24 Hours in NYC: Freezing and Pleasing in the Big Apple!

We hadn’t been to NYC since last April. So, when I received the Cyber Monday email from the Morgans Hotel group, we jumped on it and booked a room. Since we had already stayed at the Hudson and the Royalton, we decided to give the Morgans a try.

Figures that January 8th and 9th would be the two coldest days of the year, with wind-chills going down to 6 degrees. But, we decided to suck it up and hit the turnpike.

We arrived in no time. Literally an hour and a half. When we pulled up to the Morgans, it was beautiful and understated. The perfect boutique hotel. Just what we were hoping for.

It wasn’t even noon. We knew that our room wouldn’t be ready. So, we decided to valet the car and drop our bags off.  We were greeted by the front desk, who invited us to catch the last few minutes of their Continental Breakfast in the Reserve Lounge.

Serving Continental Breakfast by day, in the evening, Reserve transforms into an eclectic New York hotel bar. Monday through Friday, they offer a complimentary glass of wine during Happy Hour.

After some coffee and a scone, we ascended the staircase to relax in the “Living Room” until it was time for brunch.

 

At 1pm,  it was time to bundle up and head out on to the frigid streets of the city.

Chess anyone?

Too cold to walk, we hopped in a cab and headed over to the Upland.

Upland had great reviews for both lunch and dinner. Until I did a little investigating, I didn’t realize that it was a Stephen Starr restaurant.

 

The place was hoppin’ and the menu looked great!

We went with the Margherita Pizza (stracciatella, confit tomatoes + basil) and the Upland Cheeseburger (grass fed beef, american cheese, peppadew peppers + avocado).

Both were delicious!

 

Since we won’t have another chance to get out of town for David’s birthday in February, I decided to surprise him with an early birthday dessert.

He loved it!

After brunch, we headed over to MOMA and then to the MOMA Store.

The store has some of the coolest stuff. They even have my favorite Kobenstyle Dansk Pot that has been in our family and on my stovetop for decades!

At 3pm, we hopped in a taxi and headed back to the Morgans. When we checked in, I asked if it would be possible to upgrade our room. They said they couldn’t promise. But, would try. When we opened the door to the room, our jaws dropped.

 

They gave us a suite…

 

With a beautiful view! Wow! What a nice surprise!

We hunkered down and enjoyed the surroundings until it was time for dinner. Because it was so freaking cold outside, we decided to stay close to the hotel. The concierge suggested Calle Dao, specializing in Cuban and Chinese cuisine

The place was adorable and the menu looked great! Our server arrived with a glass of Champagne. She said it was complimentary since the Morgans made our reservation.

David skipped the bubbles and went for the alcohol-free Ginger Beer.

 We were still pretty full from lunch. So, we decided to have the Pork Dumplings and Shrimp Empanada appetizers, and share the Black Rice Seafood Paella for our entree.

 

Absolutely delicious!  But, definitely no room for dessert.

We headed back to the Morgans and snuggled up for a night of Golden Globes and golden slumbers. Good night New York City!

And good morning! We started the day with complimentary Continental Breakfast and some rockin’ coffee. We settled in to enjoy the last couple of hours of our little piece of heaven in our room.

We were sorry to hear that the Carnegie Deli, which opened its doors in 1937, had closed. So, we decided to try another New York institution, the 2nd Avenue Deli.

And it did not disappoint!

But, the best part of the 2nd Street Deli was their patrons. What a hoot they were! Talking movies, religion, Jews, Italians and drinking shots of scotch all at 11am in the morning. We couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their colorful conversation. I asked our server to see if it would be okay to photograph them. She told them I was writing a blog about our trip to NYC. And they got a total kick out of that.

The guy holding the pickle has a really cool story. Check out his critically acclaimed documentary, Homme Less,  about being a homeless model and photographer for six years.

They asked me if I was from Ohio and started laughing. I told them that I was a “New York Jew” just like them and that I now lived in Philadelphia.

They poured another shot and continued with the joking and jabbing. Turns out they had all met at the Y and had just come from a funeral of a friend. They acted like tough guys. But, there was a lot of love for each other.

Our visit to the 2nd Avenue Deli was something we won’t soon forget. And we will definitely be back!

Thank you for another wonderful adventure, NYC!

We will see you next time!

xoxo,

Dallyn & David

Tagged: '24 hours, 2nd avenue deli, calle dao, dallyn pavey, David Uosikkinen, dish public relations, In The Pocket, morgans hotel, new york city, starr restaurant group, stephen starr, The Hooters, the latest dish, upland

Posted in: Food and Restaurants