MoreMay 21, 2013
…saw the world’s biggest crochet
Well, it appears that I can’t tell the time, so I missed a poetry event I had planned tonight. Thankfully this is New York and there is always plenty of last-minute – and free – stuff going on. I jumped on the Q to Madison Square Park to see their latest outdoor art exhibit, Red, Yellow and …
Read MoreMay 20, 2013
…peed in the middle of a restaurant
Okay, this isn’t exactly how it sounds. I did relieve myself in the middle of a restaurant, but it was in a restroom and there were walls around it. They just happened to be glass. I met John and Paul at the appropriately named Peep, a Thai restaurant on Prince Street that for some reason …
Read MoreMay 16, 2013
…went to Hooters
I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building, hollered at a baseball game and eaten my bodyweight in nachos while watching the Super Bowl. But there’s one American tradition that I’d avoided until tonight: Hooters. Elektra and I decided to pay a visit after walking past the chain’s New York spot in Midtown West last …
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