Photo Credit: Stuart DeSpain
I thought it might be fun to write up what I think will happen on our trip. Partly this is for friends and family who’d rather not download a PowerPoint deck to see what it’s all about. But it’s partly for Tina and me; it will be interesting to see how reality differs from fantasy. I’m sure there will be differences; what form they will take remains to be seen.
New York will be the first stop on our adventure. We’ll be taking a Jet Blue red-eye Friday night, landing very early on Saturday morning. Fortunately, the delightful Hudson Hotel will be waiting. It’s part of the Morgans Group chain, which includes The Clift in San Francisco. I think it will be a great NYC home base.
Day one will be pretty relaxed. We’ll start off by visiting the Hayden Planetarium. Then off to Artie’s for a classic East Coast reuben. With full bellies, we’ll head back and wander the Museum of Natural History. The day will end at the trendy and beautiful Dovetail restaurant.Â
Sunday opens to breakfast at Nougatine (a lovely spot from restauranteur Jean Georges Vongerichten overlooking Central Park). We’ll then wander around Fountain Circle and the park, ultimately landing in Times Square. We’ve got second row matinee tickets for Wicked, which will be our first Broadway musical ever. Sunday ends at Peasant, a well reviewed rustic Tuscan joint in Little Italy.
With the weekend past, it’s on to MOMA after a breakfast at nearby celebrity watch-spot Michaels. After checking out the Tim Burton show at MOMA, we’re off to 30 Rock for pizza at my favorite spot, Two Boots. Continuing our day of culture, we’ll head north to visit the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art. We’ll try to get in reservations for the exclusive Momofuku but, if that fails, we’ll hit BLT for dinner.Â
French bistro Balthazar is on tap for Tuesday morning breakfast. Then it’s wandering SoHo for a bit. Lunch honors go to 5 Ninth in the Meatpacking district. Then it’s off to explore Highline Park and Chelsea. Of course I couldn’t miss B&H, so I’ll sneak in a short visit and shop for a new camera or, at least, marvel at their one-of-a-kind shopping basket skytram.Â
After that, it’s off to molecular gastronomy powerhouse Gilt for dinner. This will be our first taste of this controversial cuisine and I can’t wait to give it a go. If the Upright Citizens Brigade has anything on the boards we’ll drop by there after dinner.
The week ain’t over. Our last full day in NYC begins at the infamous Algonquin. While it’s more notable patrons may not have been early birds, it’ll be our breakfast stop prior to ferrying over to Liberty and Ellis islands. Afterwards we’ll head over to the eclectic Delicatessen diner for lunch. Tina has a few friends at Getty NY, so we’ll wander over for a quick ‘hi’ in transit to Greenwich Village. Dinner at the spectacular Indian restaurant Tamarind will satisfy a near-decade longing for a return visit. We were first wowed in 2002 and was, at the time, the best Indian restaurant ever (but that was before Vij’s). The evening ends atop the Empire State Building for some extraordinary late night sightseeing.
After checking out of the Hudson we’ll cab to the Kasmin Gallery for a Mark Ryden show. Our last NY meal will be lunch at Daniel Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen Bar. Then it’s back in the cab for a tunnel trip to Brooklyn where the Queen Mary II awaits. At 5:00 in the afternoon we set sail for Southampton as so many have done before us. With any luck, the sun will be setting on the skyline as we steam away into the Atlantic.