Where to go after the Tampa trip?  Well, New York City of course.  When you live on the west coast and travel east, the bulk of the flying time is done.  So we left Tampa on Friday, August 31, which happened to be our 26th wedding anniversary.

Was dinner that night at Daniel? Maybe Per Se or Jean-Georges?? No, it was direct to Shake Shack for burger, fries and, of course a shake!  This is NYC-restaurateur-extraordinaire Danny Meyer's take on fast food.  FYI, he is the man behind some of the city's most popular spots -- Union Square Cafe, The Modern, Gramercy Tavern, etc.  But his idea for this type of food is a cut above the norm -- high quality beef, organic produce -- and the shakes are too die for.  Had previously enjoyed one a couple years ago at the-then new Mets stadium.  Yum, yum (mine was a "black-and-white," an homage to the famous cookie).

That evening we enjoyed a performance of "Once," winner of the Tony for best musical.  If you saw and liked the movie, you'll love this Broadway version about a Czech girl and Irish boy's collaboration.  Love the convenience of staying in the theater district, this time at The Time, a boutique hotel on West 49th. There is definitely an advantage to being so close to the shows and, remarkably, there's a wonderful absence of noise upstairs.

Delish chopped salad at Barneys

Saturday of this Labor Day weekend, my longtime friend Julie and I walked Madison Avenue (the hubbies went to see tennis) and gazed at all the gorgeous clothes we could mainly dream about buying.  Total fun and the stores are very welcoming.   On to the flagship Barneys New York for a late lunch and escape from the humid air. 

Tuna Tartare with Yellow Gazpacho

Saturday evening was a performance of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" with a stellar cast and very timely subject matter as the setting is a political convention.   On to DB Bistro Moderne for a late supper. Can't go wrong with any outpost by famed chef Daniel Boulud; but, as a prime example of how different NYC is, I'm frequently not awake at 11pm let alone sitting down for a meal!

Blueberry Bread Pudding with B-berry Ribbon

Bruce, Me, Steve Davis & Julie Shuer

Sunday all four of us went to the U.S. Open, one of the main reasons for coming here.  Tix are a lot easier to procure and the number of matches obviously greater this weekend as opposed to the final weekend.  Seeing tennis up close is a fabulous experience -- love having the serve speed immediately displayed (which can reach 130+ mph). Wow.

 

Really good match

Yep, those 2 guys from the scoreboard above left.

Coincidentally, we and our friends both have daughters in NY colleges so that made for a lively dinner with a couple of our girls' friends at Trattoria Dell'Arte across from Carnegie Hall. Daughter Hannah is a senior at Long Island's Hofstra and friends Julie & Steve's daughter Sofia is a freshman at Barnard.  Lucky girls ...

Hannah's Limoncello Tower

Disappearing Pizza Margherita

 

Sofia, Steve, Ariella, Me, Julie, Hannah, Meaghan, Bruce

Hero then and now ...

Labor Day was the last of this travel so we ended with a visit to the 9/11 Memorial. Many of you know that not only were Bruce and I in D.C. on that horrible day, but we had just entered the Capitol when the planes were hitting the Towers and the Pentagon.  I've linked his worthy read of our personal experience and the 2-day drive from D.C. to L.A. with the wish that none of us ever experiences that kind of travel again...

Over 5,000 designs for the site were submitted ...