It’s Giving New York City!

Name a better travel duo than Nana and Sofía. I’ll wait. This time, we crossed the pond (or S did, and I took a short flight from PR) to visit my besties Lex and Pat for a five-day vacation, where we drank and ate our way through New York City. 

Without further ado, I will share the places we visited and whether they are worth your time (almost all will be).  

Friday: 

We arrived late Thursday night and immediately went to bed to wake up fresh for our busy weekend.

As S had a bit of jetlag, we both woke up around 7 a.m., showered, and got ready to head out to our first stop. We shopped a bit (I needed a little target run since we don’t have one in PR -rip-) and then headed to Sadelle’s in Soho. I came upon Sadelle’s through TikTok and saw a few mixed reviews. However, we had heard their bagel tower with smoked salmon and french toast were the must-try dishes. We decided to split the bagel tower with salmon and order some incredible blueberry pancakes for the best of both worlds.

TIP: We were confused with the menu as we thought the tower cost $125, but we figured out that you can order a smaller tower with one bagel, salmon, capers, tomatoes, and cream cheese for $25. Since we were sharing this with some pancakes, the smaller tower was more than enough for us.     

Overall, I loved those pancakes; they were one of the best. The tower was delicious; the salmon was fresh and thinly sliced. I loved this place and thought it was worth the price and the hype.  

We then shopped a bit more and decided to take a mid-day nap to rest up. 

We were still tired in the evening and decided to stay in. However, we decided to order some pizza from Rubirosa and watch a movie cozied up in bed to welcome the weekend the right way. While S headed to Broadway, we enjoyed their great vodka, pesto, and marinara pizza. I understand why this place is famous and think it’s worth visiting if you want good pizza around NYC.  

Saturday: 

Saturday was the IT day with food and drinks. We started our morning by getting some coffee and tea from Sullivan Street Bakery. This place had a fantastic focaccia and olive oil cake, great for a quick bite.  We then walked around Soho, shopping and enjoying the sun before our big lunch. We were going to CARBONE! When I tell you, I was so excited about this. We had planned a month for our reservation, and although it might be challenging to get, it is worth making an effort. 

TIP: if you have American Express, you get global dining access with Resy. We could score a reservation by looking a month ahead and turning on our notifications for the restaurant. 

I know there are a lot of different opinions when it comes to Carbone; some people love it, others say it’s overhyped. I loved it and would love to bring my parents to this place. I started with a delicious gin martini, and we then moved into some fantastic white wine recommended by the in-house sommelier. You are offered a burrata and salami to start during lunch - that burrata was delicious. We then ordered the Caesar salad and some meatballs to share. The salad was something else, absolutely delicious. This is one of the best salads out there. The meatballs were also incredible. We then HAD to order their well-known vodka pasta. I am so sorry to say that this pasta was gorgeous. There are no complaints. We finished the meal with some lemon cheesecake and their delicious almond cookies. I loved it. There is nothing else to say. I want to go back. 

We then moved on to Sonnyboy for some drinks. I decided on the T-shirt Weather cocktail that was ICONIC. I loved the place's vibes and cannot recommend it more for a chill Saturday afternoon. They also have a great happy hour! 

We still had some time before dinner, so we headed to the Rooftop at the Public Hotel on East Houston Street. The drinks at this place were expensive and may not be worth their price, but the vibes and the views from NYC were terrific. We only had one drink and chilled while taking in the gorgeous views. I recommend finding another rooftop that has better drinks for the price and will have amazing views as well. 

We then returned home to rest for a bit, had some leftover Rubirosa, and headed to The Campbell in Grand Central Station for some drinks. Now, if you are an avid Gossip Girl fan as I am, you may recognize The Campbell from the first episode. We just had to go. The drinks were so good; I ordered a Cosmopolitan in true Nana fashion, and we chilled at the bar before heading home to rest. 

Sunday: 

We felt a bit tired for our jam-packed Saturday, so we took our morning slow and headed to Central Park for a nice walk before going to Broadway for our show. We saw Parade, albeit a tragic story; it was an incredible show! 

We were craving pizza, so we decided to go to Scarr’s Pizza for some iconic New York slices. We first stopped at Bar Belly for some drinks, where I had a delicious Paloma, and the ambiance was so lovely and calm, perfect for a Sunday night. And we then headed next door to Scarr’s. Safe to say that this pizza is delicious, hence why it is always full. We had to wait around 30 minutes for a table in the back, but when we had that first bite, let me tell you it was well worth all the wait. You can order your slice, take it home/eat it outside instead of waiting for a table. We ordered a pepperoni pizza, sausage, and garlic pizza; it was terrific. 

Monday: 

We woke up bright and early to start our last full day in NY. We began our day with some delicious brunch at Bubby’s. Now, this was another place I had seen a lot on TikTok and although I had also heard it was overhyped, I loved this place. I did have to get a reservation around 2-3 weeks beforehand, but it was well worth it. We ordered so much food that I had to walk so much after our meal. We ordered their pancake flight with a strawberry and Nutella, a blueberry, and a banana and walnut pancake. My favorite was the banana one; I adored it. We also had their mac and cheese, which was, I dare say, my favorite mac and cheese ever. Safe to say, another excellent place for brunch in NYC. 

We spent most of the day walking around Soho and enjoying the warm weather and the gorgeous day! 

Tuesday: 

It was our last morning in New York before our flights in the afternoon. We had one more place on our list of restaurants, and it was another exciting place: we were heading to Via Carota! 

Tip: keep those Resy notifications on! I did not have a reservation, but on Sunday evening, there was a cancellation for lunch on Tuesday, and I could score the reservation. 

I was going in with high hopes for Via Carota, and it indeed did not disappoint. Although this is more relaxed than Carbone, I prefer this place for lunch and Carbone for dinner. I still loved everything about this place. The ambiance was so lovely, and the food was delicious. We started with some delicious anchovy appetizers, and I then had an exquisite lemon risotto. It was so light and fresh that I still dream about it. Now, let me say that Via Carota’s desert game was much stronger than Carbone's. I had a delicious berry tart, and S had some raspberries with cream and champagne, and both were SO good. I honestly cannot wait to be back. 

I loved our little NYC vacation and had so much fun with my friends, eating and drinking around the city. New York is a big city with much more to explore so you will see me back soon. 

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