A Small Taste Of Manhattan In Two Days
There are hundreds of blogs and websites that can tell you about all the famous landmarks to visit in New York City. So Instead of sharing the usual selfies in front of all the well-known spots, I’ll share my personal two day take on NYC, and you can decide if it would be nice to include it in on your trip.
This is the non-touristy experience.
With exception of a couple of things…
because I have to share full my experience!
So here it goes, my experience, my real take.
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I explored the smallest borough of New York City and I still missed so much.
But, I went to some pretty cool places that I would recommend to others if they got a chance to go.
Specifically the small stuff.
Like pizzerias, restaurants and bars that made an impression on me.
I did checkout some cool sights in between, minus some of the major things like the Statue of Liberty or going to the top of the Rockefeller Tower (which I absolutely recommend).
But like I said, it was a short trip to the big apple.
My honey invited me on his work trip for a conference he had to attend last minute and lucky for me, since I worked fully remote as a saleswoman for a construction software company, I could join him.
When we were there, we stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan Midtown West, which was really nice and not too far of a walk for a lot of things.
From our hotel, we walked to the Hudson Yards, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, The Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building and farther.
But all of those walks were split between multiple days, not our first night.
So our first night, we checked into our room around 10pm and were starving after a five hour flight.
We needed to get that highly talked about New York style pizza.
And I am not talking about Sbarro’s like Michael Scott mentions.
I’m talking that realness that is made with passion and cannot be imitated across 700 locations worldwide.
So the first thing I did was look up New York style pizza open near me.
For me, that spot was Vito’s Slices and Ices.
We went to Vito’s to share a quick slice and to order a large pepperoni pizza to-go in 20 degree weather, then ran back to our hotel room.
But before leaving Vito’s, just know, they left a great first impression on me.
I could just tell the pizza was going to be good just by walking in. The ambiance of Vito’s was what I felt a classic, good New York City pizza spot should look like: old school, glass case to show off the pizza and bar seating facing the window to lookout to the city streets.
It definitely lived up to its hype if you ask me because this pizza was delicious, with the perfect New York style thinness while still being crisp. It was a cheesy, delicious mess that earns its 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google.
I only wish I had the chance to try their Italian ice but like I mentioned, it was 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside in January and I had never experienced that kind of cold outside of wearing my snowboard fit.
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Let’s just say, I totally get why the long jackets are a thing on the East Coast because I felt that icy chill through my jeans and on my thighs.
If I lived there, I would probably invest in something like this for a coat (not the one pictured above).
But since I live in Cali where the winters never get that low where I live, I had a jacket similar to this one from Calvin Klein and it was perfect to travel with. It kept the top half of my body warm and after speed walking a bit, I would forgot my legs were even cold.
So my next stop for recommendations, is more of a travel tip.
Every trip I go on, I do my usual travel routine of stocking up on drinks and snacks for the room because things can get pricey if you buy stuff on a whim.
Or you get dehydrated when you wait around for your next meal to get something to drink.
Usually, that means finding a Walmart or Costco, but being in midtown Manhattan, I wasn’t going to find either of those things near me.
So I settled for the next closest thing, which was a Duane Reade.
If you’re wondering what that is, it’s essentially the Walgreens or CVS of New York or Jersey but those other two options also still exist out there. Small fun fact 😉
Anyway, the next day I walked to Hudson Yards for lunch.
Hudson Yards is a really nice little area offering attractions to visit.
The beehive looking structure is known as The Vessel. It was created to be an architectural landmark and interactive viewing point to see the city from different vantage points.
It was completely closed off when I visited, but recently reopened after being closed down for years due to some sad history. You can now climb all the way up The Vessel with the newly installed steel mesh for protection.
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The grey building on the left, on my top photo is called The Shed, and I totally forgot to check it out!
Basically, The Shed can be an art gallery, preforming arts venue or concert hall. That grey top piece moves so it can accommodate any activities it needs too.
Lastly, this area has a really nice mall (pictured behind The Vessel in the second picture) with a food court that is far from the usual .
And by that I mean, you are not going to find your usual basic Panda Express, Chipotle or Wetzel’s Pretzels.
They have some bougie food options but we went simple and tried the east coast version of In-N-Out… Shake Shack, because I had never had it before and didn’t know they were in California already.
After going back to the room, finishing getting my work calls and emails in, I thought I deserved to treat myself and go get my nails done while in the city.
I found the cutest, most relaxing, little nail salon to go to, called Summer Nail Studio. It was the perfect place to get away from the loud, fast pace city because when you enter, not only is it serene but its quiet, with relaxing music playing.
It did make me feel a little weird trying to start up a conversation with the nail tech because of how quiet it was. And if my memory serves correctly, I think they had a little sign asking that you don’t talk on the phone in there to respect other guests and keep the noise level down. But, a relaxing experience nonetheless.
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Alright, stick with me.
I have a couple more recommendations and one just…it’s alright place that wasn’t my thing but maybe it will be yours.
After my last meal at Shake Shack, I made sure to step it up for dinner and ventured to the Chelsea District for some Zia Maria Italian food because when you go to NYC, you’re going to get your closest to that authentic Italian taste while still being in the states.
This place was incredible! From the ambiance, to the food, to the service.
Being some of the few people in there on a weekday night, I feel like that was the first time I felt I was waited on hand and foot. They were incredibly nice and hooked up my delicious drinks, if you know what I mean 😉 . I had one of the best chicken parmesans and fettuccine alfredos I have ever had here.
And if your thinking to yourself, “well I can go to Strings..” No. Just stop yourself there. It is completely different.
(P.S. I had the best photo of the inside of the restaurant looking out to the city street at night while it was snowing and I accidentally deleted it awhile back without knowing it. Please use your imagination with this photo I borrowed off Yelp, while I sulk for for the rest of my life over it. P.S.S. The food photos are mine)
The last stop of the night was a fun, little speakeasy hidden behind a wall in a little grocery store, called The Little Shop. I wish I took video walking into this place but honestly I was just caught up in the moment and forgot.Â
When you walk in, all the snacks and food are up for purchase in the market to enjoy with your drinks in the speakeasy bar.
To get in, talk to the shop cashier; they will lead you through a hidden door behind the wall of the last aisle of the market.
Reservations are definitely recommended to walk into this cozy, vintage looking bar that serves really delicious, one of a kind drinks. The Strawberry and Piña were two of my favorites!
I would really recommend going to see it for the experience or the drinks if you find yourself in NYC.
(Transparency note: The first three ‘The Little Shop’ photos are from online… I know I’ll better taking photos in the future. Bottom two are mine and yes that is the real me.)
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For the official day two lunch spot, we had to have pizza again because you know, its New York!
They have some of the best pizza in the world and this next spot is SO good!
Pizza Suprema is another super highly rated pizza joint, right across from the famous Madison Square Garden but it was actually there before MSG moved there.
Established by a real Italian immigrant, they make their one of a kind sauce daily with fresh ingredients and share their Italian history with photos on the walls of their restaurant.
Like Vito’s Pizza that I brought up earlier in this post, you can buy by the slice or order a whole pizza. We ordered two classic New York style slices and an upside down pizza slice which were so good! (Definitely try the upside down style if you never have before)
Pizza Suprema should definitely be on your list of places to eat, if you’re only picking one place off my entire blog post.
They have something for everyone. Also I forgot to mention there are photos of Anthony Bourdain in line at this location and one of their chefs appearing on the Rachel Ray show, so you know its good.
Okay this last place is the one that I mentioned was alliiighttt.
Not that it was bad, but I just wasn’t a huge fan of the drinks, especially for the price.
They just tasted a little too bougie for me and so was the vibe.
But maybe I was just being a hater that day.
Maybe I just made some bad drink choices.
I guess with a good group of friends I’d try it again, but I’ll give the Lobby Bar an extra half star just for the outside balcony view they have over Times Square. Even though it was way too cold for me to actually sit out and enjoy.
So that is the end of my short foodie Manhattan trip!
Thanks for checking it out and allowing me to walk down memory lane again after so many years!
I would love to hear what places you would want to visit that I wrote about or places you have visited yourself in NYC that you would recommend to me my next time around!