All you can eat in NY in a weekend

It’s the city that never sleeps but never stops dining out either and here’s where to go

I

ARRIVE into JFK just before 7pm and immediately annoy my friends by proclaiming that I don’t believe in jet lag, that it’s all in their head.

I’m no fool, I understand the effects of flying long- haul, sure, but I also know the benefit of mind over matter and make a conscious decision to not allow anything ruin my weekend in the Big Apple.

Taking Aer Lingus’s evening flight helps, because by the time you get to your accommodation there aren’t a whole lot of hours left in the day so you shouldn’t struggle to stay awake. Plus, if you change the time on your phone and watch as soon as you step on board, you’ll have had a few hours to adjust and be ready to hit the ground running.

Ignoring the ‘God, it’s nearly midnight at home’ comments from the rest of the gang, we hop into a yellow cab outside the airport bound for Manhattan. The taxis are on a flat fare ($52) to the city, so unless you’re travelling solo, it’s probably the most cost efficient way to get to your hotel.

We haul our luggage into the Marmara hotel to find out they don’t have our booking. Strange, because I just confirmed it. ‘Are you sure you’re not staying in the Marmara Park Avenue?’, the front desk clerk asks.

I thought that was where we were, perhaps I am feeling the jet lag after all. Blushing, it’s back into another cab and we’re on our way to the hotel’s other branch. Lesson learned.

Our one bedroom suite on the 14th floor came equipped with an iPad Air which was handy for making dinner reservations, full kitchen (I made use of the wine bottle opener) and huge windows wrapping around both sides of our corner apartment showing off the famous skyline at sunset. We were on the clock though, so after a quick freshen up jumped into our third taxi of the day towards the Lower East Side.

I’d heard the entrance to Beauty & Essex restaurant was a bit quirky, but I didn’t expect to walk through a tiny, but fully functioning pawn shop to get access to the venue itself. The lounge area was buzzing with gorgeous New Yorkers swilling fancy cocktails and eating delicious looking nibbles by the bar.

THE noise level was a bit of shock to the senses after a transatlantic flight, but we were whisked up the spiral chandelier- adorned staircase to a comfortable round table and settled down to what happened to be one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. I don’t say that lightly, but what followed was pure perfection.

If there’s fish on the menu, I’ll probably order it. So after navigating the highly confusing menu, it was tuna sashimi tacos with avocado mousse from the ‘raw bar’ for starters and the paprika spiced salmon with sriracha-curry cauliflower for main with a side (which they’ve renamed ‘accessory’) of garlic, soy and chilli broccolini.

The rest of the table went for short rib mac & cheese, kale and apple salad and Beauty & Essex’s famous brisket, short rib and lamb burger, with spicy harissa aioli, beefsteak tomato, goat feta and crispy BBQ fries. Well, there was silence in the audience while the plates were cleared. Easily some of the best food I’ve tasted, which is a massive claim, since I’m not a huge fan of a lot of the over-seasoned, quantity before quality food in America.

But this is New York. Eyes bigger than our bellies, though I couldn’t say the same about the size of our stomachs after the weekend. We ordered some desserts to share. The sure-fire hit was the boozy hot chocolate shot that sounded so wrong, but just worked. Bill all settled up, we head back out into the night in search of a drink or two to round off the first evening.

The Dead Rabbit bar in the Financial District appears on lists of best bars in the world all the time, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, plus it’s run by two Irish lads.

We grabbed G&Ts at the casual bar downstairs and waited for a table in the cocktail place and in hindsight probably should have stayed there where the atmosphere was laid back and friendly.

On a mission to see what made the Dead Rabbit the best bar in the world though, we made our way up and were sat in front of a 64-page cocktail list, which instead of being impressive felt slightly obnoxious.

The drinks themselves were just grand and we were having more craic in the pub part, so we called it a night.

Fully on East Coast time zone, we woke after a pretty solid sleep in the oversized bed and rambled downstairs for Marmara’s chic breakfast offering.

Unlike hotels in a lot of European cities, it isn’t a given that your first meal of the day comes with no extra charge in New York City, but it was in this one.

No tinned fruit cocktail or queues at the toaster here, but fresh mini-pastries, berries, Greek yoghurt and coffee in togo cups for the road.

Just like most European cities, however, the best way to explore is on foot to find hidden treasures you’d almost certainly miss by taxi or subway. Plus, food will feature heavily on any NYC weekend itinerary, so we decided to work up an appetite before the next feast by wandering through the streets and avenues.

You’ll want to know the difference to easily navigate your way around the big grid that is Manhattan. Avenues run north and south, streets go east to west.

I’m not much of a shopper on holiday, but we popped into some of the big name chains like Nordstrom Rack, Saks and Anthropologie near Union Square not far from the Flat Iron building by Madison Square Park (look out for the queues at Shake Shack).

There’s also a Best Buy here on West 23rd Street if you’re looking for cheap electronics and a Trader Joe’s ‘neighbourhood grocery store’ for a kind of more affordable alternative to Whole Foods just around the corner.

As we’d hoped, all that walking worked up quite the thirst, oh and appetite too, so we jumped on the F train towards the East Village for bottomless brunch at Poco. For $30pp your glass will never be empty of a white sangria, mimosa or bloody Mary. And with hearty portions of hangover cure favourites like eggs benedict with lobster or chorizo, French Toast and potato hash to line your stomach, it’s a real no-brainer way to wile away a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. The Mexican influenced mains were a hit at our table, as were the pancake flavour shots that arrived when the bartender overheard we were celebrating a birthday.

NO trip to NY would be complete without at least a little bit of sightseeing, or at least making it to the water, so bound for Brooklyn, we took the East River Ferry from Midtown, jumping off at the North Williamsburg terminal to get to the Brooklyn Bowl and passing under the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges en route to Wall Street. on the way back to the city.

The bowling here is a bit more rock’n’roll than I’m used to, with live music, leather Chesterfield sofas and a ridiculously hip crowd. The venue is on Wythe Avenue also home to the über trendy hotel with the same name. It’s hipster heaven, yes, but it’s also got one of the best views back over to the Manhattan skyline, so try to make a trip around sunset for a cocktail.

I didn’t quite plan on our weekend turning into an unofficial food and drink tour of New York, but it certainly was a happy accident and I was pleased to veer away from the usual tourist traps for a real slice of the city, without a pizza pie in sight.