There's a new art experience in town and it is anything other than ordinary! I got a sneak peek at Unarthodox's NYC studio at their grand opening party and am so excited to share the details with you.

Unarthodox is an experimental art experience that incorporates non-traditional art methods to fully stimulate all of your senses and promote self-expression in a FUN way! Whether you choose to get your paint on in their Bottled Art (BYOB!) sessions or their one-of-a kind classes like their Sculpture Without Sight or Intuitive Art, you can leave your stress at the door and enjoy yourself in a truly unique experience.

Something that is really special about Unarthodox too is the studio is focused on the experience of art and exploring your creativity, not just the outcome. The founders and instructors at Unarthodox are passionate about the power of art and have specifically created and customized every component of the courses. Here's a look at some of the offerings.

• Experimental Art Classes
• Group Art Classes
• Kids Arts Programs
• Signature Program

If that wasn't already enough, they also offer a variety of party options including:

• Children's Birthday Parties
• Private Parties
• Team Building

I had such a wonderful time at the grand opening and just know you are going to love everything they have to offer! Head on over to their website to learn more about all of the amazing classes they teach and make sure to connect with them on Facebook, and Instagram!

I'm a little behind on writing this series, but my life kind of exploded last week, almost literally so I had to tend to some other things before making it back. That's for another post though.. #PositiveVibesOnly

The good news is Little Duck and I had the BEST time together in the city during her visit. So much fun it's going to take me alllll week to talk about all of the stuff we did! So let's get to it!

Fresh off a red-eye flight, Little Duck and I reunited at the airpot and wasted no adventure time making it back into the city. I tried to play it a little low-key on the first day -- she did fly across the country all night and all -- but because I had to work during the week while she was here I wanted to make the most of the weekend. Spoiler alert, there was definitely a lot of walking that happened. Visitors beware, I'll make you walk.. a lot!

After dropping her bags it was off  for a delicious treat at Alice's Tea Cup and off to Central Park! There was a big water fight happening which started quite the controversy earlier in the week, which ended up getting me featured in the amNewYork and on TV! Yep, really! You can watch that right here --> NBC New York "Planned Water Gun Fight at Central Park Moved After 64,000 People RSVP"

And once you've been quoted in the media about something obviously you have to go! And so we did just that! We made it to the park a little early to enjoy the sunshine a little, eat some of the treats we picked before the crazy started to unfold. 

A little bit before the fight was set to start people started going at it outside of the Great Lawn. The Central Park Twitter account had vowed that the event would get shut down and well, after about 5-10 minutes, the Parks Department showed up to crash the party. "Vacate the premises the water fight is now over" was broadcasted through their megaphones.

Just as soon as the Parks Department shut down the first fight you could see a crowd of people walking in the Great Lawn from the north. Then just like a movie scene all of the people who had been broken up rushed the Great Lawn and headed towards the middle.

I don't think the Parks Department was very pleased, but as soon as everyone made it into the center of the lawn there was no shutting it down. Now that is a water fight! Besides, the grass needed some watering on that hot day anyways!

"Look moms, we didn't get arrested at the water fight!" Our parents' one request for our first adventure.

After the water fight, we spent some more time in the park walking around and seeing some of the different views.

By the mid-afternoon we figured it was time to start to wrap up our day adventures and we headed through a food festival to pick up one of Little Duck's favorites, mozzarepas. I don't know what it is about those little cheesy delicious guys but you definitely don't see them in the PNW so it was definitely a NYC trip bucket list item. From there we made one more stop at the Union Square Farmer's Market and then it was back uptown for a low-key evening of BBQing on the balcony and getting off our feet. I know I said it was a chill day but while I wasn't wearing my Fitbit there's no doubt that we walked at least 10 miles. Little Duck is a trooper though and even after traveling all night she made it all the way until like 10:30pm! 

The next day we headed back to the park for a different adventure.. brunch at the Loeb's Boathouse. If you're looking for a very New York brunch, I totally suggest going to the Boathouse. Sometimes the wait can get a little long, but the view is so pretty and it totally gets me in the mood to watch some of my favorite chick flicks that it's featured in. 

I'm a big fan of their macaroni and cheese too. Definitely a solid choice if you check it out!

Oh heyyy duckies! Thought this was kind of perfect for our #DucksTakeNYC trip ;-)

Post brunch we headed out of the park to be extra touristy and hop on a double decker bus. I had actually never done one here so I thought it would be a fun thing to do and you totally always learn cool things about the city on them. Plus I thought it would be a good way for Little Duck to get a little bit more familiar with the neighborhoods. I told her by the end of the week she was totally going to be a NYC pro and I think she'd agree that she made the rounds on her trip! We ended up getting tickets for the Go NY Bus Tour and had a really great time! We took the downtown loop that took us through most of the high-trafficked neighborhoods with most of the notable landmarks. 

Our tour was a hop-on hop-off but we just ended up staying along for the ride to get the full tour. If you were looking for a tour that offers good transportation options though I'd definitely recommend them. Our second tour guide was super awesome too! Some of those guys are so entertaining!

Once we did a loop and a half, we decided it was time to cool off a little. So we headed to the East Village for some Big Gay Ice Cream. When you're visiting you have to make the most of every meal!

Stay tuned tomorrow for where our #DucksTakeNYC adventures took us next!

I have a little treat for you this Friday. Today I'm excited to announce the kick-off of a new guest series I will be featuring by my other half, Chris Sandstrom. In this series Chris will highlight how he discovered some of his favorite food spots in the city (Spoiler: He has pretty good taste in food). So without further ado, welcome to Finding Food in NYC.

Photo Credit: Grubstreet

The combination of Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony has yet to lead to many wins, but it did lead me to American Cut.  Last year when the Zen Master was trying to convince the then free agent Anthony to stay in New York I read an article describing their meeting at the Marc Forgione steakhouse. Apparently Carmelo had the Filet Mignon and the Caesar Salad.

I decided that my next fancy dinner would take place at the restaurant where Phil (and $124 million) persuaded Melo to stay with the Knicks.  It was a decision I did not regret. The meal was excellent from start to finish. For my steak I went with The New York City Cut, a 20 oz Bone-In Rib Eye with pastrami spices and smoke. It was as good as it sounds.

Photo Credit: American Cut

I have long been a devotee to the Caesar salad and American Cut’s version, listed on the menu as the OG 1924 Hotel Caesar. It may be the best I’ve ever eaten. It features Parmigiano Reggiano, Soft Egg, and Pullman Crouton. Nothing revolutionary, but remarkably effective when chopped tableside and combined with the perfect amount of an absolutely delicious dressing. If Melo chose to stay with the Knicks only for regular access to this Caesar I couldn’t fault him.

My girlfriend and fellow burger enthusiast recently alerted me to an article on Eater touting American Cut’s off the menu In-House Burger. We knew instantly that we had to try it while at the same time getting another taste of that Caesar.

One can't simply walk into the restaurant and order a burger at anytime. Only a finite number are made each day. At 4:20 each afternoon American Cut tweets how many burgers they will have for the evening.  The number seems to usually be in the 10 to 15 range. They can only be ordered at the bar and once those dozen or so burgers are sold, that’s it for the night.

We arrived a little before the kitchen opened at 5:30 pm and had little trouble securing burgers.  There are only four elements to the burger (meat, cheese, onions, bun) and they compliment each other perfectly.

Photo Credit: American Cut Twitter

The meat is a savory blend of short rib, dry aged rib eye, and brisket. The onions are caramelized in bourbon and topped with right amount of a melted cheddar and fontina beer cheese. All of this tastiness sits in sesame seeded pretzel bun that is baked in house. The pretzel bun was so good that I could have eaten it with nothing more than a little butter and considered the meal a rousing success.

I sincerely hope that Carmelo Anthony’s tenure in New York ultimately brings me more joy than just the discovery of a great restaurant, although that is more than many Knicks free agent acquisitions have done (I’m looking at you Jerome James.)

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Chris Sandstrom - Is a graduate of Columbia University and the author of the debut novel, "Reality TV and Hookers" a satire on the reality TV industry. You can keep up with Chris on Twitter at @ChrisSandstrom8.

Finding Food in NYC Is a series highlighting how Chris discovered some of his favorite food spots in New York City.