NYC part 1: Disco Mom Takes Manhattan

I've only been saying for three years, since we moved to Virginia, that I'm going back to New York.  "Soon."  "This year."  Or "next year."  But time flies.  And money is tight.  And then I was pregnant.  And then I was nursing.  Ed goes on his hunting trip every October.  And every year I say I'm going to New York.

The "why" is a no-brainer.  New York is awesome.  When you're not tied down to an apartment in Brooklyn with two babies and a no-show overworked husband.  New York is awesome to visit.  And I deserve a vacation.  Always.  And there is so much I never did there (see above.)  And...the New York Chocolate Show is there every November.

I went to the Chocolate Show once before, in 2007.  It's as good a reason as any to go to New York.  Better, really, because it's, hello, chocolate.  So this year I said I'm going.  And I actually did.

I understand it can be really, really boring reading other people's travel logs, minute details about people you don't know and places you've never been (and don't care about.)  So you don't have to read this (and the 2 or 3 or 4 more posts it takes me to cover the trip.)  I just want to write it all down.  

First, this is my friend Juli.  You're going to be seeing her in a lot of pictures.  Just thought I should introduce you.  Juli had never been to New York, and she is an accomplished and expressive cook, so when I mentioned the Chocolate Show in a conversation, she perked her ears like a deer to the snap of a twig in the woods.  She checked her calendar, and she was IN.

 Juli's husband, I should mention, is also the foodiest foodie I've ever met, by a long shot, and an astounding chef as well.  (Their family has a cheese budget.)  By way of example, here's the menu for the lunch he packed us for the bus ride up last Thursday.  (He made the sweet potato spice marshmallows himself.)

 We took the Tripper bus up on Thursday afternoon, which was a great ride besides the typical horrific traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel at rush hour.  We pulled in just in time to drop our stuff off at the hotel (Hilton Manhattan East, near the UN, booked through Priceline), grab a sandwich, and head to the theater.

Our hotel is the tall brick one in the middle, about 3 blocks east of Grand Central Station.

 For we had tickets to War Horse.  Do you know about this play?  It won a bunch of Tony's and has been made into a movie, coming out on Christmas (it was first a book.)  It was astounding.

 The horses are puppets, which you forget pretty quickly.  The music is gorgeous, the effects and storytelling creative and entrancing. 

 It's hard to explain about the puppets, so watch this:

Here I am during intermission.  It was drizzling and of course I left my umbrella at the hotel.  But after the show we were on a high and didn't mind a little rain after going through World War I and reaching Armistice Day, which was the next day (11/11/11.) 

I mentioned Juli's husband, Brian.  In addition to our lunch, Brian researched and prepared a 2-page list of suggested restaurants and food shops for us to try during our trip.  I had like one or two to add, but was happy to follow his recommendations since NY's food scene is overwhelming.

After the show we went to Casellula Cheese & Wine Cafe, where we ordered fancy sodas, a two-cheese sampler - one Irish, one from Vermont, both amazing - white bean crostini with oyster mushrooms and house-cured bacon, and two desserts: zucchini layer cake with lime filling, and maple baked pears with buttermilk ice cream.  I.  Could.  Die.  It was our favorite meal of the entire trip, and that's not because anything we ate was bad.  On the contrary.  It's just that this was truly exquisite, and the perfect finish to our first night in New York.

Next post: Friday, the Chocolate Show, Jacques Torres, Paris Baguette (it's not what you think!), and more!