Live Fit By Design

Started off the day bright and early with a WOD over at CrossFit Virtuosity which shares its space with the Brooklyn Barbell Club. I gotta say that this was one of our best CrossFit experiences away from our own. The coaching was excellent and in fact I learned a lot and hope to incorporate into some of my own coaching. The staff was friendly and the space is huge! Our WOD:

AMRAP 20 Minutes

1 Clean (155/105)

2 Front Squats

1 Jerk

Gina 34 rx Panda 23 rx

After our WOD we made our way back over into Manhattan for brunch with one of my old college friends. We walked over to The Smith which is a surprisingly expansive restaurant. The front has floor to ceiling windows which open out to the street and it was a pretty chill ambiance. It’s hard to describe why I like the “feel” of the place so much but it was a combination of the decoration inside, the spaciousness, the colors, the windows, just everything. Or maybe I was just so excited about ordering steak and eggs for the first time ever! hahaha

After breakfast we took a little walk through a small portion of Central Park and then wandered into the Plaza Hotel. There’s a pretty cool food court downstairs that have some high end eateries. We were too full to taste anything but we did take a cupcake to go. 

We went back to our hotel to finally shower and freshen up! 

Cute coffee shop near our hotel for an afternoon pick me up: Smile to Go

After a little break we were out the door again to get some drinks with my sister’s best friend who lives in NYC. She suggested we meet at Nizza for drinks. It’s a cute place that’s close to all the theaters and Times Square. We didn’t have any food so I can’t say whether the dinner fare is good or not but their sangria is tasty!

Now this next place that we went was the most memorable eatery on our trip. Eataly. I mean the name just says it all right? I could spend hours here just looking through everything. If you love cooking and or love eating then this is a mecca for you! We had a great dinner here in one of the sections which they divide up into pasta, seafood, veggies, meat etc. And for dessert we picked up a few things along with some strong fantastic espresso. I eagerly await the day when I get to come back!!

Day 4 complete!

We started off this morning at Clinton St. Baking Company and Restaurant which is a super cute little local eatery that has lots of great food and baked goods. The operative word here is small so expect to wait especially on the weekends. For our party of two, Panda and I waited almost an hour! There’s a coffee shop across the street which I’m pretty sure gets a good chunk of their business from the people waiting for their table at Clinton St. If you do make it to Clinton St. make sure to get their pancakes which are amazingly delicious and they have some great breakfast egg dishes as well. I ordered a side of chorizo with mine and it was money!

Since you’re in the area, you might as well stop by Prohibition Bakery up the street for some boozy mini cupcakes which are actually made with alcohol. We picked out a few like sangria, car bomb and beer and pretzel. The best one was beer and pretzel. Weird huh but it works. 

Next stop is Chelsea Market in the meatpacking district! So much goodness! It’s packed with so many gourmet eateries and lots of local handmade goods. We spent a pretty good amount of time just looking through all the shops so I would definitely recommend coming here with an empty stomach and a few hours to spend. We were too full from breakfast to enjoy all the great eats so when we come back here, I am going to make two stops at the seafood shop and at the Italian pasta shop where they had tiramisu, curry, coffee, chocolate pasta. I mean come on! 

We left the Chelsea Market and walked up to the High Line which I gotta say is one of the highlights of our trip. It’s free and accessible to all to just walk along an old rail track that has been meticulously transformed into a beautiful walkway above the city. It’s like walking through a modern garden with art work and various stops to just sit and enjoy the views. 

We made our way back towards our hotel and decided to get a quick afternoon snack at a little restaurant where I was introduced to the amazing soup dumpling years ago. Joe’s Shanghai is where the love affair started. It’s still the same after all these years and I wouldn’t want it to change. We got an order of the pork dumplings and some veggies on the side. It was just the perfect snack.

Next we met with a friend in NYC’s Koreatown which actually is really one block rather than a town. It’s pretty interesting how the businesses are set up here almost like they did take a town and squeezed it all on top of each other. It’s a fun quick walk through and there are a few cute bakery cafes if you’re looking for a little break from the day. 

Our dinner plans were arranged far in advance by our friend to enjoy Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn. Apparently, you have to make reservations months in advance and this place is expensive! Or so I hear because the closest we got to eating the steaks were rubbing elbows with people who were also waiting to be seated. We missed our reservation by about an hour and so we sat at the bar and decided to order some drinks while waiting on the rest of our party to arrive to the sad show. Lesson here: Give yourself plenty of time when commuting in NYC. 

It all worked out though because we decided to go to probably one of the most amazing burger places Shake Shack! I love In N Out and always will. I defended In N Out against the 5 Guys fans and even put up a good fight against some of the early Shake Shackers but man I gotta say that Shake Shack has some amazing burgers. I crave it! When will you come to LA Shake Shack?!!

Last stop of the day and as I’m writing this I didn’t realize how much food we had today!  We were all pretty full but the night is not complete without something sweet. I haven’t been to Serendipity 3 and didn’t really care to watch the movie but apparently this is a must do when in NYC. I’m happy that I went to see what the hoopla is all about but I wouldn’t go again. We got their famous Frozen Hot Chocolate and it was good and huuuuuge! There is a minimum per person charge so keep that in mind. I also heard it’s better to eat great food elsewhere and just come here for dessert. 

And Day 3 is DoneZo!

I find myself falling into bouts of fear and sadness the past few days. My family had an emergency Thursday night where everyone had no idea what was going on or what to do. It felt like a never ending cycle of diminishing hope into disappointment into panic. All I could think about was how scared and alone my mom must be. Even now after all has been sorted out I my heart aches because I see how it’s left a lasting impression on her. The fire that once fueled the imposing figure is now barely lit. Now I see a vulnerable woman who needs her family to be strong for her instead of always being the impossibly strong one we can all lean on. 

This makes me wonder what my mom feels when she looks back on her life. Is she happy? Satisfied? Fulfilled? Sad? Resentful?