For those of you who know me, you know I’ve always wanted to visit the Big Apple. The obsession began a few years ago when I discovered the YouTube vlogger, Casey Neistat. He filmed his life in New York and the city’s bustling energy could always be felt through the screen. New York truly seemed like the place that you could do anything and no one would take a second glance at you. Honestly, they probably wouldn’t glance at you at all. In fact, here’s proof: Neistat literally snowboarded through the NYC streets and nothing happened. Case in point.

Later, I discovered Sex and the City, Man Repeller, and now the Perfectly Imperfect crew and let’s just say New York continues to have a chokehold over me.

My friend and I got to visit the city for four short and sweet days. We didn’t get to see absolutely everything (we’ll have to go back for at least a week and a half!), but we got to do everything we wanted and that’s all that matters. Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever been to New York and what you thought of it. I’d love to hear about your experience!

Day 1: Saturday

We checked into the Citizen M New York Bowery Hotel on the Lower East Side. This location was perfect because we were close to hot neighborhoods, like SoHo, the West Village, Chelsea, and close to plenty of subway stations to hop over to the Upper East Side or Brooklyn.

After our red-eye flight, we ate some delicious Vietnamese food at 5ive Spice Taco & Banh Mi.

Then we walked through SoHo and stopped by a few cute boutiques, like the Henrik Vibskov Boutique, which had a collection of Vibskov’s own pieces and then beautiful garments from Issey Miyake, the Adidas x Wales Bronner collection, and more.

After grabbing some coffee from 787 Coffee Co., we headed off to Central Park. We strolled through its hills and then made our way to The Met, where we reserved tickets in advance. Every Friday and Saturday, The Met hosts “Date Night.” During this time, visitors can head up to the rooftop to enjoy beverages and the city views. I would highly recommend spending at least 2-3 hours at the museum. We were quite tired from traveling, so we mainly enjoyed people watching on the rooftop.

Afterwards, we ate some delicious Barcelona-style tapas at Boqueria UES. Then, we ended the night by having a drink at Attaboy. Turns out this secret-ish bar turned out to be #8 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list from 2017! I’m not going to lie—here I finally got a taste of rawr New Yorkers. The staff was nice, but it felt very exclusive! Once you spot the door to the bar, you’ll be greeted by a host who will either let you in if there’s availability, or will put you on the waitlist. Because there were only two of us, we got in and sat at the bar. Don’t be afraid that there’s no menu! Just simply tell the bartender what liquor you enjoy and they will make something for you. I’m not a cocktail connoisseur, but from what I’ve had before, my Negroni was okay. Please don’t come after me! But the vibe here was amazing—dark, sexy, and suave!

Day 2: Sunday

To start our day off, we wanted to grab bagels at Russ & Daughters, but the line was out of the door. So, we headed over to Heaven’s Hot Bagels. Their menu was quite large and overwhelming to read. The line was chaotic and moving quickly, so I just ordered whatever a guy got in front of me (thanks, anxiety!). Luckily, he got lox on an everything bagel. Once you pay, you just wait for your order to be called. It’s kind of crazy because everyone ordered the same thing—lox or egg/sausage, so it was hectic to know when our order was ready. But we finally secured the bagels and they were delicious! If you have time and the patience, check out this site to find the best bagel shops in every New York borough!

a bagel truly from HEAVEN!

We spent the rest of our afternoon thrifting around Tompkins Square Park. Some of my favorite thrift stores were: AuH20, Vintage Reserve LLC, L Train Vintage, and Tokio 7 which had the most amazing selection of designer pieces! We also hit up Academy Records and left with some awesome vinyl finds.

For dinner, we ate at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant and enjoyed Levain cookies for dessert.

not a great pic, but Two Chip Chocolate Chip for the WIN

This night there was a pretty heavy thunderstorm and lightning, so we had drinks at our hotel’s rooftop bar and when the storm ended, we walked down the street to Vig Bar and Mother’s Ruin to people watch. At Mother’s Ruin, I met someone who claimed they’ve bartended at an SNL after-party. I don’t know if it was true, but it was an entertaining tale. From what the dude told me, Ryan Gosling isn’t very nice. Gosh, I hope that tidbit wasn’t true.

Day 3: Monday

After meeting with another friend for an early lunch, we made our way over to the MoMA. If you go, be sure to reserve tickets in advance and show up to the museum during your specific window of time!

This museum is absolutely breathtaking and we got to catch the Wolfgang Tillmans’ exhibit: To look without fear. I didn’t even know he was the photographer that shot Frank Ocean’s Blonde album cover! My favorite photos were of Lady Gaga and Chloë Sevigny. It was such a dream to walk around and view such dazzling photographs of incredible moments in the music and art world. We also checked out some of the MoMA’s new gallery collections, including art from the 1880s–1940s.

After checking out the art, we shopped at the museum store for some souvenirs and then walked a few blocks to check out the New York Public Library. We were quite tired, so we then grabbed Blue Bottle Coffee and chilled at Bryant Park for a bit before heading back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner at Balthazar.

dishing at balthazar

I walked into Balthazar thinking it wouldn’t be that good. I assumed it was over-hyped. But then walking into the restaurant, seeing the hustle and bustle, the old-school decor, and packed space was a game-changer. I’m not the biggest steak fan, so I had the butternut squash ravioli which was divine. My friend had the petite steak and said it was delicious! We then drank an espresso and shared a dessert before heading off to a night of comedy at the Comedy Cellar.

I highly recommend reserving a ticket in advance for the original MacDougal Street venue on a weeknight. According to comedy fans, weeknights are the best and you never know what iconic comedian will be making a surprise appearance!

My friend and I were already too giddy from walking past Willem Dafoe on the street, so we knew we were in for a treat. We enjoyed a drink at The Up & Up before lining up for the 11:30pm show. Pro tip: if you want to make it to an earlier show, arrive 40 minutes before to stand in the stand-by line—most people get in!

For the show, audience members must turn off their cellphones and zip them up in a bag. Once we did that, we headed downstairs to the Cellar and were seated with others. Sadly, we sat with a heckler, but hey! That’s comedy, baby! The show was amazing. My favorites were Daniel Simonsen, Geoffrey Asmus, and the surprise of the night—Michael Che, most known for his SNL work!

It was an amazing evening and we ended the night with a pepperoni slice from Prince Street Pizza.

my first NY slice

Day 4: Tuesday

On our last full day in New York, we explored Brooklyn. We slept in after a long night out and then after a quick breakfast, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge!

We chilled along the water at Brooklyn Bridge Park and then shopped in Williamsburg. We stopped by Mociun, which had a lovely collection of home goods and fine jewelry. How fun is this cute Diner Spill?

I wish we better planned this day. Honestly, we were so on the go that we needed to rest! When I go back, I’d love to explore Greenpoint and Prospect Heights. Next time!

We enjoyed dinner at a new restaurant in Carroll Gardens and then ended the day bar hopping near our hotel. My favorite part of the night was chilling at the Spring Lounge and then inhaling a late night slice at Bleecker Street Pizza for a last hurrah!

in my opinion, this slice was wayyy better than Prince Street Pizza!

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Hope you all enjoyed this post! Let me know if you liked this daily itinerary as opposed to the ones I’ve done in the past, like for Miami. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

P.S.

New York, I love you! Your energy, people, food, architecture…I love it all. Until next time!