On New York: Always a visitor, never a resident.

Every so often I go to New York, sometimes I post on it, other times I don't. This time, it was a rather pointed quick trip, but I feel like a trip up north hasn't been so welcome.

I think it has to do with how NYC is many things that Atlanta is not. In NYC, I will never have to drive. The M60 was so clean this time! (Money saver tip: If you're thinking about going on a quick trip to NYC, fly into La Guardia, take the M60 into Manhattan, have $2.25 prepared in change for the bus and save a lot of money! I spend freely on transportation based on convenience otherwise, but usually I will allot the appropriate amount of time for the M60).

This blog could otherwise be called, 12 hours in NYC with Christine.

Start: 10am. My friend and I debated on whether it was better to be a resident or a constant visitor of NYC. I think there's a good balance and argument for each. As a constant visitor, I enjoy the public transportation, because I'm hardly ever in a rush. I like to eat at fashionable places and I'm willing to travel cross town for them.

This is Momofuku Noodle Bar, which is cheaper and therefore yummier than Momofuku Ssam Bar in the East Village. I always eat as though I'm eating for an occasion. Here, I ordered an outrageous amount of food and almost succeeded in eating allllll of it.

First, as I was waiting for my friend, the hostess convinced me to get a large Soju Apple Cider from the slushie machine. It was a specialty! It was delicious...and it was $10. *gasp* Splurge #1 in NYC. Then came the flight of tamales, one kimchi, one sichuan sausage, and one jalapeno and cheese.

 The best things come in threes.

Sichuan sausage with veggies.

and finally, the namesake, the Momofuku Noodle Ramen!

Was it worth the $16? Probably not. Was it better than Setagaya Ramen down the street which has a similar bowl for like..$12? Yes. Plus, you have to add in the added utility of being able to eat those tamales and the drunken light feeling I have from the Soju Apple Cider slush. Totally worth it! The egg was perfectly poached, the pork fatty, soo fatty. The broth had a thick consistency that showed that David Chang obviously told he young chefs running the kitchen to brew those pork bones for hours.

Immediately after gorging myself past the point of no-return, I decide to stuff myself with the Blueberries and Cream cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar.

Oink! NOM NOM NOM

Afterwards, a jaunt up to the UES and Museum Row lands me in front of the Guggenheim to catch the Kandinsky exhibit in its last weekend. See the difference between the tourist and the visitor arises again here. It takes 40 mins via public transportation to get from the LES to the UES. I can't think of any New Yorker that would normally do this ever. Forty minutes? Yeah right! I have a hard enough time to have friends visit me in the UWS from the West Village, a 10 minute cab ride. TEN minutes, forget about FORTY. Everyday, I drive 25 mins to work. In DC, I traveled via metro an hour just to get to work. On the metro, you just sit. It's not even like you're driving. Okay. I stop ranting now.

 The lines were a bit insane, since it was the last weekend of Kandinsky. I loved the exhibit, but obviously I didn't take any photos worth showing compared to the actual works. Inside was a zoo, and the architecture itself of the Guggenheim was based on the works of Kandinsky, so the whole scene was a bit meta. At the conclusion of the exhibit, my friend and I decided that in order to be an acclaimed genius, you must be ridiculously removed from life and kind of an arrogant asshole. READ: Frank Lloyd Wright, Wasily Kandinsky. Who paints Compositions based on music, if you've got a wife, kids, and like to play outside? Frank Lloyd Wright = evil man, especially because you know he had a secret second floor plan to include a waterslide at the top of the Solomon R. Gugg. Just for kicks. Then ripped it in two. I hate that the Gugg ain't free. $18 bux, my ass.

The top! How satisfying a slide would that be? Like a tasty dessert at the end of the exhibit where you can review all the works, once more, whilst rolling on water.... Oh the pleausre that could have been.

By the time I honored my affair with Kandinsky to the best of my ability, I was starving for Japanese retail shopping, no pictures were taken as I was savoring and purchasing the shit out of Muji and Uniqlo in Soho. Transport time: 40 mins. Next, after an hour in the cold, I remained surprisingly healthy. After a quick call to my aunt in DC, (man, where is my smart phone?), we found the restaurant, Stand, and I ate these things.

The famous, toasted marshmallow almond milkshake? Something like that. It was tasty.

 

Two fried pickles and a mushroom swiss burger. Can't go wrong!

End: 10pm in New York on a Saturday. LAME, but I got in a cab and headed straight to bed. I had an early day the next day!