So after my nightlife dream night we slept like a log on the surprisingly comfortable pull out bed at D %26amp; M%26#39;s suite at The Bowery Hotel.
After some morning Cokes and a bit of waiting for D %26amp; M to wake up, we decided to taxi back to the Holiday Inn to our room to shower and find our way down to Shake Shack for lunch.
We had a good laugh as we recalled our night before at some of the most exclusive VIP rooms in Manhattan and now we were headed out to have burgers in the park and listen to some folk music from local musicians.
Before we left, we called Dan and Michele who were a bit perturbed that we took a taxi back to the hotel without waking them!! They had every intention of joining us for lunch saying the Shake Shack was their favorite Saturday lunch spot!! who knew people of their caliber enjoyed burgers in the park??? LOL
After our call, we taxied back to the Bowery and waited while they finished getting ready. The deal was to have a few Mimosas and then do lunch followed by a quick stop in the Meatpacking District for Michele to pick up something to wear to our dinner later that night.
Cristal Mimosas anyone?? Never one to refuse Cristal in any form, we downed two bottles and then made our way to Madison Sq Park. Upon arriving, I couldnt believe the line that had formed for the famous burgers!! Without the aid of those fab mimosas, the wait would have been forever!!
Now heres one of my favorite times this weekend. While we were waiting in line (total wait in line: one hour, 15 minutes) the young man in front of us had a menu. I asked him where they were located and he went to the front of the line and got us one!! He was with his mother and they told us it was her first time there. We then all started a conversation that lasted throughout our wait and then we found three small tables that we put together for one large table for the 6 of us.
It turns out the young man was a graduate of CIA and was going to start a chef position at the Modern the following week. We all enjoyed a long conversation revolving around the hot places to dine in the city. LTT, you would have been in heaven now as he gave us some good insider secrets on the dining scene in NYC.
Since Michael and Michele have no real interest in restaurant talk, they stood then sat together with the mother, while he ( cant remember his name now), Dan and I had a rapid fire discussion of fine dining not only in NYC but in places throughout the country. It was great and we all enjoyed not only our wait, but the burgers as well!!
The burgers and shakes were both well worth the wait and had there not been a huge line still, I would have gone back for another double as they were awesome!! The music was great as well with several local, very talented artists performing as we dined.
One funny....well not so funny.....story while we were eating at our table. At a table next to us sat a family of 5...4 adults and a small kid of maybe two yo. On the back of the childs chair was a bag from Hermes and one under his seat leaning againgst the chair legs was an even larger one from Payard, the bakery. The orange Hermes bag was rather large and when I seen it, I thought to myself ';that bag has to be heavy'; and the minute I ended that thought, the chair flipped over backwards sending the kid sprawling onto the sand on the ground!!!
Now here%26#39;s the funny/sad part.....instead of picking up the child, the mother ran over and grabbed the Hermes bag and quickly took out the large tan bag it contained. She didnt even look at the kid!!!! As the kid laid there face down, she was unwrapping the bag to make sure it wasnt dirtied!! I started to get up to help the kid up when his dad bounded from the other end of the table and scooped up the now crying kid.
I picked up the chair and the grandmother then reached under and grabbed the Payard bag as though I were going to touch the carefully wrapped boxes inside!!
As the father brushed off the kids pants he thanked me for picking up the chair and then just walked away from the table leaving the mother and grandmother to look at their recently purchased goods which I believed meant more to them than the little kid!!
All conversation ended at our table as the father returned with the kid and they finished their burgers in silence. It was a few seconds before Dan started another conversation and we then returned our attention to our meals.
Strange how these highly coveted bags and their contents took priority over the kid who was laying face down on in the sand. I imagine once they returned home, the father laid into the two of them...or at least I hoped he did!!
So we ended our lunch and our conversation and said goodbye to our new chef friend and went on about our saturday plans.
We really hadn%26#39;t thought we would have company at the Shake Shack and had planned on a lazy Saturday in Central Park followed by a few drinks at the Landmarc before we returned to a couple of Christopher St bars to see bartender friends from our previous trips.
Well, the best laid plans......ended up with us setting in first Jeffery, then Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney in the Meatpacking District.
About a half hour into waiting for Michele to select an outfit for the nights dinner, the three of us jumped ship and headed over to Pastis for a few drinks.
The place was half full and we quickly snagged a good table outside and waited for the shopping part of our foursome to arrive, fabulous outfit in hand. Three cosmos later, she finally arrived carrying more than one outfit and bags from all three stores!!
She joined us for a few more drinks then we parted ways for us to walk down to Magnolia Bakery while Dan went for a haircut and Michele went back to their room to ready for tonight.
We stopped and waited about half hour and started a conversation with a couple in front of us who were visiting Magnolia for the first time. We filled them in on the history and listened to their story of their visit to NYC. With a few drinks and mimosas in our system, we were feeling no pain and had a few good laughs at the new visitors adventures in the subway and trying to navigate the streets in the village.
We got our treats to go and headed to Tys and B%26amp;S in the village to see our friends and have a few more drinks before returning to our hotel to get ready for dinner at Amalia.
Just one question to NYers.....does the subway get as cold in the winter as it does get boiling hot in the summer? WOW, I am not a big %26#39;sweater%26#39;, but by the time we exited at Fulton, I was drenched!!!
We got ready in record time and just in time for Dan and Michele to be knocking on our door.
Got to say, she looked fab in her new Stella top and Alexander skirt!!!! She has quite a refined sense of style and I was then reassured that we would be getting a good share of attention at Amalia!!
So, a few minutes later, we arrived at The Dream Hotel and I did a quick walk through the small lobby with Michele who pointed out a few architectural details before we joined our dining companions at Amalia.
Of course, as expected, the owner Greg and the chef Ivy came over to see our hosts and did the whole air kiss ritual. We were introduced to them both and they were very pleasant and we realized they were in D %26amp; M%26#39;s social circle.
We also quickly realized that all our wine and entrees had been chosen for us. We started with yet another bottle of champagne and then had glasses of wine with each dish that arrived.
The service and food were above average, but to me, it was nothing real special like we had experienced at Ramseys. The service, while attentive and professional didn%26#39;t have the same sense of ';anticipating our needs'; that the servers at Ramseys had.
The food consisted of a number of plates that were sent out without our even ordering them. We sampled 6 different plates, all meant to be shared.
All were very tasty and were just the right amount to give us a good idea of what the chef was all about. The menu was a mix of Mediterranian inspired dishes.... my favorite being the chorizo stuffed chicken.
All in all, it was a nice relaxing evening in a beautiful setting. It made me think of castles in Europe with some beautiful lighting fixtures and some great design touches. It does have that over , ramseys which is somewhat stark and plain.
My fav between the two is still Gordon Ramsey....but according to the young man we had lunch with at the Shake Shack, I have plenty of places to visit to be wowed!!
After dinner, we were escorted downstairs which was full of yet more trendy partiers!! We hung around for a few after dinner drinks before bidding D %26amp; M goodnight and catching a taxi back to the hotel where we quickly changed into our club wear and taxied back up to the Chelsea area to party at our usual haunts for the rest of the night.
We again stumbled down the street to taxi our way back to our hotel around 4 am.
All in all, it was a wonderful day...very relaxing and laid back. And of course, the best thing is that we didn%26#39;t spend any money until we got to our bars after dinner!! Talk about a cheap date!!!
One more day to report on and then its back to Buffalo for us and me back to scouring websites in search of an apartment. Good news on that front as well as Dan is sending out feelers there for us for an apartment in a good area. I have pretty much let him decide were we end up, so look out NYC, here we come!!!
Thanks all for reading up to here...just a bit more left, I promise!!
Trip Report Part Two - Shake Shack %26amp; moreGreat reading as always. I totally agree about the heat in the subway stations, thank god the cars are air-conditioned.
The Shake shack where dreams come alive...thats all I have to say at the moment.
Trip Report Part Two - Shake Shack %26amp; moreYou used Cristal for mimosas?!?!?
I%26#39;m glad I wasn%26#39;t around to see that family grab their purchases and leave the kid sprawled on the ground! I only hope that zilions of ants found their way into the Payard boxes.
After the closing of your previous day%26#39;s report I was expecting a mor %26#39;normal%26#39; day. I should%26#39;ve known better than to expect that from you!
Another wonderful day. You really lived the high life!
I%26#39;m jealous you got to go to Shake Shack and horrified about the kid%26#39;s chair falling story, glad you enjoyed the burgers though! (every cloud........)
I am glad to hear your weekend turned out well. Poor kid beat out by a hermes bag.
Even with my lack of maternal instinct I am appalled, but she probably waited over a year for her name to pop up to the top of the list for that tan Birkin or Kelly bag! Was it crocodile??? Bet she%26#39;s the step-mom!
Cristal mimosas - blasphemy!
I agree with your regarding using Cristal for mimosas.....I always have used a reasonably priced champ and saved the good stuff for drinking as is in a good crystal flute.
But, since it wasn%26#39;t mine and I didn%26#39;t have to pay for it....what the heck!! I should add that the juice was ';fresh squeezed'; and was priced at $8.00 per glass..... if that helps any!!! LOL
When in Rome......or rather....... When in The Bowery Suite..........
The Hermes bag in question was indeed a Birkin and was a deep tan color....probably cost what they pay the nanny for a year!! Come to think of it, I believe it was the nanny who grabbed the Payard bag thinking i was going to jet with it and not the grandmother as I had thought earlier.
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