Blogging Black Hole & Eating Tour of NYC
| May 31, 2010 | Posted by Lauren under Misc |
As I’ve said many times on this blog, I believe that life is all about balance. Balancing work with play, exercise with rest, healthy food with huge 90-gallon ice cream sundaes…and life with blogging.
This weekend, I fell into a bit of a black hole in the blog world. I was actually in NYC with the HOTR-family for a weekend of celebrations – HOTR Sister #2’s graduation from her Master’s program (Congratulations Christina!!), my birthday, and HOTR Sister #3’s birthday! I thought I’d have time to blog, but that obviously did not happen. So while I loved hearing your thoughts about treadmill running, I’m sorry for the lack of replies. I promise that I read every one (with the help of my phone!) and really appreciate you taking the time share your experiences and feedback.
So what did I do instead of blog (hard to imagine there’s anything else, right? 
)? The weekend was spent walking around Manhattan until my feet were ready to fall off, eating lots and lots of amazing food, and spending time with some new friends:
All of these were taken at the Central Park Zoo. It’s crazy to think all of this exists right in the center of a busy city.
We also went to some amazing restaurants and ate delicious food that unfortunately went unpictured.
A quick confession. Up until a few days ago, I actually haven’t had a working camera. So with the exception of the few times I was able to steal borrow a camera from my mom or EC, I have actually been taking most of the pictures for this blog with my iPhone. I finally got a working camera for my birthday, and am excited to be able to take pictures with the ability to zoom! 
So if you are planning a visit to NYC and need some restaurant recommendations, I leave you with the following HOTR-family approved suggestions:
Patsy’s Italian Restaurant, located in the theater district. This family owned restaurant was apparently Frank Sinatra’s favorite. They have a large menu with lots of authentic Neapolitan dishes…and mouth watering desserts. HOTR-sister #3 (also known as Caitlin) and I split the Eggplant Parmigiana and the Linguine al Pesto. While we liked both, the pesto was definitely my favorite of the two. I’m pretty picky about my eggplant parm (it’s actually my favorite meal), and I found this one to be a bit too chewy for my taste. But the pesto was very flavorful. I loved that it wasn’t drowning in oil, which seems to happen at a lot of restaurants.
And even though we were all full from our large plates of pasta, it was impossible to say no to dessert when the waiter rolled an entire cart full of delicacies to the table.
Josie’s Restaurant (west-side location). For a lighter meal at a restaurant that offers many vegetarian and vegan options made with organic ingredients (as well as free range meat/poultry/eggs), I highly recommend Josie’s. I love going to restaurants where there are more than 2 menu items for me to choose between (a rare treat for a vegetarian!). I ordered their All Veggie Meatloaf, made with organic lentils, seitan, shitake mushrooms, and sweet potatoes and topped with a miso gravy…all over a bed of sautéed baby bok choy. It was delicious and packed with flavor. They also offer a variety of salads as well as their own homemade veggie burgers (also delicious). 
Maoz Vegetarian. This “quick service vegetarian” restaurant is actually an international chain. The concept is wonderfully simple. Their basic sandwich is simply a pita filled with handmade (gluten-free!) falafel. A standard pita comes with hummus, falafel, eggplant and greens. You can spice it up by adding a variety of toppings and sauces from their salad bar. Or you can skip the pita and get a salad instead. This was actually my family’s first time trying falafel and I was so happy that they all loved it!
And finally – dessert. If you’re ever in NYC, you really must visit Serendipity at least once. They have three locations in Manhattan. We went to Serendipity 3 on the Upper East Side, which is actually the restaurant that was featured in the movie Serendipity.
Because it’s so well known, the wait is long, but it’s totally worth it! I would suggest going early and putting your name in, and then going out for dinner someplace else while you wait. We put our name in early on Saturday night (around 5:30) and still waited for an hour and a half before getting a table!
Serendipity is most famous for their frozen hot chocolate, but they’re also the home of giant ice cream sundaes, including a world record-holding $1,000 sundae. Apparently this baby contains flecks of real gold (it better for 1,000 bucks!) and is served in a crystal bowl with a bejeweled spoon. Unfortunately you have to order it 48 hours in advance, and since my family did not plan that far ahead (and aren’t actually royal dignitaries or any sort of celebrity), we had to pass. The sundaes we did order, however, did not disappoint! We tried the “Can’t Say No” Sundae (humble pie [which is creamy pb with a graham cracker crust] + ice cream + banana + hot fudge + whipped cream) and the Forbidden Broadway Sundae (chocolate Blackout cake + ice cream + hot fudge + whipped cream). I loved them both equally. My only complaint is that I don’t get one of these every day of the week!
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After a wonderful weekend of food and family, it’s now back to reality. I haven’t forgotten about the Shape Up Summer Challenge. Stay tuned for the kick-off tomorrow!
Happy Memorial Day!
I think living and enjoying family time is the best of all.
I was going to say I’m jealous of you going to central park zoo, but more realistically I’m jealous of Serendipity. You would not believe how much I’ve heard of that sundae
.-= Evan Thomas´s last blog ..Building A Perfect Evening =-.
The forbidden broadway sundae?? HOLY COW that sounds good!!
I’m glad you had so much fun – I’d give my right foot to go to NYC – and congrats to your sister!
.-= Freya @ Brit Chick Runs´s last blog ..Green Tea For Ponies =-.
90 gallon ice cream sundaes hahaa!
and u cant go wrong with balancing some family time which is so important. i always have such incredible memories when im out with my family, we make eachother laugh like nobodys business
i LOVE that u went to serendipity, if i ever travel out there i would def love to visit there to check that off my life list. lucky lady!
i totally feel like that polar bear right now lol.
Hurray for FAMILY TIME!! I’m glad to hear you’ve got your priorities set right.
Congratulations to sister #2 and #3 for graduating and for being older (ha!), respectively. Definitely sounds like cause for a celebration to me! And what better way to celebrate than to frolick around NYC eating awesome sundaes with equally-awesome names?? 
I wonder if gold is edible…
warm wishes
xo aletheia
.-= aletheia´s last blog ..Kale vs. Cabbage: Battle of the Brassica =-.
Finding time for 90 gallon sundaes are a must! Sheesh!
Happy Birthday girlie and BIG congrats to Christina. It looks like you had a wonderful time. I love the pic of the polar bear. They’ve always been my fave. Woot Woot you got a camera. That’s exciting!
.-= Lindsay´s last blog ..Guess Who’s Back??? =-.
Thank you!
Life is DEFINITELY all about balance. Too much of a good thing is bad. Too much of a bad thing is sometimes actually not bad, depending on how you look at it. It’s all about just finding a good mix of everything
I’m glad you had SUCH a fun time in NYC. I can’t wait to be back on the East Coast so I can take the $1 Megabus from DC to NYC and go be crazy. I want to run some races in NYC. That would be super fun.
You didn’t get the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity?! It’s pretty good. I mean, it’s exactly what it sounds like haha. That restaurant is freaking PACKED all the time but the desserts are sooooo good. I’ve actually never eaten real food there haha.
.-= Jess´s last blog ..Weigh-in #17 =-.
I can hardly type I am so excited at this post because I LOVE JOSIE’S!!! I would seriously eat there every single day if I could. I don’t live in NY but one of my best friends does and we ALWAYS eat at Josie’s when I visit! Ahh I miss it so so much! That polar bear is too cute. And that ice cream sundae?! Insane!
I swear Memorial Day is Zoo day!! ha. I know like 10 people who went to the zoo!
And serendipity sounds AMAZING, I have a sweet tooth to the extreme, so I am way jealous!
.-= Jill@MySoCalledHealthLife´s last blog ..My Current Obsession/Giveaway =-.
Holy cow a $1000 sundae…I can’t imagine!
Glad you had a fun weekend!
.-= Kelly @ Healthy Living With Kelly´s last blog ..Tuesday Happiness! =-.
Sometimes taking time out is the best thing in the world. It’s sounds like you had a great time with your family. I never knew that the zoo was in the middle of the city – amazing! I’ll have to definitely visit that ice cream parlor when I go it New York. I really want to go there soon!
.-= Helen´s last blog ..Bank Holiday Workout and BBQ =-.
Happy birthday Lauren! Looks like you had fun in NYC. I am heading up there soon and have always wanted to eat at Serendipity
.-= Brenna [fabuleuxdestin]´s last blog ..San Francisco =-.
Thank you!!
Definitely try to get in to Serendipity when you go — I promise you won’t be disappointed! 
I can’t believe I am a new yorker who’s never been to Serendipity! I guess that would be kinda hard for me now that I don’t eat dairy but there are so many vegan places I love. Yay for Josie’s!
Oh, and most importantly…happy belated birthday! I can’t wait to see some shots with your new camera lady!
.-= Claire´s last blog ..can you believe… =-.
So glad you had a great trip! I love Maoz for their broccoli; I swear they put crack in it. A falafel sandwich there is really just a broccoli delivery vehicle for me.
I have been so intrigued by the Serendipity sundae with the humble pie slice in it, but was concerned about the lard crust factor, so I’m happy to hear it’s a graham cracker crust – yay! I am going to drag my husband uptown and split one with him ASAP!
.-= Kate (Embarrassment of Riches)´s last blog ..Five Finger Discount =-.