The next day in NYC was a whirlwind. Me and the Subway were good buddies now. I successfully navigated all of my trains and visited every single place on my list like a pro. After my morning bagel and egg, I hopped to the Staten Island Ferry to see the lovely Statue of Liberty. All my life, whenever I've dreamed of NYC, I pictured the Statue of Liberty. Seeing her in real life made me want to cry and hug strangers and sing the "Star Spangled Banner." Seriously. It made my month. Sadly, I'm an idiot, and my morning brain did not comprehend that I had actually traveled across the river instead of just circling around, and I was indeed on Staten Island. Thirty minutes later, I caught the ferry back to Manhattan. From there I walked to the WTC site (a giant, weirdly-vibed muddy hole in the ground which also made me want to cry, but for different reasons), to El Laboratorio del Gelato.
After devouring dark chocolate, green tea and Black Mission fig gelato ($5), I bounced over to Rockefeller Center (so tiny!), and then back to the hotel to see a friend's presentation.
That night for dinner, Jeremy and I returned to China Town for veggie dim sum. For years I have always wanted to eat dim sum, but most of the choices are meaty and mysterious. In my pre-trip internet searching, I found the highly rated Vegetarian Dim Sum House.
We sampled three dumplings ($12), then raced back over to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. (Priorities, people!)

I love this place! Their menu is divided into two main sections: regular flavors and exotic flavors. Regular flavors include almond cookie, avocado, black sesame, coconut, durian, green tea, lychee, mango, red bean, taro, Zen butter and wasabi. Exotic flavors include banana, cherry pistachio, cherry vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chip, coffee, mint chip, oreo cookie, pumpkin pie, strawberry and vanilla. We decided to be boring and chose the "regular" flavors of green tea (very good), Zen butter (so so delicious) and black sesame (one of the most delicious, haunting, rich flavors I have ever encountered.)

We ended the evening at Cinema Classics, home of Rififi, my new favorite place in NYC. On Saturday night we enjoyed wacky comedians and a free 60's funk dance night (where the DJs handed us free CDs.) Plus they have the cheapest beer we found in NYC. ($5 a glass and $5 cover for the show.)
Sunday we sadly left the lovely conference hotel and trekked across town (damn subway repairs) to a hostel on 101st Street. Overtaken by hunger, we paused in a Turkish place about a block away. At first I thought we might have to leave because the main eating area reeked so strongly of musty basement and 100% bleach that I thought my head was going to explode. We shifted to the bar, right by the open doors. Ten minutes later someone took our order (a gingerale, a Turkish coffee and hummus.) Ten minutes later we got our drinks. Thirty minutes later we got our hummus. Thirty minutes later we got the check ($20). Ugh. I'm just not a patient person, especially in restaurants. I don't think I'll ever be one of those souls who spends four hours at dinner, just hanging out and talking, oblivious to the time. Sorry. I want a greeting and drink order within five minutes of my arrival, I want food that shows up in less than 45 minutes and I don't ever want to have to hunt down the server for my bill.
That night, after walking for hours in Central Park, we returned to our familiar stomping grounds (Chinatown) for Tofu House 86 (or something like that) for a really decent meal ($18). We again ate delicious ice cream ($5), followed by strange and colorful desserts from Chinatown's many bakeries ($0.80 to $1.25 each). The treats, though cheap and beautiful, are always disappointing to me. However, I'll keep getting suckered in with their day-glo colors, coconut shavings and creamy frostings. Total creatures of habit, we also returned to Rififi. We paid our $5 cover to see the Sweet and Nasty Burlesque, a super silly and highly entertaining burlesque show. I purchased a $1 lottery ticket and thanks to the real winner (the boyfriend of one of the burlesque hosts), I won a giant bag of gifts (including a book, shot glasses, a coupon to the burlesque and a Peaches cd.) Whoooo hoooo, I love Rififi!!!
Monday morning arrived, and we ate breakfast at a Greek diner two blocks from the hostel. I felt grumpy from an uncomfortable bed and snoring dorm-mates, so we packed up, took the train to the New Jersey airport and headed home. All in all, I had a fabulous time. NYC ain't cheap, and even being frugal as hell, we still burned through the money. Four days is perfect, especially being centrally located like we were near Times Square. I already have a long list of things I missed, things I want to see again, and new restaurants to explore.
Weeks later, reflecting on the trip, I'm struck by one thing in particular. First of all, we are not "regulars." We've lived in the Twin Cities for ages, and I can only name a handful of places that we've eaten at more than four times in our lives. I love trying new things and it's very hard for me to choose a familiar place over an exciting place we haven't tried before. I think because of the sheer volume of NYC, we kept returning to things we liked.
I highly recommend NYC as a long-weekend vacation spot. New York City is awesome!!!