Adam over at Amateur Gourmet started this: what would you do in your last 12 hours of whatever city you’re living in? In his case, he posted about his last 12 hours in NYC if he had to leave it and never come back. Clotilde posted about her last 12 hours in Paris. While the very idea of leaving NYC and never coming back fills me with sadness, I still think this is a fun way to appreciate the place you live. So here are my last 12 hours in NYC:
9:00 a.m. Coffee and a lemon poppy seed muffin at Guy & Gallard, the one on Lexington and 34th. It’s certainly not the best place in the city by any means, but it has enormous sentimental value for me – Adam and I went there on our very first trip to NYC and believed it to be quintessentially New York. Now I understand that isn’t necessarily the case…but still…
10:00 a.m. Because in my version I have an endless capacity to eat and enjoy, I would head over to Chelsea Market and grab an Americano at Ninth Street…now that is real coffee. Then I’ll take my coffee into 202 for breakfast (where the wait staff always makes you pour it into one of their coffee cups so you’re not advertising someone else’s coffee in their restaurant). I’ll order their French toast with bacon and syrup…some of the best I’ve had. I’ll spend some time after breakfast browsing the ridiculously beautiful, expensive clothes. Before I leave that neighborhood, I’ll stock up on some cupcakes at Billy’s Bakery to have with my lunch.
11:30 a.m. After walking all the way down to the NYU area, I’ll be prepared to try on some clothes. My last 12 hours would not be complete (for me, anyway) without a stop to Purdy Girl, one of my favorite clothing boutiques in the city. While in that neighborhood, I’ll collect the fixings for a picnic lunch: a stop at Murray’s Cheese and Amy’s Bread. Some olive oil at O & Co. I’ll bypass Magnolia (you would be wise to do so as well) since I stocked up on Billy’s earlier (the only cupcakes worth having). I don’t have a favorite wine shop in that part of the city so I’ll just pop into any old place and get a pinot noir (of course!) to have with lunch.
1:00 p.m. Picnic in Central Park, one of my favorite things to do ever, in any city. I like to position myself near a walking path so I can people-watch while I nibble and sip. And lots of the musicians set up near the paths – last time I picnicked in the Park, there was a young woman playing the violin beautifully while we dined. There really isn’t anything more perfect in the world, I think.
3:00 p.m. Strolling through the park until dinner. Bethesda Fountain, the Mall, Sheep’s Meadow. I’d walk and enjoy all my favorite places.
4:00 p.m. Before dinner I’d head to Ginger Man, my favorite place in the city to have a beer (or two). I’d have the Franziskaner Hefe, like I always do, along with their stellar soft pretzel accompanied with spicy honey mustard.
5:00 p.m. Four hours left! This is a tough one: do I pick a restaurant I’ve been dying to go to but have never been? Or a tried-and-true? I think I’d have to go to either Union Square Café or Gramercy Tavern – I’ve never been to either, and I don’t know if I could feel complete leaving the city without at least eating at one of them. So I think I’d pick Union Square Café because Ina Garten says in one of her cookbooks that it’s her favorite restaurant in the city…and we all know she has impeccable taste.
8:00 p.m. Post-dinner drinks at The Campbell Apartment. Naturally, I’d walk through Grand Central to get there, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. I’d have their Prohibition Punch – it’s wicked….and so delicious.
9:00 p.m. I’d leave the city via the ferry so that I could get one last look at one of, if not the, most famous skylines in the world. And oh, how I would cry!
Eat, drink, and love where you live
Note: I picked up the picture from Google images (www.nyctrip.com, according to Google)
