So it’s always been a dream of mine to visit the Big Apple during Christmas time. Well, this past December I finally got the opportunity! Adam had some hotel rewards to cash in and we got a great deal on flights, so we decided to go for it. We went the first weekend of December. The weather was great, except right before we left it rained…but it wasn’t super freezing cold so that was nice. Sorry I’m just now posting about this but it’s taken me a bit to get the pictures organized, etc. In this post I’m going to highlight our main eats and then in a few days I’ll post about our bakery crawl (this was the best part)!!
We started with lunch at ‘wichcraft, one of Tom Colicchio’s restaurants. For those of you not familiar, he is the head judge of Top Chef that airs on Bravo TV. Love Top Chef and I really wanted to try one of his restaurants. We loved this place!
The fruit was super fresh and I love that they served pomegranate seeds! So refreshingly delicious!
Adam and I each ordered a different sandwich and then halved them so we could try both. I got the roasted turkey which had avacado and bacon. It was heavenly. Such great flavors. Adam had the chicken salad which had a nice clean, fresh taste. Great combination.
For dinner we ate after our broadway show (we went to see Wicked-it was AMAZING!!!) we grabbed a quick bite at Junior’s. The food wasn’t that great, honestly but the dessert was. Try their devil’s food cheesecake. Divine! The next day, after going to the Today Show we headed to Chelsea Market. It has so many great shops and places to eat, but we settled on Hale & Hearty Soups.
They had a huge selection of soups to choose from, but I settled on the chili and I honestly can’t remember which one Adam ate. I know it was some sort of chicken chowder. Both were definitely hearty and delicious. The chili had a nice spice that warmed me right up. Great selection for walking out in the cold. We also split a turkey wrap. The coolest part was where we sat out in the market we were beside of two Food Network employees and they were talking about the production of the Next Food Network Star and how they wanted to shoot it, etc. (Yes I was eavesdropping! haha! We were sitting really close to them.)
Dinner that night we wanted to be low key, so we headed to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. It had a ton of great reviews and is known to have quite the line, especially at lunch time, which is why we opted for dinner. We didn’t have to wait in line that long and they have heaters (you walk up and order and eat outside) and so we sat out in the park eating dinner in the cold, but we weren’t super cold. Totally romantic!
The food definitely lived up to the hype. I loved how they served it in these boxes. So cute! The burger was seriously one of the best I’ve had. Juicy and the bun was soft. I can’t even begin to describe it’s wonders! Just try it if you are ever in NYC! The fries had a nice crisp on the outside but were soft and chewy at the same time (my favorite!!).
The next morning we had probably the greatest breakfast of all time. I kid you not! Sarabeth’s is absolutely amazing. We went last time we went to NYC to the upper west side and went this time to the one right near the Plaza Hotel. So AMAZING!!! Seriously could not stop talking about how good it was. We’d each take a bite and just go MMM! This is so good!!!
We each got exactly the same thing we ordered the last time we went there. I have had dreams about this food, so I was not getting anything else!:) Adam got the Farmer’s Omelette, which had ham, leeks and gruyere cheese. It was so savory and you just wanted more! They served it with wheat toast and their homemade butter and jelly. Which is delicious in itself. I had the french toast which practically melts in your mouth. The bread is so succulent and paired perfectly with the strawberries. I just can’t even say enough about it.
I also had their four flowers juice, which is a combination of orange, pineapple, pomegranate and banana. Sweet and refreshing!
For lunch we visited the Caracas Arepa Bar, which Bobby Flay had featured on his Throwdown show. It was a challenge to find, especially in the rain! We finally made it there and it was so cute inside, but definitely cozy (very small space!) We started with the guacamole and plantain chips, which was worth all the efffort to get there.
The guac was so fresh and I loved the crisp of the plantain chips which was a nice change from your typical tortilla chips. I also had a passion fruit juice, which was wonderful (apparently I was in a juicy mood that day!) We both ordered different arepas (which are a venezualan street food with a bread pocket with different fillings) but when they came out the brought us both the same, which was the pork. It was alright. If I go again I would definitely order something different on the menu, but it was neat to try something different.
Also, we weren’t able to go this time because the night we planned to eat there (when we went to Junior’s instead) they were closed for a private party, but our favorite place is John’s Pizza. We loved it so much last time we bought T-Shirts that say “No Slices” on the back. They only serve whole pies, so go with a big appetite. Trust me you’ll eat more than you think…it’s thin crust:)
Stay tuned for NYC Sweets!!
Welcome! I'm Stephanie, a thirty something girl loving life with my husband Adam and our two little miracles living in gorgeous Southeast Tennessee. I'm passionate about Jesus, traveling, sports (Go Titans!), and of course food! Read more about me 
Sounds like such a fun trip so far – can't wait to hear about the bakery crawl! It's one of my dreams to go to NYC around Christmas time too. I want to skate around the big tree in Rockefeller Center, get coffee at Dean & Deluca, and stand outside the Today Show window 🙂 Definitely want to go to Chelsea Market too!
Awwwwwwwwwwwwww, so jealous of your trip! I've been wanting to go to NYC forever…but we just visited Napa and SF last weekend. Too funny that we both saw WICKED! Amazing right? Geeesh, it had me in tears. Loved that you went to 'wichcraft & the Arepas throwdown place. What an awesome food-fun-filled vacation! Can't wait to see more pics!
You visited a lot of places I've had my eye on, and haven't made it to yet; as well as one place I have! I have also went to Caracas.
Your post is making me long for New York again!
Oh yum! Looks like you had a blast! I hope to visit new york one day…But I love your blog its amazing!
we have a witchcraft too! and wow that burger looks good
I love this round-up! I'll have to keep these joints in mind next time we make our way to NYC. Looks like you ate some delicious food. Can't wait to see the sweets update!
I'm so jealous you went to Shake Shack – it was on our list the last time we were there but didn't quite make it there! Sounds like an incredible trip and I'm already looking forward to reading about the bakeries you visited!
i LOVE 'wichcraft. i didn't realize it was a Tom Colicchio restaurant. so good! glad you had such a good time.
it had me in tears. Loved that you went to 'wichcraft & the Arepas throwdown place. What an awesome food-fun-filled vacation! Can't wait to see more pics!
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