NYC Bucket List Challenge: Recap

Hello from Newport, RI!

The absurdly stressful process of moving out of New York was of course chaotic and I haven't been able to blog in a couple of weeks. Special thanks to my friends Brian & Tim and my neighbor Chris who helped me move a queen sized bed and box spring and a gigantic oak dresser down four flights of stairs, then take them to the corners in the middle of the night to avoid a fine.

I may be the only person in NYC who wasn't in the know about the particulars of New York's waste collection rules, but I see weird, large things abandoned on the curbs of NYC seemingly every day, so I didn't even think there were rules around it. In case any readers are moving out of NYC sometime soon, here is a pro tip: read up on Bulk Collection and get an understanding of the schedule in advance of your move. Otherwise, your landlord (and then you) can get fined.

Now that the craziness is over, here's a quick recap of my NYC Bucket List Challenge. I was only able to complete 31 out of 40 challenges because the end of September brought a wonderful wedding in Maryland to attend, a beautiful new baby to visit, and the largest climate march in history happening a block away from my apartment! All awesome reasons to miss a few challenges if you ask me.

Below is the final list. It's hard to pick, but I think my top 3 favorite challenges were going to AquaGrill with a few friends & ordering 3 dozen oysters, exploring Red Hook, Brooklyn and seeing my friend Kristen teach a geometry class in the South Bronx.

You can check out the hashtag #NYCBucketListChallenge on Instagram to see photos from some of my favorite challenges.

Thanks to everyone who joined me for these. It was a lot of fun and a great way to get to see people before leaving New York.

 

NYC Bucket List Challenge: Final List

1. Go rowing in Central Park (needs to happen on a Saturday or Sunday morning) done 9/8

2. Go to one more Yankee game (to see #2 play) done 8/23

3. Spend an afternoon in Dumbo

4. See Dark Universe at Hayden Planetarim  done 3/14

5. See Sleep No More done 4/14

6. Order something weird/difficult to pronounce in Chinatown  done 9/4

7. Do yoga every day for 7 consecutive days done week of 9/22

8. Go to the roof of Eataly  done 9/9

9. Walk down one street I’ve never walked down before done 9/4

10. Check out the Meatball Shop that just opened down the block from my apartment done 9/19

11. Find a Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck and eat vegan ice cream  done 8/22/14

12. Experience Barry’s Boot Camp done 9/23

13. Indulge in a pastry from Cafe Lalo, where You’ve Got Mail was filmed done 9/21

14. Watch Kristen teach geometry to high school sophomores in the South Bronx done 9/29

15. Venture to Red Hook done 9/6

16. See Macy’s 4th of July fireworks done 7/4

17. Hang out in FAO Schwarz done 9/19

18. Go to Smorgasburg attempted 9/19

19. Run a half marathon done 12/13

20. Use 2 Free Barre Classes coupon at Physique 57

 21. Go to a restaurant participating in Oyster Week (and eat oysters, obviously) Done 9/16

22. Volunteer for a good cause done 7/14

23. Buy a GroupOn for an out-of-the-ordinary activity in the area

24. Have brunch with a lot of friends done 9/21

25. See stand-up comedy

26. Go to Ellis Island done 9/20

27. Go to the MoMA

28. Walk over the Williamsburg Bridge done 12/13

29. Eat oysters at Aquagrill done 9/16

30. Catch up with someone I’ve been out-of-touch with done 9/16 x3

31. Discover a new trail/landmark in Central Park  done 9/2

32. Try to spot Bradley Cooper at a 6:30am Soul Cycle Class in Tribeca Done 9/16

33. Get a slice from Di Fara in Brooklyn

34. See art/ drink wine at a Thursday night Gallery Hop in Chelsea

35. Go to a speakeasy I’ve never been to before done 9/10

36. Eat at Rosemary’s

37. Finally start a blog done 6/14

38. Wait on line for bombolone/cookie/some kind of pastry at Levain Bakery  done 8/16/14

39. Drink wine at Tolani happy hour done 9/15

40. Go the the Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

An Adventure in Red Hook

As mentioned in a previous post, last weekend was a fun time. In part because I got to go to the Daily Front Row Fashion Media Awards on Friday night, and also because on Saturday I took a trip to Red Hook and may have found the coolest bar in New York.

Venturing to Red Hook was one of my NYC Bucket List Challenges, and a couple of friends from work were down to join me for it. To get there, we took the (free) water taxi at Pier 11 in lower Manhattan which was a beautiful, quick ride with great views of the downtown skyline. It dropped us off right on Van Brunt Street, the main strip of restaurants & bars.

After walking a few blocks on Van Brunt, we spotted Brooklyn Crab, but first, I wanted to check out Red Hook Bait & Tackle. I'm so glad we went because it was SO weird in the most awesome way.

The entrance had a funny chalkboard and a really old clock out front.

[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignleft" width="189"] Entrance of Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_434" align="aligncenter" width="190"] Entrance of Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

Inside, it was dimly lit and only a handful of very randomly assorted patrons sat at the bar.  The bartender is was a friendly Irish guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Burt Reynolds mustache twisted up at the ends.  As we walked further into the bar, the first thing we noticed was taxidermy – everywhere.

[caption id="attachment_466" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

There were some nautical items on the walls, but this place mostly looked like the Museum of Natural History meets a hunter's lodge, meets a bait & tackle shop meets a garage sale from the 70s. And it was all kinds of awesome.

[caption id="attachment_436" align="alignleft" width="168"] Brooklyn Bait + Tackle[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_435" align="alignleft" width="168"] Brooklyn Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got a table that was surrounded by stuffed mammals and birds. Fittingly, they had the video game Buck Hunter.  The women's bathroom is labeled "BAIT" and the men's bathroom is labeled "TACKLE" - some were confused by that.

[caption id="attachment_464" align="aligncenter" width="282"] The Trio at Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

As my friend Marshall said, it was an "Instagrammer's Paradise." Yup.

[caption id="attachment_465" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

After a few hours of this...

[caption id="attachment_460" align="alignleft" width="139"] Red Hook Bait +Tackle[/caption]

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_462" align="alignleft" width="165"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

 

[caption id="attachment_463" align="alignleft" width="168"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...we decided we were ready to get some food. So we walked/rode bikes through some amazing sunflowers and spotted Hometown Bar-B-Que.

[caption id="attachment_459" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Joe on Van Brunt Street[/caption]

Unfortunately, there was a long line. We waited for about 10 minutes then just moved on to Brooklyn Crab around the corner. Brooklyn Crab was a multi-level, multi-bar log cabin meets crab shack meets arcade meets mini golf spot.  Here is Marshall riding a rainbow colored dolphin at the end of the night.

[caption id="attachment_458" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Brooklyn Crab[/caption]

 

Overall, I love Red Hook.

Newport, Rhode Island & Big Moves

Here are some photos from my trip to Newport, Rhode Island a couple of weekends ago. Scott and I had a great time exploring the historic town and beaches in the surrounding area.  I am in love with all the colonial architecture and the colors of the houses.



 





One of the big highlights of the weekend for both of us was having a drink at White Horse Taven, the oldest tavern in America. It is just a little out of the way of the main town area, and that may have to do with it not being filled with tourists. The tavern has been open since 1673! It's amazing to see the centuries old flags and handwritten documents they have inside.



The other highlight of the weekend was the realization that we're actually going to live in this amazing place together!

Yep. I'm excited/bittersweet/nostalgic/feeling all of the feelings about announcing that I'm officially moving to Newport at the end of September and leaving NYC, my home for the last 6 years. I created a NYC Bucket List of a bunch of things I want to do before the big move and have been trying to tick off as many of these as possible. If one of these "challenges" sounds fun to you, join me! I would love to see you before I leave.

Holsten's Ice Cream Floats: Fuhgeddaboutit

Last weekend, my bf, his sister, brother-in-law and I stopped in Holsten's during a trip back to our small hometown in the Garden State.  The restaurant, a joint confectionary and diner, is a little spot on the corner of Broad Street and Watchung Avenue in Bloomfield, New Jersey and has been something of an institution in the area for generations.

Since 1964, the 50's-looking eatery has been locally famous for homemade candies and ice cream, like this amazing, heaping scoop of vanilla chocolate chip in my root beer float:

[caption id="attachment_142" align="aligncenter" width="260"] Holsten's Root Beer + Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Float[/caption]

But in 2007,  it was Holsten's onion rings that stole the show and became world famous. In the final episode of  the HBO hit series The Sopranos, Tony & his family ate the onion rings here and listened to "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, just before the screen ambiguously cut to black.



About a year ago, when James Gandolfini passed away, Tony's fans flocked to Holsten's to pay tribute to him.  In his memory, the restaurant famously reserved the spot where the actor sat during the filming of the last scene.

[caption id="attachment_149" align="aligncenter" width="570"] Holsten's tribute to James Gandolfini. Image via The Bloomfield Patch.[/caption]

We reminisced about the Sopranos and trips to Holsten's growing up while sitting in the booth next to Tony's.  We ordered the onion rings and liked them, but the ice cream floats? Fuhgeddaboutit.

[caption id="attachment_140" align="aligncenter" width="455"] Scott & I drinking an ice cream float from Holsten's.[/caption]