New York City (January 2015)

We spent an excellent weekend in New York City in mid-January 2015 over the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend. We stayed at the Hyatt Union Square, where we had stayed once before, only this time, they upgraded us (complimentary!) to an AMAZING suite with a huge wrap-around terrace! If only it were summertime, we would have enjoyed it thoroughly.

We ate lunch at DBGB, where we have been trying to eat for years, followed by a tour of the nearby Merchant House Museum. After some drinks at Brother Jimmy's, we ate dinner at Kura, which was a gift card birthday present from Glenn to Lauren. We bought some desserts from the nearby Walgreens cafe, which were surprisingly good. We ate brunch the following day at Momofuku Noodle Bar, which has also been on our "to eat" list for a long time - delicious!

We really had some great meals during this weekend trip, and the hotel room couldn't have been better!

Hotel:

• Hyatt Union Square Link to my review

Restaurants:

• DBGB Link to my review
• Kura Link to my review
• Momofuku Noodle Bar Link to my review

Activity:

• Merchant House Museum Link to my review

New York City: Hyatt Union Square (January 2015)

Link to my older review of the Hyatt Union Square (October 2013)

My spouse and I stayed at the Hyatt Union Square on a Saturday evening in mid-January 2015 for one night. We booked our reservation on-line on the Hyatt website using a special rate called “And the Winner Is”, in which each guest is presented with an envelope at check-in that offers a special perk such as a bottle of wine, a late check-out, or a room upgrade. We hoped for the room upgrade, because we had already booked a “better” room category of the Alcove Loft. (Therefore, the only categories to upgrade to are the Emphyreal Suite and The Sanctuary.) Much to our delight, the front-desk agent upgraded us to The Sanctuary (a 1-bedroom suite with a terrace) upon check-in! What an awesome surprise!

The Hyatt Union Square is located on Fourth Avenue at 13^th Street in the Union Square / Gramercy / Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. The property is located one block from Union Square itself, and many shops and restaurants are right outside of its doors. Two drugstores, Walgreens and Duane Reed, border Union Square; in addition to pharmacy items, both stores operate as mini-markets, selling drinks, snacks, reading material, and so on.

The Sanctuary Suite is located on the second floor of the hotel, as are all of the Terrace rooms. The room number for The Sanctuary is 211. (We believe that the other rooms ending in “11” are the Alcove Loft rooms, which are all corner suites and offer slightly more room to their occupants.) The best feature of the Sanctuary is the 1,000-square foot L-shaped terrace. Because the living room area is positioned on the corner of the building, the room contains floor-to-ceiling windows, each set of which has automatic blinds and sheer drapes that open and close with the touch of a button. You can access the terrace from both the living room and the bedroom. Unfortunately, we stayed in this room in the winter, so we did not get to fully enjoy the outdoor space, but it contains many different pieces of outdoor furniture, such as a dining table / chairs for six people, two single-person lounge chairs, one double two-person lounge chair, two sofas, two chairs, several outdoor lamps, and potted plants / foliage. The terrace must be an amazing space when the weather is nice! The room itself features wood floors, leather wall panels, and suede ceiling tiles. The oversized suite includes a separate living room with a 2-piece futon-like sofa, dining table / chairs for four people, large free-standing iPod speaker cube, and unique kind of mini-bar. The bedroom features a king-size bed, second flat screen TV (incorporated into the mirror of the dresser unit). The two-part bathroom contains a huge walk-in shower for two people and a large sink vanity. The toilet cubicle is in another area that you can closed off with sliding pocket doors, and it has a second tiny free-standing sink in an area that can also be closed off. (Note that the description of this room online mentions a “separate powder room”, however, this room contains only one toilet. Although this room contains two sinks in different parts of the large bathroom, it does not incorporate what we think of as a “powder room” meaning an additional “half-bathroom”.) Two bathrobes (but no slippers) hung near the shower, and larger-than-normal (perhaps 5-ounce) bottles of CO Bigelow toiletries (including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion) were located in a recessed area of the shower. In the living room, The Sanctuary contains a door that permits it to adjoin with a terrace suite, creating a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom unit when both units are rented.

We previously stayed at the Hyatt Union Square in October of 2013 (see our previous review for more information on the hotel features). Our second stay was just as pleasant as our first stop, and we plan to visit this hotel again. Although there are not many hotel options in this neighborhood, this hotel is surely the best!

New York City: Kura (January 2015)

Kura – The Best Sushi Served by the Friendliest Chef

My spouse and I dined at Kura on a Saturday evening in mid-January 2015. Kura does not have a website, nor do they accept on-line reservations. We telephoned about six weeks prior to the night we dined to make our reservation. (The first two dates that we requested were unavailable – the Saturday following Thanksgiving, and the Saturday following Christmas, because the restaurant was closed on those days, a practice that we heartily endorse! It is nice to see a small business that give its staff time off during the holiday season!) The restaurant name Kura means "sacred place".

Kura is located on St. Mark’s Place/East 8^th Street (between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Kura is hidden on a street populated with bars, restaurants, and shops. Kura has no signage, so look for house number 130, the door of which is covered with a “noren”, a short linen curtain inked with a circle. Although the street is rowdy with pedestrians and businesses, once you step inside the restaurant, the chaos disappears.

The restaurant has only one table (that seats about six patrons), and a long wooden sushi bar/counter that seats 12 people. Kura offers a printed drink menu, but not a food menu, so it is wise to do some research beforehand if you want some idea of prices and tasting options (which made difficult because they have no website). The decor is minimalist, with exposed brick walls, a bright white ceiling, a wooden sushi counter (minus the “sneeze guard”, thank you!), and wooden chairs. The restaurant offers two menu options: either all sushi, or half cooked / half sushi, at three different price points: $85, $105, and $130.

The head chef (or “itamae”), Norihiro "Miyake" Ishizuka, is 70+ years old, and wears a “samue” (a monk’s work robe). He is the happiest chef that we have ever witnessed, and his cheerfulness is contagious! Chef Ishizuka was born in Shikoku, Japan, and began his culinary training at age 13. He worked in Osaka and Tokyo before he came to New York in the late 1980s. He later opened a restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before he returned to NYC. A second chef also works behind the counter; he is cordial and adept, but he is not the master chef / magician that Chef Ishizuka is. As Chef creates his sushi pieces, his hands perform magic -- it seems to take him no time or effort to deftly shape the rice and top it with expertly sliced fish. He was wonderfully impressive to watch!

Service was prompt and attentive; for only 18 customers, at least four waiters/waitresses were present, although the sushi chefs served the majority of dishes over the sushi counter. The wait staff provides a hot towel upon arrival to clean your hands, and a small finger bowl with a wet nap remains on the table to wipe your fingers between courses. Chopstick rests are present, and the staff takes great care to provide coasters and other drink holders and arrange items properly.

The sushi was extraordinary! We ordered two $130 menus, one with all sushi and one with half cooked courses, although we both seemed to receive the same amount and kinds of sushi, with one serving of a few hot courses (such as monkfish liver, tempura, and miso soup) in between. Our sushi courses (not in this exact order) included ikura, mirugai (still quivering!), shako (mantis shrimp), krill wrapped in nori, uni wrapped in nori, scallop, abalone, hotate, tuna hand roll, fatty tuna, jack fish, salmon, and egg custard. Several of the sushi pieces were semi-cooked with a small blowtorch. We each received a bowl of marinated tuna chunks with grated Japanese yams early in the service, and we each chose a dessert at the end (pistachio ice cream, pear Riesling sorbet, or mochi). We were quite full after our dinner!

We loved our meal at Kura! The sushi was incredibly fresh and of the highest quality. The service from the wait staff was conscientious and professional. However, it was the personality and the skill of Chef Ishizuka that we will always remember!

New York City: Merchant's House Museum (January 2015)

My spouse and I visited the Merchant’s House Museum on a Saturday afternoon in mid-January 2015. The museum is located on East Fourth Street between Lafayette and Bowery in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, close to Greenwich Village and the East Village. The museum occupies a brownstone that stands by itself near the middle of the block. The residences on either side have been razed, although one of the empty lots may eventually house a new hotel (the museum may initiate a lawsuit to prevent the hotel construction because they fear damages to the property).

The museum is open Thursday through Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday) from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. A 45-minute guided tour takes place daily at 2:00 pm. On the second Sunday of each Month from March to October, a neighborhood walking tour occurs at 12:30 pm followed by an interior tour of the house. Admission costs $10 per adult, and you can pay with a credit card if your total is $20 or more (although cash is preferred). Students and senior citizens cost $5, and children under 12 are free. A small souvenir area that sells books and postcards occupies the room at the rear of the main floor where you pay your entry fee.

We arrived approximately 5 minutes prior to 2:00 pm, yet we were still able to join a tour. Note that more than one tour group departs at 2:00 pm; each group contains approximately 15 guests. Because the groups were larger then desired on the day that we visited, another docent was called in to lead another group (which caused our group to wait about 10 minutes for her to arrive). You can also take a self-tour using a binder of information that the museum provides; most people take between 30 minutes and 90 minutes to complete the self-tour. If you want to guide yourself, we recommend NOT arriving between 2:00 and 3:00 pm, because it is difficult to maneuver around the various tour groups when they occupy the rooms on any floor.

This museum is not handicap-accessible; you must climb about 7 steps to reach the front door (because you are entering a brownstone). Ring the buzzer on the front landing and wait to be admitted. The tour covers four floors of the house, and there are approximately 18 narrow steps (with handrails) between each floor (so you must climb a total of nearly 80 steps). You tour the kitchen and family room on the basement level (which is partially sunken below East Fourth Street). Public restrooms and an area to hang coats are located on the basement level. The main floor contains the parlor/dining room, as well as the entryway and hallway. The second floor contains the bedrooms for the lady and man of the house, as well as a small guestroom/office. The third floor once contained the children’s bedrooms, but now house offices for the museum staff (therefore, you do not tour any rooms on the third floor). The fourth floor contains the servant’s quarters as well as storage areas. An attic above the fourth floor is off-limits to visitors. A lovely walled garden is located toward the rear of the property.

The museum highlights the home of the Tredwell family, whose patriarch made his fortune in the metal/hardware trade. The Tredwells occupied the house from 1835 to 1933. The house is representative of the period for an upper middle-class merchant-class family, although it is enormous by today’s standards! It is considered one of the finest surviving examples of architecture from the period (1832 late-Federal brick exterior but also for its Greek revival interior rooms), and it has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum’s collection of over 3,000 items includes furniture, decorative arts, clothing, photographs, books, household items, and personal items. Highlights include a set of 12 mahogany side chairs made by Duncan Phyfe, a pair of matching six-globe gas chandeliers, and 40 dresses and other fashion accessories that belonged to the Tredwell women (the clothing is not always on display).

We enjoyed our tour of the Merchant’s House Museum given by docent Heide. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon. We were surprised at the number of tourists visiting this site on the day that we were there; more than 40 people were present for the 2:00 pm tour, who were then broken into three different groups. Although this museum is not a “must see”, it is certainly worth seeing if you have some free time.

New York City: Brother Jimmy's BBQ (January 2015)

Brother Jimmy’s has offered legendary North Carolina, slow-smokin’ barbeque for over 25 years. As suggested by the restaurant’s slogan “Put Some South in Yo’ Mouth”, Brother Jimmy’s mission was, and still is, to bring “down-home” cooking, hospitality, and merriment to the heart of the Northeast.

Over the years, Brother Jimmy’s established itself as the home away from home for ACC Alumni. Homesick alums from Duke, UNC, NC State, Georgia Tech, UVA, Clemson, Maryland, and Wake Forest began to flock to Brother Jimmy’s to catch the big Duke/UNC game, or to watch the Demon Deacons take on the Terps. By opening in Manhattan’s most popular neighborhoods, Brother Jimmy’s found a home in the hearts of New Yorkers. It has become the restaurant in NYC that reminded Southerners what good ‘ol Southern hospitality was all about and showed Northerners just what they’d been missing all these years.

Brother Jimmy’s has two NYC locations, as well as outlets in White Plains, Connecticut, Maryland, and Florida.

New York City: Momofuku Noodle Bar (January 2015)

My spouse and I dined at Momofuku Noodle Bar on a Sunday afternoon in mid-January 2015. Noodle Bar does not accept reservations, except for its large-format meals (available for parties of six or more). We arrived at Noodle Bar just prior to 12:00 noon, when the restaurant opens for business, and already a line of about 10 guests had formed. Noodle Bar is open daily for lunch and dinner.

Momofuku Noodle Bar is located on First Avenue (between 10^th and 11^th Streets) in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The restaurant contains blonde-wood low tables and stools, and two counters with barstools: one counter serves drinks, and the other is the food prep counter; diners eat at both spaces. The restaurant offers a coat check area, and two unisex restrooms are located at the back of the restaurant.

David Chang is the chef/owner of the Momofuku restaurant group, which includes Noodle Bar. Momofuku means “lucky peach”. Other NYC restaurants include Ko (see our separate review from May 2011), Ssam Bar (see our separate review from July 2013), Ma Peche (see our separate review from January 2011), and Booker and Dax. Chang also operates a restaurant in Sydney, Australia called Seiobo (see our separate review from August 2012). Four additional restaurants are located in Toronto, Canada. We are huge David Chang admirers, and we try to dine at as many of his restaurants as possible.

We ordered two types of buns to start: al pastor (pork shoulder accented by guacamole, pineapple, and cilantro) and brisket (served with pickled red onions, cucumber, and horseradish mayonnaise). We then ordered the Momofuku ramen (which contained shredded pork shoulder, a slice of pork belly, and a poached egg), and the ginger scallion noodles (which contained no meat, but instead, plenty of scallions, pickled shitake mushrooms, cucumbers, and white cabbage). For dessert, we shared the sampler, which contained a cookie called “The Ritz” (which contained a bit of everything), truffled pretzel bites, and Milk Bar soft-serve peanut butter and strawberry ice cream. (The pretzel bites were the best, with a salty coating, covering a moist, dense cake!) We also ordered a spiced pear slushy to try, which we thought would contain liquor but did not (the green tea slushy was listed on the menu followed by an asterisk symbol, which indicated that it was non-alcoholic; because the pear slushy did not contain the asterisk, we assumed that it contained some type of alcohol, but it did not). No matter, it was delicious anyway, although a size small was not large enough to share!

Service was a bit perfunctory, and we felt particularly rushed toward the end of our meal. (It seems like the restaurant allots customers about one hour to eat, and then they encourage them to move along.) Although we wish that it had lasted longer, we loved our lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar, and we would love to return!