To kick off the summer, we took the Circle Line 2.5-hour guided tour around Manhattan Island, sailing on three rivers and passing under 20 bridges with breathtaking views of the NYC skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Yankee Stadium and so much more while a guide narrated every detail of the trip.

After the cruise, a few of us went looking for a bite to eat, stopping at a hotel on West 42nd, whose restaurant wasn’t open yet. Their staff recommended @Nine, a Thai place around the corner on Ninth Avenue.

@Nine offers an all-day happy hour with martinis, margies and cosmos for only $9. I sipped their martini, one friend a Margie and the other a Sapporo beer. All good.

Their pad Thai offers stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, bean sprouts, bean curds, turnips and scallions topped with crushed peanuts. The grilled chicken sate ($12) comes skewered with cucumber and peanut sauces for dipping. We added shrimp to that dish ($17) and chicken and brown rice to our panang curry ($19) with string beans, bell peppers and kaffir lime leaves, all simmered in coconut milk.

I recommend both the restaurant and cruise.

@Nine
Hells Kitchen
592 9th Ave,
New York, NY 10036
(212) 265-4499
atninenyc.com/

Circle Line Cruises
Midtown West
Pier 83, West 42nd Street
circleline.com/sightseeing-cruises/best-of-nyc