A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Back in June, I went to NY for a business pitch. We went on a Thursday, with the pitch on Friday morning. Since we were both already there, my husband and I decided to stay for the weekend. We stayed at the Hudson Hotel for business so we just decided to stay there for the weekend. (Hudson Hotel -356 West 58th Street, NY. 212- 554-6000) My boss calls the Hudson a nightclub with rooms-I didn’t get what she meant until we got there. We pulled up to the front door of the hotel and we took a long escalator up to the lobby which was dim-there is lots of open space and a floor to ceiling glass window behind the front desk. Because we didn’t want to change rooms once  we were there, I tried to combine the two reservations, which took about 20 minutes for them to figure out. Finally, I went upstairs to my room, 1611. Everywhere in the hotel is dark, you feel like it’s nighttime even at 9am in the morning. I sort of equate it to being in a casino, you have no concept of time.

The room was midway down the hall, not too close to the elevator.

Cool bed, back lit with these two mirror of the lights that were faces.

TV was mounted to the wall, but there were no batteries in the remote and we couldn’t figure out how to turn the TV on without it.

The bathroom was quite small and once in the shower the next morning, I noticed a big pink stain on the inside of the curtain…ick.

I had to do work, and I kid you not, these are THE most uncomfortable chairs to sit in if you have to spend hours at a desk sitting at your laptop.

Everything seems normal….and then oh wait…there is a WINDOW between the bathroom and the bedroom. I was in the room by myself and I didn’t feel comfortable with the window. And when my husband finally got there later in the evening, I told him that I don’t ever want to be that close that I need to see what he’s doing in the bathroom. HA! When I called the hotel, the woman in reservations told me that they were doing construction in the restaurant but that we would not hear anything because it would all be happening in the afternoon. Good thing. I was up and out of the hotel by 6am on Friday, so I wouldn’t have heard the noise anyhow!

I used this great new website, Savored.com, to book our dinner reservation at Gnocco. ( 337 East 10th Street, between Avenue A and B, 212.677.1913)  The website works similarly to Opentable, you make your reservation online, but here’s what’s cool, you get a discount on you bill,  and can be up to 40%!

Cute little place, that was pretty quiet when we arrived at 7pm. We sat right at the edge of where the restaurant meets the sidewalk. Good people watching and a nice cool breeze. The tables were a little small to fit two people and all the plates that we had, but hey, we made it work.

We started with the burrata special ($16.95). The toast was really crispy and the cheese was smooth and spreadable. There was a little too much pepper for my taste and it needed a little bit of salt.

I had the tagliatelle ragu piselli ($15.95) served with beef ragu and peas. The pasta was cooked well and sauce had a nice flavoring.

We also had the caserecca al basilico ($14.95) which was like a pasta with pesto. Service was just ok, it had a more mom and pop feel to it, pretty casual with the service. We got 30% off our bill, which with discount ended up being $38.76. Just remember to tip on the full amount, pre discount (hey, I used to be a server, it is a MUST).

We head over to Big Gay Ice Cream after dinner, someone in our New York office had recommended it. (125 East 7th Street (1st Avenue & Avenue A) New York NY 10009 Open Daily 1pm-12am). The store started off as an ice cream truck and then expanded to a storefront. The line was around the block, so I guess that business was booming!

Got to love the bedazzled unicorn on the wall!

They have some pretty cool sundae flavors here: http://biggayicecream.com/treats/

After careful consideration, I go with the “Mermaid”….vanilla soft serve with key lime curd, crushed up graham cracker bits and whipped cream. One word, AMAZING. Thank goodness that there isn’t one in Boston, or I would be there every day!

And of course we make a stop at Butter Lane, for cupcakes, my FAVORITE cupcakes. (123 East Seventh Street, New York, New York 10009 (p) 212.677.2880) I stuck with my all time favorite, key lime. The cupcakes here are just so fresh, and the frosting is to die for, not too sweet, and just the right ratio of frosting to cupcake.

The guy behind the counter also convinced me to try the cookie dough cupcake, he said it was awesome…he was right!  I don’t usually go for chocolate cupcakes, but I make an exception here (and only here). After that, we called it a night, it had been a long day, and we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow, we were searching and taste testing coffee joints, and by we I mean my husband, because I don’t drink coffee! 🙂

Tags: cupcakes, food, hotels, ice cream, italian, new york, travel, vacation