NYC Day 1!

NYC!!! This was the first time traveling in so long and I was so excited. We had only a few days to spend in the city and I wanted to be sure to enjoy every moment. Broadway was not yet open so this trip was the first time that I had lots of time for evening meals so I made several reservations and so I could enjoy eating in NYC! We flew on Hawaiian Airlines from HNL to JFK and arrived at around 7 a.m. We headed to Edison Hotel on 46th Street and since I reserved the room from the day before we were guaranteed a ready room for our early arrival. We freshened up and rested for a bit and then walked 23 blocks downtown to Eataly Flatiron for some meat and cheese shopping. After picking up some Grana Padana and prosciutto to bring home, we sat at the Eataly for an afternoon snack (3:30 p.m.) of the Tricolore salad and Piselli appetizer.

While enjoying our food and watching the city go by, the rain started. And not just rain. There was thunder and lightning too. (My daughter who was in SoHo at the same time said they got hailed on.) Luckily, there were umbrellas at the cafe to shield us from the elements. Our next stop was at one of my new favorite NYC spots — Air’s Champagne Parlor where we had 5 p.m. reservations. I met Benny who was the best bartender and took me on a journey of champagne. I loved the togarashi popcorn was delicious! We also enjoyed two kinds of caviar and some cucumber kimchi. I found this place by Googling champagne bars in NYC since I had seen one at the Plaza hotel on one of my previous visits and had wanted to visit. Fortunately for me, the one at the Plaza was closed and I found this one! I plan to visit Air’s on every trip to NYC I have. Can’t go wrong with champagne, caviar, and Benny!

After we finished light dinner number one, we headed to light dinner number two at 8 p.m. at Izakaya Nomad. We ordered a few small pupu dishes and some beer to close out the evening. This izakaya did not quite have the traditional Japanese style food I was expecting but the beer was refreshing! We walked back 20 blocks to Times Square and enjoyed the energy of the city.