I love  like New York City. I’m one of those people that really wants to LOVE New York but I just can’t.  Perhaps it’s the crowds, the trash, the SMELL but I just don’t love it.  Don’t get me wrong I like it enough to visit for a weekend or in my case 24hrs but I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again I could never live there.

That’s a pretty big statement for me to make  because I’d pretty much want to try living anywhere just once, but I just can’t do New York.

So if you find yourself in New York City with roughly 24hrs like I did this past weekend then here’s what you could do:

Take in a movie or ten

The first stop on my 24hr New York City experience was to attend the Nomading Film Festival. This  festival rocked! Earlier I had written about this festival and I might add it was everything I thought it would be and more!

The tacos were amazing-I don’t think I ever ate so fast in my entire life.

The beer and wine selection was also top notch-Porkslap Pale Ale and some Moscato wine were perfect with our Nofff taco’s.

Voting on 10 movies was awesome, especially since we knew one of the film makers-even though she didn’t win it was still great to catch her up for noimation at this festival.

Add in a game of table tennis, a wall climb, and some more beer-well you’ve got yourself one hell of a Saturday afternoon.

Hungry? We’ve got you covered

Boat Basin Cafe

We’ve got some serious pro’s and con’s going on with this restaurant.

Pro’s:

Location, location, location! You can’t beat the views at this place-right on the water, gorgeious views of the city.

Price-There is definatly something on here for every budget which make’s it nice. Prices range from a $4 hot dog to a $26 steak.

Con’s:

CROWDED! Be prepared to feel like your at at festival when arriving. If you don’t like dinning with a lot of people go somewhere else.  By the end of the night it started to look like a homeless shelter with cans of beer everywhere and groups of people sitting on the steps.

Long wait time-on a weekend night you could wait up to 45minutes for dinner. My advice would be to get there early.

SMELL-It’s a tad smelly, especially near the bathrooms.

Long Grain Thai & Japanese Cusine

Now this place is a must visit. This is probably one of the best meals I ate all weekend.

If you love Thai food your in luck-they make some of the best flat rice noodles I’ve ever tasted. Their chicken is soft and literally melts in your mouth. I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it!

I recommend ordering:

Grilled Chicken Satay
Chicken grilled in skewers served with peanut sauce & cucumber sauce.

Noodle Mao w/Chicken
Broad rice noodles sauteed with chili, sweet soy sauce, basil, tomato, pepper, onion, bean sprouts & lime juice.

I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Shake Shack 

This is apparently New York City’s version of In and Out Burger on the west coast.

I couldn’t have been more pleased with the food-for burgers and fries it was simply awesome.

It’s not the cheapest place on the planet but its one of those things you must try when visiting the city.

Our recommendation when visiting was to order a Shack Burger and Cheese Fries. And boy were they dead on! Lots of gooey cheese filled the burger and the fries, wash it down with a bottle of water and your looking at $11 meal.

Thirsty? We can help you there too

And no we aren’t just talking about soda. If you want to try a few bars in the city then take a look at these two bars.

Amsterdam Tavern

If your looking for a chill place to grab a few beers then this could be it. They have outside seating which is great for those nice summer days.

Grab a beer and relax-no frills-but they do have an extensive food menu which looked amazing.

Latitude Bar & Grill

This is a great place to catch the game.  Lots of daily drink specials, especially on Sunday-all day specials! Cheap beers and awesome shots-how can you go wrong?!

Now it is in Time’s Square so if you don’t mind the crowd its defiantly worth the trip. Say hi to Brittany, a friend, and awesome bartender.

Need to work off all that food?

Head on over to Central Park West. This part of the park was a tad more quiet and full of families and joggers. Take a break and sit down on a bench and try to convince yourself you could move here-hey that’s what I did.

Did it work? Could you move to New York City? I’m still on the fence about that one but it sure is fun to visit and catch up with friends. And now that I’ve had the most amazing Thai food I may just be back sooner rather than later!

You stay classy New York.