Is there really a blue dog in the restaurant? Not exactly, but Blue Dog Kitchen is still worth visiting if you’re ever in New York City. I found this place on Yelp in the morning before my mom and I headed out for yet another day of wandering around the concrete jungle. I am glad I came across this place because it did not disappoint!
The restaurant is pretty small and located on the main level of an apartment building (or maybe it was an office building? don’t remember). The only downside to the restaurant is that it is really cramped.
We’re talking almost elbow to elbow room and if you’re sitting beside the wall, you need to move your table in order to squeeze by or you risk knocking over stuff from the next table!
Blue Dog burger, $16.50: After ensuring that the burger had no dairy in it, I was good to go! The Blue Dog burger consists of a custom blend brisket-chuck beef, fried egg, applewood bacon, veggies, and fries. I asked for the burger to be cooked well done, as I am a bit wary of eating raw ground beef.
The burger was really juicy and flavourful, while the veggies were nice and fresh. The egg and bacon was a fantastic addition to an already delicious burger. The bun was also lightly toasted and slightly sweet. Overall, a really delicious burger!
Free range chicken burger, $15.50: The ground chicken burger was delicious as well! Even though it looks pretty simple, the patty was bursting with juicy flavour, much like the beef.
Our fries were also piping hot and crispy! I wanted to have more of the fries, but was already really full from such a big burger.
Overall, we really enjoyed our lunch at Blue Dog. I would love to come back here should I visit NYC again. The service was really attentive, friendly, and very knowledgeable about their food.
Yay!
Thanks for reading!
Carmen
At night, it was such a breathtaking sight seeing the parliament building and Empress Hotel lit up.
I also caught this sunrise by accident. The boyfriend had wanted to wake up early to avoid the lineup at Blue Fox Cafe, and I reluctantly agreed. Funnily enough, I ended up waking up earlier than him. When I opened the blinds, I was completely caught off guard to the beautiful sunset.
Once you walk in, the washroom is located on the side. As mentioned earlier, everything had been recently renovated so it was quite nice. The washroom does not have a bath tub, but a large glass door shower which felt very modern. Half of the rooms are equipped with a tub, so if this is something you would like, make a note on it with the staff!
The bed was insanely comfortable, making it hard for me to get up each day! The pillows were also very soft and deep, and I found myself getting lost in them.
We also took advantage of the cable and TV, and enjoyed many Christmas movies! There are also adapter plugs that you can use to plug in your laptop. Speaking of technology, each room comes with free wifi. It was very reliable and fast, with no connectivity issues at all so yay!
There is also a restaurant on the main floor! We didn’t get a chance to try it, but the restaurant was buzzing with activity on both the Friday and Saturday nights we stayed. It definitely looked like the place to be. Plus, there is a beautiful view of the water in the restaurant as well.
Want to relax and pamper yourself? The Delta Victoria also has a spa!
Entrance/living room: After entering through a passcode lock rather than a key, you will see the living room and kitchen. After our busy days exploring Kelowna, we spent a lot of time lounging on the couches after. There was also a HDMI cable provided, so I was able to watch Netflix/Youtube off my laptop.
Kitchen: Directly beside the living room, is the full kitchen. There was all the supplies and spices we would ever need, and more! We cooked here once only, which was a smooth experience. We mainly used the fridge to store our leftovers and water bottles.
Bedroom: Across from the living room and kitchen is a small area that fits a queen sized bed perfectly. The bed was very comfortable, plushy, and I slept really well on it. There is also a small twin bed in the laundry room, which is not as comfortable as this bed.
Washroom: The washroom was pretty standard, but I liked how there was a coordinating yellow theme. The shampoo, conditioner, and soap provided was also a good quality brand – Aveeno! I appreciated this small gesture because I usually find hotel toiletries to not work as well.
House special noodle soup, $8.50: For $8.50, this bowl was definitely worth the price and so filling.
Beef noodle soup, $7.25: I ordered the beef noodle soup because I don’t really like tendon.
Roast duck noodle soup, $7.75: We both loved this place so much and couldn’t stop thinking about it after lunch, so we came back for dinner the same day. Yup, we loved the noodles that much and the price made it even better!
Here is a photo of the chef pulling the dough to create the delicious noodles!
Since this is the sunset cruise, this scheduled cruise only runs once per day, obviously. The other cruises, such as the Landmark or Liberty Cruises, run twice a day.
Once the cruise started to move, people moved inside because it was a windy night and also raining a bit. But on a beautiful, warm day, you will definitely want to be on the balcony!
On the cruise, we also got to see some attractions on the other side of Manhattan. We passed a port where soldiers were deported to Europe in World War 1 & 2 in New Jersey. We also saw the old Colgate factory in New Jersey. These things we wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for our informative and engaging tour guide!
Passing by New York City, with the Empire State Building in the background!
We scored great seats since we went a hour early! The only annoying thing about our seats was that it was directly facing the stairs to the deck. Since the boat was going pretty fast and it was chilly that day, the cold wind blasted up to us whenever people would open the doors. It got a bit annoying because other customers held the door open for their friends, which made our entire area really cold!
Going under the three bridges that connect Brooklyn and Queens to Manhattan! The tour guide, who was awesome btw, told us an easy way to remember the order of the bridges was BMW – Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg.
The sun was beginning to set at 8 pm! Pictured above is the famous Brooklyn Bridge, one of the first steel cable and oldest bridges in North America. We learned that when it was first built, citizens and government officials alike were hesitant to cross the bridge because it was the first time they used steel cable there.
I actually didn’t know the Harbour Lights cruise went around the Statue of Liberty, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was announced!
On the way back, our side of the boat faced Manhattan so I was able to take nicer city view photos. This is a photo of Lower Manhattan, featuring the World Trade Center building.