Aug 5th-Aug 10th - Mike Visits NYC & Christine's Last Week!

On Sunday when I was walking outside to go lay out I heard someone call my name and it was Dennise coming back from a trip to South Carolina! We sat on a bench and caught up and she gave me gifts from while she was away which she shouldn't have! She got me a beautiful butterfly key-chain that is made of white and yellow flowers that I love! Also she gave me a blue and gold clutch from Coach which was too much but so sweet. 

I enjoyed the sun for a little while and then later I got a message from my friend Christine from work asking if Sarah and I wanted to go to Maialino that night for dessert. Right when Sarah and I were leaving the apartment to go meet her we felt rain drops and went back to get umbrellas. It was a good thing we went back because it started pouring! We waited a little bit until it calmed down but poor Christine had gotten caught in the storm.

When we arrived a bunch of our co-workers came and greeted us at the table and we ordered fried artichokes to share as a snack. The kitchen brought us raw market vegetables, fish, and suppli which was so generous of them! Then we ordered a slice of chocolate torte cake, gelato, olive oil cake with vanilla bean mascarpone and we also enjoyed a slice of blueberry upside down cake that was compliments of the kitchen. Everything was delicious and we left very full, thank you Maialino!

The next day my friend Julia from work was giving a presentation at Maialino with our co-worker Michael about the history of Gramercy Park and the hotel (which Maialino is located in). I attended and it was really interesting to learn about what the hotel was like before Maialino and facts about the park that is right outside. It is pretty neat that Gramercy Park is the only park that has not cost the city any money because it is payed for by the residents in the area who are the only ones who have access to the park. The hotel has been famous for years and used to be known as a place to party. The hotel still carries a similar vibe but is now famous for its art collection throughout including works from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Richard Prince and Robert Mapplethorpe.

On Tuesday I worked during the day and Josh Kushner (business man and Ivanka Trump's husband's brother) joined us again as well as the famous author Eli Evans who is a regular and he said that he remembered me and was happy to see me which was nice.

After work Mike and Tony arrived in the city and I met them at their hotel! We worked out in the gym and then went to dinner at Co. where we have been wanting to try their pizza. I had their greenmarket tomato topped toast which was good but a little spicy and then had a stracciatella cheese pizza with arugula which was amazing! The pizza was warm but the cheese was cold and it was very tasty!

When we got back to the hotel Mike and Tony met with someone that they know to talk about different projects and I went to my apartment to visit for a little bit and then went back to the hotel after they were done and watched them play video games. The next day we went to Pastis for lunch and we love to eat there but this time I did not have the best experience. Twice there was a problem with my order but they were very apologetic. We will definitely continue to dine there (but I may not order that dish again).

While walking back to the hotel I noticed a bird sitting in a corner of a doorway and people were walking right near it and it would not move. I could tell something was wrong and I started calling bird rescue places as we headed to the hotel but none answered. The guys got ready for a big meeting and I went back to check on the bird. I was pleasantly surprised to see the bird walking around normally, I think it may have hit the window and was shocked for a moment and then recovered.

Mike and Tony went to meet with Jason Flom who has served as CEO of record labels such as Atlantic Record and Virgin Records. He has signed Britney Spears and Katy Perry as well as founded Lava Records and currently represents artists like Jesse J.

While they were in the meeting I called Abrams Artists Agency to set up a new interview date and then went shopping at several places for Sarah's birthday coming up. I had to head to work at night but when I got out Mike and I had a late dinner at their hotel restaurant La Bottega. We had truffle artichoke salad, truffle cheese pizza and chocolate lava cake.

The next day Tony, Mike and I went to B&H to check out some electronics there and get CDs. It was frustrating but really funny that their CD case was so hard to get open, there were directions and we had to use tools. After we got it open it turned out that the CD was not even compatible with Mac computers! Then I headed to Maialino because my friend Christine who interned there this summer was giving her final presentation. It was really sweet to hear about how Maialino was a great experience for her and helped her grow not only in the industry but also personally.

Afterwards I met Mike and Tony at the hotel because we wanted to work out and then eat. We had dinner at a place called Cafeteria which I heard of before but had not eaten there. They brought us through the restaurant and down to the lounge where I ate truffled macaroni and cheese and a veggie burger which were pretty good.

Friday was the last day of restaurant week so Mike and I decided to do lunch at Lavo. We took a cab there and the weather was terrible, we saw people's umbrellas getting turned inside out and I found out later that a tornado touched down on long island! We got to lavo safely and had a great lunch. I was so glad Mike loved his chicken marsala dish and of course I loved my margherita pizza and pasta. Last but definitely not least Mike and I were in heaven eating their fried oreos with vanilla malt shake!

Later the guys played video games and I hung out with them and at one point I noticed the rain had stopped and the sky looked beautiful!

Then I headed out to go to Christine's good bye dinner at Maialino! Several of the hostesses/reservationists all got together and we celebrated our new friendship with Christine as well as wished her luck going back to school! Christine is such a sweet girl and I am glad that we became friends!

Dinner was amazing, there was so much food! We started out with market vegetables, zucchini with light cheese and caprese salad. Then they brought out four pastas and I had some of the cacio e pepe and the zucchini pasta. Next course I had eggplant parmesan and suppli, yum! The kitchen came out to see how we were doing and some of the girls told them we could eat more even though everyone was pretty full! They brought out another course of salumi, cheeses, and toasted tomatoes. Lastly we had a bunch of tasty desserts! We all had such a good time together!

Afterwards I went to Mike and Tony's hotel to hang out because they were leaving to go back home the next day!