Pat and Zerlina got into town on Thursday morning. Keeping with the trend of all their past trips they brought perfect weather. They landed at 7am with the plan of being in line for the chew by 8am. JFK traffic was a bitch and they spent 2 hours in a cab. We thought Zerlina's dream of being in The Chew audience was over, but she had made friends with one of the people on the staff so we got into the noon taping. Not only did we get in but Zerlina got to sit in the tasting row and we were right behind her.
We got to taste the gnocchi made by Mario Batali, which was super good. We really wanted to try the steak they made but they didn't pass that around at all, the staff attacked it. Leaving I got a quick (totally touristy) shot of Battali hopping on his vespa.
We then headed to Salumeria Rosi a few blocks away for some meats and cheeses. It was a perfect 70 degrees out and we got a table outside.
It did not last long. Then we hopped on the subway to TKTS. We were debating Phantom or Cinderella. Phantom was double the price of Cinderella so we got tickets to Cinderella. We headed back to Jersey to drop off suitcases and freshen Pat and Zerlina up since they hadn't had a chance since their red eye. We also had time for a quick sampler of sour beers.
Zerlina made some great faces trying hard to determine her favorite order.
Pat and I had similar preferences, but I have to say we all had rather different orders.
We went to Cinderella were I proceeded to take no pictures. It was a wonderful performance and I realized that I had forgotten how many songs I LOVE from that show. I have been humming 10 minutes ago since. We went to Phebes for mac and cheese and then headed home for another flight of beer and some sleep.
This flight was quads. Pat had never had Westy 12 so we shared. Shockingly Pat chose the Ommegang as his favorite, making it much easier for him to get than the Westy 12.
Even though Alicia did not know what was in what glass on the flight she figured them all out. On this flight we all thought the Victory quad was our least favorite. The other rankings we all varied on.
Friday morning started at the Donut Plant. Pat, Alicia, Kim, and I were off for beer day in Manhattan. Zerlina was off for a nice day with her high school friends. We all had some food at Wogies first. Then we went to DBGB for a nice beer.
We made friends with a guy at the bar that kept missing his trains out of Penn Station. We chatted about all our favorite beer bars and how he wanted to go to BCTC. He was very jealous Alicia and I had volunteer spots (almost as excited as we are). Next we went to Top Hops where I neglected to take any pictures. Then it was off to 508 Gastrobrewery. We started with a flight of everything.
And then the brew-master came out and was like do you want a private tour. And of course we said yes.
We had a great little tour. And then we had full beers and tacos. We also tried avoiding eye contact with the man at the end of the bar who got laid off from his job while we were on our tour. Then we had to drop Chelsea Brewing Company from our Friday line up because we had made too many friends along the way and taken to long enjoying ourselves. We had tickets for a burger and beer festival at Bowlorama. We sipped more great beers and then had a game of bowling where Kim and Pat broke 100 and Alicia and I were not even close.
We had a quick beer at Rattle n Hum and then got on the train because it had been a long wonderful day and we had reservations at Birreria for lunch the next day.
Bam beer with lunch on a perfect sunny day on a roof garden. I tried my first gluten free beer because Sarah, Zerlina's friend is gluten intolerant. She said it was the best gluten free she had ever had, I said it was way tastier than many beers with gluten I have had.
We did meats and cheeses again, and they disappeared very quickly.
Then I had the pork shoulder, Alicia had the steak, and it was heaven. This was one of those absolutely perfect meals in life for me. I was enjoying fresh air, good beer, awesome friends, and pig. Then we went to Chelsea Brewing Company so Pat could have been to all three breweries on Manhattan. We got a great sunny bench and sat by the water enjoying the weather and the water.
Then we went to Tori Burch for a lil shopping. And then it was off to Sockerbit for Zerlina to pick up some hallonshots, her favorite hard to find candy. We all went a little crazy in the candy store and Zerlina made friends with the owner finding out about other amazing candy stores in SF.
Then it was off to Murrays Cheese Bar for more cheeses and meats. Then Murrays Cheese shop because Zerlina wanted to buy some McClures Spicy Pickles and then this mixed pack of meat made me laugh and smile. We picked up an Adrienne's pizza for dinner and headed home so Zerlina and Pat could listen to the Giants game.
Sunday Alicia got up really early to do the 5 boro bike tour. She was riding for The Innocence Project. She had to head out before I even got up to take Pat and Zerlina to the airport. Once they were at Newark airport Kim and I traveled out to Brooklyn to cheer her on. Then we met her back in Manhattan when she finished her tour.
Then Sunday night I got to facetime with one of my favorite people as she drove her car around.
It was a busy wonderful weekend. And I ended it exhausted.
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