December 29-30 -- NYC to finish out the month!

Saturday morning we drove to New York City to see a matinee and have dinner at Colicchio and Sons (can you guess that this is my new favorite NYC restaurant??).   The weather was supposed to be bad, but we had no trouble on the roads and even in the city.  We found our parking garage, a block and a half from the hotel, and left our bags at the hotel to have lunch and see Golden Boy, a play recommended by Scott Rudin.

Because we had time, we decided to get a latte at Pain Quotidien and then have lunch at the Union Square Rosa Mexicano  - excellent choices, as it turned out!

Bob modeling his velvet jacket

And reading the Pain Quotidien cookbook

After enjoying the best latte in town, we walked over to the restaurant, which was nearly empty!  Our server was a lovely girl who had moved to NYC from Hawaii - she was a one-time lacrosse player (at Temple!!) and coach.  She and Bob chatted about their lacrosse experiences, and we had a delightful meal.

How cute is he!!

A little of the tropics in Rosa Mexicano

Beautifully decorated

And the killer pomegranate margaritas!

Then it was a quick subway ride to Times Square.  We still had some time, and it was ugly outside, so we stopped at Un, Deux, Trois for more -- beer, of course.

Too many choices - I'll have a Bud...NOT.

The Belasco Theater, a beautifully redone space, was right next door.  Although they had some problems with their moveable set and the show was delayed about 10 minutes (NEVER have we experienced a delay on Broadway), once it started, it was riveting -- so well done.

After a quick stop back at the hotel, we braved the snow and cold to walk and take the subway part of the way to the restaurant.  We re-introduced ourselves to the beer expert/manager, and our dinner was again delicious.

Pork belly

Pancetta-wrapped venison

The server was also quite nice as well as being efficient, so we enjoyed another special evening at Colicchio and Sons; even though we tried to leave without ordering dessert, the beer expert/manager sent us a selection of ice creams and sorbets -- on the house!   We also brought home their usual parting gift: homemade muffins.

I wanted my after-dinner drink at Eataly (for some limoncello!), which was on the way home if we took the L and then 4 subways.  As we were getting on the L, a lovely young girl asked us for help in making sure she was taking the right subway.  She had just arrived from a beach town in Mexico, and the directions to her friend's home were written on a napkin!  We got her safely onto the L and then going in the right direction waiting for the express 5-6 -- the next day we were talking about it, and Bob said we should have gotten her a cab and given her the fare; I was thinking that we should have taken the subway with her and made sure she got to the right place... But we didn't say anything to each other at the time...paths not taken.

So we reached Eataly with ease and found the limoncello stand.

Enjoying our limoncello

Cool geodesic dome near Eataly - it changed colors every few seconds

After a successful evening excursion, we went back to our hotel, which was just three blocks north of Eataly!  We had some terrific views during the course of the evening.

Early evening - Empire State Building

Bob catching up on his Kindle Fire!

Later in the evening - an Intstagram edited view of the Empire State Building

The next morning we had some coffee at the hotel and then drove down to Jack, a bistro in the Village where we had brunch.  It was empty - we found out that alcohol can't be served in NYC until noon, and we were there at 11AM.  By the time we finished, the place was starting to fill up - guess most New Yorkers want a mimosa with brunch!!  We were back home by 2PM and had some pizza for dinner at the local pizza place.