After so many years living in a fast and intense city like New York, I can honestly say there is nothing I look forward more than quiet weekends. The kind of weekend that involve early morning strolls and the chance to take in the city when there’s barely anyone out. And that is what last weekend was about. I was a tourist in my own city if you may.
FRIDAY
The weekend started with a very specific craving for thin crust pizza, which led me to John’s of Bleecker Street. This old-schooled family owned pizzeria has been around since 1929, so it’s an understatement to call it an institution when it comes to pizza. The passing of time is evident inside this West Village spot. It just takes looking at the original wooden booths that have been carved by diners over the decades.
We started the meal with a house salad, which I quietly had thinking it would make me fuller and less likely to indulge with more than two slices of pizza. Wishful thinking, nonetheless, as I downed four slices! The crust was crispy and the sauce just the right amount of spice and sweetness.
You can choose from various toppings with the option to make a pizza order half and half with your favorites. The wonderful creation we came up was half meatball and onions and the other half with basil. I was surprised at how much I liked the meatball as a topping. The simplicity of the basil, though, was the big winner for me.
After the pizzeria we made our way just down the block to PopBar. I was so excited to stumble upon this place, as it reminded me of my recent trip to Cartagena where I enjoyed some amazing popsicles at the historic city center. I could not resist the temptation looking at the colorful varieties. There’s gelato, sorbets and frozen yogurt options, so there is something for all! I settled on a personal favorite flavor: passion fruit sorbet. I like to think about it as a guilt free desert that is part fruit, part water, right? Ok, maybe not…
The third and final stop of the night at Houston Beer Hall was all about the liquid carbs, if you know what I mean. The former parking garage is massive, with very high selling that makes it feel airy. It will take a lot of people for this place to feel crowded, so go and enjoy a beer and some bar food while watching sports. I am not a beer connoisseur, so I took the recommendation of the bartender for a light beer. Overall, this was a nice way to wrap the night: beer in hand, watching sports and listening to music.
SATURDAY
The next morning was an early rise one to make our way down to the Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho for a world-famous cronut. The hybrid between a cronut and donut is nothing new in the New York food scene. In the three years since its creation it has become a city must-have among foodie residents and visitors alike.
I had the pleasure of tasting one in the early days of the cronut when I produced a story about it for work. But I only got a tiny piece that wasn’t enough for a full experience or to make a real judgement about it. So here I was at 7:30AM to finally get one whole cronut all for myself. If you arrive around this time you should be fine to get a cronut. They are usually sold out by 9AM. I am not into the whole waiting in line thing, but the time went by really fast and it helped that the bakery’s staff comes out with samples of their freshly baked mini madeleines.
But let’s get back to what brought us to the bakery that early in the first place: the cronut. The flavor of the month was orange and Nutella. It was good, but I found it overwhelmingly sweet for my taste. I think next time I will split one instead of having one all for me.
While the cronut is very good and an inventive gastronomic item there are many other things at the bakery that are worth a try. Take for example the DKA, which is a signature item at the bakery. It’s a version of a caramelized croissant, crusty on the outside and flaky inside. This is hands down one of the best pastries I’ve ever had and I am for sure returning to the Dominique Ansel Bakery just for that. I am honestly surprised that people aren’t lining outside for the DKA. Seriously!
We also had a very interesting dessert of grapefruit and panna cotta with an olive oil and and lemon biscuit. Layers and layers of yumminess. That was an unexpectedly good and nicely balanced combination. And needless to mention it’s beautifully presented.
We rolled out of the bakery (yeah, “rolled out” if you know what I mean.) and walked over to Little Italy neighborhood. There we got to take in some of the murals that add a pop of color to an otherwise gloomy day.
By midday we made our way to the Richard Rogers Theater where we try our luck at the lottery for Hamilton Tickets. This is the hottest ticket in town right now, so it was no surprise hundreds of people were also there to give it a try. We ended up not being so lucky, but it was still fun to be surrounded by so many folks all excited and hopeful to see the musical.
Waiting around in the cold for an hour got us hungry, so we went for a real breakfast at Bare Burger. This place is popular for their sustainable, all-natural burger menu. They have a pretty complete brunch menu that are not limited to burgers. I had fried eggs with toast, Canadian bacon and sweet potato wedge fries. Their brunch cocktails are also on point, like their Bellini and mimosas made with fresh produce.
And with that I concluded a very chilled weekend. Do you also live for the weekend? What is your version of an uber relaxing, yet active weekend in New York City or in your city? Let me know!
Hasta pronto,
Paloma
Paloma Veloz 
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