David M.D.

In order to share my experiences of New York with future travelers I will begin with my arrival to Newark airport on Tuesday and transport of my group of four by stretch limo at a cost of 125.00 to the Omni Berkshire hotel at 52nd and Madison. I recommend using Lincoln limo service at 212-6665050 or 1800-7282838 for a better rate of 60.00 for four in a towncar which we did for our return to the airport today. I had booked the hotel prior to departure with Quikbook.com for great rates and with no problems at all. I also had booked two plays with [email protected] and four restaurants by phone prior to the trip. The plays were: the full monty which was great and the smell of the kill which was so so. The more popular plays must be booked well in advance ie months which affected our choices at least for great seats. The restaurants were all spectacular and expensive but well worth it for a once in a lifetime experience. I will rank them based on my subjective experience. #1: Jean Georges at 1 central park west 212-2993900. This restaurant had the best food including deserts of all. We did the Prix Fixe menu and I personally had the best Foie Gras(warm not pate) and sweetbreads outside of France. The bar is nice though the restaurant is a little to modern for my taste. My party had the sea bass which is to die for. The desert is a tasting menu(included) of four deserts which were unreal. The portions were large for a french restaurant. #2 Daniel: The ambiance was terrific like a palace. The food was spectacular though typical smallish french portions. We did the 5 course tasting menu. The sea bass is not as good as jean georges. This was the most expensive of the four.#3 One if by land, two if by sea: This was the most romantic of all with candle light and piano. The food was great and in large portions. We did the prix fixe and everyone had the beef wellington which was superb.This was the least expensive. #4 Le Bernardin: Great food. We did the tasting menu which were small portions but adequate. This was second most expensive. It really is hard to rate such great restaurants. I highly recommend lunch at the Carnegie deli. Also, try the begels. To go to ground zero go to the century 21 department store. There is a viewing platform nearby. Don't miss the metropolitan museum and or others including the cloisters(medieval art) which has my favorite unicorn tapestries which can also be seen at the Cluny museum in Paris(only better-The five senses). Shop till you drop and end it up with a horse drawn carriage ride through central park at night with a full moon as we did last night. Have a blast.

CariocaRio

Sounds like you had a nice trip, I don't know where your from but it could be a typo but the spelling is Bagels.

Statia

David:

Glad you enjoyed the Big Apple. I'm also glad to hear you enjoyed One if by Land, Two if by Sea. We live overseas, but had my birthday dinner there mid-April and really enjoyed it. The food was great, the service impeccable, and the atmosphere....oh so romantic.

Sue

David, thanks for sharing your experience - often we all help each other plan a trip, but and never hear the outcome! Your dining choices sounded wonderful, and I'm glad you enjoyed the theater.

shannon

Hi David-

Thanks for the wonderful reviews. How far in advance did you make reservations at the restaurants?

xxx

Sounds like a great trip. It is also refreshing not to hear, "we got a room for $50 and it was fairly clean", or "we found a really cheap place to eat where the food wasn't too bad". It's nice to know that some people still believe in traveling and enjoying quality, although obviously it comes at a price.

Donna

Yes, thanks for the report! It's always helpful to know whether any of those "worth it for the experience" sort of places really are to regular folks.

David

Shannon, I made reservations about a month before the trip. This was ok for restaurants but prevented our obtaining tickets to shows like Mama Mia and The Producers, at least from getting descent seats.
Thanks for the kind comments and excuse the occational typo.