After a wild and crazy weekend, it was nice to have a calm evening tonight. But I swear it has gotten even COLDER! We spent 2 weeks in Montana last January and I swear it was never this cold!
I headed to the Healthy Happier Bear HQ to rendezvous with Ashley for a manicure this afternoon.
He sure looks healthy and happy!
She swears that the only things that are cheap in NYC are dry cleaners, housekeepers and manicures. For ten bucks, this was quite a treat. Theodora met us to make three’s company!
After our girls’ outing, I met back up with Matt and Snake, the last two standing. Thankfully they did not have alcohol on their breath when I greeted them.
We chilled (literally) in a bar for about an hour with Larbs and shared a few drinks
And then we parted ways and Matt and I went on a romantic Big City Date! Our restaurant du jour was Apiary, and we had a fantastic experience.
We pondered the menu over chewy sourdough. It featured a 3-course-for-$35 deal going on and considering most entrees in this city are upwards of $25 and most salads the same price, this was like getting a salad and dessert for free!
Matt ordered a la carte and started with Swiss Chard + Ricotta Ravioli in Brown Butter – yum!
I had a partial Caesar salad (partial because it wasn’t ALL classic ingredients but close enough). This salad was IN-credible!!! Every leaf was coated in delicious flavor.
Matt’s entrée was a Pappardelle with Stewed Rabbit, Aromatic Vegetables and Truffle Oil. REALLY interesting flavors and really really good!
I had my finger on the salmon but switched to the Organic Chicken with Peas and Lemon at the last minute – it was really good, but I enjoyed the mashed potatoes, peas and flavors more than the chicken itself, which is always boring to me. Poultry is best on Thanksgiving.
My “free” dessert was a Blackberry Crust – kind of a cross between a cookie and a muffin
After dinner we walked a few blocks to a coffee shop where we enjoyed Café au Laits and conversation with Matt’s cousin Patrick and his girlfriend Samantha. It was great to see them, even for a short time. My cousin lives here too but we just missed each other.
I would have loved to have done more walking this weekend, but my gosh it’s so cold. I am normally in favor of walking everywhere but even my trusty down coat couldn’t take the chill out tonight. Too many cab rides on this trip. We need to come back in the late spring!
Did your teeth even feel cold to the root? Because that’s my test for level of coldness!
They totally did in Montana, but here my whole body is just chiled!
I love the cafe au laits, they look so warm, especially on this cold night. What made you change your mind about your dinner entree?
Server recommendation
(and was trying to step out of the box and order something I don’t normally order)
omg!!! I love them. both were at HLS, such sweet ladies 🙂 um, hand over that dessert with “crust” in the title. maaaaade fo me.
What color did you get? The same as the other girl’s? I really want to know the name of it!
I never look at the names!! I know, I know.
Apiary is a great choice,it’s just across the street from me!glad you got the mani!
That dinner looks super delicious!
And manicures are so fun, I just get angry when they start chipping so soon. Instead I end up doing them myself and getting angry that they look awful. It’s a catch22 I guess… 😉
wow, what a great time it seems you guys are having!! the restaurants and food look to die for!
So true about the manicures! I would kill to get a good $10 manicure in Denver.
i’m heading to nyc in two weeks and we have reservations for apiary for restaurant week! can’t wait now because of your good review. glad you had fun!
all of the food looks delicious! especially the caesar salad.
I always love pampering myself on the rare occasion – today i actually got an amazing foot massage that was a really good deal – $25 for an hour! but a manicure for $10 is an awesome deal too 🙂
Fun! I just read Kitchen Confidential and he raves about Scott Bryan, I looked him up and discovered he is now the chef at Apiary – would love to check it out someday when I’m in NYC.
When we visited NYC over New Years we ate at Blue Hill. Have you been there? I thought of you since its a sustainable farm to table food and it was hands down the most incredible meal. You can taste how fresh everything is! Apiary sounds wonderful.
After 6 years living there and traveling lots of other places, I would also suggest that NYC cabs are cheap *relative* to other places!
There ar LOTS of cheap things to do in NY– you actually have to make an effort to find the; it’s not smack in front of your face. Ashley, you are spreading false thing about the city!
gah! can’t spell! are* and things*
My cousin goes to the city from upstate for her pedicures because she says they’re so much cheaper in the city than up here, lol. NOTHING is cheap in NY. 🙁
Again, FALSE. Eatingintranslation.com focuses on cheap ethinic places in the city. Clubfreetime.com finds free events to do in NY. Meetup.com has groups for free/cheap food/events.
Perhaps I was painting with too broad of a stroke, but it was not meant to be taken literally. 🙂 I live in NY, and even if there are some great food and entertainment deals now and then, they don’t make up for the actual cost of living, which makes everything, including dining out and entertainment, more expensive dollar-for-dollar. You have to take all of the variables into consideration: Our state income tax and sales tax and gas tax and soaring health insurance and car insurance premiums–I could go on and on. So even if you can be entertained and eat rather cheaply, it’s a challenge to live cheaply anywhere in NY with the state-imposed costs of living burdening residents. The high cost of living is the driving force that has residents moving out of state at rapid rates. Unfortunately, most people cannot live by restaurant deals alone.
Excellent points-but you have to remember that you don’t require a car if you live in the city. (Unfortunately it’s necessary in parts of Queens, such as where I’m from.)
But the point is one can cut corners in many ways and still enjoy the city– I have tons of friends doing it, everyday.
I would love to visit NYC but don’t think I could handle it during the winter! Part of the charm for me is walking all over and exploring, don’t think I’d be able to brave the cold!
Walking in the winter on cold winter nights when you’re not in tennis shoes and are in dress-up shoes and going-out clothes is the quickest way to turn me into a grouch. Lol
$10 manicures? NICE score!
The cold is miserable right now! How many days till Spring??
So cute that Matt and you got to go on a date. Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Possibly it felt colder in NYC because it’s damper, more humid. The prairies (Montana) have a drier climate, even in winter, so the cold doesn’t sink into your bones the way it does on the damper east coast.
Looks like a fun and delicious date!
sounds like you packed a lot in even on your relaxed night. it’s nice that you got to see so many friends!
Okay, now I’m officially nervous. If NYC is this cold, I can’t even imagine Montreal… To which I’m going in exactly two weeks! Looks like I’ll be making a trip out to Burlington coat factory today to pick up a few extra layers! 😉
I was in NYC last December and felt the exact same way. I grew up in New England, but my aversion to cold is growing stronger with each year that passes!
haha… after 6 years in Chicago where I mostly walked/took the train (thus waiting outside for various lengths of time), I found all the tricks for dealing with freezing temps. In Jan it’s normal for the high to be in only the teens for weeks on end, with crazy windchills and having to trek through mounds of snow and slush – ugh. Basically my strategy involves many many layers ~ tights under my jeans, plus thick knee high socks, plus boots, layered long sleeve tees and sweaters (yes, I would wear a sweater on top of another sweater!), warm woolly scarf/hat/gloves, and down coat. I managed to find things that looked sort of cute too.. that was when I knew I’d mastered the northern winter 🙂 So, that was normal for me and I did it every day, and wasn’t cold when walking around. But it’s a pain and means lots of laundry.
Needless to say, I’ve been enjoying the VA winter SO much ~ even the cold days here would be considered the warm days in CHI. I don’t miss all that bundling at all!
despite the cold, looks like a fun trip! have to say that I do miss city life… the hustle and bustle is so energizing 🙂
All these food pictures make me want to go to a fancy restaurant asap! I love good beautiful food like that…
I’m actually moving out of the city this week, but I’ll definitely be back to visit once i return from my travels! Seeing how much you did, and how many people you got to see in one wknd gives me hope… Sometimes you end up doing more in a visit than when you actually live here!
What a fun night out! And your salad looks so delish! 😀
I’d venture to say that the difference between the “Montana cold” and cold in other parts of the country is the humidity. Montana has very low humidity as opposed to NY, therefore, 20 degrees in MT will feel a lot different than 20 degrees with humidity. Then again, as a native Montanan, 30 degrees below zero is only “a little chilly.” 😉 Looks like a great trip!
Quite the connections in NY — so great to go somewhere where you know so many folks! Fun looking restuarant (love their logo!!) and food. YUM! What a treat 🙂
$10 manicure? Nice!
I’m the same way about chicken, I NEVER order it at a restaurant (unless on top of a salad!) because fish always seems more delicious!
What a fun and fantastic day!! $10 manicures? Can’t beat that.
I have been experiencing the same cold freeze here in Southern Ontario…I am very close to Toronto! Even with the sun out, it is the wind chill factor that will get ya all the time! On top of that my boys had pratcially back to back hockey games…dinner broke them up…thank goodness for steaming hot portable lattes! Your dinner looked fantastic! I believe you can tell the quality of a restaurant by the bread they serve…that bread with olive oil looked worthy of a high rating. Love the Apiary logo with the bees and flower!
That restaurant looks really unique. That exposed brick is definitely coming back. You probably would hate a midwest winter if the NYC winter is killing you 🙂
I cannot believe that manicures at that inexpensive in N.Y.C.!
What I love about The BIG Apple is that there is a plethora of awesome restaurants that serve amazing meals!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
That dinner looks great and what a good deal! I have a minor obsession with truffle oil so Matt’s dinner looks better to me. Even though I eat a lot of chicken at home, it is my least favorite meat.
It’s been effing cold here for a bit. Today is going to be much better-no wind.
I never get manicures alone, its always fun to go with a friend. And there is nothing like free dessert for sure.
I love Apiary. The salmon is delicious… you will need to make a second trip to try it sometime!
Fabulous day! I miss living in Boston for the cheap nail salons- they’re so expensive in NoVA :-/ Dinner looks delic but your dessert looks heavenly- almost like a muffin top a la mode?! YUM!
ohhhhhh you make me miss the city! i love my mountain life.. but long for the energy of the city.
Sounds like a great night in a great city!
Agreed on the note about poultry! I guess that just makes me chicken 😉