In some ways, it feels like just yesterday that Lydia and I were frolicking through Manhattan at Christmastime. It’s actually been five years though, which means it was time for us to go back! Based on recommendations from my friend Nicole, a running list on my Notes app, and inspiration from Deb‘s Instagram stories, these are the places we ate during our weekend in NYC:

• Supermoon Bakehouse: This bakery was at the very top of my list and I knew I wanted it to be the first place we visited! After a quick breakfast at Daily Provisions, we walked down to Supermoon and I was in heaven. The pastries here are works of art; filled croissants, cruffins, doughnuts and more. The flavours are all super inventive and are switched up all the time. Of course it took me forever to decide what I wanted, and I ended up picking a chocolate-coconut croissant to eat in the store and a pecan pie kouign amann to take back to the hotel. The space is super cute and Instagram-able (see the neon sign above), and they have a big open window into the kitchen. I was transfixed watching croissant dough get rolled out, sliced and shaped and wondered why that isn’t my job.

• Gupshup: I found it so challenging to narrow down our two dinner reservations, but I’m so happy with both of my choices! First up on Friday night was Gupshup, a recommendation from Deb’s IG stories. I’m obsessed with everything about it; the cocktails, the food, the art, everything. It can best be described as trendy Indian small plates to share. Our server was so friendly and helped us make our choices, since everything looked so good. We went with: onion chili cheese kulcha, beetroot tikki chole with goat cheese mousse, chicken tikka with garlic confit, plus raita and garlic naan on the side. Everything was SO delicious, plus we had fresh lime sodas spiked with vodka for me, and gin for Lyd, as our cocktails. We were in a bit of a time crunch so we couldn’t stay for dessert, but I’m sure it would have been fantastic.

• Sunday in Brooklyn: On Saturday morning, we made our way to Williamsburg to meet up with our friends Devon and JC, plus their little baby Elliott! We met up at Sunday in Brooklyn, which was recommended by both Deb and Nicole, and didn’t disappoint. I had avocado toast with herbed goat cheese, radish, red onion and zucchini, which was so fresh and tasty, but then we also ordered pancakes for the table to share. These aren’t just any old pancakes, they’re the restaurants signature dish: malted pancakes that are super thick and fluffy, and are doused with hazelnut brown butter maple syrup. I found the recipe online, so that’s an experiment for a Sunday morning this winter.

• Ciao Gloria: There were so many treats I wanted to eat in Brooklyn (Pies n’ Thighs, Four & Twenty Blackbirds, Ample Hills), but the one at the top of the list was Ciao Gloria. This is the new bakery from our old friend Renato, one of the Baked Boys! He was there when we visited, and I re-introduced myself and he was so welcoming. Lydia ordered a slice of a pistachio apricot tart, and I got a slice of chocolate pecan pie, plus Renato brought us over a plate of other treats he wanted us to try. We chatted about the savoury service he offers in the morning, plus how he wants to launch a pasta night once a month, and a pie service for the holidays. Talk about living the dream; having your own little restaurant/bakery and trying out all kinds of different of theme nights and menus. Just amazing. Obviously all the treats were delicious, and we had lots to take home.

• Shuka: Our Saturday night dinner was at Shuka, which I had seen on Deb’s IG stories, and was such a perfect choice. First of all, it was a SCENE: totally packed, people hanging out at the bar, super busy and loud. Just everything we want when we go out in NYC and want to soak it all in. Once again, we ordered a bunch of dishes to share, and here’s what we had: fried halloumi with spiced yogurt, fattoush salad, roasted brussels sprouts and grilled shrimp with parsley + sumac onions, zhoug and pita. I also had a doha cocktail which was vodka, lemon, mint and rhubarb bitters. We stayed for a few hours and weren’t pressured to wrap up, even though it was so busy. Loved everything about this night.

• Buvette: My experience at Buvette can best be described as the most delicious, but physically uncomfortable meal, I’ve ever had. It’s super small, crowded, loud and busy, but just makes you feel like a true New Yorker. We sat at the bar, elbow to elbow with our fellow diners, and got a front row seat to all the egg-steaming and prosciutto-slicing action. I had steamed eggs with chèvre, tomato confit and pesto, Lydia had steamed eggs with prosciutto and parmesan, and we shared pain perdu (French toast) with berries. All the food we had was great, but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough!

Non-foodie related items of note:

• We stayed at the Walker Hotel, a little boutique hotel in the Village that Lydia found, and we LOVED it. It had a super cozy lobby with a fireplace and comfy chairs to curl up in and have a cocktail (which we did on Saturday night after dinner).
• Lydia’s favourite movie of all time is Moulin Rouge, so obviously we had to see it on Broadway. This might be recency bias, but this is the best musical I have EVER SEEN! All the music from the movie is updated in it, so there’s Beyoncé, Adele, Rihanna, P!nk and Lady Gaga songs, and it was so hard not to sing along! We loved, loved, loved it.
• I only had two non-food related destinations I wanted to visit. The first was Books are Magic, Emma Straub’s bookstore in Brooklyn, which was just as cute as I hoped. The second was Byredo, because when the hottest guy from your high school turns out to be a perfumer worth multi-millions, you must visit his store.