NYC Questions

[Blake686]

Hi All,

I know there are a ton of NYC threads but I am looking for some suggestions for my personal situation.

I'm thinking of taking my fiancee up to NYC either next weekend or the following weekend for her burthday, and was hoping some of you could help me out with some decisions.

Hotel
Last time we were in NY we stayed at Le Parker Meredian. It was ok, but we would like to try something different. I am a Starwood platinum member with a good amount of points so I prefer to stay Starwood. I am deciding the W on Lexington, the St. Regis, and The Chatwal. Anyone have any experience with any of these three hotels? I am sure they are all nice, but am curious if there is any reason to pick one over the other.

Restaurants
Last time we were in NYC we ate at The Spotted Pig and Momofuku Ssam bar and enjoyed both. Any recommendations of restaurants that are similar in nature? Not looking for $300 pp tasting menus, but don't mind spending some money. Was thinking anout Momofuku Ko? She isn't into super creative food, just stuff that tastes great and isnt overly complex.

I have spent a ton of time reading about NYC restaurants and checking with tings like The Michelin Guide , etc. (even though I know most of these ratings are crap). I am hoping the SF community can help me out with some suggestions.

Shopping
Since we are from Philadelphia and the shopping is terrible here, we usually take a walk down 5th ave and Madison and window shop. Any good sales going on in the next few weeks?

Thanks is advance!

 

[gomestar]

if you haven't booked Momofuku Ko yet, it's too late.

 

[Gus]

My wife and I were just in NYC for a week. We enjoy the Village for dinner. We like the charm of smaller places with good food. Two very different ones right by each other are The Little Owl and Buvette. We would go back to both of them and highly rate them.

http://www.thelittleowlnyc.com/

http://www.ilovebuvette.com/

 

[Blake686]

Originally Posted by gomestar

if you haven't booked Momofuku Ko yet, it's too late.

I thought you made reservations 7 days in advance starting at 10am? Next weekend isnt available yet.

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

My wife and I were just in NYC for a week. We enjoy the Village for dinner. We like the charm of smaller places with good food. Two very different ones right by each other are The Little Owl and Buvette. We would go back to both of them and highly rate them.

http://www.thelittleowlnyc.com/

http://www.ilovebuvette.com/

Thanks for the suggestions, will definitely look into these

 

[gomestar]

is it 7 days? I thought it was longer.


either way I'd do something like ABC Kitchen or Bar Boulud instead.

 

[Blake686]

Originally Posted by gomestar

is it 7 days? I thought it was longer.


either way I'd do something like ABC Kitchen or Bar Boulud instead.

I wonder if Ko was always a week or if they trimmed down the reservation timeframe once the popularity dropped a bit.

Thanks for the suggestions, both look good.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Blake686

Hotel
Last time we were in NY we stayed at Le Parker Meredian. It was ok, but we would like to try something different. I am a Starwood platinum member with a good amount of points so I prefer to stay Starwood. I am deciding the W on Lexington, the St. Regis, and The Chatwal. Anyone have any experience with any of these three hotels? I am sure they are all nice, but am curious if there is any reason to pick one over the other.

Personally, I think that the W is unbelievably well located in terms of centralization and proximity to the 6 train on 51st and Lex; which is great if you want to go downtown and uptown for shopping and museum mile. Lex is only 3 short blocks from 5th which is the dividing line between the east and west sides (if you knew this already, please ignore my long-windedness). The bar at the W is pretty good as far as hotel bars go.

However the St. Regis is going to be more opulent, and the service will be better; old-world vs trendy at the W. Personally, I rather stay at the St. Regis... since it leans more towards my taste, but YMMV.

Shopping
Since we are from Philadelphia and the shopping is terrible here, we usually take a walk down 5th ave and Madison and window shop. Any good sales going on in the next few weeks?

Ralph Lauren is on sale, 40% off IIRC, and between the Rhinelander Mansion, the new woman's mansion across the street and the new store in Soho you should be able to find what you want.

The higher-end J. Crew store on 79th and Madison (with SF approved Alden, C&J, Adeney Swaine Brigg) had items on sale last time I checked.

Bergdorf, Barneys, etc... should have items on sale.

Regarding restaurants, if you like Italian, check out Bice (conveniently located across from the Kiton boutique on 54th and Madison) or Il Gattopardo also on 54th between 5th and 6th.

Since I'm Argentinean, I have to also add: Nina's on 2nd and 92nd. Food tastes like it came straight from a kitchen in Bs As... Very reasonably priced too.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me if you wish.

 

[Blake686]

Thanks for the great response ImageWIS. I didnt realize there was a higher end J Crew store. Do you know if they offer different women's clothing there than at the usual stores?

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Blake686

Thanks for the great response ImageWIS. I didnt realize there was a higher end J Crew store. Do you know if they offer different women's clothing there than at the usual stores?

They have two separate high-end stores, one for women and one for men, however, I have only been in the men's, which has at least 35-45% different merchandise than say the Rock Center store.

 

[erictheobscure]

FWIW, the W has some negative reports on the bedbug registry online. Probably not terribly reliable info, but still disconcerting.

 

[apolishedman]

Try Nobu for some great Japanese food. I went there around Christmas time, did the prix fixe ($100 pp) with some family, and thought it was the best Japanese I've had in a long time.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I have been hearing that Kyo Ya is really good in the east village.