Eat. Drink & Explore The City That Never Sleeps – 30 hours in NYC

The action never stops in New York City, and let’s be honest, that’s the reason most of us come to the city. We want to stand in Times Square and experience the hustle and bustle of the city. I had the privilege to live in NYC for two years and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The pace, the people, the endless opportunities for discovery; it's a place where anything is possible, and anything could happen. It's a destination that is all about surprising and delighting its visitors. You never know what you are going to encounter. While I am lucky in that I get to visit NYC a handful of times a year, this was a quick 30 hour visit.

My home base for this trip was the all-new Riu Plaza New York Time Square Hotel. This was a first for me. The first time at this hotel, and the first time staying at a Riu Hotel. Riu is typically known for all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico, and this was their first attempt to create a city center hotel.

Situated in Manhattan in the renowned "Restaurant Row" surrounded by Broadway's most famous theatres, the best part about this hotel was the location. This hotel’s 647 rooms were contained within all 29 floors of the building located at the corner of 46th and 8th Ave.

The hotel is very hip and stylish but reeks of the smells, sights and textures of an all-inclusive one might find in Mexico. The guestrooms were small and quaint and felt like they were appointed from IKEA, but what might turn quite a few people off was the shower that overlooked the bedroom. This hotel had great views of the neighborhood and if you were on the west side of the building had a great view of the Hudson and Intrepid Aircraft Carrier. I didn’t have a chance to enjoy them (although they were both packed as I walked by), but the hotel has a signature restaurant called Fashion, and a breakfast joint called 8th Avenue.

Again, a cute hotel, but there are too many other fantastic hotels n this city to ever need to come back.

TO DO

One of my favorite things to do is just walk. People used to tease me about this, but when I lived in NYC I just used to wake up on a Saturday morning, pick an Avenue and then just started walking. I lived at 90th and 2nd Ave and always wanted to make it all the way down to the Battery Park, but never did. I always got distracted by something along the way. And that is what I love about the city. Sure it is easy to hop in a cab or Uber…but when you have the chance to get out and explore…there is nothing I love more. My journeys this trip took me through the Theatre District and Times Square down 8th Ave into Chelsea, back up 7th through Garment District, over to Herald Square and Korea Town. Over the course of this 60 min walk at the end of the day….I got to truly experience a diverse slice of the city.

COFFEE CULTURE

The nuances that help define a great coffee are attributed to a complex chain of events that begins with the farmer and ends with the barista. My experience with coffee started back in 2000 right here in NYC when my roommates tried to get me to drink and love coffee as they did. Unfortunately I didn’t beging to appreciate coffee until about 7 years later when I came upon 100+ Starbucks gift cards that my boss gave me following a tradeshow. It was during this time, that the coffee bug was instilled into my soul. And over the years I have had the chance to sample coffees from different farmers and roasters…and have truly begun to appreciate different roasters passion for quality. And realized that small batch roasters definitely taste different than Starbucks or Folgers. This trip allowed me to enjoy four coffee houses.

Culture Espresso

My first experience with Culture began last Christmas when my sister-in-law gave me a bag of coffee from this cute, although nothing special, coffee house located on 36th street around 7th ave. Culture Espresso is an independent and locally owned coffee shop that opened in 2009….and prides itself in bringing the best coffee we can to the heart of New York City. They currently are brewing Heart Coffee Roasters out of Portland Oregon….which is delicious. The coffee shop is nothing to write home abut, but their coffee is definitely one of my favorites. The Stereo Blend is a mix of Ethiopia and Columbia blend.

Bluestone Lane Coffee

Bluestone was a standalone shop that I ran into on my way to the office and honestly it had a cool logo, was a neat glass enclosed pavilion in Grace Plaza, and a line so that got me to stop by. Bluestone Lane is coffee roaster that was born out of Melbourne Australia…and now has a handful of shops scattered throughout NYC. Bluestone said that they were focused on creating environments where customers are immersed into the experiences and leave feeling like a local. I guess this was true, as I left this joint feeling like a pissed off New Yorker. The coffee was “eh” and the croissant I ordered was butter and flakey and delicious, but a purchase of necessity vs what I was really craving for breakfast.

Irving Farm Coffee Roasters

Based in the Hudson Valley, Irving Farm has been bringing seasonal, farmhouse-roasted craft coffee to New York City for 17 years. I visited their kiosks located in the belly of Grand Central Station…but know they have ten standalone shops in NYC. Featuring sustainably sourced and exquisitely prepared coffees, Irving Farm offers a full menu of espresso and filter coffee drinks, including custom-crafted single cup offerings, and fresh-roasted whole beans to take away. And to be honest, I walked away with two bags of coffee to take home. This place was absolutely delicious…and I am already longing to return…it was that good. I had their 71 Irving House Blend which was their signature (and first produced) blend which contained beans from Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Starbucks

Hey what is a work trip without a visit to Starbucks. And I know I like to stay local, but this is my favorite Starbucks to visit in the world – located on the second floor of Trump Tower. Now I have only been here a couple of times, but why I love it so much is that I always seem to run into Ivanka here. Now I know she is in DC…but a boy can dream.

TO DRINK AND EAT

There are over 24,000 restaurants in NYC and every time I visit, it seems like we can never decide on where to go. For this visit we had the chance to enjoy drinks in a hot new joint called Bo’s, eat the hottest tacos I have ever had, and dig into a delicious hamburger.

Bo’s Kitchen and Bar Room

After trying to conquer the Eatily concept, we ended up leaving frustrated and ready for a drink. Luckily we stumbled up on Bo’s Kitchen and Bar Room located at 6 W 24th street. Now for this visit we only enjoyed the Bar Room portion, but their hand crafted cocktails and craft beer selection were to die for. While the drinks were delicious, you should only visit this place if you enjoy looking at your drink mates in the dark and can’t really hear them.

Tacombi

This taco joint was recommended by the bartender at Bo’s…and probably the only thing we heard while we were there, but Tacombi served up some of the most delicious and hot street tacos I have ever had. I was just in the Yucatan area of Mexico last year, but what I had at Tacombi was pretty much dead on to the tacos we had on the side of the road outside Tulum.

What is neat about this restaurant is its back story and how the company was born on the balmy beaches of the Yucatan in 2005 serving tacos out of a VW bus, Tacombi focused on sharing its love of Mexican taco culture through neighborhood taquerias. Prepared from scratch everyday, Tacombi takes the diversity of home-style Mexican cuisine from its distinct culinary regions and serves it up in the simplicity of a taco. Tacombi has built an empire with its Vista Hermosa tortilla and salsas, La Antiga its blend of Mexican coffee and a variety of other items including juices.

The food was delicious and our table ordered a handful of tacos including Seared Fish, Barbacoa, Baja Crispy Fish, Al Pastor, Chorizo con Papas. We also enjoyed their guac and chips and Gringa quesadillas. All were super rich in flavor and stayed true to their roots. No sour cream here to help soften the blow of the spices and chilies mixed into the dish. But the heat was a welcome treat as it allowed us to make our way through our pitcher of margaritas and Negra Modelo a bit quicker than normal which made for a good night.

TO SEE

Trump Tower

Rising 68 stories above 5th Avenue is Trump Tower…one of New York’s most visit “attractions.” I have had the privilege to visit Trump Tower a handful of times over the past several years, and I am always in awe every time I walk through the gold gilded doors and enter the elevator up to the Trump Organization on the 25th floor. This visit was a bit more tame than normal given that Donald and Ivanka have moved to Washington DC, and the press row had disappeared…but I still get chills walking into these offices. My favorite fun fact is that the “real” Trump Boardroom is on the 25th floor and the boardroom they used for The Apprentice was in the basement of Trump Tower. And although there has been a push to have Trump Grill (a 5 star restaurant) rated 1 star by some Anti-Trump folks…it is still one of the best places to eat in NYC.

Grand Central Station

Still one of my favorite places to visit in NYC, Grand Central station is the heart of NYC transit. But what brought me into the station today were the 35 dining options hidden in the belly of this incredible beast of a building. The lower level Dining Concourse has everything you want for your quick NYC food grab. Knishes, Bagels, Sandwiches. Etc. If you are in Grand Central and it's morning or early afternoon. This is where you want to go!

When we visited it was right in the peak of the lunch hour, so everyone had a line, so we picked the restaurant that only had 30 people in line and visited the TriTrip Grill. Tri Tip Grill is an upscale, quick service restaurant featuring salads, chicken, salmon, and its signature tri tip steak sandwiches. While where was a great selection of tri tip steak sandwiches (with each sounding better than the next), I opted for the Roadhouse Buck which featured sliced steak, crispy onions, blue cheese and a red ranch. This sandwich paired with fries was to die for and the steak melted in your mouth.

Thirty hours in NYC is nowhere near enough time to get out and properly explore one of the greatest cities in the world, but with this visit, and every visit I make to the city…I do what I can to make the most out of every New York minute.