Hot Spots of Manhattan

There is not much about this map that I cannot tell a story about. I have spent a lot of time in Manhattan, NY, and I have spent numerous occasions in each of these places. In Harlem, I have gone to my favorite soul food restaurant called Amy Ruth's which is known for it's chicken and waffles. Each of their menu items are named after influential people during the civil rights movement. My favorite is the Reverend Al Sharpton--the best waffles you've ever had in your life topped with a giant piece of fried chicken, and smothered in maple syrup. Top it all off with some "red drank, or purple drank" (more commonly referred to as cherry, or grape kool-aid) as the kool-aid for the day, and it makes the most ridiculous meal. It might sound gross, but some wonderful memories have been made at that restaurant. 


Some friends of mine live in the Upper West Side. My old youth minister, his wife, his two year old son, and their dog, live in a one bedroom apartment. It's a little cozy, especially when we fit 30 people in there, but we made it work. Brownies, and ice cream along with two hilarious college guys reading us a book about how to be a good parent tops it all off. Before our very large group we went two years in a row to an Italian family style restaurant called Carmines. Again, the most amazing food. (You may be starting to see a trend. NYC to me means the most amazing food.) We accidentally ordered too few plates for our entire group, which made for a slightly tense meal between the boys, but it was fun all the same. 


In the Upper East Side is a delicious little shop called Serendipity. This is my absolute favorite place to go while in the City. My all time favorite movie, Serendipity was named after this crazy little place. Kate Beckinsale says, "I first came in because of the name, Serendipity." to which John Cusack asks, "Why what does it mean?" "A fortunate accident--although I don't really believe in accidents. I believe fate's behind it all." The ultimate blended drink--frozen hot chocolate is large enough for two, but easel devoured by one. It is just that good. Although you typically have to wait about and hour or two to even get in, it is well worth the wait... or maybe I should tell you that it isn't, and let me have it all to myself!


The financial district was something that my father forced me to walk through. We were finally going to be tourists, and do touristy things while in New York City. My Dad wanted to walk down Wall Street. I was complaining the whole time--my feet hurt terribly because we had been walking non-stop for the past three days, and I had the most comfortable shoes on--I will never again go to the city without bringing comfortable shoes. 


Continuing North I remember spending the day in Soho with my mom. We went shopping for hours, and hardly bought anything --my dad was very proud of us. I remember that one time when with my friends, and a native New Yorker, we got of at the wrong stop in Noho, and had to change trains about 10 times to get to where we were going. I remember walking the Brooklyn Bridge and seeing the beautiful skyline as we walked from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and I remember my brother and his friends always stopping to get ice cream at the ice cream truck at the end of the bridge. 


The majority of my time spent in NYC has been in Midtown. On the West Side I remember walking every day through the hell's kitchen just to get back to the church we were staying at for the week. Every single day we would walk from our church where we were running a camp, to Pinkberry--the best frozen yogurt on the planet. On our walk of only three blocks, we would stop to get 99¢ pizza. Now if there is one thing that I want everyone to believe, it is that this really truly is the best pizza in all of New York, and probably in the United States. No joke. I worked at C.L.U.E. Camp, where we would dance, play, teach Bible Study, and even go the park every day. Trying to keep track of this many kids while maneuvering the busy sidewalk streets of 9th avenue seemed a daunting task, but we made it work.  



On the East Side of Midtown, and Times Square is where I stayed with my family. Every morning my mom and I would go outside and grab a cup of coffee from the Starbucks, and go sit in Bryant Park, and watch all the people going to work. We could walk a few blocks and be at the Empire State building, and walk a few other blocks and be in Times Square, or Herald Square. 


All of these stories are great memories in my life. Someday I hope to make even more memories in Manhattan, but for now, I'll just have to remember these.