NY part 5

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Our final full day in New York was not quite as eventful as the rest of our trip, but it was still busy!

Tim had an afternoon meeting in Yonkers, which meant round-trip we were looking at either a $400 cab ride or a $13 train ride.

We took the train.

I speak conductor now. Cool.

One 30 minute train ride from Grand Central Station later, and we were in the cute town of Yonkers! We caught lunch at a bar waiting for Tim's meeting, and ordered the HOTTEST hot wings we've ever experienced. Ever. (and we're pretty well-versed in hot wing fare!) Apparently, New Yorkers don't mess around with their buffalo sauce. It's serious. 

We found out later that they'd made their hottest sauce "extra spicy" for us, because we mentioned that most places tasted like warm BBQ sauce. Extra point for you, Yonkers. My mouth is still bleeding.

After wiping tears and blowing noses (Seriously, the bartender asked me if I was all right), Tim left to go to his meeting. The neighborhood was small, so it was pretty simple to figure out which coffee shop they would choose to meet. I ordered some tea and graded a few papers, all while watching my husband do his thaaaaang. He certainly knows what he's doing!

A pot of tea, a few papers, and a successful meeting later, we headed back to the train station. Sometime in the meeting, though, it had started pouring rain, so it was a mad dash back to the platform! We were grateful for shelter, that's for sure. I regretted my decision to forego pants for a skirt--it had been 75* all week and I got cocky!

Later that night, we knocked an item off of Tim's bucket list: Drinks at a speakeasy.

Middle Branch Speakeasy was seriously THE coolest experience ever. We found the address on Yelp (that site legitimately saved our trip), but it being a speakeasy it was hidden DARN well! No address posted on that sucker. There was a door at the top of some stairs, but of course it was a false entrance. A pair of french "doors" were also false--you entered through a "window" under the stairs. 

Awesome.

A Zoot-Suited older man checked our identification once we were inside (to make sure we weren't cops) and had us wait in a crowded anteroom. After a few minutes, he ushered us upstairs, where we were able to secure a table and drinks. 

The menu was full of surprises too! Not only did they have pages and pages of specialty cocktails, they had a selection called "Bartender's Choice". Essentially, you give them an idea of the kind of drink you tend to enjoy (type of alcohol, sweet/savory/spicy/dry, etc) and their bartender aka mixologist will make your choice for you (if it wasn't to your taste, they'd give you something else). Tim was so impressed with the drink they selected for him that he had the bartender write the "recipe" down for future use. Awesome! I picked one of their menu drinks, and I wish I had written that recipe down too.

It was DARRRK in there--all the better to steer clear of the prohibition cops!

We followed up those fabulous cocktails with Thai food from V{iV}. It was such a girly place, and surprisingly deserted for 9:30 on a Thursday in New York. We were the only patrons! It was delish, though, and surprisingly authentic for such a "glam" venue.



We left our little midtown apartment the next morning early. We had a plane in Jersey to catch! 

 
Bye, tiny apartment located above a Plastic Surgery office! // Bye, Tuscany Hotel across the street!

On the bus to Newark Airport

In all, it was a fabulous trip. Lots of unexpected setbacks and hurdles, lots of adventure, and very little sleep (These two californians are NOT used to city life!). Until next time, NYC. It's been real.