Faux Culture Sunday

Faux Culture Sunday

• 3.27.2011

Every couple weeks I like to come into NYC early and check out a new site or have dinner with an old friend. There are upsides and downsides to this for sure. Upside? See friend. See new sites. Downside? Leave home much earlier than normal.

But upsides clearly outweigh the downsides.

This Sunday, I'm going to sit and relax by the ocean... last Sunday, I was adventurous.

I got to NYC mid-afternoon and thankfully the weather was still super nice and I was able to enjoy the rest of the day. I changed out of my travelling clothes (read as sweatpants) and into some jeans (read as jeggings) and set out to paint the town red.

1st stop: Starbucks. 
I picked up a tea with honey... and a cake pop. Now that I had some sustenance I was ready to continue to adventure.

2nd stop: Bryant Park.
I wasn't really a big Sex & the City fan so seeing the New York Public Library didn't have that type of a significance to me - but I love libraries and I love big buildings. I also love parks. Win. Win. and Win. The NYPL (yep, I'm shortening it) is gorgeous and impressive. But, part of the allure of libraries is that you feel naughty walking around and disturbing the peace. This place felt a bit more like a museum than a library.

 See I even saw "art". I'm so cultured now.

3rd stop: The "30 Rock" Statue and St. Patrick's Cathedral
I was planning on meeting up with a new friend a little more uptown and so I strolled up 5th Avenue. (Oh and I broke out my cakepop for the walk) The weather was still nice enough for all the tourists to be blocking the sidewalk taking pictures - especially of the Rockefeller area.

4th stop: Vero Wine Bar
Whenever I go to a new restaurant I always do a instant assessment of whether I could eat solo there, Vero Wine Bar is perfect for that... but thankfully I had company this time. Based on my Foursquare history (nerdy I know), I sat at the bar here for nearly 3 hours just chatting over a bottle of wine. Not too shabby, rather great.

5th stop: Sip Sak
The person that I met up with is Turkish and suggested a place near by for a bite to eat. I've never had Turkish food but I'm sold on it. The friend that I was with took charge of the ordering in Turkish no less. We shared many small plates and since they were super tasty I figured I'd write them down:

• Artichoke hearts with fava beans
• Humus
• yogurt soup
• stuffed grape leaves
• Kibbi (faux meatballs)

I'm not sure Sip Sak is a "solo" dining place but I'd love to go back and enjoy sharing plates again.

6th stop: Hotel Sweet Hotel
Great Sunday in the city.