the Burlington Blurb: Once upon a time a Yankee whisked me off to NYC. . .

I have always loved NYC, but the adventures I have had there since giving birth to offspring have taken on a lovely fabuliciousness of their own. To this mother of three, New York means escape, adventure and freedom.

Therefore, when my husband and fellow escapee announced a surprise getaway to the Big Apple I was beside myself. He had arranged childcare for the weekend (thank you to girl-keepers, Granny and Papaw, and Robert-keeper, Joe and Brad!!!!) so that we could be footloose and fancy free in NYC. In typical Rob style, he had also mapped out culinary destinations to highlight our 36 precious hours in the city that never sleeps. But I digress.

Above: the spread at Champignon Madison- my breakfast destination around the block.

We stayed at an Episcopal retreat house which was converted from an Upper East Side mansion. None of the homes on 95th have courtyards, except House of the Redeemer. (see above)

JP and Megan came into town on Saturday. I spent a warm beautiful afternoon with them on 5th avenue.

Friday night Rob took me to a small hidden bar in the Flatiron district called the Raines Law Room. We sat outside and chatted. View from the garden there:

Inside.

Handsome guy I met inside.

Then we went to an Asian tapas restaurant called Zengo. Paul Edwards and Joe Alley joined us for dinner there. :)

Outside.

To crown our culinary weekend, Rob led me to dinner on Saturday at LE BERNARDIN!!! (Celebrity chef Eric Ripert's restaurant).
If you watch Top Chef, you have seen Le Bernardin featured in season 6 and you know Eric Ripert as a guest judge. It turns out that Le Bernardin is also the highest rated restaurant in the 2011 Zagat guide to New York City. How do I know? Because they gave us a copy on the way out!
Rob really knows how to spoil a girl. Our meal was spectacular with clean fresh seafood flavors at every turn. My favorite- Hawaiian escolar with carrot and ginger puree. And the desserts were plentiful and yummy. See below.