Unexpected Nights

This is New. York. City. What does this mean? Well, it varies for all of us, but almost everyone will agree, that in NYC, you can, and WILL have random unexpected nights.

Last night was one of them. My cousin was in town for work, so I joined him and some of his friends for drinks at Grand Banks.

If you have not been to Grand Banks, PLEASE, plan your next sunset happy hour there before the summer is over!

Grand Banks is located in Tribeca (so chic). It is an oyster bar aboard a historic wooden schooner, the Sherman Zwicker. The story behind is pretty cool as well. In fact, it's a hand-built wooden ship that was christened in 1942 as the F/V Sherman Zwicker.

It is also the last original saltbank fishing vessel in existence. And you can eat, drink and enjoy gorgeous sunsets against the city skyline right on the Hudson River!

It's a popular spot for Happy Hour as the sun is starting to set. It gets really packed, so get there early. Once it's at capacity, they won't let anyone on the ship until others come off. They don't want a Titatnic situation, ya know?

We caught up with some of my cousin's old friends (finance people), and talked about a veriety of things (mainly finance). In the midst of that, I got a suprising phone call from my little bother, who happened to be in town- suprise!

So, we closed up and headed to find some food- we were starving of course! And what do you do in NYC? You drink and you eat, and then you drink some more.

We then headed to have dinner in Tribeca. My cousin used to live in Tribeca, and he was craving Italian from one of his favorite spots. Max.

Max is the epitome of the very typical restaurant in New York. It's a tiny hole in the wall restaurant you don't even know exists until you walk in front of it. They seated us immediately. We ordered some drinks and a delicious squash soup they had on special. I was trying to be healthy! Key. Word. TRYING.

But, who can be healthy at an Italian restauarant?! I went ALL IN.

For the main course I got the gnocchi he got the spaghetti. I ate the entire bowl of gnocchi. I repeat, ENTIRE BOWL.

It certainly did not disappoint! I'm usually a fan of gnocchi with white sauce, with Gorgonzola cheese but this one was different. It was with tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella. His spaghetti was with lamb Ragu and pecorino Romano.

I was definitely in a pasta comma when I walked out of there. I would definitely recommend as a great Italian spot if you're in the Tribeca area.

Like I said, in New York, you drink, eat, and drink again. So we met my brotherup for a nightcap at Tiny's & The Bar Upstairs.

Tiny's is a cute little bar in Tribeca. It's a restaurant downstairs and then they have a bar upstairs (hence the name). Cocktail menu is really unique and the service was great. I was quite surprised to hear they were playing a little bit of old-school Jay Z hip-hop (think Hard Knock Life), which I always enjoy.

I ordered the Farmer's Tan. It consisted of Tito's vodka, watermelon juice, Basil, and lime.