Uptown Birthday Brunch

We were celebrating 30 being the new 20 with a Girls (and the birthday girl’s grandfather) Birthday Brunch at The River Room in Harlem. After traveling in from New Jersey we met another friend at Penn Station and tried to jump on a train heading Uptown. After a few train mishaps we finally arrived at 145th and Broadway and met up with other friends that live in Harlem.

If you walk down 145th you will arrive at the entrance to Riverbank State Park, a huge park great for picnics and other fun activites. The River Room is a short walk from the entrance and has huge picture windows that offer views of the George Washington Bridge. It is a great location for special events including bridal showers, reception dinners and groups just getting together for brunch or dinner.  

The atmosphere was really nice and we started with bellini’s to toast the birthday girl. The omelette of the day was spinach and tomato and is large and fluffy, served with home fries and a small salad. Some of us ordered the Bourbon Vanilla French Toast which is served with sausage or bacon. Other people in our group ordered the Fried Flounder which is served with black beans and saffron rice pilaf, the Shrimp & Grits with red gravy or the Charleston Potato Hash with Poached Egg and Crabmeat.  We also had a side of grits and collard greens. Everything was really good though the grits were served a little cold and the collard greens tasted a little like they came from a can. The muffins and small corn bread rolls were perfect in the beginning of our meal as we waited for our food and a friend to join us.

The service was friendly but a little slow. We waited a long time for extra syrup and finally for the check. But the setting is great and the view is amazing. It is the perfect place for a celebratory meal.

After the meal we walked behind the building farther into the park. From this point you can have a better view of the water and bridge. Overall The River Room is a perfect setting for catching up with friends and having a good meal.

The River Room is located in Riverbank State Park at 145th Street and Riverside Drive NYC 10031

212-491-1500

www.theriveroomofharlem.com

All reviews are the opinions of Escape Together Vacation Planners and we receive no compensation or free items from the restaurants, hotels, activities or tours we review. For more information about our reviews and advice email advice@escapetogether.com or visit us on the web at www.escapetogether.com/advice

Patsy’s Pizzeria in NYC

There is a reason this establishment has been in business since 1933. The food is great! With 6 New York locations you will find a Patsy’s in many areas in Manhattan. We went to the one on the East side for dinner while we waited for a table at Serendipity 3 (see the review for Frozen Hot Chocolate and other sweets). We were prepared to order our drinks when we realized there were no refills. Don’t go extremely thirsty. And unfortunately after walking all over the city shopping on this very hot May day we were extremely thirsty! They serve three sizes of the bottles of sparkling water. Order a large bottle as the medium and small are significantly smaller and you will end up ordering another bottle even if it is just one person drinking it. The Iced Tea is sweetened and the beers on tap and house wines were reasonably priced.

For an appetizer we had the Fried Zucchini and Eggplant with a garlic yogurt dip. The two vegetables are lightly fried and paper thin. It is a perfect light snack before the meal. The Calzones and thin crusted pizzas were excellent and tasted very similar to pizza I have had while traveling in Italy. Be careful about the number of topping you order for your pizza or calzone. Each topping is $2.75 and that can quickly add up. Also order the large as it is only $2 more but is considerably larger than the regular pizza. When you pay that much per topping you might as well pay two more dollars and have your money go a little further.

The service was good though the dining room has way too many tables in it. It was difficult to move chairs to sit down and I was either being hit or accidentally hitting another diner while eating. The food is excellent so if you can get a table around the border of the dining room or outside on the street it is worth it.

Patsy’s Pizzeria’s East Side location is 206 East 60th Street NYC 10022

212-688-9707

There are locations in Greenwich Village, Murray Hill, On the Upper East Side, On the West Side and in Chelsea.

Want to know others think of Patsy’s Pizzeria? We have added an Urbanspoon counter to provide you with that information in real time.

“Frozen Hot Chocolate” and other sweets

 

We exited the 6 train at 59th and Lexington and walked up the street to Serendipity 3. They were known for their desserts and I couldn’t wait to try the famous Frozen Hot Chocolate. My friend ran in to the restaurant to put our name on the list and the rest of us waited outside with a few other people waiting for a table. The entrance and inside waiting area is EXTREMELY small so if you are in a group send one person in to check and everyone else should stay outside. We were expecting to wait by the number of people outside but were surprised to hear 2 1/2 hours! Having been here several times before my friend insisted this was normal and we decided to try another place for dinner and save Serendipity 3 for dessert. (See the review of Patsy’s Pizzeria for more information about our dinner) I suggest that other visitors do the same because when we returned a little over an hour later we only had to wait another 15 minutes before we were seated upstairs near the window.

So of course we ordered a Frozen Hot Chocolate (see the picture) and it tastes exactly like a very rich and slushy hot chocolate. For true hot chocolate fans you will not be disappointed but it is more a drink then a dessert. If you come for a meal then order the frozen hot chocolate as a drink in the same way you might order a milkshake. It is large so you may want to share it with your tablemates since it comes with multiple straws.

We all ordered desserts. That were huge. And Amazing!:) I had the Strawberry Fields Sundae. A large sundae cup is filled with homemade strawberry ice cream, a light and fluffy cheesecake, fresh strawberry topping and whipped cream. It can only be described as decadent. Read more

Getting lost after walking out of NYC Subway

I often use public transportation in major cities like New York and Washington DC to get to locations I want to review. Unfortunately being somewhat directionally challenged that often gets me lost since I rarely know which exit to take at my designated stop or which direction to walk when I come above ground. On the way to my appointment at Dashing Diva Salon at 8th Street and University Place in New York I called to make sure that I had the directions correct. I was told to take the N or R train downtown from 34th street to 8th street. So we did that only the problem is that there are two exits at 8th street (8th Street and Waverly Place and 8th Street and Broadway). He never told me which exit!!!!

So we did the total tourist thing and asked someone. Luckily we were blessed to ask a friendly local who told us to take the Waverly exit. So we did! But above ground we realized our problems were not over. Do you walk right or left down the street? Is this 8th street or is it Waverly Place? Of course we walked the wrong way several times and ended up having to walk back to where we were.

Word of Advice: Always ask for exit information if someone gives you subway directions. And don’t forget to ask which direction to walk when you come above ground. It will save you the embarassment of having to pass the same street vendor multiple times because you are so turned around! Not that it has ever happened to me.

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