This past weekend Sheena and I went to New York to visit some friends and just get a little more traveling in before the baby comes. We came in on Thursday night and went straight to Melvin and Sheba’s place. They’re a really cool couple that got married a few months back. We weren’t able to go to their wedding, so we really wanted to make it a point to hang out with them. They live right in the mix of Manhattan so it was awesome to be in a great location to catch the sights of NYC. 
Friday morning, after eating a classic bagel and cream cheese breakfast at a local shop with Melvin, Sheena and I took off to Central Park. This place is huge! we only scratched the surface of it and we walked for about 2hrs!
We met up with Melvin again for lunch at Shake Shack. Being a part of the burger committee, we had to try an NYC burger, right? 
It’d be jacked up if I said a New York burger was better than something I ate in Texas (which it wasn’t), but it was pretty freakin good! Very fresh ingredients and well seasoned. If you’re in the area, check ’em out.
After lunch, we had to sadly part ways with Melvin because he and Sheba were heading out-of-town that afternoon, but it worked out perfectly because we were able to spend the rest of the day with Rolson and Sheba (Sheena’s cousins). 
We took a tour of China Town and SoHo and grubbed on some classic chicken and rice from the street vendor. Then ended the day at their house in Queens where we met their daughter Rebecca. Cute kid with a fun personality!
Late that night Stephanie and Jeswin came and scooped us up. We headed to their home in Connecticut. 
I’ve never been to Connecticut before, but it’s a really nice place. Winding roads, tree covered hills, older homes with character… It had a small town feel but a stone’s throw from the city. The next morning (Saturday) we woke up and Stephanie and Jeswin were slaving in the kitchen making us breakfast! Crazy, right? But delicious and appreciated none the less. It was a pretty chill morning where we just hung out, toured Connecticut for a bit and then landed at Crumbs Cupcake. My mind was telling me no.. but my body was screaming yes! This stuff was amazing! We started off with a healthy breakfast and quickly stomped on it with some fat filled cupcakes!
Afterwards, we headed back to the city to have an early dinner and then catch a Broadway show. Ninja was the restaurant of choice. It’s sorta like dinner with a show and it turned out to be pretty fun and filling. I won’t ruin anything by sharing our experience there, but if you’re planning to be in NYC, consider checking this place out. After dinner, we headed out to catch a show called Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. The playwriter is Rajiv Joseph, a pretty cool guy we randomly met in Houston. We were able to catch another one of his shows a year ago in Houston (Gruesome Playground Injuries) and thought it was cool, so we figured we’d give this new play a try. Robin Williams was in the cast, so that was a plus. The play turned out to be great! Very well pieced together and it makes you think and discuss afterwards. The night ended with a slice of NY pizza and then we headed back to Connecticut.
Sunday was pretty leisurely. We got up, went to Jeswin and Stephanie’s church (Harvest Time Church), which was very good and then had burgers at a small little joint called BSF (Burger Shake Fries). This was the type of burger you would make at your house… sloppy and delicious! 
After stuffing our faces with burgers, we stopped by Mario Batali’s shop called Terry Market. It’s a pretty cool little market for meats, cheeses and hand-made pasta. We grabbed some dessert and coffee and just kicked it for a bit. We then spent the rest of the day hanging out at Jeswin and Stephanie’s house and wrapping up for our trip back to Houston. Overall it was a really fun trip. New York is a great place, but the trip was much better because of our friends and family that hosted us. All of them bent over backwards to make sure we were taken care of an entertained and for that, I thank you!
*all photo credits go to Sheena T. Abraham
Sajan Abraham 