Thursday, November 17, 2011

I Love New York!

On Monday, we were in meetings alllll day. We were happy to go back to the hotel and then out for a drink. We stayed at the Marcel Gramercy Hotel. It was hip, modern, dark, and the rooms were so tiny! But, we were only there two nights and it worked.

The hotel is right next to a wine bar called 'Inoteca.

After a glass of wine, my co-worker and I headed to Spice Market for dinner. I have been wanting to go here forever. I am sad to report that this place was a complete disappointment. We split a few dishes to try a range of their menu.

Spiced Chicken Samosas
Cilantro Yogurt

Fragrant Mushroom Egg Rolls
Galangal Emulsion

Salmon Tartare, Soy Ginger Dressing
Avocado and Radish

Seasonal Vegetable Fried Rice
XO Sauce and Basil

Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Lemongrass, Honey and Mint

Spice Market is HUGE. Two floors, lots of patrons, and it's super dark in there. The hostess was extremely nice and so was our waiter. Except, we saw our waiter when he took our order and when he brought the check. He didn't stop in to check on us and other people brought our dishes.

The food was just ok. I wouldn't go back and I definitely wouldn't recommend this restaurant. This restaurant is supposed to be a dedication to South Asian cuisine with a food stand/street market twist. It really tasted like mediocre take out food. The brussel sprouts tasted burned and the fried rice was just that - fried rice like you get with Chinese take out.

Well, we didn't dwell in our disappointment. Instead, we hit up the Gansevoort Hotel rooftop bar.


We found a seat and had nice views of the Meatpacking District and of course, New Jersey. It was fun to people watch here since this is a place where out of towners come to visit.
After the Gansevoort, we went to the Gramercy Park hotel. The lobby was a medevil theme which was cool.

The hotel bar was pretty small, but cozy with velvet seats and heavy drapes. Also, apparently they were burning Frankincense so it smelled like that in there. Yes, we felt like we were at Christmas mass. haha

After the Gramercy, we had to head back to the hotel since we had to be up bright and early for more meetings!

Our flight out on Tuesday was at 3:30 pm and we here back in SF by 7:30. The flight took an HOUR longer due to wind. I was so happy to be home reunited with Erik & Evie.

I do love NY though. It was nice to be able to see family and go out on the town. We'll be flying back to NYC in a few days for Thanksgiving!!

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