The Spanish Invasion - Day 4

Day 4 was my last free day to hang out with my Spanish friends. With most of the major monuments already seen, we focused on some shopping and people-watching. We started in Union Square and went to Filene's Basement and DSW for some retail therapy - I picked up a fetching pink polka dot shopping trolley! The view from the store was really beautiful too!

Betcha didn't know you could get such a view from Filene's Basement! :)

After taking advantage of great markdowns, we walked down to Noho and Soho, stopping first at Max Brenner's new chocolate shop. I had reached chocolate nirvana!! Max Brenner is an Israeli that has a few chocolate stores in Israel; this store just off Union Square is his American debut. Brenner's belief is to make chocolate eating an experience onto itself. I like his philosophy!


A few blocks down and we were sampling the gorgeous drinks at the previously mentioned Aroma café. I had gone back there specificially for the iced chocolate, and it did not disappoint.

After walking around the shops in Soho, we made our way to Chinatown. Now, this was the disappointment of the entire day. Well, unsurprisingly, Chinatown was packed to the gills. I think Lorena and Isaac were overwhelmed by the noise and foot traffic. Lorena did take some nice foodie shots - you can't beat chinatowns when it comes to cheap and good produce and fish!

But, the worst part was the food! Now if you never thought anyone could possibly eat badly in Chinatown, think again. We headed down Mott Street to our fave Chinese restaurant, Wo Hop. This restaurant is steps down in a basement type of atmosphere - not the best decor, but the food is top-notch, and just as important, cheap as chips! There was a HUGE line to get down there (we think it is now popular through word-of-mouth and the signs which weren't there before), so we went to the above ground Wo Hop, where the chef is supposedly downstairs Wo Hop's son. I had some General Tso's shrimp which wasn't too bad, but the three had fried rice, and it just didn't taste good! I really hope to bring them to the real Wo Hop while they are here; and if anyone is reading this and in New York, downstairs Wo Hop is mine, all mine, don't go there!!!!

We called it a day after that -- we took the train all the way to the beach for some relaxation on the sand and a walk on the Brighton Beach boardwalk. I'm hoping to feature Brighton Beach on a soon-to-come stop on the Magical Culinary Tour, but here's a bit of sneak preview beforehand.

The boys were still hungry after our disappointing meal, so they dished up some Sevilla-ish sandwiches at home. Big baguette + jamon serrano + tomatoes + oregano = two happy Spaniards!