city guide

New York is one of my favorite cities in the world so when one of our closest friends decided to get married there, we were thrilled to be making a trip back. This is by no means a full city guide as we only had a few days to explore, but here were a few of my favorite places on this trip:

E A T

The Spotted Pig: It’s honestly tough to have a bad meal in New York because there are so many restaurants that the competition is incredibly high and some the best chefs in the world call it their home. The foodie scene is unparalleled. The Spotted Pig was the best meals I’ve ever had in New York City – so much so that I went twice in a day with two different groups of people – Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone! You need to order:

The Deviled Egg – My dad makes a MEAN deviled egg, but this one was easily my second favorite ever.
Devils on Horseback – Absolutely insanely delicious dates wrapped in bacon – a wonderful balance of sweet and savory. The perfect salty, savory crunch of bacon followed by a soft, decadent date on the inside – YUM.
Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi with Basil Pesto – My mouth is watering just thinking about this dish. I’m a huge pasta person in general, but gnocchi and ravioli are my jam. The gnudi is made up of several balls of ricotta stuffed pasta – a little smaller than a golf ball each. Lightly covered in a delicious basil pesto, the gnudi is absolutely perfect. I ordered this dish both times and had a really hard time sharing.
Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese & Shoestring Fries – I was lucky enough to try this burger on both trips. I can say without a doubt that this is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. Perfectly seasoned and juicy with just the right amount of mild/medium blue (which I usually don’t love on a burger). The shoestring fries take this dish over the top and are absolutely addicting.

Bleecker Street Pizza: The first time I had pizza in New York, it was at a shitty, 7-11 style joint at 4:00 in the morning and it was TERRIBLE. The crust was flimsy, the cheese resembled that of 90’s cafeteria pizza and it was honestly disgusting. To this day, it was the only bad meal I’ve ever had in New York. I swore that I was a Detroit style (square) or Chicago style (deep dish) girl at heart and that my life was totally fine without New York pizza. Since so many people rave about it including our foodie friends and since it was 4:00 in the morning on Saturday (and I was a bit tipsy and easy to convince), I decided to give it a try again at Bleecker Street Pizza and my pizza world was flipped upside down. The PERFECT size slices that can be folded in half (but not flimsy by any means!) with the best, unforgettable crunch. NOMS! Absolutely mouth-watering pizza. Order:

Whatever the hell kind of pizza you like because absolutely nothing is going to suck.

Burger Joint: Hidden behind a curtain in the back of Le Parker Meridien on 56th and 6th, this place rocked our world. We went after a 7:30 showing of Les Miserables and I’m so glad our friend made the suggestion. While they have the best diner style burgers and shakes imaginable, there’s nothing fancy about this place. I felt like I’d been transported to a funky old diner in Detroit with mismatched decor, autographs on the wall, wood paneling and all sorts of grease and smells. So delicious. Order:

A cheeseburger with everything on it.
Fries
Shake

D R I N K

Experimental Cocktail Club: Jake and I aren’t exactly big into clubs (although I did have a clubbing spree when I first moved to LA – hay Hollywood!), but we were spending time with our friends who know all of the best places in the city, so ECC in the lower east side it was! Slightly swanky with great decor and an incredible DJ, ECC brings in the best mixologists in the world to craft cocktails that are some of the best you’ll ever have…. so good that we were there until just before closing. Eeeek! Order:

Burning Passion Punch – But ONLY one! An awesome combination of rum and passion fruit. They slice open a passion fruit and set both halves on fire before delivering it to your table. Delicious.
Brazilian Magic Punch – Yaguara Cachaca, coconut milk, almond milk, pineapple, verjus, agave, black and white peppers, Chilean peppers, cocoa beans, vanilla, rose buds – WHAT?! Hands down the best cocktail I’ve had in years. Order it. You won’t regret it.

B R E A T H

The High Line: If you’re eating and drinking as much as we were, a trip to the High Line is a must. An elevated railroad turned beautiful park, the High Line runs from Gansevoort St. in Meatpacking to West 34th Street on the city’s west side. It can get a bit crowded so go early and enjoy some pretty stunning views of Manhattan.

Battery Park City: I’d never been to southern most point of Manhattan, but it’s where our friends were getting married and I couldn’t wait to explore a new part of the city. Watching the sun set over the Statue of Liberty was simply unforgettable and an experience I couldn’t recommend more.

S H O P

ABC Carpet & Home: There is so much shopping in New York that it’s hard to go wrong, but my favorite place there is still ABC Carpet & Home. I went exploring with Beth on Thursday afternoon and we spent a few hours wandering around each level getting design inspiration and doing some preliminary sourcing for the Napa project. We bought way too many cards and little gifts on the first level, but honestly could have walked away with anything in that store provided we had the $ and means to drag it back to LA.

And that’s a wrap! Where are your favorite places in NY?

When a business partner asked Jake and I to attend Jazz Aspen over Labor Day weekend, we were sold. I visited Aspen with Jake for the first time in June for a work event and we simply couldn’t squeeze enough in to feel like we’d really taken advantage of all it has to offer. This trip couldn’t have come at a better time – LA was just entering a record breaking heatwave and Jake’s travel schedule has been nuts. A weekend away as a couple was just what the doctor ordered. Check out a few of our favorite places below:

S T A Y

The Villas at Snowmass – Jake and I stayed here and we couldn’t have been happier with our experience. We were walking distance to the festival (less than a 5 minute walk) and since we were spending 4 nights there, it was nice to have a full kitchen to stock up on our choice of food, beer and wine so that we weren’t eating every single meal out. Having a fireplace and a second bathroom was lovely and we felt right at home.

The Viceroy Snowmass – Chic contemporary design meets warm mountain lodge. While we didn’t stay here on this trip, we dropped by on our last day. I’ve had a long love affair with Viceroy hotels and this one was no exception – stunning views, guest rooms, pool and restaurants. While there are convenient shuttles everywhere in Aspen/Snowmass, the Viceroy is within walking distance to the lifts making it a perfect stay in the winter for those looking to hit the slopes.

Hotel Jerome – Historic, classic and perfectly chic, the Hotel Jerome was my first taste of Aspen in June and remains a favorite. The staff is so welcoming and the design is spot on. The bar is one of my favorite places in Aspen and is so perfectly curated that I could explore it for hours. Black walls, beautiful wainscoting, inlaid cowhide tile runners, an elegant fireplace with grasscloth backed built-ins make this the perfect place to enjoy a cocktail and some conversation. With a modern men’s cigar lounge/bar in my design project future, I’ll definitely be citing this place as inspiration.

E A T / D R I N K

Casa Tua – Absolutely delicious Northern Italian cuisine and a fantastic wine list. It’s no wonder Casa Tua is one of Aspen’s highest rated restaurants. We were able to taste the Burrata salad as well as the daily Risotto and Gnocchi – all phenomenal. We felt completely at home with wonderful staff and service in a beautifully designed, inviting space.

Matsuhisa – If you’ve never visited one of Chef Nobu’s restaurants, you need to. The freshest ingredients, clean, crisp yet complex flavors and meticulous, painstakingly perfect execution make for an unforgettable experience. In typical Nobu form, the menu offers very little description of what you’re to receive so allow your server to make recommendations and guide you through your tasting experience.

B R E A T H

Bike – After we’d adjusted to the altitude, we planned to rent bikes on what disappointingly ended up being the one rainy and cold day during our visit. We didn’t end up doing the ride like we’d hoped, but will definitely make time for that during our next visit. There is so much to see in the Aspen/Snowmass area that you can only experience outside of a car so a bike rental is a great way to get some fresh air and come a little closer to nature. The ride from Snowmass to Aspen is about 90 minutes (mostly downhill) so definitely consider a one way rental unless you’re hoping to make a day of it and ride uphill on the way back.

Gondola – The gondola experience in Telluride was absolutely unforgettable so we knew we wanted to take the gondola up to the top of Aspen mountain. I’m so glad we made the time to do it. While it rained during our ride, we were able to view the most amazing and vibrant rainbow over the mountain and valley. The views and trails at the top are so worth the $20 ticket (I had no idea that there was a HUGE mountain range behind Aspen mountain!) – the sight was breathtaking. I can only imagine how awesome it must be in the winter. We’d been told not to eat at the Sundeck Restaurant by some friends, but we were starving when we got up there and decided to anyway. I was so shocked at how great the food was for just a simple ski lodge cafeteria. I’m glad we grabbed a bite to eat and a beer before exploring and making our way back down.

Walk – Aspen is honestly the cutest little city. It’s such a quaint mountain town that’s a little more touristy than Telluride and more historic and slightly less gingerbread than Park City. It’s pristine yet wild at the same time and there’s character around every corner with mountains and endless nature at every angle. Even the runoff system around the town creates tiny little street side creeks that curious kids and dogs play in endlessly and bistro lights strung across the brick and cobblestone streets add just the right amount of warm charm. I can’t wait to plan a trip there in the winter so we can see Aspen in all her snowy glory.

Have you been to Aspen? I’d love to hear your recommendations too!

{I didn’t bring the right kind of lens on the gondola, but shot the picture above of the rainbow on my iPhone.}

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