... spend a weekend in NYC?

New York City is one of my favorite weekend destinations for many reasons: good food everywhere; top notch museums around the city; endless performance arts options; lovely boutiques selling one of a kind items; street-side vendors etc.

So last Saturday, I took the Bolt bus from South Station and arrived in NYC at lunchtime. During the entire 4-hour ride from Boston to NYC, I was contemplating my lunch options (I already had dinner reservations). In the end, I settled on Ippudo. Upon arriving at Penn station, I immediately made my way to East Village for what I've been told to be the best ramen I'll ever have. When I got there, I was told that I'll have to wait 20-30 minutes so I took the opportunity to pop by David Chang's Milk Bar and got a slice of crack pie (It was good, kind of like pecan pie without the pecans, but I had much higher expectations) to go. Back at Ippudo, I was finally seated at the bar. I ordered their famed Akamaru Modern ramen and side order of menma. The menma was nothing to rave about  but the noodles were cooked to al dente perfection and the broth was flavorful, complex and addictive. For the first time in my life, I slurped up every last drop of ramen broth. The Berkshire pork chashu was tender and even the boiled egg was an excellent mix of creamy egg yolk goodness and cooked but not rubbery white. $14 for a bowl of ramen, even in NYC, is a little steep but I suppose one does have to pay a premium for the best ramen ever!

Next up, dinner at WD-50 in a somewhat non conspicuous location in the Lower East Side. We looked at the menu but didn't take long to figure out that we were going for the 12-course tasting menu. I am a new fan of wine from Washington state's Columbia Valley so I had a glass of  Soos Creek's 2005 'Artist Series 5', a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. It was one of the most lusciously smooth and elegant reds I've had of late, with a hint of black raspberries. Aside from the beef and bearnaise, which we didn't really care for, and the way too raw lamb loin, the savory courses on the tasting menu were all very good. Everything bagel ice-cream with smoked salmon threads and crispy cream cheese was the brightest star among them all, and the only savory course I wish I could have more of. Alex Stupak's desserts, on the other hand, were out of this world. Caramelized brioche, apricot, buttercream with lemon thyme ice-cream was amazing. I've always been a fan of the lemon + thyme combination but these two flavors were so perfectly well balanced in this ice-cream that I suddenly realized what was wrong with all the lemon + thyme confections I have had and loved in the past. The cocoa packets consisted of a leathery chocolate pouch with crunchy oreo-like cocoa bits inside. The chocolate shortbread balls enclosed condensed milk ice-cream that exploded delightfully when I took a bite. But my favorite that night was cheesecake ice-cream with pineapple, raisin, saffron and lime. My friends know how much I love tangy flavors in my desserts, especially lemon and lime. Here, the pineapple and lime flavors were the ideal complements to the creamy cheesecake ice-cream. The raisins added an additional textural dimension to the dish, while the saffron gave it an elegant but restrained touch.

The next morning, we began our day with an awesome Mexican brunch at El Toro Partido in Harlem: a quesadilla stuffed with fried Oaxacan cheese and a huarache with tinga de pollo. This was the first time I had tinga de pollo and it has now joined my list of favorite Mexican dishes. To accompany our meal, we were offered two tasty salsas-- a spicy light green salsa with chunks of avocados and a brownish-reddish chipotle (i think) based salsa. They were both very good but we really loved the green salsa-- it was spicy and refreshing with bits of creaminess from the avocado chunks.

After taking a quick walk around the gorgeous City College campus, we proceeded to the Time Warner Center to pick up some goodies from Bouchon Bakery en route to the Lincoln Center. Their chocolate bouchons were exceptional-- moist, very nearly light, perfectly sized and as pretty as chocolate brownies get. The rectangular bacon, cheddar and chive scone was buttery, exploded with umami (how can it not with bacon?) and texturally one of the best scones I've ever had.

After almost two full days of non-stop eating, I finally arrived at the Lincoln Center for the New York City Ballet's All Robbins performance, which is, incidentally the real reason I made my way to NYC. I have watched countless Balanchine ballets but have never watched a Robbins ballet. Dances at a Gathering, set to Chopin's beautiful music was loveliness, playfulness and simplicity all in one. The entire cast was extraordinary but I was particularly impressed with Maria Kowroski (green) and Jared Angle (purple). The second dance on the program, West Side Story Suite, was a complete contrast from Dances at a Gathering. It was energetic and as one would expect, much more contemporary. Georgina Pazcoguin's Anita was sharp, spunky and stole the show with her rendition of "America". Robbins' style is certainly distinct from Balanchine's-- more modern although still classical and in a way, more dramatic.

This, in my opinion, is as perfect a weekend as can be.