Date Night

New York is called the city that never sleeps.  But it could also be called the city that always eats.  The dining options here are seemingly neverending - everything from a $1.50 hot pretzel from the street vendors to the “menu without prices” fare at the city’s chic eateries.

Tracy and I are fairly simple eaters in a lot of ways.  In North Carolina we were happy with a burrito from Moe’s, queso from Armadillo Grille, or pizza from just about anywhere.  But just because we’re simple doesn’t mean we don’t love to eat - in fact it’s just the opposite.    And part of the whole NY experience is broadening our horizons culturally - which we were happy to do tonight with a date night to Spice, a Thai restaurant a few blocks from our apartment.

To be fair, we’d had a taste of Spice last weekend when hanging out with friends, so we decided to hit up the real thing and were not disappointed.  Our dinner of dumplings, chicken pad thai, and chicken fried rice was filling and delicious - and the dark, intimate atmosphere was casual but in a very NY sort of way.

For dessert we walked a few blocks to Crumbs, a fantastic bakery/coffee shop that we’ve been eyeing for a few weeks now.  Crumbs has cupcakes, cookies, cakes and just about any other baked goods which produces, well, crumbs.  We settled on a huge Oreo cupcake and the most delicious sugar cookie I’ve ever tasted.  Crumbs is less than 2 blocks from our apartment.  For those who know Tracy and her sweet tooth, this could spell trouble.

All in all, it was a perfect Mansfield night on the town - simple, delicious, fun. And for all you who are wondering how many Benjamins a guy has to throw down for a nice date like this, you’ll be pleased to know that the entire evening (dinner, dessert, and remember no car so no gas!) came in under $35.

Who says New York is unaffordable?