New York: June 2026 - the Continuum

New York

June 2026

Small bathroom. Not tiny, but small.

Aloft Chelsea has some style.

Solid views.

Sixth Avenue Garden Gourmet Deli does a very affordable lamb plate, still under $10.

One of a pair of AH-1Z Vipers flying over.

Nice view.

Did not realize I was in the flower district. Mixue.

Mixue.

Menu.

$1.19 for soft serve. Like a cheaper take on McDonald's.

BONDST for dinner.

Cocktails are okay.

Karaage was pretty good.

Red snapper crudo was good but such a tiny portion.

Assorted sushi was good but the goal clearly was show.

The "wrapped" sushi was a gimmick.

Not accessible.

Compact bar.

Salsiccia arrosto (pork sausage and onion/potato cream), polpette di vitello brasate al pomodoro (veal meatballs).

Aloft patio.

Aloft dining area.

Aloft patio. Weirdly no wifi out here.

Maybe 1/5th of the menu at Johny's Luncheonette.

Lumber Jack breakast: pancakes, eggs, sausage. Inside.

Inside.

Outside.

American Ballet Theatre.

Mini-recital.

The adult summer intensive program.

Half the class.

Obligatory photos.

Hey Yuet's pei dan sau yut jook. Pretty good.

Lo bac guo was plain but solid.

Eggplant clay pot.

Har gow tasted good, but skins too thick and folds were not right.

Green beans were excellent.

Half the inside.

Outside.

Selfie time.

Moynihan Train Hall.

Suite upgrade at the Newark Airport Marriott.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

So many flights tomorrow.

Seems to be the annual summer visit to New York, usually to position for a bunch of flights that leave way too early the next day.

Due to tighter schedules this year, arrived late to the Aloft in Chelsea. Found it the typical small but stylish New York City hotel room, with a great location apparently in the floral district. Sixth Avenue Garden Gourmet Deli around the corner was super, super affordable and tasty enough, MIXUE is super cheap soft serve from China up the block. Neither is anything special, but both being so affordable was a major plus.

Caught up over sushi with Beckylee at BONDST; seemed like a very fashionable place that just happened to serve sushi, as opposed to an actual sushi restaurant. Not to knock them, the sushi was actually quite good, but was still decidedly odd feeling compared to places that, you know, are actually sushi restaurants rather than places to be seen. Matt happened to be in New York as well, so caught up with him after at ULIVO, a solid Italian place that had a little bar at the front. Sadly being terrible at selfies, forgot to get any... oops!

Fast forward to the next day, where Johny's Luncheonette was an excellent local dive for breakfast. Can't say it was the best food, but the pancakes especially were solid, eggs and sausage were quite a bit more ordinary... and unlike BONDST, the vibes it had were entirely fitting.

American Ballet Theatre's adult summer intensive had their mini-recital, always good to support family. Apparently ABT is super prestigious so was also a bit of an experience with such a hallowed institution, even if it was somewhat lost on this plebe.

Dinner after very good Chinese at Hey Yuet. Lo bac guo were a bit plain but quite good, pei dan sau yuk jook was tasty, har gow were okay, eggplant tofu was very good. Then it was time to head off to the train (including one broken one) to the Newark Airport Marriott, where a massive room upgrade was much appreciated, yet also a bit excessive given I was barely going to sleep in it.