New York City - Fav 5 {Travel Guide}

Fav 5 Travel Guides are a short list of the best things I've found to do, see, eat, or drink in a particular location. This guide is the first of two for New York City, New York. 

Look no further for part 2 of New York City and more posts about Travel in the USA.

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We've just wrapped up a four day visit to NYC! We ate and drank to our hearts desires and walked until our feet could hardly take another step. Relive the very best of the City with me.

At 33 years old I finally laid eyes on Lady Liberty

1.  Dinner at Pastis

Pastis is a French restaurant is located in NYC's Meatpacking District. (For you RHONY fans, it's across from Bagatelle, Ramona's favorite!) We were excited to find a reservation the day we arrived in NYC for dinner that same night. We could chose between 5:00 or 11:00 pm. We arrived at 5:00 pm, just before the dinner crowd. 

Pastis was wonderful. The ambiance is so chic and cozy, the French champagnes can be ordered by the glass, carafe, or bottle, and the food is excellent. We ordered many things yet the lobster frites stand out as one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. It's a whole lobster in garlic-herb butter served alongside a pile of salty, starchy French fries. You pair on your fork a decadent bite of lobster with a few salty fries for a French, fancy, deliciously perfect bite. It was heaven. 

Pastis was recommended to me by a friend with great taste, thanks Marlin!

Bonjour from Pastis

Someone stole my champagne!

What a meal!

The lobster frites!

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2.  Breakfast at the Butcher's Daughter

After a good night's sleep we headed out for adventure and breakfast! The Butcher's Daughter (Nolita location) was the best breakfast of our trip. 

​They've got all of the juices, coffees, and breakfast options both with and without meat. I had a cappuccino and avocado eggs Benedict with potatoes, Bryce had a mocha and  the Mexican breakfast bowl (with jackfruit!).  It was a perfect meal before our first full day in the City.

Meredith, my NYC insider, sent us to the Butcher's Daughter, thanks Mer!

The Butcher's Daughter Nolita location

Delicious breakfasts and drinks

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3.  The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

I mentioned in the {overview} that Bryce and I had both been to NYC before but separately. Despite that fact and Bryce's Lady Liberty tattoo, neither of us had even laid eyes on her!

We booked our reservations for The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island late so the only option was the Hard Hat Reserve Ticket. The 90 minute tour took us through the unrestored hospital complex buildings on Ellis Island, beyond and behind the immigration building. We saw what happened to immigrants who were too hurt or sick to be admitted into America. We toured the old and creepy buildings and saw the psychiatric building, complete with caged balconies, the kitchen where meals were made for the 500 patients, where the nurses and doctors lived, and so much more. 

We loved the Hard Hat Tour and the whole experience. The ticket includes your ferry transportation to and from Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and your departure from either New York or New Jersey. After the tour we stopped at Liberty Island for a good look at Lady Liberty before heading back to land. 

This experience took many hours! We took a long guided tour, plus visited most of the exhibit in Ellis Island, and took an additional ferry ride to back track to the statue after we explored Ellis Island. Be sure to save at least half of a day for these two. 

The main intake room at Ellis Island

My favorite part of Ellis Island: hearing the immigrants speak about the new foods in America

The Ellis Island hard hat tour

The hard hat tour shows you the different areas of the hospital complex

You get to explore the unrestored old buildings

This kitchen served 500 patients x 3 meals a day!

This tiny enclosed courtyard is where the tuberculosis patients could get some "outdoor time"

On Liberty Island!

My sneaky travel partner snapped this picture of me as we cruised past Lady Liberty

Save plenty of time for Ellis Island and Lady Liberty adventures and ferry boat rides

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4.  Artichoke Pizza

Forget reservations and tickets, we stumbled upon artichoke pizza and had to try a slice immediately! I'm told that artichoke pizza is typically what you eat after several hours of drinking but I wasn't going to let being sober at that moment stop me. 

The slice was $6! That seemed crazy until I saw the GIANT SLICE of pizza coming my way. They slice your slice in half and we scarfed it down in minutes. It's like someone put excellent artichoke dip on top of a pizza crust and it's amazingly delicious. We had big plans for a proper dinner later that night but never ate again. 
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Thanks to another NYC insider, Annika, for making sure we knew about the delightful artichoke pizza.

That's one $6 slice of artichoke pizza!

HUGE!

Yes, yes, yes to artichoke pizza

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5.  Ferrara Italian Bakery

Finally I share with you Ferrara Bakery in NYC's Little Italy neighborhood. We hunted this bakery down on our second day in the City. We ran in, filled a box with pastries, and ran out quickly eating them throughout the day. We had mini cannoli, CHOCOLATE dipped mini cannoli, sfogliatella, a diplomat cookie, and a fruit tart and loved every single bite. 

We went back to Ferrara again on our last morning to take a seat in the dining room and for more Italian goodness: espresso drinks, breakfast, and pastries. I could sit in Ferrara all day, listening to people speaking Italian and watching humans delight in pastries and gelato. 

Our "breakfast" was a fig, prosciutto, goat cheese, and arugula pizza and waffles with gelato! Per usual I got a cappuccino and Bryce had a mocha. Every bite and sip were exceptional. We loaded up another pastry box for my parents with two of each types of cannoli, another sfogliatella, and a slice of carrot cake. 

If you're in NYC you've got to get to Ferrara at least once, if not twice!

NYC's little Italy, how cute!

An insane collection of Italian sweets

Our first selection of pastries

Trip #2 to Ferarra, we sat in the dining room for breakfast

Waffles and gelato for breakfast!

Espresso drinks, pizza, and gelato for breakfast - ok by me!

Our second haul from Ferarra Bakery

We loved NYC! Be sure to see the rest of our favorites with the New York City Part 2 Fav 5 Travel Guide. 

Let me know if you enjoyed this guide and if you hit any of my Fav 5 spots via Instagram, Facebook, or email. 

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