This year I turned 23 in the big apple, the city that never sleeps or whatever else they call it, you know what I mean. I spent my 23rd birthday in New York City. There is so much to do in New York that it can be stressful to plan a whole weekend of events, especially when you have friends coming into town. Here are some things to do in New York City that range from good eats to nights out and a bunch of happy hours.
I live in the East Village so most of these are things to do in the East Village or not too far on the train.
Friday
Happy Hour: Yuca Bar
This is one of my go-to happy hour spots, their drinks are strong, the food is delicious and it is always a nice vibe. My favorites are the tacos and the Mojitos. It is not the cheapest happy hour option but the quality is great. They also are usually packed late night and have great music.
Late-night vibes: Miss Lily’s Café
East Village is a great place to be on a Friday night. Miss Lily’s is my go-to bar/ restaurant spot because it’s a Jamaican restaurant that has great food, drinks and always has great DJs and music off the late night. It is also in a great location with several other bars near it where you can branch out to. It’s usually a mixed crowd of college students and a little older but I always like the music which tends to be a mix of Caribbean styles like soca and dancehall with hip hop, and r&b depending on the night. Get the rum punch!
Saturday
Explore: Summit One Vanderbilt
Summit One has been on my list for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity to force people to do it since my friends were in town. Summit one is a skyscraper and art installation in one and I found it to be pretty engaging. One of the main rooms is kind of the like the most confusing hall of mirrors that you’ve experienced, another is a room full of floating balls (more entertaining than you think), and in another exhibit, they literally put you in it (like, your face becomes a floating cloud). The exhibits are engaging plus you have some pretty spectacular views of the city. Also, a great spot for pictures of course. It's around $40, but NYC residents can get a discount.
Refresh/ Happy Hour: Spotted Owl Tavern
Spotted Owl is a place that I found while exploring my neighborhood. It’s a pretty simple place with really good happy hour deals. The best that I have found around the East Village and Alphabet city areas. We went a little crazy with the happy hour here, but the deal is $6 drinks so it is hard to beat.
Eat: Pizza!
What’s a trip to NYC without some pizza. My personal favorite around the East Village is Buratta, but there are so many good places you can just take your pick. This was an easy option to eat before a night out.
Party: Lot 45
For, ahem, cultured people, Brooklyn is the place to be for clubs and bars with music you might actually like. So we made our way on the L to go to Lot 45 which is like a club/ bar space in Brooklyn. The cover was $10 to get in. The DJs did their thing that night. They often have different themed nights so look out for those as well.
Sunday
Brunch: De Mole, Williamsburg
No birthday is complete without a bottomless brunch! If you like to eat, this is the place for you. De mole’s brunch is insane, it is bottomless food and drinks for $50 each. The food is tapas style, and they have a wide variety of food including ceviche, tacos, taquitos, enchiladas, and so much more! They literally bring out everything on the menu. When they said this it shocked and confused us, but they really did. It was honestly too much food before we even got the big stuff like the tacos so if there are things that you think your party won’t like tell them not to bring them or just specify what you do want from the beginning. The drinks are also bottomless and they have margaritas, mimosas, Bellini’s, sangria, bloody marys, and a few other options. I loved it, bottomless food, and drinks, yes, please.
Day Party: Café Erzulie
If you survive brunch, why not make your next stop a brunch party? We went to Café Erzulie’s brunch party. They don’t have them every weekend but look out for them because it is something you don’t want to miss. The DJs are great, the people are energetic and you would think it was a Saturday night instead of a Sunday afternoon. Bottomless Brunch plus a darty is theeee most perfect combination so definitely add that to your itinerary.
Monday – Happy Birthday to me!
Unfortunately, like an adult, I had to work on Monday, but once work was over it was a great day.
Shop: Soho
What’s a birthday without some gifts? JK, I bought nothing but still. Window shopping around Soho is one of my favorite activities. There’s a huge range in stores for every price range (seriously there's a great TJ Maxx like a block from the Balenciaga store).
Explore: Museum of Ice Cream
The Museum of Ice Cream is located in Soho and is a sweet treat. I seriously wasn’t sure about this before I went, but it was great, or maybe I just love anything to do with ice cream. Before you ask, yes, there is unlimited ice cream. The first ice cream and the last are the best though so go back for seconds. Or thirds. There’s not much history in here, it is more of an interactive exhibit, perfect for picture taking. One of the highlights is the giant slide that you can go down.
Eat: Rib no 7
Even though we had dessert first, a birthday is not complete without a nice dinner. I love Korean BBQ and Rib No 7 is an upscale version of that. We got a sampler platter that we split that had ribs, pork belly, and bulgogi. Honestly, I wanted to do something fancier for my birthday but I would choose a “regular” Korean BBQ spot any day. The food is really good and you can definitely tell that the quality is top tier, but the quantity was much lower for the price.
End the night: Spotted Owl Tavern
For a nightcap we headed back to Spotted Owl even though it wasn't happy hour prices. If you’re around that way some other places to try out are Key Bar and Niagra as well as the before mentioned Miss Lily’s and Yuca bar. If you're feeling adventurous there are also a million other bars to try out that you could find just walking down the street.
As you can see, I made no real decisions and instead just packed everything I wanted to do into one weekend. Which ended up being exhausting, and exhilarating and made for a lot of great memories. If you try anything on the list let me know what you thought.
On that note,
Happy Birthday to me
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