Burger review 3- Shnippers

4/5 burger rating

Pros...
Sides
Fries: hand cut sweet potato fries with a maple dipping sauce- omg.
Drink: traditional house made lemonade with just the right amount of tang.
Burger...
Cheese: not processed- real:)
Fresh: tomato, lettuce, all very fresh.
Hot: just the right temp to get stuck right in
Came together well: well presented and a good size.
Venue: comfy, space to poke your elbows out, really clean with an entry code on your receipt to use the bathroom

Cons...
Bun: could have had sesame seeds. Would have pushed it to a 4.5

Will try to get back to the Shake Shack on our last day in NYC to see if they can raise the bar.

Ps- tacos are trav's, fries are to share.

Off Broadway... Rent

Caught the very cool and edgy 80's set musical last night called Rent, in a little modern theatre Off-Broadway (the next block over).

Rach lined up in Times Square for discount ticks. you can get up to 40 percent off on the day and well worth it.

Set in the 80's, in downtown New York, Rent looks at the struggles and bohemian beauty of the gay/arts scene at the time when HIV was emerging as a major social issue.

Great actors, a live band, very cool little theatre. High energy- at times the actors were on top of the crowd dancing on fire escapes.

A great night out except for the $4 "its $4 for a reason" sangria Rach got... we did however also have Junior Mints (a snack man walks around the theatre selling snacks) which are Amazing- yes, thats with a capital A :)

They make it look so easy!!

Don't be fooled by hockey players, the laughing screaming happy kids and the pretty boy and girl scene with their fancy leg Warmers.

Ice skating it fing hard!!!

Please note, in the picture Rach has her hands off the side. This was a big day!!

The view of the city was great when we had a chance to look up. Perfect winters day in the park. A lot more work to do until ice skating is romantic.

Quote of the day: 'skiing is so much easier than this!!' (Rach;)

First celeb spotting- Chris Tucker (rush hour etc) at Wallman Ice Rink in Central Park. The kids on school excursions went nuts!!

Garden #2

So, would I live in NYC?

Yes. The people are kind, fun and passionate and the city has a gorgeous combination of dirty, beautiful, old, new and crazy.

We've just been to Madison Square Garden again, this time to the ice hockey. I love how excited and patriotic the fans are! NY Rangers won in the overtime shoot out :)

It is so easy to get to and from the game, people don't push, they all have a good time- they all have team outfits too which I also love.

The hockey took awhile to warm up, after an exciting punch up in the first few minutes we waited til the 3rd period before there was a score. But- the moment a goal was scored the crowd celebrated like they had won so I can see the appeal :)

So, first city on the tour is great. Just missing the beach down the street...

xo rach

Red cake, blue boxes

A quiet day today to try and get some energy back. The cook at the deli now knows our usual which is nice being so far away from home.

They have these breakfast potatoes here that rock- with a spinach and mushy omelette it is enough to keep Trav going until lunch!!

Stopped in at a little bakery on the way back from tiffany&company that has always caught our attention on 6th avenue. They had a flourless chocolate cake and many over iced cupcakes including a red one!

Off to see the Rangers at the Garden tonight, hope to find out how they convert a basketball court in to a ice rink in 24 hours.

Letterman security and bball at the Garden

So, we got the call from Letterman, and they asked us to be there between 2 and 3 for check-in.

We get there at 2 and the line runs around the corner. We get to the first person, who id's us, then asks us the secret code word. They direct us to another line, to another person.

They want our ID again, and stamp our hand with invisible ink. Everyone looked at me when I said the stamp didn't work (Trav). We then got directed to another line, got ID again, and checked off another list.

We then got told our colour, to come back in 1 hour, and the do's and dont's in the show.

Lining up again now, in the order of our ticket number, in the right colored line, for the show.

Wow, they have a way to filter out the non-fans. Have just found out the guests- mark wallberg, the blonde from glee and snow patrol. They are starting to razz the crowd up now, hope it lives up to the hype!!

Update: Letterman was amazing, the old theatre was stunning, with great acoustics and a beautiful set. Their techs and roadies work very quickly in a very small space. We are well practiced now on how to appropriately laugh and clap (no woo's allowed :).

At the Garden now to see the Nicks v Charlotte. Got some Nicks popcorn and the show is great.

What a super day in New York!

Nicks update: Rach loved the frisbee catching show dogs, but we both loved the nail biting finish- 91 to 87. Go nicks!!!!!!!!

The (very) big and small screens

Went to the IMAX last night on Broadway, across from
The Lincoln Centre, to catch the latest Tom Cruise flick on a eight story high screen with around 1000 people.

The movie was good, but the screen was insane and the audio was enough to drown out any crowd noise.

The stunts were incredible, even if Tom was a bit cheesy. He produced the movie himself- his strange ways and recent failures (and heaps of cash) have put him in the same league as Mel.

Now to the small screen...
There is a trashy but very addictive show called Storage Wars.

Synopsis: storage sheds that are abandoned get auctioned off to a group of collectors and pawn shop owners. They bid, win, and then go through the stuff to see if they got out on top. 3 eps back to back is not enough!

Also on the small screen, Rach thought it was a good idea to try and get in to the Dave Letterman show. A good tip is to go Sunday morning, no queues for the entry interview and to fill in the form.

Emily (from Letterman) called only a few hours later while we were shopping for baby Ralph Lauren at Sak's (for the neph!) to tell us we were successful and that we go in tomorrow for filming.

One final tv curio, during the tv movies here they put 'movie notes' at the bottom of the screen.

Annoying at first, but by the end of Commando you know all about Arnie and his b-grade co-star. You will all want us on your quiz team when we are back if 80/90s movie facts are required.