Heading to Familyville: Hello Upper West Side

The theme for week 3 in the city has been hitting the Upper West Side. I had lunch with one of my coworkers of Friday and she was telling me all about the city: the exciting, the boring, the interesting, and the "don't-even'go-there"s. One of the funniest parts of the conversation was her description of the Upper West Side as "Mommyland". She was telling me of the of the cafes lining the streets with the strollers parked outside. The thought just stuck in my head, so on Monday, my friends and I headed to Amsterdam and W. 72nd Street in search of the perfect cafe (sans strollers). After an hour of walking up, down, and around to 83rd Street, we settled at Fred's. It was a great place to meet with friends, not to loud, but I was comfortable talking in my regular voice and laughing with my friends. They had trivia at the bar at 8:30pm so that livened the place up even more. My friends and I had so much fun that we lost track of time and didn't get to the cute cupcake place a few blocks down before it closed for the night.

Sugar and Plumm is located at W. 78th Street and Amsterdam and we saw it on our walk up to Fred's. We were so bummed that it was closed by the time we left dinner that we went back on Tuesday after I left work. It was sooo worth it. First of all, the place is too cute. You are greeted at the doors with two gigantic lollipop handles into the land of the sugarplums. I thought I was stepping into a performance of The Nutcracker ballet.

      

After entering, the playful feel continues. Chocolate Oscar statues, cakes frosted with sparkly icing, the bacon & waffle milkshakes greeted us and the smell of brownies and cookies filled the air. There was a separate eating area for those who dined on the more traditional meals of the day. The side I was concerned about was the yummy side with the bakery. There was a nice long, white table by the front windows that offered us great views of the street as we ate our treats. Overall, I liked Mommyland. But you can save all the kids hyped up on sugar treats for home. I wasn't a fan of the children running wild through the store part. Major shoutout to Johnny and Tia for their great company!