Travel: New York City - Midtown East

Itinerary:

• Day 1: B and I flew LAX >> JFK (New York City). As we were about to buy our subway passes, two women gave us their week-long passes that had yet to expire (it was safe to say that they weren't New Yorkers). We stayed in Midtown East at the Roosevelt Hotel. It's a classy (what a lobby space!), older hotel that has very thin walls. And, the rooms (as expected for NYC) are tiny! Since we arrived very late, we only had time to catch a late dinner near Grand Central Station, before turning in for the night. 
• Day 2: We had Sunday brunch at a cute, French place called Le Bateau Ivre Cafe. It is small, but it had a live jazz band. I had a salmon omelet, toast, orange juice, and cappuccino. It was quite good. Anyway, it rained most of the day, but we managed to take in a few sights, including seeing random Hello Kitty sculptures, Fifth Avenue (Trump Tower, Disney Store, FAO Schwarz, etc.), the Met, and the Guggenheim. Later that evening, we met up with B's brother who was in Connecticut for business. He took the train down and we met up in Grand Central Station. At first, we tried to have dinner at Sparks (but it was closed) and Morton's Steakhouse (which was hosting a private event), before we settled for drinks at an Irish pub near Pershing Square, followed by dinner at a Brazilian restaurant (where we got free deserts!) on Restaurant Row.

• Day 3: We ate lunch at Soba Nippon (as recommended by our Lonely Planet book) where we had moderately priced sushi with patrons in business attire (it was near Madison Ave on a Monday). Since B was busy that day, I checked out the New York Public Library and returned to the Met. I, then, met up with him at Social Bar to have drinks. Later that night, we went to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and the Empire State Building.
• Day 4: JFK >> LAX.