What to do in NYC

I love New York City during the Holiday season, and this past trip was no exception.  The whole city hums with energy and every building is decorated with lights and greenery.  Beautiful!

Mostly I went back East to visit my friends, but here’s a little top 10 fun things to do in NYC:

Best Dessert Bar:  Kyotofu in Midtown. I tried the dark chocolate mochi cake, which was delicious, especially with the matcha green tea spread and cappucino foam topping.

Kim tried the black sesame tofu custard dessert, which despite sounding a little odd was super yummy.  We couldn’t figure out what the tasty syurp side sauce was – but whatever it was (persimmon?) it was great.

They also have dinner food, which we didn’t try, and a wide variety of alchohol.

Sake pairings with dessert anyone?

Best Workspace in NYC:  So my friend from high school (Michael Schupbach) has the coolest job ever.  Well, I think my job is pretty cool, but he gets major cool points for having worked on Sesame Street, has created his own show that aired on Disney for several seasons, and now runs his own puppet and prop making workshop out in Alphabet City at the bottom of NYC.

So if you’re in NYC and want to see the coolest place in the world to work, check out the puppet kitchen.  You can see all kinds of furry, fuzzy monsters on their way to being created.

What’s on the drawing board?  Maybe some art work for the Little Prince that could turn into a stage show or television show!

Best Place to Go Dancing:  If you like Bhangra (Energetic dancing from the Punjabi region of India), then you will love dancing at Basement Bhangra.  This once a month party has been going on for 10 years!  Check out DJ Rehka and DJ AV as they spin the best bhangra beats to keep the crowd dancing.  There was a short bhangra lesson first (amusing and easy to follow), followed by people arriving in waves to dance until 3 in the morning.  Watch out, the drinks at S.O.B.s (which apparently stands for South of Brazil) are expensive, so if you like to have a few before you dance, you might want to prepare elsewhere.  Then again, everything in NYC is expensive, so I guess I shouldn’t really comment.  The waitstaff at S.O.B.s was great though – I really appreciated that they gave me a pitcher of water to drink (for free) – I hate dancing and being thirsty!  Even if you don’t like to dance, this is a fun party just to watch, especially as the members of NYC Bhangra were there in force, and showing off some great dance moves.

Best Brunch:  Maybe it was the good company, but I really enjoyed my brunch at “B Cafe” on the Upper West Side.  This Belgian themed restaurant had good Belgian beer, fries, waffles… all things Belgian!  I really appreciated the warm and cozy atmosphere (and pleasant lighting) after being rained on and getting my feet soaking wet.  I tried the vegetarian omlette, which was tasty and very rich, and came with a side of fries (crispy and good) with three dipping sauces.  My brunch companion tried a Belgian waffle, which really should be labeled “dessert” instead of brunch, as it came with chocolate sauce and ice cream!

Best Kidney Transplant Center:  Two out of two interested friends agreed, the New York Presbyterian Hospital a.k.a. Columbia University.  Best for all your kidney transplant needs.

Best Noodle Shop:  It was so good, I went there twice.  I needed a quick lunch around Williamsburg, Brooklyn, before heading into my friend’s show.  Luckily, a new noodle bar had just opened right around the corner - M Noodle Shop.  Especially since I was getting a little sick from the rain and walking around with wet feet all day, the spicy beef noodle soup was exactly what I needed.  The meat was good quality, the noodles freshly made, the broth very tasty.  I was so impressed I brought my friends back after the show and we devored a wide range of pork products:  steamed pork buns (not quite so good, tasted a little over steamed), pork potstickers (awesome, how can you go wrong with pot stickers?) and pork dumpling soup (also quite good).

Best Spanish Swashbuckling Sword Show:  The Buccaneer!  I read my friend’s play way back in college, and I’m happy to see how much it’s developed and improved over the years (it was fun 10 years ago, now it’s really fun).

The cast was hilarious – especially amusing were the bucaneer’s excellent reading and facial expressions, the Queen’s accent, finger puppets, and awesome looniness, and all of the cast member’s committment and physicality.

I enjoyed the show so much I saw it twice – seriously!  If you want am amusingly fun romp through Isabella’s Spain, check it out, there’s two more shows…

Best Subway Line:  The A.  When your hostess is at 207 and Broadway you spend serious quality time on the A.

Best Hot Chocolate:  Organicoa’s super tasty hot chocolate also sports a pretty nice view!  If you’re walking in the high line park (series of boardwalks built on an elevated 1930s rail structure located on Manhattan’s West Side), you will run across the little Organicoa trolley.  They serve hot chocolate, cookies, and a few other treats.  The chocolate had a very creamy, almost coconutty flavor, and was warm enough to keep us out in the chill enjoying the beautiful view across the river and into the skyline of New Jersey (I know that doesn’t sound cool, but it was pretty).  Apparently Organicoa is branching out – perhaps we will find them in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park?

Best Holiday Shopping:  I was glad that Kim suggested we head to the Union Square Holiday Market.  The outdoor booths had a wonderful holiday feel, nestled close into the confines of the Greenwich Village park.  Everyone had a festive mood, and the vendors were giving samples of food and drink, as well as offering a chance to cuddle with the numerous stuffed animals, cute hats and warm scarves.  Not only did I pick up a few fun gifts for friends and family, it was nice to admire the handicraft styles from around the world.  Definitely not the best place for a bargain (unless you’re living on high end yuppy salary) but a fun experience and a grand place to find a special something.