Our In NYC

 

I'm armed only with my iPhone camera and I'm without the aid of photo software, so please excuse the blurry, out of focus images. This is just a quick update to let you know that New York City is full of amazing places to eat and drink (as if I needed to tell you that). If you want to live it up in Gotham, the Nomad Hotel is an absolute must. We went there for brunch today, as well as drinks yesterday evening, and it is one of the classiest places I've ever visited. The Library Room, with its leather-bound chairs and mahogany shelves, is where we started the morning with coffee, before heading into the main dining room for our meal.

There are four Bloody Mary options for lunch. My wife got the classic tomato base with horseradish, but I opted for the manzanilla sherry base with beets and hot chili peppers. Oh my God. Maybe the best Mary I've ever danced with.

What to order? There are many options and they all sound and look fantastic. I saw a number of people order the chicken sandwich, which sounds rather bland, but is far from it. It's served with black truffles and foie gras on a brioche bun. It looks absolutely divine. In the end, however, I opted for the steak and eggs and it was a fine choice. The meat comes topped with salsa verde and is cooked to a stunning perfection.

We ended up walking around to number of fine watering holes, including one of our favorite SoHo bars called Officina Latina (they've got fantastic spicy cocktails). If you thought getting a bottle of Pappy or Pliny the Elder was tough, however, it's nothing compared to the Cronut - the half-croissant, half-donut concoction that has swept over lower Manhattan like the Tickle Me Elmo doll. Black market Cronuts are selling for $100 a pop because you've gotta line up at 6 AM to even have a shot. Many people wait all morning long only to find out that the Dominique Ansel bakery has sold out. It's absolutely nuts. But not unfamiliar. I totally get it.

-David Driscoll