NYE from NYC

Happy New Year!

It’s really funny –the television makes it appear like the whole city is all Rockin’ New Years Eve but outside of those Times Square streets surrounding the big ball that drops (which I rarely see because I am asleep), the rest of the city is kind of peaceful.

You would have no idea what was going on only a few blocks up.

Anyway, we spent the night downtown between Chelsea and Meatpacking District which means I had really good food and a really good time.

Let’s discuss the cutest little doughnuts ever with an aroma that called my nose through the crowds of Chelsea Market straight to the Doughnuttery section of the crowded building.

Mini doughnuts (with the exact smell of zeppoles being cooked) made right in front of you in the coolest looking doughnut machine with a conveyor belt and everything followed by your choice of unique sugar blends as the coating.

Super cool.

Also super cool is a restaurant that looks like a grown-up place from the outside yet has a candy store upon entering the front door.

Sugar Factory is my type of place.

I was really excited to have onion rings. You know I love a good onion ring, right? French fries I can pass up any day, onion rings though, I just love them.

Dining tip: Save the biggest onion ring for your main course, especially if your main course is a salad. It’s a terrific topper.

Bonus tip: Ask your server to add avocado to your greek salad. Makes a world of difference.

I tried really hard to get lots of pictures of dessert from lots of angles because the ice cream sundae dish was so long and large it was hard to capture its beauty with one shot.

I believe it was called the Cookie Jar Sundae (and we had a side of Chocolate Fondue because you can’t not order fondue if it’s on the menu).

Cookies n Cream ice cream, cookie crumbs, chocolate chip cookies, whipped cream and hot fudge.

The best way to eat it is to dip your spoon in the chocolate fondue and then into the ice cream.

Then somehow these shoes ended up in front of me.

I say in front of me instead of on me because I just didn’t feel like taking off my cozy boots. I figured if the Bowlmor Lanes lady wanted to scold me for not wearing the proper foot attire I would deal with it then.

No one came after me and nothing happened which means my boots now double as appropriate bowling shoes.

If you read my recap from last New Years, a very special New Years Eve baby was born in our family which means  today we will be heading back to the city for his first birthday party!

I am so lucky that my cousin sent the party invitations via email since we all know that I rarely get the mail.

I probably would have missed the party otherwise.

I don’t make resolutions or set goals for myself ever but maybe I should reconsider the mailbox and try to get my mail more often in 2015.

So how was your night? Did you see the ball drop? Did you eat anything really good?

Chocolate Fondue Is My Favorite

 

Where did June go? Has anyone else realized next Friday is the Fourth of July which means somewhere between now and then June will end and July will begin?

I don’t even understand. It is all a blur.

This whole week is a blur as well. A good blur of graduation parties, ceremonies, good food and some runs thrown in of course.

The beauty of being a morning runner is a packed schedule seldom interferes with your workout.

You know I need to expand on the good food part of this conversation, right?

We arrived in the city yesterday in time for our lunch reservation.

You should know that a ride to Manhattan can take me twenty minutes or three hours, depending upon the traffic. I don’t even want to discuss the ride home which was yeah, about three hours. My lower legs were craving my compression socks to sit in one position for that long. I may need to keep a pair of compression socks in my trunk along with the first-aid kit, emergency blanket, tampons, granola bars and water.

Anyway, the food and the fun made it worth it.

Of course we ordered the onion rings which were served with a cocoa ranch dipping sauce. I never really cared for ranch dressing but this one was tasty. Can you taste the cocoa? I don’t really think so but it was good.

This picture doesn’t do the salad justice. It was a chick pea and quinoa salad which happened to be loaded with avocado and cherry tomatoes, a honey Dijon vinaigrette and onion rings since I am smart and saved some from our appetizer to chop up into the mix.

Let’s talk about the dessert.

Meet the chocolate syringe.

All three boys ordered the chocolate syringe which as you can see, is basically just a syringe filled with warm chocolate which you shoot directly into your mouth.

No one let me try it but I have had it before and it is a lot of fun.

My son also ordered the chocolate pizza. It is basically a pizza dough topped with chocolate and marshmallows served with a small bowl of ice cream and lots of gummy bears.

All restaurants should decorate their plates with gummy bears. Beats parsley doesn’t it?

I will forever order the chocolate fondue.

We ordered an extra bowl of strawberries because they really don’t give you enough to balance out the chocolate with your dipping snacks.

Under the chocolate chip cookies and brownies are the marshmallows which you can roast but I really had no patience for that.

I was all about dipping everything immediately, including my fingers, into the pots of chocolate.

I am a child when it comes to dessert but I think it is what keeps me young.

For some reason, I feel like admitting to you that when my son went to the bathroom, I sneaked on over to his plate to snag some of his ice cream. I really just wanted a spoonful to dip in the warm pots of chocolate fondue.

It’s not like he was going to finish it or willingly share it with me. Please don’t tell him.

So it’s Friday. Another beautiful weekend in the forecast here which hopefully means beach time for me. I am contemplating taking my long run to the boardwalk tomorrow morning instead of my usual long run loop.

I am also contemplating a Fourth of July four mile race which I ran two years ago. I probably won’t decide until the middle of next week since I will wait to register based upon the weather, my mood and my other plans.

I think I am leaning towards running it though. Why not, right?

Have a terrific weekend!

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What do you keep in your trunk? Do you keep emergency items or just load it up with junk that you should really clean out?

Favorite food to dip in melted chocolate?

What’s next on your race calendar?