This February 2025 I got my very first fashion week invite!
Well… my friend’s boyfriend is walking in the show, invited me to come watch, and I have to buy my own ticket. Does that count??
Earlier this month my good friend who I met in Madrid, that lives in Atlanta, invited me to New York to join her in watching her boyfriend walk his first NYFW show. When she texted me about this I was so geeked to have the opportunity. The idea of dressing up in something pretty, spending an hour on my make-up, and pretending that I have a good chance of seeing a model for the night was exciting.
But..
The tickets were too expensive for me. Even with the discount my girl gave me, I hadn’t worked for three weeks due to being and Naija, and couldn’t drop the $80 dollars on that ticket </3.
But!
We had a great time, and I still was able to link her and my other friend from Madrid (by way of Egypt) in the city!
Little Mercado Spain
This indoor food stall was the first stop of the night. As soon as I walked in and heard three ladies in front of me speaking Spanish with a lisp, and a stall with tortilla de patatas was in direct view I felt like I was back in my old life. One that I just left only six months ago , but feels so far away. As my friend I dined on our throw back bar combo: patatas bravas and had matching tintos de verano- we gave each other life updates while interrupting every here and there to reminisce about our stint in Madrid.
In the back of the hall I spotted a kiosk selling jars of Colacao and it unlocked a memory of my mornings before teaching in San Agustin de Guadalix. When I left the house late for work, I always would buy a small Colacao and borek de queso at Plaza de Castilla metro before getting in line for the bus.
Accidental Bar
Ayat is a popping Palestinian owned food spot, so of course without a reservation we had to wait. With 50 minutes to kill, we found Accidental Bar directly across the street even though it was very unassuming on the outside. We were planning to go to the beer company next door, but I peeked inside and saw the dim lighting , black letter board, and Japanese drink bottles lining the windowsill and became interested. The host/bartender explained to us how they categorized the sakes, and took us through the menu. The best part of the experience were the descriptions of the drinks and being able to sample as many as we liked.
For example, the Asahiyama – Junmai “Go head, tell me this isn’t fresh mountain water”. Or the Suigei – Kaju 39 “If limoncello had a drinking problem… in a good way.” The descriptions were strangely accurate. I wonder if the staff comes up with the descriptions, or if they just quote some customer reactions. Either way it was so entertaining!! It describes enough to make you interested, but not enough to make you feel like you’ve had something like it before and you’ll pass. Like, what does “kick rocks demon” even mean as a flavor profile?? Now I have to try it!
I tried the:
Kurosawa: a thick pear smoothie sake
Musashino: very sweet and fruity, like a natural sweetness, not in a processed way
Asahiyama: super smooth and fresh tasting, if the color blue had a flavor
Kinoene: slightly sweet with notes of apple. That’s the one I settled on!
Ayat
Ayat’s food was delicious and very much worth the wait. It was really nice having this meal with someone who knew about the culture and also spoke Arabic. It enhanced the experience to hear how the courses should be properly eaten, how to pronounce them, and a crash course on the Sham countries. To share we started with the mezzeh that had hummus, baba ghanoush, labneh, muhamarra, tabouleh, and salata tahina. For my main I did the falafel platter. I would definitely return back to this place!!