I made it to the age of 21 without receiving a MIC, or an MIP. You’re welcome mom. I also survived my 21st birthday in the city that never sleeps. It was a great (all day) event, and yes, I remember the entire thing. I didn’t want to get too wild my very first weekend in a new city, so we kept the drinking to a casual level all day. I want to thank everyone that made me feel special through out the night including my new friends, and the New Yorkers who offered kind hospitality to the girl from the land of the taters.
The day started off at Dukes for brunch. It was a dirty sports bar with road signs and magazine clippings plastered all over the walls. If you order anything on their menu that’s over $11, for an extra $15, you can have unlimited drinks. Most of the girls got this special, and I couldn’t resist. Though $15 seems really expensive compared to drinks in Idaho, it’s almost unheard of in NYC. I haven’t seen a single drink special that’s below $9, unless you’re getting a beer. Drinks on the menu at Dukes were around $10 by themselves, so $15 for the three drinks I ordered was a steal.
After lunch, a few of us took the subway to Chinatown so that I could buy a “going out bag.” The only purse I brought to the city was my computer bag and I was not about to take that embarrassing thing out for my 21 run. I purchased a cute colored purse made of puckered pink leather. It was definitely a knock-off considering I bought it in Chinatown, but I’m obsessed with it so I could really care less. We were taken to a little back room of a Chinese restaurant and an acupuncturist to view the purses. It was definitely sketchy, so I was on guard in case I needed to throw a few punches.
Chinatown is right next to “Little Italy” where we stopped at a charming Italian café. We got an incredibly delicious pizza that consisted of meatballs, marinara, mozzarella, mushrooms, and onions. They gave me a “birthday-shot” of tequila, which was frankly much more than a shot considering they put it in a wine glass. It definitely burned as it went down, but I was a little tipsy all day, so it didn’t really make me stammer. We figured out the subways with my new app Hop Stop—it’s a lifesaver! Once back at my apartment, we finished two of the bottles of wine that my landlord had gifted me. We made delicious sangria with some freshly bought fruit.
Here, unlike Moscow Idaho, the party doesn’t really even start until midnight. We all met at an amazing bar on 2nd Avenue. It was a classy little place called the Wren. I loved it because it was well lit so you could actually see the people you were talking to. People there were incredibly nice, as I’ve been amazed to find out most New Yorkers are. I feel awful that I fell into the trap of prejudice, because NYC is n-o-t-h-i-n-g like I thought it would be. From the Wren, we headed to the Meat-Packing District to go get our grind on.
We waited in line for what seemed to be hours before a huge dark skinned bouncer came up to me and said, “Honey, I know it’s your birthday, and you’re cute, but unless you girls know someone on the inside, you’re not getting’ in.” Failure. Apparently the movies are real. You need to have a “promoter” to get you into the club… However, we had a great enough night, so we decided to “cab-it” home (As all the New Yorkers call it). We devoured some much-needed pizza in a shop below the Empire State building and finally made it home rest our tired, cramping feet. As of now, I definitely can’t handle dem heels.
Always,
Alena Netia Horowitz
