8.01.2011

New loves.

New York City is constantly evolving. There is always a new "it" neighborhood, a new restaurant, a new beer garden, a new museum exhibit, the list could go on and on. So, no matter how long you once lived in a neighborhood, when you go back to visit after some time away it can look completely new. This was exactly the case when Brian and I were in the Seaport last week.

For two years, Lindsey and I shared an apartment on Water Street and Fulton. I have so many memories from those years. Countless hours of Sex and the City, Cranium and Clue with friends, and eating many meals sitting on my kitchen counter with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the hustle and bustle of downtown Manhattan below. 1906 was a very good apartment. Another memory from those years is the South Street Seaport. Brian and I used to have lunch at Red, Lindsey and I used to shop in the stores that lined the cobble stone streets, and I used to love to sit on the old wooden steps looking out at the river.

Last week, Brian asked me if I wanted to have a date night and see a show on Broadway. I, of course, immediately took him up on his offer. We decided to take advantage of the tkts booth and their discount tickets. We opted for the downtown location in the Seaport instead of the midtown location in the gates of hell Times Square. Within four minutes of arrival, we had two tickets for Hair and plenty of time to grab lunch before making our way back to Queens. At first, we talked about going back to Red, but then we decided to continue walking down Front Street instead. This was when my old neighborhood became completely new again. My eyes darted from one cute restaurant to another, all of which I had never heard of or tried. I picked out a coffee shop I knew I wanted to stop at after lunch, and then we started taking a closer look at menus displayed in the windows of the old fish market buildings.

After walking into Barbarini and seeing a plate of homemade pasta being carried to a table, I knew that was where we needed to eat. We grabbed the last two-top table in the deli and eagerly read over the menu. Despite the New York City summer heat, I had to have their hand-rolled spaghetti with sausage ragu. Brian ordered the more seasonally appropriate calamari, celery, and pepper salad. We sipped blood orange iced tea and devoured fresh bread with olive oil as we waited for our food. Once our meals arrived, we continually interrupted our conversations to talk about how delicious everything was. I stopped mid sentence to point out the man behind the counter weighing handfuls of fresh pasta and arranging plates of biscotti and cookies. After the check was paid, we made our way over to that counter and picked out a container of cookies before making our way onto our next destination. Barbarini is officially one of my new loves.
The lid to my container of cookies was off before we even crossed the street. I popped treats into my mouth as we waited in line for iced coffee at Jack's Stir Brew Coffee. I loved the tin ceilings and the photos of fisherman and fish markets of the seaport's past that lined the walls. Another new love.
Later that evening, we saw Hair. And loved it. The music was a-mazing. And let me just say, those hippies know how to dress. Our seats were perfect- third row center in the mezzanine (thanks tkts!). I highly recommend the show.
Our date day (and night) concluded at an old love, The Delta Grill. Fried cheese grits, corn-stuffed flounder, alligator sausage, and ice cold root beer were the perfect end to our evening.
The day was a beautiful mix of old loves and new loves with my love.

6 comments :

  1. oh to live where you do! how incredible amazing!! annnnd girl, you are making me HONGRY (:

    ReplyDelete
  2. NYC is the greatest! I love how you can leave a neighborhood for six months and when you come back there are new things to discover! I work right by the seaport and have never stumbled into either of these places. Great recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi I have just started reading your blog and can I just say I love love love love love love love it! My husband and I are Londoners now living in Sydney and we visited New York a few years ago. However, having read your amazing blog I can see how we have only seen about 1% of what it has to offer and I can't wait to go back. I adore your photos and the way you write.

    Sorry for the rambling, just wanted to show you some much deserved respect!

    ReplyDelete
  4. aw! i love delta! your blog makes me miss ny:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ruby,

    Thank you so much for the nice comment! It made my day! I hope you continue to enjoy reading my blog. Thanks for checking it out!

    Daina

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks so much for saying hello on my blog today! You made my day :)

    I absolutely love posts like these. I feel like there are so many hidden gems in NYC, and I love it when people share. I can't wait to check these out- especially Barbarini.

    Oh, and your comment about Times Square being the gates of hell is totally spot on. I love how tourists flock there, but New Yorkers loathe it. Loathe, loathe, loathe. Except for when they make a Junior's Cheesecake run. That is the ONLY exception to the rule :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving a comment. I read and appreciate every comment and respond as much as possible. Thanks for reading!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...