My hot dog has a first name, it's G-R-A-Y-S

Gray's Papaya is famous in NYC for selling really good hot dogs at really good prices. We finally got off our asses and headed down the street (like seriously, it's 6 blocks from us - how has it taken us 3 months to go try them out?) to give them a whirl.



And I LOVED them. Normally I'm not a hotdog person. Yesterday I was like "num num num num num num". The recession special was a drink and 2 dogs for $4.99 - we ordered 1 each. Blondie got sauerkraut and onions, I got mine plain. And both rocked the house.

We both agreed that this is definitely someplace we'd take people to when they come to visit - unlike our pizza trip to Brooklyn, there was no line and it only took us 10 minutes to get there. And the food was just as good.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:

Truly Fabulous Hot Dogs

When Harry Met Sally

I love that movie. I love that movie so much, I own it. And of course, me being me, the orgasm scene in Katz Deli - all time favorite part.

Nothing better than some ginormous meat sandwiches after whacking away at golf balls for over an hour.

A quick 7 minute ride on the subway took us from Chelsea to the Lower East Side, where breakfast, lunch, and to be honest, probably dinner - awaited.

World famous Katz Deli

Can you see the "This is where Harry Met Sally sign hanging over the table? That's the table the scene was filmed at.

Here's what we came for

Are you drooling? I'm still drooling. But I'm SO full now. But I definitely should've imbibed in a beer with my sandwich. Dang. Oh well, excuse to go back! :)

--K

Look at us go!

Silly Blondie - "Let's get up at 6:30 am and take advantage of the discount at Chelsea Piers". Sillier Yours Truly - "Capital plan Blondie!" This is usually how tequila shots become a good idea, one person convincing the other - but not how a 6:30 am start time comes about.

Off to the driving range we go - and it was worth it. If you ever plan on coming to NYC, I recommend shooting golf balls out over the Hudson. For those of you who's brain is constantly on the go (ahem, me), it's more therapeutic than running.

Blondie showing off his mad golf skills

Me, just about to totally hook the ball

The view, so worth a 6:30 am start

And finally, the walk from the subway to the piers. This city is amazing to me.

Lazy Weekend

I worked out today. Worked out HARD today. So when Blondie suggested cajun food for lunch, I was all over that. We headed out to the cajun food place in our hood - 2 avenues and about 6 blocks from where we live. The entire time (and I mean entire) I rambled on about what I was going to eat. And drink.

And then it was blown, because the waiter told us about brunch specials. And one caught my ear. It was seriously one of the best meals I've had in my entire life.

Heaven on a plate

This was a layer of corned beef hash (real corned beef hash) followed by a layer of fried grits patties (grits, cheese, onions - OMG), followed by fried eggs, followed by cajun tomato sauce, followed by slivered green onions, covered in tabasco. And an Abita beer. I have tears in my eyes recalling this meal that I just finished about 1.5 hours ago. Blondie's meal is a catfish po'boy and sweet potato fries - one of my favs and what I was planning on getting until that waiter stepped in.

After we ate, it was off to hit up our markets (fish, veggie, meat) - we picked out our own whole fish this time, had them gut it and descale it, and are going to cook it up with some fresh lemon juice and some butter.

And then, look what $11 gets you! SO CHEAP! And we've never had bad produce.


Also, Tigga says "Hi! Your hands smell like corned beef hash!"


Tomorrow it's off to Katz Deli (the orgasm scene in "When Harry Met Sally" so stay tuned for a post about how long the line is there).

--K

No Sleep Til... BROOKLYN!

Living around Times Square kind of rocks simply because every single train line ends up in the general vicinity at some point. It was about a 4 block walk, and then Blondie and I were on the train to City Hall, which is where you can start the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

GG Bridge in SF was obviously very beautiful, but also very long. I think the only time I ever went all the way over and back was a 10K race I did, and the only thing I was thinking about was how much I hate running.

Brooklyn Bridge was better - shorter, no real ups and downs. But there were a whole lotta people packed into a tiny area. So many people!



The bridge itself is beautiful, and they have markers along the way describing the history of the bridge. They also have awesome views of NYC. Blondie kept quoting EuroTrip when we were walking over "It's a good thing you came in the summer, very depressing in the winter" and absolutely made me laugh my ass off.







You can see the Statue of Liberty from the bridge! I think it's kind of like seeing Alcatraz from GG Bridge. I was like "Oh hey! Blondie look!" and kind of made a scene about it. I guess that's how you tell native NY-ans, they really don't get shocked by a lot. Whereas I was like hyperventilating that the Statue of Liberty is in my city. Of course, everybody thought I was a tourist b/c of how loud I was. Blondie made me feel better and said that until we were here for a year, we could be as touristy as we wanted.



We made it to Brooklyn on foot!



We had been hearing so much about this fabulous pizza joint in Brooklyn, so it was with eager steps that we headed over to the waterfront, and then our hearts collapsed when we saw the line. But we waited it out. The pizza was really good (Michele Obama and her daughters ate there a few weeks ago when they were in NYC for spring break!), but it was hard to justify the time we spent for it.



All in all, a fabulous day, and a day of things that we were glad to do at least once.

--K

It was a good Friday

Shhhh... don't tell anyone, but, I left work early on Friday! It seems to be a huge no-no to leave work before 6 pm, but this past Friday, I couldn't stand it. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and a patio with beer somewhere was calling my name. There was only one thing I could do - that was find that patio!

Luckily I convinced Blondie to join me. We hit up the bar in our hood - the front windows are actually giant doors (floor to ceiling) which they completely opened up and we managed to snag a table at the very front on the sidewalk.

Here we are, enjoying a lazy Friday afternoon.





Some bar food was also in order. Yes I ordered them. Yes they were heavenly. No I didn't smear them on me (although after a few more beers I might've). Seriously, who doesn't love a party in their mouth?



One thing that hit me about NYC on Friday was that no matter how hard you work, there is always someone working harder. I can come into work at 9 am and stay until 8:15 pm (and I've done that somedays) but there is always someone who was there at 6 am that's working until 10:30 pm. Blondie and I were enjoying our beers, and as packed as the bar was, there will still a ton of people running by outside in suits, on their cellphones, carrying their laptops. I don't know - it kind of is freeing to know that all I have to do (all I can do) is my best at my job. And when it's time for a beer break, it's time.



That makes no sense anywhere except in my head.

--K

On a mission

To eat all the cupcakes in NYC.



I'm succeeding. Yes, I ate the cupcake too fast and forgot to take a before shot. If you judge, I'll fly to your house, shove one in your face, and see how long it takes you to inhale it - and then I'll laugh. Because you'll be in the same boat as me.

Apparently hot weather makes my coworkers want to buy ice cream and cupcakes for the team. Apparently hot weather makes me want to EAT the cupcakes.

This one was from Buttercup, which most definitely gave Magnolia a run for their money.

--K