One of the interesting things about being raised in New York City is that you sometimes forget about beauty of this city. I was quickly reminded of my beautiful city tonight during my impromptu date with my good friend Carly J. I haven't seen Carly since I moved back to Brooklyn in May. This is kind of a big deal since Carly and I used to live a mile apart, and spent most of our weekends together. So I was geeked when we finally got dinner on the calendar. I hopped on the train and met her at Columbus Circle. The City is buzzing with lights and tourists and Christmas shoppers, and it was fairly warm outside for this time of year...perfect walking weather! Carly and I walked to Noodies Thai Kitchen, a small Thai restaurant on 9th Avenue. We quickly ordered Sangria because...why not! And then came the daunting task of selecting our entree. Daunting simply because everything looked so good! But guess what...it was our fat day, so we went in! We ordered the Rock Shrimp for an appetizer (crispy fried shrimp served with spicy mayo and black sesame seeds), and we split the Thai Fried Rice (fried rice with shrimp, bacon, onion, scallion, Chinese broccoli, tomatoes and egg). And then we decided that noodle soups would be the best main dish for both of us; she ordered the Yien Ta Four Bowl (flat rice noodle, shrimp, white mushrooms, tofu, Bok Choy, calamari, shrimp balls in spicy tomato broth), and I ordered the Ba-mee Duck Noodle (egg noodles, crispy duck breast, baby bok choy, bean sprouts, and served with soup on the side). It was the perfect meal for a winter night in the City...everything was delicious!
But then, we decided to take a stroll to Victoria's Secret...the one right around the corner from Rockefeller Center! So we found ourselves thrusted directly into the hottest holiday tourist attraction in New York City...we just went with it! We finished shopping and walked over to Rockefella Center to see the tree; it was magical! And something that I take for granted because I am a native New Yorker. We checked out the rest of the light displays in the area, and we delve into the excitement of the holiday season. Once we were done, we decided to walk away from the crowd so that we can get to a not-so-congested train station. We ended up walking and talking, and realized that we hadn't had dessert! We jumped on Yelp and found an open bakery. But as we were walking to the bakery, we stumbled upon the Winter Market at Bryant Park...guess where we went. We strolled through the market and found some dessert. We sat down in the park and ate and talked, and fellowshipped with those passing by. Thank God it was warmish outside! We finished our dessert, walked up a few more blocks to the Port Authority, and we parted ways. The end to a perfect night!
The moral of this tail is 4-fold: 1. New York City is an amazing place to be; during the holidays and any other day! 2. It is important to make time for your friends, even when the busyness of life gets in the way. 3. Fat days are necessary. 4. Check out Noodies Thai Kitchen (830 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019, http://www.noodiesthaikitchennyc.com). Happy Holidays!