January’s are always my adventure month. For the last 3 years I have done something or gone somewhere exciting and I absolutely love it. Two years ago is was Alabama, last year it was England and 4 other countries. What better way to start a New Year than with fun adventures?!
This year I spent my first month in NEW YORK CITY. It was a BLAST. I was there for a school travel course to network in the TV industry and visit many of the major networks and news stations.
We went to a taping of the Wendy Williams Show (where I got to shake my groove thing in a dance off, leaving me walking home with a Moscow Mule Mug) The Daily Show, and the Nightly Show.
CNN, NBC, CBS Sports, ESPN, FOX & Friends, & Discovery are among the many places we visited to learn more about the life we are about to step into.
You guys. I even managed to get on the set of Good Morning America. AKA MY DREAM JOB. I was in Heaven for about 2 hours. Hopefully it’s not long before I’m back in that chair holding that mug. 😉
Just for fun we took the train to Boston and D.C. each for a day and we got to tour the White House! I also saw the play “Misery” with Bruce Willis, An American in Paris, Aladdin and The Lion King.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKXIufmIv-M&w=560&h=315]
SO MANY DREAMS CAME TRUE ON THIS TRIP. I’m still praising God for how good He was (is) to me.
All that walking and running around to different events made me work up quite the appetite, so in between set visits I ate my way through the city. That’s really what this blog is about.
HA! You thought it was just going to be about my trip. Funny! You know I can’t post a blog without it having something to do with food or baking or recipes. 😉
In New York you can find SO MUCH GOOD FOOD. It’s all so eclectic and impeccable. Here is a list of my favs that you HAVE TO TRY if you go to the Big Apple.
- The Meatball Shop – inexpensive & SUCH great quality food. I got the salad & it came with so many different salads on the plate & all of them were super delicious. This place is funky and super creative with all the choices they give you. 2 Thumbs Up!
- Black Tap – Okay this place got all the buzz from the New York Times & Buzz Feed so my last day there I checked it out and WOW. Be prepared to wait in a long line, but their food is on point! I got the California Burger and it’s just what you would expect it to be. Let’s be honest. People are all going there for their milkshakes. They’re all the rage right now. I got the Sweet & Salty and the guy next to me got the Cookie Dough one. Enough said.
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- Cafe Lalo – They filmed part of You’ve Got Mail here and its SO cute!! I got Brie Grilled Cheese and Mississippi Mud Pie. Their food is great but honestly if you just went for coffee and dessert you would have more than enough options.
- Jack’s Wife Freda – This hidden gem has GREAT brunch. It’s a small little place so get there early but they make REAL food that tastes so yummy!
- Dough Doughnuts – These doughnuts are fluffy and as big as your face. Check out mine. They have some crazy flavors like Hibiscus, Mocha Almond Crunch and Lemon Poppy Seed.
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- Dominique Ansel Bakery – This guy invented the cronut. (Google that) My alarm didn’t go off to get me there 20 minutes before it opened so I missed the cronut by 3 people. Shucks. HOWEVER they are also famous for their DKA (which I got and it was yummy) and all their other wonderful fancy desserts. They have smores on a stick and when you bite into it, there’s vanilla ice cream. WHAT?!
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- I had to have Flat Stanley for a project haha
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- Egg Shop – This might have been my favorite meal I had in New York. Situated right in China Town, I’m not even sure what kind of food to tell you this place serves because honestly I don’t know. All I know is that whatever I ordered was fantastic. This is a must go place!
- 10 Below – Where are all my ice cream fans? Okay I’ve seen a lot of really cool ice cream in my short life, but this place did something I’ve never seen before. They rolled their ice cream up. Well first they made it fresh right there when you order it BUT THEY ROLL IT UP! Like a little scroll! or a sleeping bag!! Oh and another great thing: the toppings are unlimited and FREE. That’s right baby. Load em up. I attached a YouTube video of them making the ice cream so you can see how magnificent it is. Click HERE
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- Tratoria TreColori – If you’re in Times Square and need a yummy bite to eat, this Italian restaurant has your fix! I got the seafood risotto and what looked like an ice cream snowman covered in a hard chocolate shell with raspberry jelly inside so when they cut it open it looked like a hatched dinosaur egg. Okay I ruined that description. I’ll stop. It was amazing.
- Bareburger – Looking for innovative salads and healthy style burgers?! Go here. The menu is so fun.
- Uncle Marios – this was my first meal in NYC and since we were a huge group they basically brought out everything on the menu to our table. Which was great because I got to try it all and tell you what is good. Ready? Everything. haha! They had this things that looked like hot pockets (they are much better than hot pockets trust me) and they were SO SO good!! Also, it looked like a calzone, but I’m not sure really what it was and it was amazing!! Bread on both sides, cheese, spinach, mushrooms etc. YUM YUM YUM.
- Norma’s – This little brunch cafe is inside the Le Parker Meridian and they have phenomenal breakfast. They gave me a sample of one of their smoothies and it was SO GOOD. Their fresh squeezed orange juice goes perfectly with their famous crunchy French Toast. They cut 2 thick slices of Brioche bread and coat it in the french toast dip and then put rice krispies around it before they cook it to make it crunch! It was so delectable. If you really wanted to go all out they have the same french toast, stuffed with cream cheese, deep fried like a donut and topped with vanilla ice cream. Yup. The bomb. You could also get the $1,000 omelet. I skipped over that in the menu as soon as I saw the price but I’m pretty sure its stuffed with gold and diamonds.
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- Carlo’s Bake Shop – Last but not least the famous bakery from Cake Boss. It’s been a dream of mine to go here since the show came out so I took the train to Hoboken for the afternoon and made a day out of it. The canolis and lobster tails are the way to go. I had such a great experience here and even met Buddy’s Father in Law. Everyone was so nice and make you feel like family. If you don’t feel like going all the way over to Hoboken, there is one in Times Square, but honestly it’s not very hard to get to and it’s fun to say you’ve been to the original one.
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Now I’m laying on my bed drooling and starving because I want all this good food. Do me a favor and when you go to New York, go to all theses places and send me pictures. I hope this will help your trip planning when you go to the Big Apple!
To you strong & mighty people who made it to the end of this blog, bless your heart. You are lovely and I appreciate you. If you liked this blog and feel like showing a little love, give it a thumbs up and share it with a friend.
Thank you so much for supporting me and following all my adventures. I’m way better at Instagram so follow me there: NicoleERenard
The year is young so go #dostuff!!
Love always,
Nicole
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