Travelog XVI: Christmas in New York City

“In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of.”

Alicia Keys was right, New York is a concrete jungle. For the Christmas holiday, Cooper and I went to New York for the first time ever. We were there for six days! Our main objectives was to hit up well-known sites and indulge in the NYC’s food scene. Overall, we had a grand time in New York and definitely would visit again in the future during a different season.

Flying with Cooper

The flight from SFO to JFK was approximately five to six hours. This was going to be Cooper’s longest flight (there and back). Our flight to New York was at six in the morning. Prior to going to the airport with your dog, make sure that they empty out their bladder and bowel. In addition, limit the amount of water and food intake before a flight so that they don’t suddenly need to go when you’re both up in the air.

Since this was an early morning flight and Cooper needs his breakfast, I used Cooper’s Stella and Chewy’s freeze-dried patties as treats throughout the trip. Cooper was able to go number one and two before we headed out to the airport. He was still half asleep in the morning so his energy was low which was ideal for flying. Typically, it would be best to wear out your dog (ex. playing fetch or walking) prior to flying so that they’re good and tired for the duration of the trip.

When you fly with your dog in the cabin, check with your airline’s policy prior to make sure that you and your pet meet all requirements necessary. For our flight, I had an airline friendly in-cabin pet carrier from Roverlund for Cooper. The Roverlund carrier was perfect for Cooper as he fitted comfortably thanks to the flexible rear frame. The carrier also includes a leash in case I needed quick access to one and it has a removable fleece lined dog bed. Rules are subject to change without notice so please check with your airline’s latest in-cabin carrier requirements.

Whenever I fly with Cooper, here’s what I have on hand with me:

Baby wipes/Tissues
Collapsible water bowl
Treat pouch with poop bags
An airline-approved carrier

If you are flying with an emotional support animal, make sure to follow your airline’s instruction prior to boarding. We flew with JetBlue and their policy about ESAN can be found here. Majority of airlines have strict policies regarding ESAN so it’s very important for your travel experience that you check with your airline at least two weeks in advance (just to be safe).

Tip: For easy access through the airport, sign up for TSA Precheck and CLEAR if you haven’t already. Either one will still help you tremendously. However, having both will make your airport experience less stressful.

Day 1

The first day of our New York trip mainly consisted of traveling. As previously mentioned, we had an early morning flight. We woke up at four in the morning and arrived at the airport at around five, right before it was time for boarding. My airport experience with Cooper was smooth and easy. We did not run into any trouble. For our flight, Cooper was completely knocked out and did very well on the plane.

The total flight time was five hours, thirty minutes earlier than anticipated! We landed in JFK at two in the afternoon. The first thing we did when we got off the plane was to head outside so that Cooper can have his potty session. Then it was navigating ourselves out of JFK and into New York City.

One of the things about pets traveling on public transportation in New York is that they must be in a carrier, so it’s important to have some type of dog carrier or tote bag with you. Luckily for me, I had the Roverlund carrier for just the situation. To get to NYC from JFK, you need to take the airtrain and then the subway to your destination.

Tip: Buy a seven-day Metrocard pass, it’s unlimited and will only cost you about $33.

We arrived at our East Village AirBnB in the late afternoon. Immediately after we unpack all our things, we headed straight to the famous Katz Delicatessen as our first official meal in New York. Cooper waited outside with my boyfriend while I was inside Katz. Their corned beef and pastrami was absolute heaven and the best I’ve ever had.

Following Katz, we headed straight to Union Square Holiday Park. Unfortunately when we arrived, they were closing down for the season. From what I've heard, any events that are outdoors in New York are supposedly dog-friendly. After this sad turn of events, we walked to Joe’s Pizza that was nearby for a quick bite. It’s definitely not a New York trip if I didn’t grab any pizza while I’m here.

And if you thought we stopped eating then you’re in for a surprise. Right when we were done with our pizza slice, we walked to Chinatown for late night dumplings at Vanessa’s. We ended up ordering it togo and ate it at our AirBnB. The dumplings were great! The skin wasn't too thick and the meat inside was flavorful and tender. My favorite was the shrimp dumplings. Vanessa’s really hit the spot right before bedtime.

After a really long day, we all turned in.

Day 2

It’s Christmas! Lucky for us Californians, it wasn’t a white Christmas. The weather in New York was ten degrees lower than San Francisco. With a full day ahead of us, we all woke up bright and early. Most places closed on Christmas Day but not most Asian restaurants, mainly Chinese. The first thing we wanted to consume was Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food. It is a hole in the wall place and they only do takeout. For only roughly $6, I got a large box order of the roasted duck and barbeque pork. The duck and pork were juicy and flavorful, it made me feel at home on Christmas morning in NYC. Although Hong Kong BBQ Master in Vancouver, Canada is still my top choice but Wah Fung is a close contender.

Tip: If you’re traveling with a dog in NYC, remember to bring a carrier with you so that you can take them with you on the subway. It is required in NYC that all dogs must be in a carrier or else you are subjected to a fine.

After indulging ourselves with Chinese BBQ in a nearby park, we moseyed over to Rockefeller Center in Manhattan to join in on the Christmas festivities. It was quite crowded when we got there since everyone had the same idea of visiting Rockefeller Center for Christmas. We ended up leaving early and decided to head over to Central Park. From Central Park, we went to the famous Times Square NYC to check out what all the hype is about. I’ve always seen Time Squares on television growing up so being at the intersection of major commercial and entertainment activities was pretty insane. It was senses overload. The next time I come here, it will need to be at night to see all the strobing and bright lights.

Following our escapade in Time Squares and Broadway, we headed over to Hudson Yard. My friend got tickets for The Vessel, a sculpture that features 154 interconnected staircases with nearly 2,500 steps and 80 landings. It is free to enter but the line can get excruciatingly long so it’s best to get tickets online ahead of time. Unfortunately, it is not dog-friendly and only service dogs are allowed. Luckily, I was still able to go in with my friend and experience the interactive artwork while Cooper chilled with my boyfriend at the mall right next door. The view from the Vessel was spectacular. You get a good glimpse of Hudson Yard at a vantage point, after scaling many floors.

From Hudson Yard, our next Christmas adventure was Bryant Park for their Christmas Market. It’s a European inspired open-air market with a ton of shops and the best part is that it’s dog-friendly! Cooper had a good time despite the crowd. We were there for a while until it was time to head home. For our Christmas dinner, I went with some friends to Congee Village not too far away. Afterward, we called it a day well spent. Cooper completely knocked out and I like to think he had a good Christmas.

Day 3

On our third day in NYC, we planned to be in Brooklyn for the first half of the day. But first thing first, we went to Russ and Daughter for that staple New York bagel experience. I got the basic, everything bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese. It was delicious! One of the best bagels ever.

From the East Village, we took the F train that took us right next to the Brooklyn Bridge. It rained the previous night so the morning walk across the Brooklyn Bridge was cold. We spent most of our morning and afternoon in DUMBO. I got coffee at Butler right before Luke’s Lobster where we got a lobster and crab roll for a light lunch. Originally we wanted to get Julianna’s Pizza but the line was really long and it was not dog-friendly.

Our time in Brooklyn ended abruptly as we needed to meet our friends over at the Flatiron District. I was initially excited to see the Flatiron building but it was under construction at the time. For our late lunch, we got Kazunori for takeout (they’re not dog-friendly) and consumed it happily at a Cha Cha Matcha cafe (dog-friendly). For Kazunori, I got the 16-piece cut rolls which consisted of toro, cucumber, scallops, and blue crab. And as for Cha Cha Matcha, I ordered a regular Matcha tea drink. Cooper was in his carrier and chilled peacefully underneath the table next to my legs.

When we were done with the Flatiron District, we walked all the way over to Washington Square Park. Ever since I watched When Harry Met Sally many years ago, I always wanted to go to Washington Square Park for the novelty. Even though Christmas was over, the atmosphere at the park was still very festive. As for dinner, we brought Cooper back to our AirBnB in the East Village and went right next door to Raku for udon. Cooper was happily content being by himself with a treat. We were not too far away so I was not as concerned. I normally don’t leave Cooper for longer than 1-2 hours when we are on vacation together and he can’t enter certain establishment. Although more than 80 percent of our trips has to be dog-friendly.

At Raku, I ordered the kani ankake udon which is crab in thick egg soup. The udon was some of the best I’ve had! It was firm and chewy, the flavor of the egg soup were just right. I can see why this place has a long waitlist. And with that, we went to sleep peacefully.

Day 4

For this fourth day in NYC, we had plans to meet up with Drewbert and Mona a little later in the afternoon. So with another day ahead of us, we woke up early and explored more of the East Village neighborhood. We made sure to stop by LoveThyBeast to check out their physical shop right before our scheduled omakase at Sushi on Jones. This is the first omakase that I’ve known of that allowed dogs because they’re outdoors! Sushi on Jones offers traditional 12-piece tastings in 30 minutes for roughly $60, which is pretty affordable for an omakase. If you’re craving sushi when you’re in NYC and you have a dog with you, highly recommend checking out this omakase joint!

Once we were done with our half an hour omakase, we walked over to Tompkins Square Park to meet up with Drewbert and Mona. Seeing them in person for the first time was certainly a dream come true! They are just as soft and floofy as they appeared online. And can I also mentioned just how adorable Drewbert’s marshmallow paws are? They are to die for! We let our East coast friend take us around New York, overall it was a good walk for all the pups. Our corgi rendezvous ended with Drewbert and Mona at Washington Square Park. As we said goodbye to our adorable stumpy East Coast friends, we headed back to our AirBnB to get ready for Kosaka NYC.

Kosaka NYC was an excellent high-end sushi bar in an 18-seat place. They offer the traditional omakase and you can also choose from their supplement menu if the main tasting doesn’t fill you up. I went with the Omakase Sushi option that offered a selection of 15 pieces and chose a couple of supplements. Overall, it was a good experience but was not as memorable to me as many I have had in the past. It is one of the lower cost high-end sushi restaurants in the city, the bill came out to be about $200.

After Kosaka, we went back to our AirBnB and was greeted by a well-behaved Cooper chilling by himself. It was relatively early for us to call it a night so we ended up chilling at our place for a bit. Then we got hungry and decided to go down the street to Madame Vo for their fried catfish and tomahawk steak. With 3 people, we completely crushed our dinner and had no leftovers whatsoever. And with that feeling of completion, we finally called it a day.

Day 5 & 6

For our fifth day in NYC, we continued to explore everything by foot while eating at many places as humanly possible. Originally, we were going to go to Flushings, Queens but it was too far of a trek over there for a day trip so we opted out of that plan. Instead, we headed over to Chinatown for some dim sum at Nom Wah Tea Parlour and also got noodle rolls from Joe’s Steam Noodle Rolls. Since these places are not dog-friendly, we took our food to Alimama. They’re actually dog-friendly and have really good boba cream puffs and mochi donuts.

After spending some quality time in Chinatown, we went over to SoHo to explore the neighborhood. This is where the famous Prince St. Pizza was at as well, they’re known for their square pizza that comes with a gazillion crispy pepperonis on a thick bed of bread. It was definitely good when I got it but the pepperonis were barely there. Another reason for me to stop by the next time I’m in town so that I can get the full Prince St. Pizza experience. Following our venture in Soho, we found ourselves catching a sunset at Hudson Yard. As for dinner, we had planned on eating at Uncle Boons but the wait was going to be nearly 4 hours long. Unfortunately, we ended up getting dinner nearby our AirBnB at Momofuku Noodle Bar.

We decided to call it an early night following dinner and took it easy for the remainder of the night.

For our final day in New York, we woke up really to packed up our bags and headed over to Google NYC to drop off our stuff. One of my friends work at Google so we were able to leave our stuff there for the day. Our flight back to San Francisco was at six in the evening, which left us with plenty of time to eat and explore New York for one last time. Across from Google NYC is Chelsea Market, which I learned is owned by Google and is also dog-friendly (on the condition that they are well-behaved). Inside Chelsea Market, we ate at Very Fresh Noodles and Los Tacos No. 1. Both eateries were very good and I would definitely go back there again for hand pulled noodles and delicious taco.

After consuming a good amount of food, we walked along the NYC Highline. For our final meal in New York, we went to Fishcheeks located in the East Village. We asked if could bring Cooper inside and they said yes, as long as he stays in his carrier (which we have been using this entire trip). Cooper was already tired from all the walking and he ended up knocking in his carrier under the seat next to my legs, did not make a single movement or sound. FIshcheeks offers Thai seafood served family style. We ordered all their popular items and every dish did not disappoint. On the table, we had crab fried rice, tiger prawn karee, crab aob woonsen, steamed fish with Thai herbs, and coconut crab curry. Definitely some of the best Thai food I’ve had, comparable to Los Angeles.

Right after we were done with Fishcheeks, we walked to Boris and Horton to say hello to some furry friends before leaving New York. Boris and Horton is the first dog-friendly cafe in NYC that offer coffee, beer and wine with baked goods and cafe fare. One side of their cafe is mainly for food and drinks while the other side is a hub for dogs and their owners to chill. Dogs can be off-leash inside the cafe. Cooper was thrilled to play with a few pups. Definitely the best way to tired him out right before our flight back to San Francisco. By the end, Cooper was happy and content that he got to make some friends.

And with a bittersweet ending, we concluded our NYC trip.