To kick off the weekend my very best friend and former Seoul socialite Lauren Legs McGee came to town to pay me visit and enjoy the most fabulous weekend in the city. After a few days on the west side I figured it was about time I classed it up and hit the upper east side, so we went for brunch at Mexican restaurant Maya.
On the weekends this place is packed to rafters as they offer an all you can eat Mexican tapas and bottomless mimosas, margaritas and Bloody Mary’s for the bargain price of $42. The menu was an awesome eclectic mix and we tried an endless amount of dishes, the stand outs for me were definitely the huevos rancheros, and the caramel chocolate french toast.
There were over 30 dishes available on the menu and we tried as many as we could, we adored the tamales and lamb tacos, but there were also plenty of regular brunch dishes too like home fries and bacon. The Bloody Marys were certainly live kicking, but they also had at least 5 different mimosas. We of course tried them all but I was in love with the Maya mimosa, a mix of champagne, blood orange, and passion fruit, it was brunch perfection!
We left Maya slightly worse for wear and pretty darn full, but we didn’t let that stop us and headed straight to the Plaza for afternoon tea. We opted to share a New Yorker ($65) and have a glass of champagne each ($$$$).
How prim and proper we felt as we browsed the tea menu selecting our favourites then nibbling on freshly baked scones with lemon curd, jam, and cream. The scones were pretty good but not a patch on my dad’s who makes the best scones in Cornwall, if you are very lucky I might even share his recipe one of these days.
As well as the scones we had mini pastries like eclairs, cheesecake, tarts, macaroons, and an array of sandwiches. I do love a good afternoon tea and although this one wasn’t cheap it was worth it to go somewhere as iconic as The Plaza, and a glass or two of champagne always makes for the most lovely afternoon.
For our Saturday night out we headed over to Brooklyn to check out Radegast Hall & Biergarten for a couple of drinks and to meet our two favourite Kims – Jane & Rina! It was great to kick back over a couple of beers and catch up on old times, Korea friends are always friends for life and it was just like a day had never passed.
On the way home we stopped at a Mexican food truck for a couple of burritos to help sober us up.
And it would have been churlish not to try a few of the scrumptious slices of pizza from Bedford Avenue before boarding the L train home. From the Upper east side to the L train in one day, I certainly lead a colourful life!
