New York, New York

I spent the majority of my time in New York working here.

But it was a very productive trip as far as work was concerned, so I didn't feel so bad extending my stay till Saturday so I could get in some quality time with my friend Lindsey who is an attorney who works here:

The photos are a bit blurry (thanks iPhone) because I was trying to take them as a walked in a crowd of impatient New Yorkers and wandering tourists. Her building is located in Times Square, so you can imagine the crowd.

Her building is the one with the blue top- the one next to it is actually a Bank of America building that conveniently blocks Lindsey's office view of the Empire State building. Grr. I decided to spare myself from one more line item on an expense report, and stayed with Lindsey. In order to get to her apartment, I had to walk through Times Square.

OK- well technically I choose to walk through Times Square, I could have walked up any number of streets, but who can resist all the flashing lights and tacky tourists?

There was a significant amount of madness happening at work for Lindsey so I got to do a fair bit of wandering in the city and chilling out in her apartment, which was actually incredibly delightful- but she was able to sneak away for a fabulous dinner at a place in the Meatpacking district called, Fig & Olive. 

They were nice enough to extend NYC restaurant week so that we could enjoy a special prefix 3-course menu which included:

MEDITERRANEAN CHEESE SAMOSA & FIG CHUTNEY

Fontina, parmesan, dolce gorgonzola cheese, thyme, scallion 

Fig, red onion, Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar Chutney

(sorry- no photo for this one, but I can tell you that they were just like little fried pillows of yummy-ness that were complemented by a delicious fig chutney and overall I was very pleased with my decision)

SHRIMP & SCALLOP PAELLA

Grilled shrimp and scallop marinated with pimenton 

Served on saffron rice, eggplant tapenade, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, oregano olive oil

DESSERT “CROSTINI”

Amarena cherry, mascarpone, pistachio

On shortbread with micro-basil

(for anyone who loves cherries and loves mascarpone, these are a perfect little palate pleaser)

After dinner we grabbed a few drinks at some places nearby before we caught a taxi home and got some much needed rest. I had booked a late flight on Saturday so we spent the afternoon walking through a snow covered central park, getting a mani pedi and grabbing a quick Thai lunch. Flight home was uneventful and I was even back in time to go to dinner with my hubby that night. 

It wasn't so hard to leave Lindsey standing on the curb as I pulled away in a taxi headed to LaGuardia because David and I are headed back up for a proper visit with her in March. This was like a little preview for me and I can't wait to go back!