A couple weeks ago, Leon and I hosted my youngest brother, David, at our place in Flushing. David lives in SF and works remotely for his job (he’s a UI/UX designer! Check out his work here), so he has the flexibility to travel whenever he wants, as long as he still gets his work done. He found super affordable round-trip tickets to New York and took a red-eye to get in on Thursday and just left this past Wednesday.
We had such a great time with him - it was refreshing to see the city through his eyes (it was his third time exploring NYC, and he’s still obsessed with it as if he’s seeing it for the first time), crazy to stay up late with him every night (we were on vacation schedule, too, apparently), and energizing to play tennis with him in conversation (David is one of the most talkative people I know, and that’s saying something coming from me; our word count definitely went up this past week).
To recap our time spent together, here’s what we did in photos!
Day 1: Thursday (9/5):
David got to our apartment around 6:50am on Thursday, and hopped right into the shower before catching up on much needed sleep - he didn’t sleep at all on the flight. Then, he worked from home for a bit and spent his lunch break commuting into Manhattan to work at a coffee shop I told him I really want to try: Watchhouse.
How chic is this place? Their beverages and pastries are delicious, too. David got an iced chai and a croissant. He says their atmosphere was top tier as well! Apparently, Watchhouse originally started in the UK in 2014, having amassed 16 locations there before opening its 17th and first overseas location in New York earlier this year.
After I got off work, Leon and I met up with David at La Grande Boucherie to graze on some light bites and enjoy their happy hour spritzes. David said he and Nathan (our brother!) had passed by this restaurant several times when they were here for our wedding last year, so it was extra special that we actually ate there this time. Highlights: spritzes, french onion soup.
When we got home, Leon whipped up some stir-fried udon with shrimp and short rib for real dinner. David said it was “soooo good.” That means a lot since David’s a chef himself! I must say, I’m getting hungry just writing this under the photo right now.
Day 2: Friday (9/6):
On Friday, David had a work-from-cafe day with Leon (they worked out of Spring Cafe Aspen, my go-to near NYU, and David grabbed lunch at Spicy Moon - he got their mapo tofu with rice). Afterwards, he met up with his Caravan friends from Berkeley - a travel magazine club he started his freshman year. They stayed out late, spending most of the night at Birdland Jazz Club.
Day 3: Saturday (9/7):
On Saturday, David left home before I woke up and spent a full day with the Caravan crew. You’ll have to ask him for more details, but from what I remember, they met up at Bryant Park, trekked down to Chinatown for dim sum, watched a skating competition at a local skate park, and walked on Brooklyn Bridge. In the meantime, Leon and I attended a friend’s wedding, so here are some pics!
Day 4: Sunday (9/8):
On Sunday afternoon, I cleared my plans to hang out with David! He said “I wanna go into the city because it’s fun.” His wish was my command. So off we went, first hitting up Raku at their Midtown location, darling and delicious as ever. David got the kamonan (duck udon) and I got the chikara (mochi + chicken udon). A DELIGHT. At the front of their space is their sister bakery, Patisserie Fouet, so we got a matcha to go (so very good) and picked up some pastries (matcha financier cookies and chocolate-dipped madeleines) for Leon’s mom, who loves both kinds of sweets.
Next, we went to Rockefeller Center to watch a livestream* of New York Fashion Week, which was, of course, David’s idea (he is always in the fashion know). *Technically, we were watching reruns, since we didn’t go at one of the actual show times. We ended on David’s favorite designer from the few collections we saw, Willy Chavarria.
Then we were originally going to visit the Museum at FIT, but turns out we were a week too early (the exhibit is now open til the end of the year if anyone’s interested). The great thing about New York, though, is that there’s always something to do - the city has no shortage of backup options, one just as good as the other. So, we quickly switched plans to walk the High Line instead, since it was nearby. Neither of us had been before, and it was a lovely little jaunt.
To go home, we took the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) from Penn Station. We raced to Moynihan, because I really wanted to show David the gorgeous terminal. His pose matches the grandeur quite well, no?
Once we got back, Leon treated us and family to a feast - we were celebrating two birthdays: Leon’s brother and his mom! On the menu was salmon sashimi, scallop sashimi, salmon poke on rice crisps, oyster mushrooms, seafood pancakes, and sous vide short rib.
Day 5: Monday (9/9):
By Monday, we were thrown back into the work week. Another cafe day for David and Leon, and the usual onsite day for me. After, David and I met up to go thrifting at a couple Upper East Side stores while Leon went to class. We hunted for treasure at Unique Boutique on 94th and 3rd, and then Housing Works on 90th and 2nd.
Historically, I haven’t had much luck at thrift stores. I suppose I’m not patient enough to dig through all the stuff upon stuff. But David really wanted to go, because he was convinced New York had to have better thrifting options than anywhere else. To my surprise, we were both very successful that day! David got a handful of pieces (a mix of shirts and pants) and I scored two things I’m really happy about:
First up, this tweed Madewell dress that I snagged from Unique Boutique, where things were priced very affordably - most items were set at $14. This dress felt very early-days Madewell, in the best way. I could tell the quality was there when I picked it off the rack, and it fit so comfortably. Perfect with a black blazer at work! I’ve gotten many compliments from colleagues since its office debut.
When we stepped into Housing Works, we could immediately tell the vibe was more expensive. As we suspected, the clothing brands matched the general aura of the shop, but the pieces were still sold at a fraction of their original retail price. I took a chance on this navy Sandro pullover, which didn’t look all that special at first but caught my eye once I noticed the zipper detail. Once I tried it on, it was a no brainer. Because of the way the garment is designed to give a more fitted look, it made me feel more put together than a slouchy sweatshirt would’ve.
Here’s David in one of the shirts he thrifted from Unique Boutique. He’s very happy and satisfied with his finds!
Also during our travels by foot, David stepped on an unopened packet of buffalo(?) sauce when we were crossing the street, and it splattered all over my legs and dress. We looked at each other in horror before David sprinted into the restaurant next door and rushed out with napkins and hand sanitizer. It was a good day to wear black.
After our thrifting adventures, we were ready to eat. We took the train down to Mermaid Oyster Bar for their wonderful happy hour (every Monday! And then every day after that 4-5:30pm). David strikes the funniest poses when I turn the camera on him. I still crack up at that last photo of him with the tiny clam chowder. I was trying to describe the small size of their hh clam chowder before we got there, and his gesture shows how much I exaggerated.
Once we got home, I went to wash some dishes (probably my lunch tupperware from that day) and David said “ok you go do that and I’ll watch this movie” and proceeded to put on the most random movie on Netflix. In the next few minutes, I was hollering questions like “what movie is that??” from the kitchen only to receive no reply. I found him like this on the couch, which is apparently his preferred sleeping position. He was fast asleep like that for the next hour before I made him get up and shower for bed.
Day 6: Tuesday (9/10):
Tuesday was our last full day with David, so we wanted to make the most of our (post-work) time!
Our first afternoon stop was The Tusk Bar in Flatiron. I took Leon here for his birthday earlier this year, and we loved it. The vibes are immaculate and the drinks are *mwah chef’s kiss.* You can see here that we had a very happy David as well! Of note is their crystal clear cubed ice, which is an art form in itself. My only gripe is that they diluted their Aesop soap in their restroom LOL. It came shooting out of its dispenser like water. I see you, Tusk Bar!!!! But other than that, we were very pleased and will be back time and time again.
For dinner, we went to Moono, the sister restaurant of Jua, where Leon took me for my birthday. We had a packed meal of elevated homey Korean dishes, but I have to say that the appetizers were definitely the standout. Since David’s birthday had only been a few weeks prior, we also took the opportunity to celebrate him with the candlelit dessert :) We were stuffed afterwards and walked off our meal on a quick trip to pick up snacks at the most gorgeous Whole Foods I’ve ever seen. Then we went home and watched the Harris/Trump debate, which was quite the entertaining nightcap.
The next day, we had our last work day together and said bye to David once the clock struck 4ish. It was bittersweet saying bye, but we have so many memories to look back on and to recreate for future trips :) Until next time!