Most days in New York we started with a quick coffee and a muffin, either from Whole Foods or Dean and Deluca. The Bouchon Bakery is deserving of a mention here, as it is operated by Thomas Keller and served some really beautiful French pastries and great coffee. I especially loved the graphics.

During our shopping excursion to Soho, we couldn't help but stop at Balthazar, a great New York institution. I'd been trying to have a cucumber martini for three days, and I finally got one here. It was blissfully refreshing on such a hot day.

We of course had to order the oysters. Delightful.

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La Esquina was the place I had the most recommendations for. Everyone raved about their corn and taco's. There was no room inside when we went, so we ordered at the window and sat outside. We had a cob of their infamous corn, which was really interesting with a chili powder rub and grated cheese. I'd like to actually dine inside if I ever go back.

My husband would have eaten pizza for every meal if I didn't restrain him, but I did let him visit Artichoke twice. Their namesake pizza was incredible, with a creamy artichoke sauce, and big chunks of melted mozzarella. We ordered it both times.

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Another thing about my husband, he didn't want to eat anywhere that he hadn't researched and ensured that it was worth eating at. But one day his stomach trumped his head, and we stopped into Peels. It turned out to be great spot for lunch, and we really enjoyed the modern take on some American classics.

I was determined to eat and black and white cookie while in NY, so we stopped in at Crumbs one day. It was great, although I don't have anything to really compare it to. It was thick and cakey with a nice, smooth icing.

I'm always interested to see spaces that I have seen published, to see how accurate the photography and story was. Our hotel was quite close to Quality Meats, which is published in Best Ugly, a book that profiles a few of the restaurants by Avroko. Overall I was pretty impressed. The space did feel smaller, but cameras do tend to make things feel larger as they manipulate their viewpoints. Like ABC Kitchen, this restaurant had a really strong concept that flowed through every element of the brand and interior. Being a meat focused space, all the waiters even wore butcher coats as their uniform. So we felt that the best thing to order would be the Tartar. We loved it. It came deconstructed and the presentation was great. Once we stirred it all together, we realized it also tasted great.

Quality Meats also has an ice cream bar which we couldn't resist. You can see why.

One of my favourite places was Bill's Gay 90's, which is one of the original NY Speakeasy's. It was a fantastic piano bar that was full of enthusiastic patrons. We had such an awesome time sipping Manhattan's and Cosmo's and enjoying such a unique part of of the city. This was the one place I wish I could have transplanted back to Calgary.

The one place we actually had a sit down breakfast was The Breslin, which is located in the Ace Hotel. Brunch was good, but made me happy that we didn't spend a lot eating out for breakfast. I never really find that meal to be special enough to justify the extra expense sometimes.

The interior was interesting with lots of interesting art and accessories cluttering the shelves. The millwork and furniture had an old English pup/cafe feel.

On our last day, we stopped over at the Frying Pan, which a bar that sits on one of the docks overlooking the Hudson River. It was a really interesting place, and it was great to sit somewhere in the cool breeze. Unfortunately for me, I tend to get a bit seasick at those types of places. A moving boat in one thing, but a slightly moving dock is another. It was all I could do to drink one ginger ale before bailing.

Our very last stop was for a quick taste of the ubiquitos Pinkberry. I have always wanted to taste their special frozen yogurt and I finally got my chance. Any boy was it good. The yogurt was perfectly tart and sweet. And now I will spend my time trying to recreate it's perfectly balanced flavors. Or, you can now get it in Vancouver!

So that was our food adventure. I've kept one under wraps for a post later this week, and more great details of our trip to come.

So we spent most of our time doing what we love best, eating. It was incredible. So I'm going to take some time here to list out everywhere we visited, because they are all worth going back to! But we ate at so many places, I'm going to divide it up into a couple of posts. So here it is. Our NYC Eating Extravaganza, Part 1.

The first place that we officially sat down to eat at was The Modern, which is the restaurant at MOMA. It featured a great menu of French-American cuisine, and was divided into three courses, and also encouraged sharing. It was very stylish with a glamourous clientele, and looks out to the garden at the museum. Pictured above is the Lamb and Goat Cheese Terrine.

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The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien hotel was really fun. This space is hidden behind a floor to ceiling curtain in the hotel lobby. The only hint that it is there is the smell of sizzling beef on the grill, and the little neon burger sign tucked at the end of a corridor. Inside is a great dive of a burger place, with a very simple menu. The walls are covered in handwritten scrawl from past customers, and the brick wall is lined with names of celebs who dropped by.

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One evening we went out for drinks before dinner and chose the Russian Vodka Room. It's dark and moody interior has been around for ages. The menu features several house infused flavoured vodka, including a horseradish vodka that actually turned out to be really good. The menu looked great too, featuring lots of pickled fish and caviar dishes.

Our big splurge meal was at Eleven Madison Park. The entire experience was phenomenal from start to finish. The restaurant was awarded an Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation this year, and for good reason. The menu features four courses, with a list of only the main ingredient of each dish, so what you eventually get is a complete surprise. The meal was preceded by a parade of incredible amuse bouche's including a Goat Cheese Lollypop. Then after the meal, trays of sweets emerged from the kitchen, which is pictured above. Here you will see the Lemon Shortbread, a Meringue, and an Earl Grey and Blackberry Macaron, each about the size of a quarter.

The end of the meal also meant that this bottle of cognac was left at your table with the encouragement to help yourself. Indeed.

The service at Eleven Madison was absolute top notch. It was like sitting amidst an orchestra as the service unfolded around you. Servers would pop up out of nowhere to replace or remove things, to refill the wine and refold your napkin when you left the table. It was certainly a meal I won't soon forget.

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After that extravaganza, we ventured to the West Village to Little Branch. Here's the exterior shot. Sure doesn't look like much.

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My husband was a bit obsessed with going to a Speakeasy, and this was the closest we got. Little Branch is known for it's great bar tending staff and delectable cocktails. It's located in a basement with a pair of curious vintage washrooms, and while you sip your drink, you can hear the rumble of the subway as it rolls along nearby.

After we saw the McQueen exhibit at the Met one morning, we went up to their rooftop patio for a quick bite to eat. While the food service was just a couple of cold pre-made sandwiches and drinks, the view of the Manhattan skyline more than made up for it. You should ask at the info booth how to get up there, as only one elevator will take you to the roof.

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We went to a concert on a dock one afternoon, which meant we got to try some NY food truck food! We went to the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck for a couple of the best dumplings I have ever had. The Chicken and Thai Basil dumplings had a coconut sauce inside along with other veggies, which made the whole thing taste like a fabulous bowl of Thai Coconut Chicken soup. I will dream about those dumplings.

My husband also insisted on going to ABC Kitchen, which won the Best New Restaurant award at the James Beard awards this year. What I loved most about this restaurant was that the concept flowed through every element of the space. Anything that the guest saw or touched continually reinforced the concept of the restaurant. No surprise it was fitted out with lots of gorgeous pieces from ABC Home, which it's adjacent to. The food was nice, with a focus on local, sustainable, and organic cuisine. But honestly, I don't feel like that was the only restaurant that I could have had that meal at.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Part 2!

Sound the horns! We're kicking off the life list summer with a trip to NYC! Toot toot! While the rest of Calgary is Stampeding it up next week, we will be taking advantage of the down time by enjoying a little holiday. And I know this trip will only get me another 1/4 of the way towards my goal of NYC in all four seasons, but I'm really thrilled to get to spend a week in the Big Apple! And who knows...maybe there are other list items to tackle while we are there.

Besides the obvious NYC attractions, we want to try to hit up some interesting parts of NY that maybe others would overlook or will make our trip unique. Here's a couple of things we are really looking forward too:

The Radio Dept and Asobi Seksu at the Seaport Music Festival (free!)

Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty at the Met (the reason I prioritized this trip)

The High Line (the second phase just opened!)

Bicycling in Central Park

And let's not forget all the fabulous food...

If you have any suggestions for us, leave a comment!

photo above of a Banksy piece in NYC, via High Snobriety.

My husband and I are not the type of vacationers to just go and sit around and relax. In fact, our trips tends to be busier, and more jamb packed than our normal day to day. Originally, we were planning to go to Argentina. But our lives have gotten the best of us lately, and we just didn't have the time to plan a two week expedition through South America. But when we heard our friends had a condo booked in Maui for a week? That sounded like something we could handle.

My mom warned me before we left, to please take the time to relax and just enjoy ourselves. The last 6 months have been some of the craziest we've been through. Instead, we started the trip in our usual fashion.

We flew into Maui late, and spent that first night in an overpriced hostel close to the airport, with an exceptionally hard and squeaky mattress. It didn't take much to motivate us to get up for our 7:00 am wake up call to hit the road.

Our first two days on the island were spent driving through lush tropical rainforest on a windy narrow road, otherwise known as the Hana Highway. We had rented a convertible (yay!) as we heard that it helps with the car sickness on all the twists and turns. It also provides a full panoramic view of all the incredible flora and fauna.

There were lots of great places to stop, to see incredible waterfalls and the amazing lava formations along the rocky shoreline.

We think there must have been a lot of rain in the days prior as all the waterfalls were in full form.

Our big splurge was a night at the Hotel Hana Maui, which is an incredible spa resort on the east coast of Maui. Were were greeted with kukui nut necklaces, fresh pressed juice, and a refreshing scented towel. Who doesn't love those sweet scented towels?

This was our little bungalow.

After driving all day, we were keen to relax with some tropical bevvies, with little umbrellas, of course.

The next morning, we took an early morning yoga class overlooking the Pacific, followed by a dip in the pool. I wish every morning could start that way.

Then we continued along the highway, ending up at the Ohe'o Gulch, or the Seven Sacred Pools. While the pools are the most popular attraction along the road, we were much more interested in the hike up the mountain.

The hike starts with a trek through the tropical rainforest, following the valley and overlooking the water as it flows down the mountainside.

At one point in the trail, you emerge to find this most incredible Banyan Tree.

Halfway up, you cross a bridge, and are submerged into a richly dense bamboo forest. It seriously felt magical in there. The best part was when the wind blew, and bamboo would sway and knock together. It was absolutely enchanting.

And then at the top, there's this huge waterfall.

On the way out, we stopped to see the seven pools, which seemed to lose their sacredness when packed with tourists.

From this point on, the road changes as you move to the south side of the island. For about an hour you navigate an even narrower road against a rocky cliffside. At some points the road isn't even paved. A good opportunity to take it even slower and just enjoy the scenery. Eventually the road straightens out, and heads across the mountainside, where you can see the formations of the lava flows as they head towards the sea. Absolutely amazing. I swear my mouth was just hanging open for two hours in awe of it all.

If ever you go to Maui, I highly recommend the round trip. It should be on your life list.