An Empire State of Mind

What a weekend. Liz & Ed were in town and took on all of NYC. I joined for the weekend (had to work some). Friday night we had some amazing Spanish tapas in Queens (yep, we left the island). The next morning we headed to Chelsea for some amazing french toast at a little cafe near the High Line Park. I really think its the best I've had. Those of you who spent the summer in Paris with me, this place also has some amazing sweet and savory crepes, almost as good as our little street stand. The highlight was getting slimed Nickelodeon-style by pesto flying out of the kitchen. The food got comped though (and no, I didn't take pictures of the slime). That night we had plans to eat at Plataforma Churrascaria, a Brazilian steakhouse, so no more eating for the rest of the day (other then a rejuvenating chai) so off to the sites.



Turned out Ed hadn't seen the sites so we headed to the Empire State Building - we got drawn in by the $20 sign only to learn after going through airport-style security and Disney lines that an extra $15 would get us to the real top at 102 floors compared to the measly 86th. Well, of course then we'll have to pay for it. Many elevators and lines later we made it to the 86th floor only to realize that our tickets to the 102nd floor were missing (not that I'm going to say names, Ed you know who you are). We enjoyed the views, didn't drop anything to kill poor pedestrians below and found a nice attendant who allowed us up with our receipts. Turns out the 102nd floor was suppose to be the waiting room for those arriving and departing NYC via blimp to Europe - yep, they intended to dock blimps on the 103rd floor and have people tightrope to the waiting room. Best idea ever. We had amazing weather and could see all the way to the Catskills but it will be a long time before I feel the need to drop $35 to go up again. Right before this though Liz and I headed to Purl to drool over wool and think of all the projects we'll never have time to knit. Turns out they are in the middle of a move to a much larger place (still in soho though). Well, no visit to NYC would be complete without times square so off we headed to enjoy the lights and crowds. Although it was nice, apparently it wasn't warm enough for the naked cowboy but I think he saw enough to appreciate the gaudy glory that is Times Square. We headed back to my apartment to enjoy a skyline sunset and have a dog walk (burn a few more calories before our steak feast).


Well, Plataforma Churrascaria lived up to its reputation - it was fun, tasty and had excellent service. The salad bar included good sushi and fresh shrimp, yum. Then plates of meats appeared magically, being sliced off the swords it was skewered on by cute guys. Top it all off with a great bottle of Syrah and I have to say I enjoyed it. I might eat even less beforehand if I go again though; I almost rolled home. Oh, the desserts were pretty good to, but the complimentary fortified wine was great - couldn't understand what they called it though. C'este la vie. Guess I'll just have to go back to find out. ;-)

Between the trip to Purl and a fun order from Knitpicks arriving, I am back knitting. I think my first project will be a bag to carry shoes to work or maybe I'll finely finish my sweater project.

Quote of the Day:
Mac: We may be guilty of creating an urban legend, but there's no way this building is guilty of murder.
Danny: Alright. Well if the Empire State Building didn't do it, what did?
- CSI: NY