3 SERIES: The First Brunch of my 30's at THE STANDARD GRILL, NEW YORK
I'm not one to make a big fuss about my birthday (oh, you managed not to die in the last 365 days? Well done, do you want a cake or something?) but this year was rather more special. You see, a woman is often conditioned to anticipate her thirties with the dread of loss: be that of youth, suppleness, or relevance in this fickle and ageist world. And that is even if she hasn't spent the last 2 years of her twenties feeling increasingly helpless and trapped in a downward spiral she hasn't the strength to climb out of, never mind dare to do anything but put on a brave front and fake a smile throughout. I remember all too clearly the despair and fear I felt on my 29th birthday (I kept the notes I made that day, for posterity) but what a difference a year makes. In the past few months I've rediscovered what it feels like to be free, happy, and loved. So when Luxy invited me to join her in New York City and Orlando, I jumped at the chance to do something for myself and myself only. I said "Yes!", booked my flights, expedited a USA visa application (that dramatic debacle deserves its own blog post), and before I knew it I woke up - still hungover from the 3 bar + 2 club-bender of the night before - in our suite at The Conrad to this adorable birthday surprise.
It was our last full day in NYC, but it was the first day of my thirties, a fresh start, and only the beginning of something brighter, bigger, and better than ever. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but when in New York do as the New Yorkers do and have brunch. And brunch we did - at the lively, hip, always-packed The Standard Grill in Manhattan's achingly cool Meatpacking District.
THANK YOU LUXY FOR PHOTOS OF ME, AND ALSO FOR TAKING THE REINS OF THIS TRIP. LOVE YOU!
High Line, 848 Washington St, NY 10014
The Standard Grill could be described as "blogger-bait" going by aesthetics alone (marble! subway tile!), in fact it was its constant appearances on my social media feeds that brought this place to my attention. Part diner, part brasserie, part sports bar, all chic: from the ivy-covered al-fresco café, to the monochrome indoor restaurant with its oyster bar and the German-themed 'sausage bar' with ping-pong table.
The food is a classic American - eggs Benedict, bagels, pancakes, New York strip steak - with some international favourites thrown in for good measure (steak tartare, brioche doughnuts), all washed down with mimosas and Sailor Moons. Luxy and I had the avocado toast with poached eggs and herb salad (such blogger, much wow); steak tartare with charred scallion, pine nuts and fried quail egg; almond crusted French Toast with cherry compote (topped of course with a birthday candle for me). All of it fresh, delicious, and very welcome stomach-lining from the boozy adventures of the night before.
My birthday brunch was one of my three favourite meals of our 4.5 days in New York City, and I cannot recommend it enough! The Standard Grill is usually full by lunchtime, so best make a reservation to avoid disappointment.
The food and our surroundings was already wonderful, and then an observant waitress noticed me whipping a birthday candle out of my Prada to decorate the french toast. She brought out a slice of cake (a deliciously dense pistachio wonder with lemon curd and chocolate frosting) with a candle and sang Happy Birthday, and then thanked us for choosing to have my birthday brunch at The Standard Grill. Our brunch was anything but standard - from the service to the meal and of course, the surrealism of celebrating so far from home. I couldn't have asked for a better start* to my 'three series'.
*The rest of my birthday ended on a more debauched note: with a decadent dinner at Tao Downtown, then partying with Luxy and two new friends I made the day before at Haus (when the DJ played 'Birthday Song' I put down Pokemon Go and leapt from our table to the podium with my big booty ho).