Monkey Hits NYC

So Monkey is now 3 days in to his first trip to the USA and having a taste of the big adventure to come in 2012!  We arrived on the 27th about 14.30 and took a cab to the Kimberly Hotel at 145 East 50th Street http://www.kimberlyhotel.com/?mcid=gptag52k1.  Great little hotel in a great location, although we won't be having anymore drinks in the bar on the roof at $28 for two Gin and Tonics!  The rooms are spacious and comfortable and the staff are friendly and helpful.  The bed is like a huge comfy nest!  

Just an hour or so after we arrived, we met up with Mike's niece and her friend for a Porto Rican meal in Sofrito's.  http://www.sofritony.com/  It was a little weird to spend and evening with people that we had only just met for the first time in NYC at the equivalent of 2am in the morning in the pouring rain but it was a good night and lovely to meet Sherry for the first time.  The food was good, although the mixed appetiser platter was pretty intimidating and meant that salads were in order all round for the main courses!  The complimentary egg nog was lovely once we realised it was not a dip for the toasted sour dough bread!!!!

Next day, after picking up some breakfast en route, we spent the morning and early afternoon on the Soprano's Tour! http://www.screentours.com/tour.php/sopranos/ Monkey did not make into the Bada Bing as he was under-age but he got pretty excited just to be in the car park!  Honestly, if you are a Soprano's fan it is a not to be missed experience.  From the drive into Jersey that Tony takes at the start of every episode, to sitting at the actual booth in the restaurant in the last ever episode, it was a great way to spend a cold day!  The guide was an ex-actor in the show and very knowledgeable and passionate about the show and the people who worked on it.

After that we had a stroll through the city and picked up some tickets for a play called Stick Fly.  More on that later..........

Back to the hotel and, after a quick freshen up, and adding a few layers of clothing in an attempt to keep out the freezing cold we headed out for something to eat in a Mexican at the end of the road
http://www.doscaminos.com/.  It didn't look like anything from the outside which is often the way in this city but we had some of the best Margaritas and Mexican food we have ever tasted and have booked to go back for New Years Eve!

The evening ended at the Theatre where we saw Stick Fly.  http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/theater/reviews/stick-fly-at-the-cort-theater-review.html
Slightly, confusing play but thought provoking.  Started out as if it was going to be slightly self-indulgent examination of the issues of race and class from the perspective of a wealthy upper class African American family but did turn out to be about much more than that and actually illustrated that issues of class, gender and parent/child relationships affect everybody in the same way irrespective of the colour of their skin.