NYC Birthday Weekend

Happy Friday! It’s been a while, so I thought I would join up with the lovely DC Trifecta (Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney) for the weekly Friday Five Link Up! They’ve changed the format of the linkup since the last time I linked up, so I really had to think long and hard about the food and drink theme.

Today is my birthday (woohoo!), and I’m heading up to New York as this post is published, so I thought I would use this weekend getaway trip as a guide for this post.

As you may know, I went to college in Newark, New Jersey for a year, and Brooklyn, New York for the remaining three. Despite having traveled all over the world, and visiting exactly half of the 50 United States, New York still remains my favorite city in the world. I have fond memories of my time in NYC, and I’m going to be giving my boyfriend a tour of some of my favorite places in Brooklyn while I’m there. New York is such a great place for food, so here is my list of 5 places I’d like to visit for my birthday weekend:

1. Sea – I don’t care what anyone says; this is my favorite NYC restaurant! There’s something magical about walking from the bleak Williamsburg streets into this beautiful restaurant. When I first moved to Brooklyn, I remember this being one of the first places where I remarked, “I feel like I’m on an episode of Sex and the City!” Probably because they actually filmed part of an episode there, but you get the idea. 😉 The food at Sea is so good, and surprisingly cheap! When my family came up to Brooklyn to visit me for my 20th birthday, I took them to Sea. I can’t wait to introduce Sea to my boyfriend!
2. Monty Q’s – Okay, so this isn’t the best pasta on the planet or anything, but it holds a special place in my heart. My college volleyball team used to go to Monty Q’s pretty often, especially when we played St. Francis, which is located in this neighborhood. For me, Monty Q’s is part of the whole Brooklyn Heights experience, including walking the beautiful Brooklyn Promenade, which I intend to do this weekend even if it is -800 degrees!
3. Speaking of Brooklyn Heights, did you know that the first Häagen Dazs retail store is located there? One day, one of my German teammates was telling us all about how great Germany is compared to the US (as she always did), and all about Häagen Dazs, and how it’s just the best ice cream ever, and how Americans don’t know anything about good ice cream. The joke was on her when we walked past this shop and learned that it was the first location! I will never forget the look on her face. I’d like to stop by the shop while I’m in Brooklyn Heights because I love ice cream, and it’s my birthday, and why shouldn’t I have ice cream, right?
4. When in NYC, eat sushi! We’re going to be staying in Astoria, Queens with my really good friend Kelly and her husband Dan. I’m hoping we can get some sushi while we’re up there. My boyfriend wants a NY slice, so I’ll have to find a good place for him to get a slice, since that’s another “when in NYC,” thing to do.
5. BRUNCH! On Sunday, we’re doing brunch. It’s funny because none of us “do” Valentine’s Day, but all of us (minus my boyfriend) have February birthdays! We’ve been doing a bit of a brunch swap over the last year. Kelly and Dan took me to brunch in NYC when I last visited them up there, and I showed them how we do brunch in the DC area (they agreed that we really do brunch here). I love how different the brunch food is between the two cities, and I always love trying out new restaurants. I can’t wait to see where they take us!

On Monday morning, I’ll be returning to Maryland, and I’m going to be running The Runner Awakens, a Level Up Virtual Run. Level Up Virtual Runs donates a portion of their profits to underfunded school sports programs, which is so cool! In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a nerd, so I’m excited about the combo of running and Star Wars.

Depending on how cold it is, I might choose to run it on the dreadmill. (I’m such a weenie.) I’m debating between a 5k and a 10k, so we’ll see what I’m up for after my birthday weekend! If you’re interested in running this race, you can save 15% off the registration with the code Save15. Make sure you register by Sunday!
You should expect to receive your medal about a week after the virtual race, for those who are wondering how that all works.