The addiction pays off-NYC trip report
 

What a useful little (?) community we have here on Fodor's. DH accuses me of being addicted to the forum but he does appreciate the bennies (not the drug!)

I assured him that the Michelangelo hotel was a good choice. My Fodorite friends said so! Yes, I would like to explore some of the other neighborhoods but Midtown for this trip was the right place to be. The hotel was great. Gorgeous lobby with a lovely alcove lounge. A perfect place to people watch...my favorite hobby. Friendly, helpful staff at every encounter. Large suite with a marble bath and a mirrored 8 foot bar. If only I had known that the marvelous Escargot was in the house, giving out cupcakes. We could have had a party!

We had tickets for the Drowsy Chaperone and post-theater reservations at Orso but having skipped lunch we looked for a place to eat. Angus McIndoe's looked inviting and I remembered quite a few mentions by Patrick who never steers us wrong. The cold plate at the bar was perfect.

I love to walk but vanity was taking its toll and my Stuarts were giving me blisters so I needed to "pop in" (ha,ha not possible in that hotel) to the Marriott Marquis to find bandaids. What a zoo that place is. Not worth any amount of Marriott points.

I am afraid I have to differ from Escargot's opinion of Drowsy. I actually found it a little drowsy. Not my fav but the theater (Marquis) is very nice. And, of course, the tickets were bought at a discount from broadwaybox as suggested by the forum.

Food and service at Orso was very good, as it has been in the past for us, but our show let out so early that the restaurant was only beginning to hop by the time we left.

We had left our teens at home by themselves (no comments...this has been discussed at length over in the lounge) and were jarred awake at 1:30am by a worried DD who had been woken by her older brother because there was a tornado watch. He wanted her to go down into the basement so he wouldn't have to tell Mom that he had let her die in a tornado.

Saturday was filled with a visit to the Frick and lots of shopping. Searle, Smythson, H&M, Burberry, all had great sales too difficult to resist.

New Yorkers and their dogs do amaze us. We saw all breeds including a little Pom that looked just like my new, little Christmas present. DH and I love dogs, in fact they are our chosen profession, but we would NEVER try to bring 3 golden retrievers into Barneys. Craziness!!

When DH and I were trying to decide on dinner we were tempted by Le Bernadin but we are a little too old for the 10:15 availability and too young for the 5:15. La Goulue was a wonderful alternative. Very French. When we arrived the 3 tables surrounding us were all speaking French. The staff seemed to know everyone. My duck was perfect and DH said his steak was excellent. Our list of Fodorite recommended NYC restaurants is so long it should last us over many trips.

We didn't have a lot of time before our flight Sunday so we just walked blocks and blocks. East from the hotel past all the dog walkers, the kids on skooters coming from the park, the gamblers waiting for the OTB to open, the girls in their sequins jumping into cabs (hmmmm.)
We always love visiting NY. Thanks for all the great recommendations.

Birdie great report ! So funny (as we posted on my trip report about the cupcakes from magnolia's - they were as good as they looked - wished we'd somehow passed some words, I would have been thrilled to share a cupcake with a fellow fodorite!)

Glad you also liked the Michelangelo - I told my husband about your post yesterday that we were there and you witnessed the cupcake devouring and he couldn't believe it !

I did enjoy Drowsy, but I would have to say it isn't in my top five of shows I've enjoyed most over the past few years, but I didn't get drowsy - sorry you did ! I did love the premise,, as I remember listening to Carousel, Oklahoma, and tons of broadway show records and imagining what they would be like, etc much like the show - and oh, I want that red outfit the drowsy chaperone was wearing for myself !

Glad you had a great weekend too -

So Escargot would the elevator conversation go something like this?: Well, how did you find out about this hotel? Well, there is a travel forum that I spend way too much time on . But its more than a travel forum. We exchange recipes, what books we are reading, have heated political exchanges, point out everyone else's grammar and courtesy faux pas. You know, a TRAVEL forum. But seriously, it would have been fun to hook up. Maybe next January.

I loved the chaperone and also Adolpho. I just thought the performances of the man in the chair and the bride were a little stilted.

Roberto Passon is one restaurant on our list. You made it sound so yummy!

that's a great definition of the forum - lol - but I usually keep it simple, as in "my invisible but indispensable travel forum friends" :) -
the ones my husband used to kid me about until he started realizing what great recs we were getting - and when were were looking for a specific game and the fodorties came through - so now he will say 'ask those travel buddies of yours about this or that"......now he understands the treasure here !

Great report! And I love how your experiences overlapped. Was hoping I could recomend the Michelangelo to some friends for April, but sadly it is booked for their dates.

So glad you enjoyed NYC!

Fun trip report. Isn't it great to put the hrs of Fodors time to practical use?