Aaaaand…we’re in New York!! After having a few shambolic plane journeys over the summer, this one went refreshingly smoothly – the inevitable turbulence aside. Before we knew it we were through customs and on our way to Manhattan. After a brief pit stop at our hotel, we were off again in the direction of Smorgasburg market in Williamsburg. The same market runs on Sundays at Prospect Park, but the views from the Saturday-only Williamsburg market were worth the extra effort after our journey, plus it gave us a goal for our first afternoon.

We sampled the New Orleans po’ boy from Parish, a corn cob with Japanese mayo and smoked paprika from Bisska, a vanilla ice cream sandwich made with oat cookies from The Good Batch, and a peach and jasmine ice pop from People’s Pops.

After having our fill of the food and the views, we meandered our way back to Marcy Avenue subway station to stretch our legs, walk off our lunch, and get a feel for Brooklyn. We came across North Brooklyn Farms, a quiet, green haven under the watchful eye of Williamsburg Bridge, where lines of kale, tomatoes, and other produce are grown overlooking the water and Manhattan in the distance.

We passed by a few great grocery stores that had a bit of a Whole Foods feel, and bought some food to have at the hotel from City Acres Market, including honey crisp apples – an autumn delight that I first discovered last Autumn at Dupont Circle Farmers Market in Washington DC, but that we sadly don’t have in the UK.

With jet lag starting to set in, we were ready for an easy dinner close to our hotel and an early night. We had stumbled upon nearby Menya Jiro ramen joint earlier on in the day and thought that it could be worth trying. Sneaking in just before the kitchen closed, we ordered an Ibusuki (original ramen) and a Sakurajima (slightly spicy with garlic). The noodles had a great texture and the slightly spicy, garlic-y broth of the Sakurajima was absolutely delicious.