New York skyline view on the incoming flight. Photo by Evan Berman

This is the first edition of a recurring category: weekend recap. This short review of my weekend travels will provide an example of easy short trips to various places in the US, complete with a few recommendations of places to visit. As always, use this as inspiration, not necessarily a set-in-stone itinerary. If I have not already reviewed the airport and/or lodging, there will be a separate review.

Trip Summary:

For Labor Day weekend, I visited family members in New York City. The trip was my first visit to the City in nearly 3 years (and since the pandemic began), so I was eager to see how things had changed. Spoiler: they have changed quite a bit!

We attended a Mets game and visited the following areas during our time there: Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan– including the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, and Soho/Nolita neighborhoods.

Flight Info:

Departure: CHS-LGA (Charleston, SC non-stop to New York-LaGuardia) on Delta Flight 4704.

Return: LGA-CHS (New York-LaGuardia non-stop to Charleston, SC) on Delta Flight 5196.

Lodging Info:

As this trip was to visit family, I stayed with them and did not need to find lodging. The price was unbeatable, especially for New York 🙂 .

Airport Details:

As mentioned above, I flew into and out of LGA. This was my first visit since the repairs had been completed and while the airport is no longer like that of a 3^rd-world country, there is much room for improvement.

The Delta SkyClub was on par with the others (read: very nice) and while we did not gain access to the Centurion Lounge, I am sure it would have been a pleasant experience as well.

If you plan to switch terminals, allow for a lot of extra time, there is a bus connection between terminals B (the main terminal) and C (Delta’s main terminal) but you might need 30+ minutes to make that connection, not including security. I would highly discourage attempting to get into the Centurion Lounge if you are not in Terminal B and have less than 2 hours to kill.

CLEAR is present, but not in Terminal B. Follow this link for a full review.

Transportation Details:

On our way into the City, we hailed a taxi. LGA Terminal B has taxi service with a line beginning at the far end of the baggage claim. Our fare from LGA (the closest of the three NYC-area airports) was only $45. For reference, from JFK, the fare is usually closer to $75.

For our departure, we ordered a Lyft to the airport. This was $44 before tip. While not cheap, this is quite reasonable for New York.

During our time in the City, we took taxis and Uber/Lyft, but did not take the bus or subway. Prices vary wildly based on time, length of trip, and route. However, Uber seemed to be slightly less expensive than Lyft for the most part, with rideshare being more expensive than taxis, though convenience is much greater with Uber/Lyft. For example, going from the Upper East Side to Upper West Side was $21 before tip.

Food & Drink:

Oda House:

Our party of 4 had dinner at Oda House on Friday night. This is a Georgian restaurant on the Upper East Side. A rare cuisine to find outside of the country, Georgian food is delicious. I was very pleased with
our food. I had previously visited Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and was taken back to that trip by this delicious meal.

While we were able to sit inside without a reservation at roughly 9:15pm on Friday night, the restaurant was packed, inside and outside. Outside in this instance means sitting in what used to be parking spaces on the street inside protection from the cars on the street– while some may enjoy this option, for me this is unfortunately an all-too-common occurrence in some cities and should be avoided when possible. By the time we finished our meal around 10:45pm, the restaurant was closing for the night, and we were the only remaining customers!

Of course, after dinner we had to have some chacha: a Georgian floral brandy that is similar to other inexpensive and strong young liquors (i.e. Raki, Grappa, moonshine, etc.). While very strong (at least 50% ABV), I find this to be a delightful way to end a meal. Plus some have found it to have medicinal applications!

2nd Floor Bar & Essen:

After dinner, we headed to a truly magnificent spot, 2nd Floor Bar & Essen. As the name suggests, this is a Jewish speakeasy on the Upper East Side. The ambiance is always fantastic– it is pitch black inside save for candles to read the menu. The drinks were solid but more importantly the ambiance is quite lively for the neighborhood and the people-watching is always enjoyable. I ordered a Somewhere in the Nowhere, a drink with Mezcal, Tequila, Green Chartreuse and several spicy mixers– it was delicious and had a nice spice.

A tip for anyone who stops in: do not order the Israeli wine– it is not good!

Arthur Avenue Retail Market

On Saturday, we headed to the Bronx (see activities section for more info). On the way, we stopped at Arthur Avenue Retail Market for lunch and a drink. We had lunch at Mike’s Deli, a truly fantastic meal if you find yourself near Arthur Avenue. Order the Paula Deen Special– you won’t regret it!

Also inside the market is the Bronx Beer Hall where we sampled local craft beers.

Caledonia:

We headed to Caledonia on Saturday night. Located both on the Upper East and West sides of Manhattan, this dimly lit bar is a great choice for a romantic post-dinner drink or for the Scotch-lover to discover a tasty new option that they have never heard of before! For those who do not partake, there is also a list of Bourbon and Irish whiskey as well as wine and beer. I tried the Port Charlotte 10 from Islay, which was one of the smoothest whisky’s I’ve ever had!

Pizzeria San Matteo New York:

No trip to New York would be complete without NY-style pizza, so we had slices of pizza at San Matteo. This is high-quality pizza without the lengthy lines you might find elsewhere.

The Penrose:

Last but not least on Saturday, we headed to The Penrose, which is one of the few bars on the Upper East side that has a unique feeling. I had the Spicy Mezcal Margarita and also sampled the Among the Greats (a cocktail with Rye, Cognac, and Cynar), both of which were quite tasty. Unfortunately, as with most places nearby, the bar emptied rather quickly, and we headed home to a well-deserved night’s sleep!

Other food and drinks spots:

• We visited The Playwright Irish Pub, the only place I have experienced where there was virtually no noise. It’s possible this was because it was Labor Day weekend, but the atmosphere was quite strange!
• For dinner on Sunday, we ate at Dagon. This has been named the Best New Restaurant opened during COVID-19, but the food not exceptional. The Branzino was delicious (albeit strangely paired with spaghetti), but the other dishes were average.

Activities:

New York Botanical Gardens:

On Saturday, we visited the New York Botanical Gardens. For this trip, a rental car is required. You could conceivably find your way to both locations, but a car made this trip much easier– until the Mets game.

This is a popular escape from NYC and is quite beautiful as well as massive. There is a parking lot and it is $22 ($11 with a membership). Tickets are $30 per adult, with a $2 discount for those 65+ or students. Highlights of this visit included visiting the rose garden and the conservatory. The grounds are so large that many people hope to take the tram as opposed to walking. Just know that they are scheduled to arrive every 25-30 minutes, so it might be quicker to suck it up and walk!

New York Mets Game:

To round out our busy Saturday we drove to Flushing, Queens and attended the baseball game between the New York Mets and Washington Nationals. Parking in the main stadium lot is $30, but we opted to park on the street.

I got us seats on Vivid Seats as they provided the best value, and we sat 7 seats up in left field. I will review the ticket purchase process in a separate article.

While the final score was disappointing for the home team, the experience was great. Beers were not unreasonable at $12 before tip and included with the seats was access to the newly renamed Mike Piazza 31 Club by True Vodka. Fun fact: the lounge keeps serving alcohol after the 7^th inning stretch 🙂 . While you do get access to this lounge, there is no reason to linger after getting your drinks and/or food, so we returned to the outfield seats.

One additional unexpected perk at the game: every Saturday home game, show your Citi card (credit or bankcard) and you will receive a complimentary item from the staff. I showed my Citi Custom Cash Card and at this game, it was a Mets Citi-branded luggage tag which made for a great present! Citi Field is a nice ballpark, and I would recommend catching a game there.

Photo of the Week:

It wouldn’t be NYC without a friendly picture of an animal!

That wraps up this week’s trip report! Next weekend: Columbus. Until then, stay well and keep maxing out memories!

Evan