SPREAD LOVE, IT’S THE BROOKLYN WAY.

Who doesn’t love New York? It’s the city for food, fashion, and theater. My recent trip to the “Big Apple” was centered around exploring food, seeing the Statue of Liberty, and just purely having an amazing time. Oh my and let me just tell you, I definitely enjoyed some good eats and the “Lady of Liberty” was a beauty. My husband and I were in New Jersey for a wedding on Friday so we dashed on over to NYC for the weekend and returned on Monday. This was a fun weekend!

As I mentioned above, Broadway is a big deal in the NYC. While there, we were able to see the Broadway Play, Hamilton. This play was everything and more. The production was so awesome and lively, and it is definitely a must see!

Our first stop in NYC was the famous Dominique Ansel Bakery. I couldn’t come to NYC without trying the famous Cronut. As luck would have it, we got there, and they were sold out of Cronuts so we had to come back the next day. We waited in the rain for approximately 1 hour. We finally could try one of the main things I came to NYC for! At $6 apiece, these hybrids of a croissant and donut were pretty amazing. They were stuffed with Pumpkin Ganache and Homemade Cranberry Jam. The flavors along with the texture of the Cronut reminded me of a PB&J sandwich except with Pumpkin flavor instead of peanut butter. MMM, my mouth is watering all over again. Also, try the frozen marshmallow. It’s creative, amazing and different. The last cool part was Dominique was there and I totally got a selfie with him. My verdict…Go try his treats and hopefully the line isn’t too long :p

You would think after a hearty Cronut I would be stuffed – haha – it’s New York, wrong! This sweet beast came before the Cronut because remember we had to go back to the bakery a day later. On our first day in NYC after getting into the hotel, we decided to pay the famous Sweet Chicks a visit. Of course, it was a 45-minute wait for two. We walk back outside and guess what I spot across the street – Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer. You think we went for beer or drinks right.. NOPE! While waiting on our table, I talked my husband into going to eat dessert first. It didn’t take much convincing. I went for their amazingly huge milkshake. Yep, that’s right! A milkshake! This isn’t just any old milkshake. It’s a $15 milkshake stacked high with various yummy items. They have 8 flavors to choose from. We ordered The Cake Batter Shake. It came with cake batter shake, vanilla frosted rim with rainbow sprinkles topped with a funfetti cake slice, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles & a cherry. This Shake was AMAZING!! The cake was so moist and full of flavor. I am not big on a lot of icing, but this icing was super good as well. I also LOVE sprinkles, so this was a home run for sure! My husband wanted fries to dip in the milkshake, so there you have it, our “Crazy Shake” experience.

Although you think we are beyond full, somewhere somehow, we found room to stuff down some Sweet Chicks. Sweet Chicks in the Lower East Side (Ludlow St.) is a small and cozy location. They pride themselves on their southern dishes specifically their Chicken & Waffles. Their Chicken and Waffles has received rave reviews on networks such as the Food Network Channel. My husband loves Chicken & Waffles so he tried this dish. He was pleased at the crispiness of the chicken skin and the chicken was seasoned well. Believe it or not, I didn’t walk away completely wowed by their Chicken & Waffles. Instead I was pleased with their Shrimp & Grits. It came with Smoked Paprika and Bell Pepper Sauce, Scallions, Cheddar Grits, Poached Egg. This was a dish bursting with flavor. I also liked the poached egg as I have never had it on Shrimp & Grits and it was delicious!

While we do love to eat, we did take a “slight” break to go see the lovely “Lady of Liberty”. Everyone always hears and sees pictures of the Statue of Liberty but it’s another experience to see her in person. She definitely looks better in person! Besides visiting Dominique Ansel Bakery, this was a number one goal for me while visiting NYC. On the way to see the famous statue, we also got to see the Brooklyn Bridge as well as some of the Borough of Brooklyn. Remember be happy and SPREAD LOVE, IT’S THE BROOKLYN WAY!

Well like anything else, breaks don’t last too long. Back to the eating. After we visited the Lovely Lady of Liberty, we were hungry again. This was also the last place before we ate before leaving NYC the next day. We decided to go to Catch. The ambience was nice, and they even have a rooftop bar, but we dined inside. The inside seating is also nice. Even the inside dining is not on the street level, so the window seating was great. I was driven here by a dish I saw on the Food Network which was the Lobster Mac & Cheese. This dish was pretty good. It came with Maine Lobster, Mascarpone, Breadcrumbs and Grated Parmesan Cheese. It was creamy and smooth. We also had Sushi as a starter along with the Mac & Cheese. We had the California Roll, which was also tasty. For dinner, Yes, we ate more – we ordered the Organic Crispy Chicken with Roasted Roots, Caramelized Onion, and Thyme Jus. It was great! Everything was cooked perfectly and the chicken was juicy and moist. What I loved about this dish was the way the vegetables were cooked. They had char marks but weren’t burnt and were full of flavor. The Thyme Jus was also really good. I have a major sweet tooth so of course I couldn’t leave without dessert. By now, my husband was full so I was on my own. I had the “Hit Me” Cake. It was amazing! I love cake and ice cream, so this was perfect. They also have good drinks! We left with our bellies full and our buzz happy! 😊

Well that wraps up our weekend trip to the Big Apple. Hopefully I have influenced you to try some amazing foods as well as to be adventurous and explore what NYC is known for – theater, statues, and bridges. You won’t be disappointed. If you have had a NYC fun experience – please share them below in the comments or head on over to Instagram and share them in the comment section under the post.