NYC April Trip Report

Old Jun 8th, 2012, 11:41 AM
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NYC April Trip Report

I don't write enough trip reports, but I'm trying to do better. Your reports always are helpful, so here is mine.

Please see the end of this report for links to the places I mention below.

Last month (late April) we had three wonderful nights in New York City. We drove from Western Pennsylvania and it took about 6 hours from home to the HSBC branch in midtown that has a Kees chocolates counter in the lobby. DH parked at the curb and I went inside for 16 pieces, which was too much, but we left some with our daughter who is pregnant. This will probably be my last Kees for awhile, since I must lose a large amount of weight for health reasons. Luckily for us, it was early in the day, and a week day, so the selection was good. We’ve been when there was very little available. All of it was delicious but I think I like the dark chocolate covered cherries the best.

Straight from Kees we drove to our hotel, The Kimberly. I had researched hotels forever, and played with Priceline and Hotwire quite a bit. For a brief moment, one of our favorites, the Kitano Hotel appeared on Hotwire for our dates, but since the Kimberly amounted to a few less dollars, my cheap streak took over. I probably wouldn’t let that happen again.

The Kimberly had promised a studio on a higher floor with no view of the hotel’s power plant in back. What we got was a handicapped studio with no furniture for placing luggage, just over the power plant. The handicapped room had a ridiculous bathroom that was one large open room with a drain in the floor, and a little tiny corner next to the sink had a little tiny shower curtain around it. No shelving in the bathroom, and no way to prevent the entire floor from getting wet.

We begged for another room, but were told we couldn’t have one until the next morning. They threw in breakfast on their very expensive rooftop to make up for it all. They did move us the next morning but here is the kicker: they charged us for the higher priced room for all the nights we were there. I have written to the hotel, sending along all relevant reservations, receipts and proof that we spent one night in the cheaper room. (pictures of us in the room, the shower, the suitcases, the bed after we slept in it). I haven’t heard back yet, but after this week I’m calling my credit card company. If we must pay for two nights in the room they switched us to, so be it. But I refuse to pay the higher rate for the cheaper room we spent the first night in.

If The Kimberly corrects this, I would highly recommend the hotel. Great location, nice big and clean rooms, a tiny business center for email, and Wifi and parking at a rate that was better than many other places we checked.

(Update: The Kimberly wrote today, fixing everything and offering an upgrade for our next stay. We will stay there again, maybe in July or August.)

After finally settling in for the afternoon at the hotel, we took the train a short distance up to The Frick Museum. Born and bred Pittsburghers and fierce labor supporters, we aren’t wild about Henry Clay Frick but generally try to enjoy all that he preserved; we might as well because some of our ancestors died for it.

The Frick was showing 8 incredible full length Renoirs, at least 3 of which I’d never seen before. They were gorgeous and after we spent some time with them, we wandered the rest of the museum.

That evening we had dinner at Maialino. Dinner was great and again, since I’m off pork I’m glad I went and had my fill of piggy. Very delicious piggy I might add. Maialino is huge and bustling, but the wait staff had the complicated dance of serving so many so much down really well. It was almost like watching a performance. We started with a plate of prosciutto di Parma, followed by two orders of fried baby artichokes, and then I had an extra wide pasta with roast pork and a reduced jus, and my husband had pasta with a meaty sugo. Both the pasta dishes were great. We also ate a lot of bread dipped in oil. Dessert was a trio of gelati that we split. I really like salted caramel, but this one was too salty. We demolished the other two flavors. A very good dinner.

After breakfast the next day we met our daughter, her husband and our grandson at the Central Park Zoo. They had driven in to spend the day and have fun with us before we left the city for their house.

Despite dozens of trips to NYC, this was my first time at the Central Park Zoo. Generally, I dislike zoos, and I really hate big ones. This zoo was a great size for me, and for my little grandson. We especially loved the bird house, the penguins, and the polar bears, where we met our cousins from the UES for about an hour. After that, we went to the Children’s Zoo, where we had a ball discovering things and feeding the animals. It was a very nice afternoon.

After the zoo, we went to FAO Schwarz, which was bigger, brighter, louder and more expensive than I thought it would be. The good thing about that foray into retail hell was that my little grandson finally learned to give his item to the clerk and politely wait for it to be scanned. He did a good job.

From there, we went to the UGGs store, and I tried on every shoe but bought nothing. I have an old pair of UGG shoes (not boots) that I love, but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t look like a polar bear paw on my feet. Ah well.

We took a taxi downtown to 2nd Ave and Enrico loved it. The cabbie didn’t love Enrico, but my baby was really having a good time. We met my brother and his dogs for a quick hello in front of Spice and then we went in and had dinner. My pregnant daughter had cravings for this, but we were all a little disappointed. We still had a nice time and Enrico ate everything. At 18 months, spicy calamari is one of his favorites.

After that we strolled to Veniero’s and Enrico had a hard time deciding between cake and ice cream. My daughter had her favorite chocolate cake. I think Veniero’s is just middling, so I kept busy feeding Enrico. The men had cheesecake and no carb cheesecake.

We all got in a taxi to The Kimberly, then the kids went on to the lot where they had parked near the zoo.

The next day we had lunch at The National which was fun and buzzy. I had risotto with eggplant and my husband had a burger and fries. I thought the burger was too wet and sloppy, but the fries and especially the restaurant's ketchup, were wonderful.

Then we wandered around a bit, enjoying the food hall at Grand Central. Grand Central is so gorgeous that we spent a bit of time before meeting my brother there, just looking around.

We met my brother under the clock at the center of the Grand Hall or whatever they call it, and we got a train out to the Bronx Botanical Gardens for the Orchid Show. We loved this. It was a nice day outside, and inside, the Orchid Show was incredible. If this is a yearly event, I highly recommend it.

After coming back to Manhattan, we went to my favorite standby restaurant for dinner, Lavagna. As usual, it was delicious. I had the artichoke and white bean appetizer, followed by my favorite garlicky linguine in a light marinara sauce. This is what I always order when I come here, and even when the meals are a couple of years apart, the quality is always there and the food is great.

We were at the end of the trip. We checked out of The Kimberly the next morning, and had a casual brunch around the corner. There were many spots nearby for casual meals.

We made one last food stop on the way out of town; I ran into Crumbs and got a half dozen yummy chocolate cupcakes to take with us. We then drove up to Greenwood Lake to stay with our kids and baby sit our grandson so that his parents could go out without him for the first time in 6 months.

The rest of the weekend was spent visiting and we had a grand time. Then the long drive home. Next time we’re there, our new granddaughter will be there, too.

Links:

Kees Chocolates
http://keeschocolates.com/

The Kimberly Hotel
http://www.kimberlyhotel.com/

The Frick Collection
http://www.frick.org/

Central Park Zoo and Childrens Zoo
http://www.centralparkzoo.com/

FAO Schwarz
http://www.centralparkzoo.com/

The UGG Store NYC
http://www.mystore411.com/store/map/...2/UGG-New-York

Spice
http://www.spicethainyc.com/spice/home/index.html

Veniero’s
http://www.venierospastry.com/

The National
http://www.thenationalnyc.com/

Grand Central Market
http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/...cat=2138210767

Bron Botanical Gardens
http://www.nybg.org/

Lavagna
http://lavagnanyc.com/

Crumbs
http://www.crumbs.com/
tuscanlifeedit is offline  
Old Jun 8th, 2012, 12:37 PM
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Great report - sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 12:38 PM
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Wonderful report and I'm glad you got to spend some time with your family! Thanks for posting.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 02:30 PM
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oops... that should be Bronx Botanical Gardens...
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 02:43 PM
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As I just said on another page - love trip reports and will come back later to read this more thoroughly. Keep up the good work.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 03:22 PM
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Anyone who begins a vacation with a stop for chocolate is my kind of person!
Enjoyed your report very much.

Yes, the Orchid Show at the NYBG in the Bronx is a yearly event with a different theme and designer each year. This year was vertical garden by Patric Blanc; last year was Broadway by a set designer (forget his name) who did the Monet's Garden exhibit that is on now through October. I think the year before that was Cuba. The shows are wonderful every year - glad you got to see it.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 05:26 PM
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Thanks for the kind words, all.

Centralparkgirl: Kees are my favorite chocolates; my husband was so cooperative pulling the car up next to HSBC bank and waiting for me to run in. I knew that with hooking up with family, we wouldn't make it to Kees downtown store, but I've gone to this midtown satellite several times. My husband did the same thing with the car in front of Crumbs on our way out of town. What a guy. Giant pregnant daughter was grateful, too.

The b*tch is that I'm on an enforced diet because of heart issues, and although we'll be back in a couple of months, I will not be indulging my sweet tooth.

We like orchids and I was so glad I read about this show before we came to NY. I've seen Patric Blanc's work before but this was just breathtaking.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 05:39 PM
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Nice report! I have never been to Kees but am now eager to try. Thanks for sharing!
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Old Jun 9th, 2012, 09:51 PM
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This was a fun report....I especially love the sense of place seeing it all with your grandson's perspective. Getting someone 18 months old to willingly hand over a toy to be scanned is no small accomplishment. I also appreciate your candor in sharing your health issues. A lot of us have health issues we're working on but it takes some guts to mention it.
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Old Jun 10th, 2012, 02:02 PM
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Are fat free items that are NOT low in calories permitted on your diet? (Many of our gelato places have dark chocolate sorbets that are really great.)
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Old Jun 10th, 2012, 07:54 PM
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Cpg: Because of a newly discovered genetic heart defect (presenting rather late in life at 62) I am anxious to lose weight in order to help with my blood pressure. Something I should have done long ago, but there is nothing like a heart attack scare to shake a fat lady up enough to start reducing.

The sugar content of the dark chocolate sorbet would be something to consider, but a little bit might be a possibility.

Sad for me that I have a hugely addictive personality component, and for me, moderation doesn't really exist. I can do abstinence, but I'm afraid that one is way too many, and a thousand can never be enough. People suggest I have just one piece of chocolate, but I always tell them that once that gate is open, Hershey's stock prices go up.

But I do think dark chocolate sorbet would be a reasonable treat. Can you recommend one?
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Old Jun 11th, 2012, 02:36 AM
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Enjoyed your report and am so glad the hotel came through for you. I saw the Renoir exhibit, also, and was simply amazed by the beauty, color, life of those paintings. Writing trip reports is time consuming, I'm bad about it myself. I really appreciate the time people take to write them.
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Old Jun 11th, 2012, 05:15 AM
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Grom - see the link below for NY locations. The flavor is cioccolato extranoir. Click on 'food intolerances' (upper right) and you will see that it is dairy free. However it says there is egg product in it. I'm guessing it has egg whites. A small cup is sufficient for a chocolate fix - it is dark, not overly sweet and tastes creamy like gelato.

http://www.grom.it/mobile/eng/dettag...%E0=New%20York

I do understand foods/snacks that act like 'triggers.' I'll be going to weight watchers forever!
The most important thing is to have your health! Hang in there!
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