Farewell Summer Friday

Today marked the last Summer Friday before Fall returns. Gone are the Friday half days, New York City’s exodus to the beaches, and warm hazy afternoon. Unfortunately, my last Summer Friday didn’t go quite as planned. I missed lunch at Alice’s Tea Cup with Meghann, Heather, and Theodora for a simple Greek salad at my desk.

Luckily, I was able to leave my office by 3pm to meet Bo, Meghann and Derek!

Reunited and it feels so good!

We stopped by the apartment to freshen up before relaxing with fun drinks at the Gramercy Hotel rooftop bar.

The bar has some great views, a relaxed vibe, and creative decor.

The bar is open to locals and hotel guests alike as long as it isn’t reserved for a special event or party. A few weeks ago Alicia Keys rented it out for her birthday party!

After a long week, we were all ready for some fun drinks. Meghann and I both ordered a cherry almond seasonal cocktail but it was more like a gin mojito. Regardless, neither of us had a hard time enjoying it! Derek’s was electric blue and took him back to Florida’s beaches as it was a fruity rum drink. Oh summer, how I’ll miss you!

Bo kept it simple and classic with a smudged martini.

After relaxing on the rooftop and recounting college memories, we headed over a few blocks to enjoy a taste of Italy.

Eataly is Mario Batali’s latest undertaking in NYC. A massive Italian food emporium, it also features six restaurants and a brewery-gastropub on the roof! Eataly opened this week to rave reviews. It is an open sale environment which allows consumers to interact with the products and explore at length. The crowds were manageable today as you can see from the pictures. Unfortunately, the thought of eating dinner there was a bit too overwhelming. But, we hope to return later this weekend for some tastings!

Luckily, we had reservations waiting at Remi. Located in the theatre district, Bo discovered this restaurant on Zagat while searching for a pre-theatre Italian restaurant. We all agreed that Italian was the perfect cuisine the night before a long run!

The restaurant was vibrant and warm due to a bright mural, yet the quiet atmosphere gave it an intimate almost romantic feel. We were surprised by the dishes, each being unique but delicious. Their pastas were anything but typical, each featuring a unique pasta shape and ingredients. None of us could choose one winner though we all enjoyed Meghann’s pasta, my seafood, and Derek’s sauce.

The bread basket was overflowing with crusty carbohydrates just begging to be enjoyed. They brought a baked goat cheese dish out a few too minutes late to enjoy with our bread. This late arrival just meant we all had to enjoy more bread, of course! The calamari, shrimp, and clams in my pasta dish were delicious and tender while the hearty chunks of tomatoes gave a fresh, light flavor to the dish. I barely made a dent in the pasta but luckily I had plenty of people with whom to share.

I know Bo well enough to know he would order the lamb meatball pasta. He literally orders lamb at any Italian restaurant! The meatballs were smaller than expected but plentiful throughout the dish. Meghann’s pasta was an earthy pesto which won all of us over due to it’s uniqueness and texture.

The rest of our evening was spent walking through an empty Times Square and rocking out to American Idiot.

Warning, the Broadway show is very well done but NOT light at all! The music, production, costumes, and acting are all top notch but none of us were fans of the actual story line unfortunately.