April and I experienced flight delays on Friday due to thunderstorms on the east coast but luckily we both arrived in time to avoid any major upset of our plans. Freddie was heading up from D.C. on the commuter bus and Ebony was already in Long Island and was going to meet up with us later, so April and I decided to grab dinner. We stayed at the Doubletree in Timesquare so we were centrally located to almost anywhere we wanted to go. After dinner, we rushed over to see the Broadway production of Porgy & Bess but to our disappointment the star of the show Audra McDonald was not performing. Bummer! The show was still pretty good; although I liked it a bit more than April who didn't care for the musical arrangements. When the show was over we walked a couple of blocks to meet up with Freddie, our friend Russell, and another college classmate Paul for drinks at Havana Central. Next, we headed downtown to a club called Crimson where a childhood friend of mine was hosting a party. Luckily he was at the door when we arrived so we didn't have to pay a cover. Thanks Elkhair! Despite the DJ being a little suspect on his mixing and musical selection skills we still had a good time and partied like it was 1999 (that year is actually relevant to us since we were in college at the time). April and I finally called it quits at 3:30 am but Freddie and Ebony continued to party until at least 4:30 am. We were sleep by the time they made it back to the hotel.
Needless to say, Saturday was a slow morning. My eyes didn't open until around 11am and that was only because April left the curtains open and I was blinded by the sun. When we finally pulled ourselves together it was 1 pm and we were headed out the door to grab some lunch. Now, the place we choose was in SoHo which was probably about a 10-15 min cab ride from our hotel. But nooo...me being the adventurous person I am suggested taking the subway instead. Why did this little excursion turn into an hour lost from our lives. We had to walk three blocks to the subway station and then took the train uptown instead of downtown so we had to get off, cross the platform, and head back downtown. When we finally got off the train 20 minutes later, we had to walk another 3-4 blocks to the restaurant. I promptly apologized to everyone and promised not to have anymore bright ideas during the trip. The food at the restaurant called Jane was delicious so all was forgiven.
After lunch we met up with a law school classmate of mine who led us through the retail streets of SoHo. Living in Los Angeles for 10 years I just have to say that SoHo puts Rodeo Drive to shame. Between the streets of 6th Ave and Broadway on the east/west and Houston and Broome on the north/south there has to be more retail stores than in any other singular locale. There was just about every store I've ever heard of and some that I have never heard of or rarely see. Higher end designers included Louis Vuitton, Ana Sui, Chanel, Hugo Boss, and Dior; mid-range stores included Banana Republic, J. Crew, Adidas, Puma, and Express; and lower range stores included H&M, American Apparel, Topshop, and Aldo Shoes. Some of the more uncommonly seen stores included countless private boutiques, a Beats by Dre (only one in the nation) and a Chobani Yogurt store where we were served chilled plain yogurt in glass bowls filled with toppings of our choosing. It was definitely retail overload. I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't even prepared to shop. I did buy Jimmy a couple of shirts from Hugo Boss but I was only successful at that because I already knew exactly what I was looking for. So that I'm better prepared next time I find myself there, I am going to start a SoHo shopping fund, save up several thousand dollars, map out my shopping course, and wreak havoc on the streets of New York. Who knows how long that will take but mark my words "I'll be back."
Our feet were tired after walking around so we took my friend up on his offer to visit the bar he works at in the East Village. The bar is called Please Don't Tell or PDT and won the first ever James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Bar Program. Upon entering the bar you can tell you're in for a cool experience. In order to get in you must first enter a hot dog shop called Crif Dogs and then enter a phone booth in the corner. Once you pick up the phone in the booth a secret door of sorts opens up and you are greeted by a host. Now, there are only 13 bar seats and 5 small table tops in the entire bar so in order to maintain a private feel once those seats are taken no one else is allowed in. As you can imagine, reservations are highly recommended. Walk-ins are accepted, however, you may find yourself waiting a while before getting in. Once in, you are greeted by very friendly (yes, there are friendly people in New York) and knowledgeable servers and bartenders. The menu contains various cocktails inspired by prohibition era spirits all of which are $15. It also contains a small food selection of hot dogs using ingredients from notable New York restaurants. We had a great experience there and would recommend a visit to anyone in the area. As an aside, it was kind of weird stepping back into the daylight after being in a dark speakeasy for an hour so make sure you have your sunglasses.
From there we quickly headed back to the hotel to freshen up and get dressed for the evening. We met up with yet another college classmate Daria at Tillman's, a lounge known for good music and a chill vibe. The DJ was late setting up so by the time we had a couple of drinks we were ready to check out another place. We taxi'ed it to Beauty and Essex, an upscale restaurant that converts into a lounge/club late night. Once there we met up with even more U of M classmates so this really was turning into a reunion of sorts. We partied even harder at this spot than we did the night before. The DJ was on point and the crowd was a lot of fun. Unfortunately for Freddie, she missed the fun because she was at the hotel in the bed. Apparently, she can only handle one night of partying at a time. The rest of us stayed out until about 5 am and then headed back to the hotel to crash. Freddie served as our wake up call later that morning since she woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed.
We managed to pull ourselves together enough to meet my uncle, his wife and daughter, as well as a friend I went to high school with at Melba's in Harlem. I was looking forward to a good soul food breakfast and had seen Melba on The View marketing her Fried Chicken and Egg Nog Waffles. I decided to get Salmon Croquettes and taste someone else's waffles. I was not blown away by the food. It was good but not great and the waffles she is known for tasted a little heavy to me. There were also reports from the table that the chicken was dry. My uncle said we must try Amy Ruth's next time we're in town because it's much better. Nevertheless, I had a great time catching up with family and my old (but still young) friend.
To close out the trip April and I had a farewell glass of wine at Blue Fin overlooking Timesquare. All in all, we had a fabulous time and I can't wait to see where we're headed next year.
P.S. I think I over did it because not only was I sleep on the airplane before my flight took off but I woke up Monday morning feeling something kind of awful with a sore throat and nasty cough. This is exactly why I can only party like this a couple times a year.
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