New York City! Part 2.

Our first night in New York was one for the books and I had no doubt that each day was going to be just as exciting.  On our next day, we had a full day ahead of us and lots sweet treats planned!  Here's Day Two...

Sugar & Plumm's Short Rib Eggs Benedict

It continued to rain that morning and we had Brunch at Sugar & Plumm on the Upper West Side planned.  As we walked into the restaurant, there were tons of desserts and confections in every color imaginable; I wanted to try all the macarons!  I was torn between getting a sweet breakfast but actually went the savory route (totally not like me).  I stuck with the Short Rib Eggs Benedict and I'm so glad I chose that.  The rosemary brioche it was served on was so delicious that every bread should be that good!  I was actually surprised at how inexpensive it was, only $18 with tip for Brunch in Manhattan!  Of course, we all had to buy some treats; I ended up with a Birthday Cake and Violet Cassis Macaron, even though there were all sorts of shapes and figures of beautifully crafted chocolate.

Surrounding my Cookie from
Levain Bakery!  Thankfully
we all got our own ;)

Since we were going to see "Waitress: The Musical" later that afternoon we decided to walk around the Upper West Side and check out LeVain Bakery (thanks to Ashley Daniels for the tip) which had a line of people waiting for their famous cookies.  I only took two bites because I was so full from Brunch but that cookie melted in my mouth.  Most of us said it was one of the best cookies we'd ever had!  As we walked towards Theater Row I recognized the scenery from some movies and the closer we got to the theaters, the more excited I was.  Part of the reason for our whole trip was to see Sara Bareilles playing the leading role in "Waitress" because she had written the music for the show and I knew she would do the role justice after hearing her debut 'She Used to be Mine' at one of her LA concerts!  I've seen Sara perform in concert numerous times, so I know her witty banter and ability to sell a song so effortlessly is there but I had no idea she'd bring the talent we saw that day.  As the musical started and Sara began to sing, Giana who was sitting next to me, just looked at me and squeezed my arm.  She said she turned into a Sara Bareilles fan after seeing the show!  Every song was better than the next.  It was such a fun show and the characters were so perfectly cast.  I fell in love with 'When He Sees Me,' 'Bad Idea,' 'Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me,' and 'Everything Changes.'  She sings that song seated, and makes it look so easy, and if you weren't already crying during 'She Used to be Mine' which everyone around us was, you surely were at this point.  It was touching, funny, sweet, had incredibly talented actors and a great ensemble, and Sara just knocked it out of the park!  I was so happy to see her in this role and just blow everyone away.  Although, the real star of the show, to a lot of the audience was the guy who played, Ogie.  He got the most applause!  We actually ended up seeing the actor who plays Dr. Pommater the following night as we were walking to a bar in the area; I couldn't believe I recognized him and he was super polite and humble.  Catch "Waitress" if you can, and especially if you can see Sara playing the role of 'Jenna.'

Even Sara has Bunny Ears!

After that we went to a Sushi Restaurant, Haru for Happy Hour and Tommy, our server took great care of us.  We didn't want to eat too much since we had reservations at Barbetta that night.  Back to the Hotel we went, got changed and then headed back towards Hell's Kitchen and the Theater District.  Barbetta is 111 years old and all the dishes on the menu had the year they were created and added.  Some of the recipes were 111 years old, in fact, Giana ordered one of them which was the Agnolotti.  I ordered a Caprese Salad (always a favorite of mine) and the Gnocchetti Ai Formaggi (Gnocchi and four cheese) and it was absolutely delicious.  I was also pretty proud that I had picked out a beautiful wine that everyone loved!  The staff actually wanted to take pictures with us so we got a few with everyone who had helped us out that evening...so sweet!

We walked back towards the Subway when we came across the Rum House; a piano bar specializing in Rum cocktails.  We listened to a Jazz Band play some live music and contemporary hits and even tuned out from our cell phones for nearly an hour.  Great rule, Rach!  Rachel and I had been talking about our previous night at Jack Dempsey's and all the fun snapchats we had, so we had to go and visit Bob again since we wouldn't get to see him before we went back to LA.  We got a couple cocktails and then called it a night and made our way home.  This was our only night we were in before 2 am ;)

At Barbetta in Manhattan with my Ladies, our Host, Waiter and Sommelier!

It was another eventful night in New York City and yet, our trip had just begun!