New York: Love It or Hate It

View from a  rooftop bar

New York City. 

It seems that whenever I tell people I'm going to New York, I get two responses;

"Oh I just LOVE NYC!"

or "Oh really? I hate New York."

My husband and I adore it. Every chance we get, we escape our life in Cleveland and catch a quick flight to the Big Apple. For us it's only 59 minutes away. So as long as there are no delays or cancellations at the airport its super easy to get there. 

As soon as the Manhattan skyline comes into view we sigh, feeling somehow like we are home again. Though we both grew up in the Midwest and have lived in Ohio for 18 years. 

Yes, it is dirty especially on trash day. Yes, sometimes you will see an occasional rat running down by the subway tracks. Yes, it is crowded and there are homeless people lying on the sidewalk.

But 1.6 million people live in Manhattan alone and on weekdays the population swells to 3.9 million according to the World Population Review that's approximately 170,000 people/square mile on a workday.  If you count all five boroughs there are roughly 8 million people, double the amount of Los Angeles. Fun fact, there are also over 800 different languages are spoken in NYC! That's pretty cool!

Of course there will be problems with that many people. But there are so many positives. Here are just some of them.

1. You can pretty much find any type of food you could ever want to try. You can go as fancy as you want spending thousands on a meal, especially if there is alcohol involved, but there are plenty of cheap eat options. A few weekends ago, my husband and I stuffed ourselves with the most delicious pork buns and dumplings in Chinatown for under $20! 

Brunch is my favorite meal of the day and two of my favorite spots are Jack's Wife Freida and Balvanera. Hmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about them.

2. The entertainment available is infinite. From small intimate comedy shows, new plays, and less well-known bands to the glitz and glamour of Broadway, superstar performers like Billy Joel playing Madison Square Garden, or a night at Saturday Night Live. Oh and don't forget all the professional sports you can watch. They have it all, baseball, hockey, basketball and football, take your pick! You can find whatever type of entertainment suits you. 

3. Roof-top Bars. There is nothing like watching the sunset over the NYC skyline at a rooftop bar sipping a Negroni or a Paloma! 

4. There are an endless amount of beautiful cathedrals, historical museums, art museums, and historical places to visit, like Alexander Hamilton's grave and Fraunces Tavern and Museum which was a key meeting place in the Revolutionary War period. 

5. Shopping! You can buy anything you could possibly want in NYC. 5th Avenue has all the super fancy big name stores like Gucci, Dior, Tiffany, Bergdorf Goodman etc. Even if you're not buying they are fun to browse.

Brooklyn Bridge

6. The parks are great! Of course Central Park is the biggest of them all. You could spend an entire day there; walking around, enjoying the lake, taking a boat out on the water, just sitting in the grass having a picnic, getting your exercise by running or biking in the park, and there are pull up bars and other gymnastic work out equipment in some parts of the park. 

Washington Square Park is another of our favorites. We could spend hours sitting on a bench by the fountain simply enjoying the weather and people watching--and ooohing over all the cute doggies that walk through. 

7. We also love that NYC is such a great walking city. You would never have to take a car, you could walk pretty much anywhere, and when you're tired or in a hurry (or it's pouring down rain and you forgot your umbrella) you can always take the subway or grab an Uber. We have clocked over 20,000 steps in a day on some trips. 

After all New York City is one of the top destinations in the world to visit! We already can't wait for our next trip!

What do you think? Love it or hate it? What are your favorite spots in NYC?

Kathy :)

Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie has been my oldest daughter's favorite birthday treat for as long as we can remember. Today, she turned 28. So I made her another one.

This recipe is definitely more on the tart side, so if you don't like things super tart, cut down on the key lime juice. The first time I made it, I actually hand squeezed about 30 tiny key limes, which took forever! I decided either I was never going to make it again or I had to find a better way. That's when I discovered, "Nellie and Joe's, Famous Key West Lime Juice from concentrate"--a total game changer!

Ingredients:

28 Squares of honey graham crackers

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp of cinnamon

1 stick of unsalted butter-melted

2 cans of condensed milk

1 cup Nellie and Joe's key lime juice (you can squeeze enough limes to get 1 cup if you really want to)

2 jumbo eggs at room temperature (most recipes call for large eggs but this one works best with jumbo- though you can still use large.)

*Fresh lime zest and Whipping Cream -to top it with. (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2. Process the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs.

3. Pour in the sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter and process again until the crumbs come together like wet sand.

4. Press the crust mixture into a pie pan and bake until just slightly browned, about 12 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

6. Lower the oven temperature to 325.

7. In a mixing bowl, combine the lime juice and condensed milk. Whisk on medium speed until combined.

8. Add each egg one at a time and whisk until just fully mixed in.

9. Pour into cooled pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.

10. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

To make whipping cream pour 1 cup whipping cream into cold mixing bowl and whisk on high speed until it forms soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and mix again on high speed until medium peaks form.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my daughter! Please let me know how it turns out.

If you want to check out my Tumblr where I'll regularly be posting new recipes click the link below!

https://www.Kathys-Home-Kitchen

Kathy