My fiancé visited New York in February, and while we were brainstorming things to do, I put together an ultimate fun list—basically a mix of places to visit, food to eat, and friends to meet.
This isn’t one of those must-see NYC guides you always see online; it’s more of a personal roundup of my favorite spots, what we did there, and where to find them in the city (and beyond!). If you’re looking for some tried-and-true recommendations, I’ve got you covered.
Week 1
Week one was a bit of a slow start—mostly getting Guillaume settled into NYC and dealing with the kind of brutal jet lag that had him wide awake at 5 AM for days. With our wedding coming up in September, I knew I wanted him to meet all the amazing friends I’ve made since moving back to New York last May. Pictured below is Guillaume, the only guy at a girl dinner, feeling extremely cool.
So, naturally, I planned a girl dinner—but make it en masse, with ten of my closest friends. We all headed to John’s of 12th Street, a classic Italian spot I first discovered a few years ago during my vegan/vegetarian era.
One of my favorite things about this place is that it delivers on the old-school, hearty Italian food while also offering surprisingly solid vegan options like Seitan Parmesan, dairy-free pasta sauces, and other plant-based dishes that actually taste good. Even better, the portions are huge, and the prices aren’t bad for the heart of NYC.
Another absolute go-to for plant-based eats is
Spicy Moon. They’ve got four locations around NYC as of writing this, but the Bowery spot is my personal favorite.
The decor is very funky, with neon lights, pastel colored chairs and faux Sakura blossoms on hanging vines in the restroom. Their
General Tso’s Tofu is perfect—crispy veggies and tofu that are perfectly spiced with warm heat from the chilis, and fresh, snappy broccoli at the base.
A close second for me is the Dan Dan Noodles—nutty, savory, and honestly best enjoyed without the Beyond Meat addition (at least in my opinion). Guillaume and I were so into the tofu that we actually made a second trip back before he left.
Week 2
Week 2 was more focused on wedding prep and doing stuff with family. Our wedding will be held in New Jersey, so we made the trek over to
Calandra's Bakery to do our complimentary cake tasting, which is something I'd been looking forward to since we signed the dotted line on our contract. We were presented a tray of 25 flavors and told to pour ourselves a cup of coffee and dig in! My whole family came, so everyone got to try a bit of each cake and give their opinions.
I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I won't tell you what we picked for now, but we decided on two different flavors and two tiers of each flavor. We also chose our wedding cake design with their in-house designer, and Guillaume and I both liked a more classic, Victorian style wedding cake. This part was probably the easiest part of the 'wedding planning' we've done so far!
Since we did a girl dinner, I knew I had to arrange a 'boy lunch' as well for Guillaume to meet all my guy friends. We went to
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao-Manhattan, which was shown to me by my friend Arthur. All their food is delicious, but the soup dumplings are a must-try. Just a note for anyone interested: their W 33rd street location does NOT take reservations (so you'll have to get lucky with your walk in timing) so if you'd like to reserve I recommend going to their East Village location.
After lunch, one of the guys suggested grabbing taiyaki nearby, so I got this cute shot of Guillaume enjoying a freshly made Nutella taiyaki.
Week 3
Admittedly, there were a few things we did that I completely forgot to photograph—I was too caught up just being in the moment. Things like attending Guillaume’s very first live sports event (a hockey game!), visiting a couple of museums, and roasting s’mores at home.
If you're looking for a great way to pass an afternoon, I highly recommend the
Museum of the Moving Image. We spent around 3 hours just walking around and looking at all the interactive exhibits, reading about movie-making history and just enjoying what a wonderful place it was. I'm a big fan of vintage movies and advertisements, and Guillaume loves horror and tech, so it felt like a perfect collision of all of our interests.
We met up with my friend Suchuli to get chai down at
The Chai Spot, which has an extremely comfy and cozy lit vibe with plush floor chairs and a soft carpet throughout. I recommend the butter chai, but try to head there before the after-work rush hour to ensure you try it, they do run out quickly.
Oh—and somewhere in the middle of all this, I tried on (and found!) my wedding dress (!!). I can’t post any photos just yet, but once the wedding rolls around in September, I’ll be sure to share all the try-on pics and the final look.
Another unexpected highlight from this stretch was going to a traveling circus with my friend Sruthi. She found tickets for $30 and figured it’d be fun to check out since none of us had ever been to the circus before. Due to the price, we kept our expectations low. But honestly? We were blown away. It was a small venue, but every performer was giving 100% of their energy—it was way more impressive than we ever could’ve guessed.
Week 4
With only a week left of Guillaume's stay, we tried to pack in as much as possible. Believe it or not, Guillaume and I have never had the opportunity to dance together before (besides just dancing freely around the house as one does) so the pressure was on to get a bit of training before doing it at the wedding. I felt like we could wing it, but Guillaume wanted to take a dance class to be safe, so we learned how to do the waltz!
After the class, we celebrated by getting mocktails at
Lillie's Victorian Establishment, which I've heard good things about from friends. The interior was very pretty, a lot of dark wood and soft lighting, and they apparently theme the restaurant from time to time for big holidays like Christmas.
Sruthi and I had been craving afternoon tea, so we decided to make a little day trip out of it and headed up to Valley Cottage, NY to visit
Wilma’s Tea Cosy. We ended up being the only ones there that afternoon, which made it feel extra peaceful—just the three of us sipping tea and talking.
One of the nicest parts is that you get to pick your own teapot and teacup, so there’s this fun, interactive moment right after you order. The menu also includes Ghanian food options (a great surprise), and let me just say—the roasted plantains were so good.
Afterward, we swung by the Palisades mall nearby. Every month since we've started doing long distance Guillaume, being the absolute gem that he is, has shipped flowers to my house.
I always loved receiving them, but felt sad when they eventually withered and died after two weeks, so we came across a store in the mall that made “bouquets” of knit flowers. He told me to get whichever one I wanted, so I got the bouquet below and now have them on display in my room.
I’m so grateful Guillaume was able to visit and get a little taste of what it’s like to live in New York. We’re still in the middle of the green card process, and after a year of waiting, we’re no closer to any real updates—so trips like these are so necessary. Just being able to spend time together, even for a few weeks, is incredibly important.
To anyone else going through the spousal green card journey: I feel you, and I’m sending you all the strength and patience in the world. It’s not easy, and the uncertainty is so tough.
I’m not sure when I’ll see Guillaume again before September, and that’s always the hardest part about long distance—the not knowing. But I keep reminding myself it’ll all be worth it once that card is finally in his hands and we can really start our life together. Until next time, thanks for reading about our little adventures <3.
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