Love in New York

Cinnamon and I recently visited New York for our friends Dan & Kathryn’s wedding. As usual when we visit NYC, it was a trip filled with food.

It almost looked like we weren’t going to make it — our 10am Friday flight was stuck on the ground for about three hours as we waited first for a thunderstorm to pass over O’Hare, and then for clearance to fly east, the direction the storms were headed. We got into Boston about the time our connecting flight there was supposed to land at JFK; fortunately the plane we were already on became that flight, so we got off briefly for a bathroom break and some food, then right back on. We arrived at our hotel at about 9pm, which normally would have meant we had time and energy to spend some time out on the town. But having only gotten about four hours of sleep and having spent all frickin’ day being vibrated on a plane, all we wanted to do was get some dinner and go to bed.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn SoHo, which was around the corner from the wedding locale and surrounded by great restaurants and bars. We were both so bushed and beyond hungry that nothing sounded good, so we walked Spring Street from West Broadway to Bowery without being able to settle on anything. Finally, we landed at Lombardi’s, the country’s first pizzeria, without quite realizing where we were — the line was short, and we figured pizza was good enough. Fortunately, Lombardi’s isn’t just a tourist trap: the pizza is still excellent, and the bruschetta we started with was bright and flavorful (I think there might’ve been a little grapefruit zest in the mix, something we’ll try experimenting with at home). Our pizza with sausage, mushrooms and kalamata olives was great, although I like the sausage on Chicago pies better — the crispy, thin-sliced sausage and Lombardi’s created a nice texture contrast but was surprisingly bland.

The next morning, when we finally got up, we wandered through the rain to search for brunch (it was, uh, a little too late for breakfast). We had no idea where to go in SoHo, so we ended up seeking out Russ & Daughters on Houston, only to discover that they had no seating (unless there was some on the other side of the kitchen; the little store was too packed for us to wander through and ask). So we ended up at Sugar Cafe on the corner, which was perfectly serviceable. I got a bagel and lox plate, which featured some of the best lox I’ve ever had — light and fresh, not at all greasy. I later found out that it came from Russ & Daughters. Cinnamon got a cheese omelet that made her very happy.

From there we did a little shopping around SoHo (in particular at the Uniqlo store) before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. It was held on the top floor of 101 Riverviews, which is the headquarters building for SEIU, the service workers’ union. The wedding space was up until recently the SEIU president’s living quarters, and it was quite posh — sadly its lovely terrace went mostly unused thanks to the rain. The ceremony was short and wonderfully heartfelt, with Dan’s brother officiating and Dan and Kathryn reciting the traditional vows to each other.

When we visited New York last April, we spent a terrific evening with the happy couple visiting bars and restaurants close to their hearts: cocktail sanctuaries Death & Co. and PDT and Momofuku Ssam Bar. Dan and Kathryn are friends with bartenders and chefs at each, and we got royal treatment and Ssam Bar that night, with several extra dishes coming out compliments of the kitchen. So when we got the invite to their wedding, Cinnamon and I fantasized about David Chang catering the reception, but didn’t want to ask for fear of seeming presumptuous. We needn’t have worried: not only did Momofuku cater, but they made enough of their signature bo ssam for all 60-some guests to get more than their fill, along with multitudes of pork buns, delicious snap peas sauteed with bacon and chili, lots of bite-sized apps beforehand and more. The wedding cake came from Momofuku Milk Bar — a mix of the dessert shop’s dulce de leche and double chocolate cakes.

And throughout the evening, cocktails were made by one of PDT’s bartenders. The drink list was made up of some of Dan and Kathryn’s favorites, and included the phenomenal Benton’s Old Fashioned, made famous by its bacon-infused bourbon. Here’s a list of everything served.

Cinnamon and I were still on Chicago time, so when the reception ended at 11-something, we were still pretty awake. So we headed to the Pegu Club, a cocktail lounge nearby that Dan and Kathryn recommended. It had a much louder, more typical bar vibe than the other cocktail places we’ve been to in New York — there was a big crowd by the bar, and at one point a bachelorette party stumbled past our table. The drinks were great, though, and it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t carry on a conversation. I probably shouldn’t have had anymore drinks after the wedding, though, as I got fairly sick when we got back to the hotel.

We took the subway to Brooklyn on Sunday to visit a couple friends. We met Jenn Pozner for brunch at The Farm on Adderly, which I thought was just meh — decent fries but my cheeseburger was well done instead of medium — although my stomach was pretty unsettled. We walked over to Jenn’s new apartment and hung out for a bit, then left to meet up with Jes over in Williamsburg. (She doesn’t live there, but the MTA was working on the tracks by her, so the Bedford stop was the closest one that was open. Between when we got on the F train in Ditmas Park, switched trains in Manhattan and got to Williamsburg, it had started to rain, so we dashed into a coffeeshop a couple blocks north of the stop and caught up with our old friend, one of the original Chicagobloggers and a GB founding contributor. Jes is doing really well, and it was wonderful getting to trade stories from the last couple years. Once the rain let up, we explored McCarren Park and Greenpoint for a bit, then had dinner at Wild Ginger, a truly incredible vegan pan-Asian restaurant on Bedford. Seriously, if food at vegan restaurants was always this flavorful, I’d eat vegan a lot more often. We shared a scallion pancake with mango salsa, and I had the pineapple fried rice with sunflower seeds, which also had plenty of diced soy. It really hit the spot.

Our flight on Monday wasn’t until late afternoon, so Cinnamon and I decided to go try out Momofuku Milk Bar, the pastry shop attached to Ssam Bar. I was expecting more breakfasty goods, but most of what they had was cakes and pies, plus some really tasty sounding gourmet soft serve. Fortunately, they did have coffee, so I ordered some to go with my Arnold Palmer cake, while Cin ordered the cinnamon bun pie. Both were delicious, but my cake was a little more sugar than my stomach can handle in the morning, so I didn’t finish the mammoth slice. We noticed a photo of a dog that looked suspiciously like Dan & Kathryn’s taped up near the register, and found out from the pastry chef who was doing prep behind the glass wall that it was indeed Beta. We also found out that she (the chef) was the one who made their wedding cake, and that we were supposed to have gotten slices of the cinnamon bun pie as a parting present after the reception; apparently either some of the slices weren’t put out, or some of the guests were extra greedy. Can’t say I blame them — the pie was delicious (as was the cake.)

It was a wonderful trip, and I’m grateful and honored that Dan and Kathryn invited us to be a part of such a special day. Getting to visit Brooklyn for the first time was a bonus, and we couldn’t have had a better tour guide than Jes. And to all of you New York friends we didn’t get to see, we’ll see you next time!