New York!

 Austin and I had a whirl wind trip to New York last week! Austin had an interview in NY and NJ, I had never been so I decided to tag along. We flew out on a red eye on Sunday putting us arriving in NY at 5:30am on Monday we had to rent a car and drive to Long Island where his interview was and started at 7:30 am. So we got literally no sleep (no thanks to the woman next to us on the plane either coughing up a lung or snoring!) I spent 6 hours at a local mall shopping till Austin finished, then we headed back into the city for dinner. Most of our trip revolved around places we wanted to eat, so if your hungry don't read on!

Austin and I love food, watching the food network, try new recipes, etc. So we had a reservation at Bobby Flay's (food network star/chef) restaurant, Mesa Grill. It was the most amazing food either of us had ever had!!!! We were lucky that we actually saw Bobby Flay at the restaurant that night (he's normally only there 2 nights a month!)
                                    Our appetizer, Squash blossoms, was amazing! I had never had
                                           this before but will definitely be googling a recipe for this.
                                                                   UNBELIEVABLE!

                   Austin's Main course, Pork Tenderloin with a Sweet Potato Tamale with crushed pecan butter
                       Both incredible! I have never had a tenderloin that was so moist and well.... tender!

             I got the Red and Black Pepper Crusted Filet Mignon served with mushroom-ancho chile sauce.
                        I don't know why they even gave me a knife it seriously just melted in my mouth!
                                                             Picture doesn't do it justice!

Our sides:  Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranates and  Pecans, and a Double-Baked Potato             with Horseradish, Green Onions and Creme Fraiche

                         To full for dessert we went to our Friends Brad and Karen's house and crashed!

   The next morning was our only day in the city, so we had it all mapped out on how to see New York in a day! It started with breakfast at a popular restaurant called Sarabeth's

                                                                Austin got Cheese Blintz

                                      And I got there infamous Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, divine!

 Full and ready for the day we headed to the subway, a first for both of us! I have to say we loved the subway, it was one of our favorite parts!

We took it all the way down to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty. We didn't do a tour due to lack of time. The picture also makes it look smaller than what it was.

 We walked up Broadway and saw the infamous bull, can't help but think of the movie Hitched when we saw this....

 ...continued on and saw the Trinity Church

Then went on to the 9/11 Memorial, the fountains were so beautiful!

 Next we were off to Century 21"New York's best kept secret" department store, designer things for incredible prices!

Next off to lunch in Brooklyn at Girmaldi's. The pizza was outstanding!

We then walked back to the city via the Brooklyn Bridge, fun views!

                                            We hit up Grand Central Station, this is the ceiling

                                                             The tree at Rockefeller Center

                                                                        Time Square

                                                                 Us in Central Park

We then meet up with Brad and Karen for dinner at this delicious Mexican restaurant, they make your guacamole fresh right there in front of you!

                                                                  Carne Asada tacos

                                                                        Short ribs

We then went to Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man. Talk about delicious, you walk in and the whole place smells like chocolate!

On our last day we had to drive to New Jersey for Austin's interview, we stopped at a local deli and had a delicious pastrami and rye. Before his interview we were able to stop by the church that Austin's grandparents were married in. His great grandfather also built on of the stain glass windows there. So neat to be able to see that.

After that it was back to the airport and back to LA. We had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it!