As much as I tend to say I’m never going back to New York, the opportunities to go back just keep finding me. Ever since leaving the city when graduating college and having to flee my apartment due to COVID, I say I’m never going to move back, but every time I visit, I contemplate what my life would look like if I did.

Granted, I could never afford to live in a city where the rent for a decent sized studio could be $2,000 a month, which is barely what I make as a graduate student paying my bills and studying, so this will probably never happen if we’re going to be honest. Unless there’s a miracle, you never know.

But I always go back to visit because I have many dear loved ones in the city. This time I was hopping on the seven train to head deep into Queens to see Salam, one of the only friends I have from college that I still talk to.

I’m absolutely in love with the neighborhood she lives in, Jackson Heights, and the communities that thrive there. If I ever did move back, it would be to this part of Queens for sure. This time I scored a $5 roundtrip Megabus ticket up to the city, hopped on a bus at 9 AM, and was in the city by 12:30 that day.

Here’s what I did.

Lunch & Dinner Dates in Queens + Midtown

The first day I had to end up going to my work at New Perspectives Theatre Company. We had many interns coming in for this summer session, so my boss arranged a meeting where she would order a ton of pizza, make some salad, offer some Pricklee drinks, and we could all meet each other and then chat about what’s to come at the theater.

My friend had to work until about 6 PM, so this worked out perfectly. We did all of this, having a great time at New Perspectives, before I packed my bags and ran down to Hudson Yards.

I stopped at UNIQLO in the Hudson Yards mall first, but didn’t find anything that interested me. I ended up getting on the 7 Train, thanking god it originates at HY because I was able to get a seat at the end car all to myself.

The 7 Train ends at Flushing, and I was heading all the way to Jackson Heights, so I got comfortable for my forty-five minute ride into Queens. The 7 Train is considered to be the one that takes you all across the world, as each neighborhood in Queens has a different ethnic enclave.

I arrived at 6 PM, I dropped my stuff off at Salam’s apartment, and then we headed out onto the buses to Bayside, where I was to meet my friend Sarah with Salam. I was told Bayside was a Korean haven, and that was absolutely right.

All the signs were in hangul! It took us an hour to get there from Jackson Heights, as we had to transfer at Flushing, and we ate at Modoo Chicken. I got the katsu curry set, which was really good. Everything at Modoo is halal, which is why ended up there.

Afterwards we headed to Carvel to pick up some ice cream since it was buy one get one free, then I stopped in Martha’s Country Bakery to pick up some fruit tarts for Salam’s family as a thanks for letting me stay there. We got home late that night, I gave them the fruit tarts, chatted with her dad for a bit, then we passed out in the bunk beds.

Lots of Good Food, MoMA, Shopping, Seeing Parade

This Thursday was a jam packed one. Salam had to work and head into the city for a work event with Chanel, so I ended up getting on the 7 Train with her and commuted to Manhattan. I had originally planned to get Tibetan food in Jackson Heights, but I wasn’t hungry to be honest.

So I headed into the MoMA, or Museum of Modern Art, instead. I recently purchased the cheapest membership for the MoMA since I go there so often, so every visit is now free. This time I wanted to check out the Latin American artists exhibit and the new Georgia O’Keeffe one they had prepared. I’d recently thrifted a copy of a biography of her, so it was interesting to compare what I had read to the curator notes.

I spent about two hours in MoMA, which is average for me. I skip a lot of the art I’ve seen before and don’t care for, like the Picasso room and the Matisse paintings. This time they had some Van Gogh paintings on loan from the MET, which was nice to see, but annoying because that’s the floor the tourists flock to. I was also scandalized to see a tourist take a selfie in front of a Latin American artists’ work on indigenous violence; I think she just thought it was aesthetic when it wasn’t.

Anyways, I bought a Van Gogh pin in the basement and a print of Christina’s World before walking twenty blocks to Kung Fu Little Steamed Bun Ramen. This was a food place that’s been on my list, and I ordered the spicy beef ramen. It was just okay, but the service was very quick.

They had the noodles to me in five minutes and had me out the door in less than thirty. That’s good to know for those in a rush. I then walked thirty minutes north to Lincoln Center, grabbed a French bistro table, and ended up reading on my Kindle. This day’s book was Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter; I had been gifted an advanced copy through NetGalley.

I was waiting for 3:15 PM, when I was going to see Past Lives at the AMC a couple blocks down. Excellent movie; I’ve written a review of it on my blog. After that I ended up hopping on the 1 Train for a couple of stops, landed at 37th street, and waited for Salam. I had the chance to hop on a phone call with my Fulbright advisor during this time and read some more, then Salam arrived. We were going to see Parade, which was even more excellent than the first time I saw it.

Afterwards, we got on the E Train and headed to Jackson Heights. First we got food truck momos, which were just okay, then we got Bangladeshi fuchkas. Those fuckha carts in JH are life changing. After that we headed home and passed out immediately in bed.

A Quick, Last Minute Brunch + Bakery Before Heading Home!

I had a bus home at 1 PM, but Salam had to work. We ended up ordering bagels on Uber Eats since I had a promo, and a ton of food ended up only being $15 with tip and delivery fees. We ate our bagels, then I packed up my things, said goodbye, and headed on the 7 Train to midtown.

Along the way, I ended up stopping at Angelina Bakery on 38th to pick up Italian doughnuts for my family back home. I protected that box with my life. I also picked up a cannoli for my boss at New Perspectives. We chatted about grants and work to do for a bit, then I headed off to the bus.

Thankfully I just missed a massive rainstorm, which was the perfect ending for my trip. It took four hours to get home, but we polished off those bombolone pretty quickly—they were delicious! I would go back to Angelina the next time I’m in town.

And that’s the last of this trip until August! I already booked tickets for Sweeney Todd then, so I’ll have plenty of updates in the upcoming season.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more content.