What continues to draw me to the bright lights of NYC? I have lost count of the number of times that I’ve been there and every visit seems to uncover a part of the city that I have yet to experience while still managing time to go back to places that I enjoy. The frenzy, the movement is always with you when you are out on the streets. From the window of the cab you pass places that look interesting - new restaurants or unusual shops that you know you can’t find back home.

I get the urge to go every year just around the start of the US Open Tennis Championships and this year was no different. This year we bought two grounds passes at $125 each and with that we would have access to the grounds on the first day - which is my favorite day of the tournament.

We (Sheila and I), left Toronto very early on a Friday morning with the plan to go as far as Scranton, PA - the home location for the hit show THE OFFICE. We crossed the border at Buffalo around 9 am and headed south/east to catch the meandering roads through Western New York State. We were not in a hurry so we decided to skip the busy thruway and we made our first stop in Warsaw - a quaint town where we would have breakfast.

Call me old fashioned but I always enjoy the original feel of an old-style dinner and the Silverlake Diner passed the test - with great bacon/eggs and pancakes.

Our next stop was Elmira N.Y. - the birthplace of Mark Twain but more importantly they have a Target and a Tops Grocery. We don’t have Target in Canada anymore, not that they were anything like the best ones in the USA. This one was a bit disappointing and we made our way to Tops to buy some food-stuffs we can’t buy in Canada. I know - that’s not very exciting. The last stop on the way was our final destination of Scranton. Overall the drive from Toronto to Scranton is about 7 hours and with sore backs etc, this was an easy way to end our day.

Although one may think I only eat pizza that rumour is not very accurate. Tonight on the menu was the Longhorn Steakhouse which is an American chain which is actually pretty good for the price. We used to visit it when we owned our condo in Florida, so a stop was in order.

The plan was to be up early the next morning to finish the remaining 100 plus miles. The final part of the drive is only 2 1/2 hours but I knew that it would be the most “challenging.” - it was clear that there would be more traffic and driving in the city is a bit of nail bitter especially when your not 100% sure of your directions. We are a bit loath to use the GPS on our phones due to the cost but sometimes you just have to do what your gut tell you to do. The drive through this part of Pennsylvania is very scenic and after about an hour or so you cross the border into New Jersey. Traffic had increased even though it was a Saturday. Before we knew it we were at the Lincoln Tunnel which connects NJ with NY.

Our final destination was the Moxy Chelsea Hotel on 28th Stree between 6th and 7th Avenue. This would be my second time there and its location makes it very easy to get around the city. I can’t explain why - but my last number of trips to the city, I’ve tended to stay further south rather then when I first started to go NYC. In the early years I would be higher up in the 50’s and often over on 3rd Avenue or Lexington. As of late I’ve enjoyed this side and I find the area more interesting. The rooms are small which is typical for a NYC hotel but they are well appointed and as I said before, the location is excellent.

We rolled in around noon, got settled and headed out into the city. First stop was to check out the pop-up shop for the brand Dairy Boy. My previous blog post was about this adventure, so I won’t get into it. Suffice to say it was crazy with a lineup that went around the block. Hundreds of blond hair twenty somethings waiting in Soho.

We didn’t wait too long because my guess the line wasn’t moving very quickly. With time on our hands we decided to wander around Soho.

After a few hours in Soho, we headed uptown to check out Macys and grab some lunch. Can’t say we did too much damage to the credit cards which isn’t a bad thing. A block north of Macys is another place that we are waiting to open in Canada - Shake Shack.

On the never have done before list was a visit to the Chelsea Market. It’s located very close to the popular High Line.

Iconic culinary destination Chelsea Market has become an internationally-renowned brand and is considered one of the greatest indoor food and retail marketplaces in the world today. Located in the heart of New York City’s Meatpacking District, the market’s collection of distinctive and diverse merchants adds up to more than just your average food hall, rather a lively marketplace where one can shop the region’s finest fishmonger, take home prime cuts of meat from one of the area’s best whole-animal butchers, load up on artisanal cheeses, fresh produce, and imported Italian dry goods.

It was definitely worth the visit especially the lunch time stop at Los Tacos No 1.

This is what Eater magazine had to say……Generating long lines, Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market is one of the city’s foremost taquerias, and now there are additional branches. So is the slender menu, offering four choices on just-made corn or flour tortillas, of which the best is adobada, which is very much like pork al pastor. Best deal are the mulas, which are like smaller quesadillas.

This trip we also managed to spend more time in the West Village and it is somewhere I could spend more time in the future. It has a charm of a small town with streets lined with brownstones and trees offering a canapy of shade in a bustling city. Filled with interesting shops and restaurants the Village is somewhere you want to be. Dinner one night was planned at L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michelle. Located at the corner of Greenwich Avenue at 2 Bank Street in the West Village, da Michele is an offshoot of a venerable Naples pizza parlor founded in 1870 (the same destination featured in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love).

The Bar at L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michelle

The meal was fantastic and I give it 5 stars. Hightly recommend it. Another place we went to based on influencer recommendations was Mino Brasserie. It also was located in the West Village - which was about 15 blocks or so from our hotel. Unfortunately, it was not a great experience for Sheila. Since we had been eating so much food she wasn’t that hungry and the only item on the menu for her was going to be the French Onion Soup. Alas - this wasn’t to be as the waiter informed us they has just sold out. What a bummer. By this time it was too late and we were too tired to move to another place. So, I had the steak/frites and Sheila has salad (that wasn’t that good). Oh well…

Of course the main reason for trip to NYC was to go to the US Open. Our tickets as earlier mentioned were for the first day, which is one of my favorite days. The buzz on the grounds is notable with over 67,000 people on site. There are a number of ways to get there and most people tend to take the #7 train from Grand Central, however we decided to take the LIRR which you join at Penn Station. Although it’s a bit more expensive its super fast and the trains are more comfortable.

We managed to wander the grounds a number of times taking in quite a few matches. We bumped into a few former work colleagues which was nice.

Of course no trip would be complete till you had a $22 US Open Honey Deuce - you do get to keep the cup though.

We left around 6 pm and grabbed the next train back to the city. We did make a slight mistake as we took a train that stopped at Grand Central rather than Penn Station. Just added on a bit more walking. Our final dinner (unplanned) was another place that I had been watching called Le Percora Bianca. They have a number of location in the city and this particular one was in Soho. We had done enough walking so we decided to take a taxi to get there.

Another 5 star review and I would go back again, given the chance. It was no doubt a week of food and it was time to call it a night. We were going to be up very early with a 10 hour drive ahead of us. Our final stop before crossing the border would be the Trader Joe’s in Niagara Falls - always the best. Our route back was slightly different and we managed to stop at a Shake Shack on the highway.

So that’s it. Will this be my last trip to the Open? It feels like it but who knows? Sorry for the delay in posting but other things like surgery have gotten in the way.