I was about 15 when I became obsessed with women’s fashion and spent an entire summer creating a vision board on my IPad that was completely inspired by Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Daisy Buchanan, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Iman, Susan Holmes, Miranda Priestly, Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Twiggy! THEN I became obsessed with Alexander McQueen, Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel, Dior and Blumarine and collected every Vogue issue from 2014! (That is, until my wicked stepmother ripped them all apart). One day, I was watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes after binging Gossip Girl, and Netflix recommended I watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I immediately loved it and WISHED Tiffany’s actually offered breakfast. It wasn’t until 2017 when Tiffany’s announced that they were opening a cafe in their store on 5th ave. On July 27, 2019 at 10:30am, I had the pleasure of having Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
First things first, it was NOT easy getting this reservation! You can only reserve a table through RESY, and you have to book 30 DAYS IN ADVANCE at 9am on the dot! The reservation can only be made once your credit card information is entered, and your guest profile is filled out, but if you take too long, your table will be gone within SECONDS SO, to avoid getting my heart broken, I made an account with RESY and downloaded the app. Made a profile and entered my credit card information. I set 3 alarms on my phone, watch and laptop to go off 3 minutes before 9am, and at 8:59, I immediately grabbed my phone, refreshed the page, and made my reservation for 10:30am at the touch of a button.
Once my reservation was made, I then had to buy my plane ticket lol. My best friend, Saliah, wanted attend CurlFest in NYC, so I already had plans on going to the city anyway. Also, the festival didn’t start until 12pm, so I decided to buy a early morning ticket and spend the whole morning by myself.
After a few weeks of hotel searching, we decided to stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Midtown on 3rd ave, which was $300 after taxes, and there was three of us staying in the room, we all paid $100 each. For a one night stay, this was perfect AND the neded up upgrading our room FOR FREE! I flew with Delta for $165 round trip arriving at 8:30am Saturday and departing at 10:30am Sunday. I planned on going straight to the hotel first, via the bus, dropping off my luggage, and then walking to 5th ave for breakfast. But, when I checked the bus schedule, it said that it’d be a 1 hour trip to my hotel, and I didn’t want to risk a bus being late or me missing my bus and having to cancel my reservation. So I got a private car service!
As you all may remember from my very first post about BeautyCon, I booked a private driver who was VERY rude to me because I needed to go to an ATM to give him cash for the tolls, and a bystander had to step in because he wouldn’t stop yelling at me. Like a crazy woman, I reserved the same car service (because it was $50 cheaper than their competitors). I reserved the car to pick me up from LaGuardia at 8:30am for $31 and then drop me off at 9:30am before my departure flight for $57. Altogether, I spent $373 on travel expenses + my CurlFest ticket, while in New York.
Friday night, before my flight, I went bar hopping with a friend until about 2am, woke up at 5am, got to the airport at 6am, and boarded my flight at 6:30. I was running on three hours of sleep and a small coffee, went to the airport dressed in my clothes for the day AND did my makeup on my 45 minute flight.
When I landed in New York, my car was waiting for me at arrivals. I will say NYC is super calm in the mornings. We ran into no traffic, it wasn’t loud, the sky was clear and the air was crisp. Once I got to the hotel, I gave them my luggage to store, went to the bathroom, re-did my makeup because I looked like a fu***** fool and then walked to 5th ave! I got to Tiffany’s around 9:20am, but they didn’t open until 10am and my reservation wasn’t until 10:30am. So, I walked up and the strip, took pictures, drank some water, imagined myself draped in the finest silks and mink until my feet started to hurt. At 10am, I walked back to Tiffany’s where I was greeted by not only a really nice doormen, but the beautiful 128.5 Karat necklace that only touched the necks of Audrey Hepburn and then Lady Gaga at the 2019 Oscars. This beautiful piece costs a blinding $30+ Million and is NOT up for sale because it’s been around since the firm started! They don’t even make that specific necklace piece anymore! the movie, A Star is Born, made $36M at the box office, and this necklace’s net wroth is STILL more valuable than that!
This was my first time inside a Tiffany’s store this big, and I felt like I was in a museum, and everyone there was SO NICE! The doormen, the security guards, the elevator operators, EVERYONE! The first floor had beautiful large pieces of jewelry. Necklaces, watches, and items on display that cost thousands of dollars. I walked straight to the back of the store to catch the elevator to the 4th floor. I was greeted by a nicely dressed elevator operator who was extremely nice to me. Walking through the fourth floor, I saw Tiffany’s signature fragrance collection, a giant blue globe, silver pieces with thousand dollar price tags, expensive china, patent leather passports, signature tea and so much more!
I waited about 25 minutes before the hostess approached me when my seat was available, and this is when the magic happened! I was seated in a blue leather booth with a window seat view of 5th ave! I absolutely couldn’t believe that I was siting in this cafe! The table was made of a silver metal and had multiple water rings on it’s surface that gave it character rather than looking nasty and sticky (I’m starting to think that was it’s design). There were 2 white tulips in the center of my table, sitting inside a beaker next to my glass of water. My plate was striped blue and white along with my tea cup.
It’s important to know that the menu is prix fixe, which means that meals are offered at fixed prices (it’s in french). There’s 3 options that you can choose from. Breakfast at Tiffany for $32 which starts off with seasonal fruit and a croissant with 3 spreads. then you could choose from a waffle, to smoked salmon on a bagel to toast with avocado OR The 10-Carat Breakfast for $100 which is a waffle with caviar on top. Lunch for $42 comes with either asparagus soup, toast or a salad and then your choice of a club sandwich, salmon, flatbread and a few other options. Lastly is the Tiffany Tea for $52, which is the most extravagant menu item! It’s an assortment of finger foods and treats served on a desert tower. My words can’t describe how beautiful this entree looks, so scroll down to see a picture! And then, of course, you have extras like coffee or tea, juice, champagne/wine by the class or bottle and an assortment of desserts. The good part about the tea is that you pay for it by the pot rather than the cup, so you can get a a full pot of tea for $7 extra.
I ordered the Breakfast at Tiffany with a waffle because I’m a picky eater and I’d rather stay safe then waste my money. The first thing I ordered was my tea of course! I ordered the #96 White Wedding blend (made by Belloq I believe). On the menu, it’s described as “a romantic white tea blend of Chinese white peony and jasmine teas, lavender, rose petals and orange blossoms. Then, I received my bowl of fruit, which was quite small and maybe too small for the average person but for me, it was the perfect size. Next up was my croissant and spreads and LET ME TELL YOU! I wanted to take all the spreads home! It’s served with Nutella (I highkey think Nutella isn’t that great, so i didn’t touch it), a sour cherry cranberry jam (had my taste buds dancing!) and Honey butter (if you’re a butter lover, honey butter and maple butter are amazing!). Unfortunately these 3 spreads were served with one croissant, so I didn’t indulge the way I wanted to. Lastly, for the main course, was my buttercream waffle topped with poached sour cherries and raisins and a side of Catskill maple syrup. The waffle was honestly very rich in flavor, and thick. But the syrup was too sweet and I had to stop myself from recommending they use Aunt Jemima rater than this over-rated syrup.
By the time I finished eating, my stomach was full and I was happy. There were a bunch of people who had reservation for their families and friends. There was a group of girls who sat across from me, and they were all wearings heels and dresses similar to the ones my grandmother made me wear to church. It made me smile seeing others dress up to dine and drink tea with their pinkies raised high in the air.
Overall, I’d rate this experience a 10/10 stars. The experience was everything I imagined and I wish I took more pictures while I was there. Everyone was so nice and the food (while it was expensive) actually had taste. It’s really a blessing that I was able to make this happen for myself and by myself. This experience was one of the first things I mentally wrote down on my bucket list and, honestly, I’m thinking of going back for my birthday in December! If you are a person who enjoys the finer things in life, dining in style, and love Audrey Hepburn, I 100% recommend you plan a reservation to The Blue Box Cafe!
Traveling While Black 