I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving weekend! It was a lovely weekend over here and I got to do something I’ve always dreamed of.. going to the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade! I figured it was about time for my 5th Thanksgiving in the city ;-)

So thankful that some of my friends were as excited to check it out as I was this year!

Not only did we get to see a line-up of the balloons before the parade, but there were also turkey hats..

I think my face says it all by how excited I was about it!

I was really excited to check out the parade because it’s really the one parade that even if you’re 40 people back you can still see the balloons because they’re so high up.

Seeing Spidey take over the whole street was AWESOMEEE!

Totally awesome and totally worth going to see!

It was the Seahawks vs the Chiefs and friend vs friend! One of my friends grew up in Kansas and is a huge Chiefs fan so it only seemed fitting that we caught the football game together. And, since the Chiefs were hosting, we decided John Brown Smokehouse was just the spot to do it at! 

While we could have opted to watch the game on neutral territory, I was easily persuaded when I heard about the Kansas City style BBQ John Brown serves up. Especially since I have never tried it before.

It was tough deciding on the menu, but I decided to order my friend’s suggestion, a burnt ends sandwich with a side of mac and cheese (you know I couldn’t resist). He explained to me that it’s all about the burnt ends when it comes to Kansas City BBQ, and when a local tells you the classics, you order that!

Another good looking option that Chris opted for was their pulled pork and side of coleslaw.

Now let me tell you, they’re not messing around with this BBQ! The burnt ends were fall apart in your mouth good. The meat really embodies that smokey style which is the perfect blend of flavor without going over the top. Add on some of their smokey style BBQ sauce and you have yourself a seriously solid meal. Now onto the mac. The mac and cheese was the perfect classic BBQ side with a nice mix of pepper and a coating of extra cheese on top. SOLID!

Living on the UES, I don’t get out to Long Island City (LIC) much, but it was actually pretty convenient to get to. Just one stop into Queens and a short walk from the E train! All of us came from different directions, but it was just a hop and a skip for all of us, which is key for me when venturing out to the outer boroughs!

The only thing that could have made this trip better was if the Seahawks could have pulled a win! It was a little rough being surrounded by Chiefs fans singing “We are the Champions” at the end of the game, but I got by :-p.

The warm weather may be on its way out of the city, but not before I tell you about one of my favorite outdoor food festivals! I’m talking about Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg! There’s a few different locations (you can find them here), but the one I’m talking about today is the East River State Park spot.

Something I think it fun about Brooklyn is some of its colorful graffiti. We don’t have a ton up on the Upper East Side and it certainly adds a little color to the scene!

This location is really awesome because its right along the waterfront and has THIS view! Oh heyyy, Manhattan! Nice view + some delicious bites? Always a win in my book. 

Now onto the good stuff… the food! I really love Smogasburg because it’s not just another food fest. It’s known for coming up with crafty and unique bites that you won’t find at the weekend street fair. One of the most notable creations to come out of the fest is the Ramen Burger. Yep, you heard me right, the Ramen Burger. The bun is made out of ramen noodles and it’s no joke. People have been waiting in hour+ long lines since it arrived on the scene and the line still hasn’t slowed down. 

This was as close to the burger as I got this trip, but one day I’ll have a blog post on that master creation.

Here’s a look at some of the bites we did have on this trip though! We started our food adventure with some pigs in a blanket at Brooklyn Piggies.

A solid place to start and their condiments were a tasty addition to the pigs.

Next up we headed to the holy grail of donuts, Dun-Well Doughnuts. You all know how much of a donut junkie I am, and I have to say their chocolate peanut butter pretzel donut is sitting at the top of my list of New York donuts now.

It’s probably a good for my health that they’re based in Brooklyn or these would be an often rotation in my diet. Oh but Brooklyn, I will be back for more..

If you’re a cornbread fan, make sure you stop by Jack’s Chedbred! We went with the maple bacon and the honey sea salt options. De.lic.ious!

As if the maple bacon chedbred wasn’t enough to fill my maple fix, I also picked up a Vermont maple lemonade at another stand. I’m all for trying different types of lemonade and I’d never seen a maple one before! 

So if you’re looking for something a little different in the food scene, get to Smorgasburg! This particular location is only open for a few more weeks before they move indoors for the season, but no matter where you visit them your tummy will thank you!