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"We help you turn the ordinary into the extraordinary!"
Thank you for all of your comments about the monthly newsletter. We are delighted that you are enjoying it. Please do visit our new website for program details with pricing. You will find the prices for transfers, tours, helicopter rides, all listed there.
Thank you to Town and Country Traveler Winter 2004 for selecting us as their choice for planning your next trip to New York!
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Can you help us get VIP seats (field level, main box, sky box with private catering) at Yankees, Knicks, Mets games?
Yes, please call us with the number of tickets that you need and the dates so that we can help you.
We are planning our Summer Intern Programs and need help with ideas for evening events for our employees. What can you offer?
Whether it is team building or exploring the neighborhoods of New York, we can custom design a program for your entire summer. Please call us to set up a schedule of events.
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- 19th Century Valentine’s: Confections of Affection, Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street, Feb. 3rd – 28th. An exhibit of ornate and extravagant paper lace valentine cards that made the 19th century the Golden Age of Valentines in America.
- Chinatown’s 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Flower Market, Saturday and Sunday, February 5th & 6th, Sara Roosevelt Park. An important annual tradition, flower markets typically sprout up a week before the holidays. Symbolically, flowers are perhaps the most important decorative item for the home. In the Cantonese spoken language, the word “Fa” for “flower” shares homonymic qualities with the word for “wealth.”
- Chinatown Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony, Wednesday, February 9th from 11AM - 5PM, Intersection of Mott St. & Bayard St., Firecrackers at noon, Intersection of Market St. & E. Broadway, Firecrackers at 2PM
- Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival, Sunday, February 13th, 1PM - 5PM, along the major streets of Chinatown (Mott, Canal, Bowery, East Broadway, Chatham Square, East Broadway, Forsyth, Division, Worth). A colorful spectacle featuring floats, marching bands, lion and dragon dancers, Asian musical performers, magicians and acrobats and local organizations. The floats will feature various cultural performances and special guests. Over 5,000 individuals will march in the Parade, which will span every major street in Chinatown. New York Chinatown's biggest event and a national and international tourist attraction, over 200,000 spectators are expected to attend the Parade. Elected officials, celebrities and community leaders are scheduled to take part in the Parade, which will be covered by local, national and international media. After the Parade at 3PM, an outdoor cultural festival will take place on Bayard Street that will feature performances by musicians, dancers and martial artists on a large stage.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art invites you to visit the Main Building of the Metropolitan Museum on Monday February 21st, Presidents' Day. The Museum's galleries, public restaurants, and shops will be open from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM on these special Holiday Mondays. For a list of the special exhibitions that will be open, see the online calendar.
Weather permitting, the Museum's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden will be open on Presidents' Day from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visitors to the Met will have a bird's-eye view of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's public-art project "The Gates"--which will be installed in Central Park for sixteen days beginning February 12, weather permitting--from the Roof Garden. For more information, see "Christo and Jeanne-Claude from the Roof: 'The Gates' Project in Central Park."
It is best to double check all listings prior to going, since we are providing the information as we receive it. Feel free to check the museum selections under Kitt’s Picks on our web site. You will find the museums, locations and hours of operation all listed there. Please feel free to call the museum or check their web sites to see the listings for specific exhibitions.
- Pier Antiques Show, Passenger Ship Terminal Pier, 12th Avenue at 55th Saturday and Sunday February 12th and 13th. New York City’s largest and most exciting antiques event is also one of the most popular in the country. There is a broad theme to each of the piers including: 20th century design, and art deco, Americana and folk art, formal, fine period furniture, and jewelry. Show hours are Saturday 9 AM–6 PM; Sunday 11AM–6PM. Admission is $15
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This is the Year of the Rooster, and Chinatown celebrates with Lunar New Year Feasts.
During Lunar New Year, special emphasis is placed on the symbolism of different foods. Certain foods represent gold, or wealth, while others suggest good health, longevity, togetherness and completeness. Oranges and tangerines, which resemble gold, represent abundant happiness and wealth. Other common New Year foods: whole fish symbolizes togetherness; chicken brings prosperity; noodles are served long and uncut, to represent long life; lotus seeds are believed to bring many children; fried bean curd signifies fulfillment of wealth and happiness; and dumplings bring wealth. Nearly every dish and its ingredients are loaded with meaning, all ushering in the New Year with luck, prosperity, long life and everything good.
Numerous restaurants present Lunar New Year specials that feature the foods that will bring good fortune. Be on the look-out for 'wealthy banquets' and 'good fortune specials.'
Golden Unicorn 18 East Broadway 212-941-0911
A&B Lobster King House 1 Mott St. 212-566-0930
Oriental Garden 14 Elizabeth St. 212-619-0085
Buddha Bodai (kosher veg.) 5 Mott St. 212-566-8388
Chatham Restaurant 9 Chatham Square 212-267-0220
Golden Bridge 50 Bowery 212-227-8831
Fuleen Seafood 11 Division St. 212-941-6888
Hop Lee 16 Mott St. 212-962-6475
Jaya 90 Baxter St. 212-219-3331
Jing Fong 20 Elizabeth St. 212-964-5256
May May Chinese Bakery 35 Pell St. 212-267-0733
Mr. Tang's 50 Mott St. 212-233-8898
New Big Wang 1 Elizabeth St. 212-219-3686
Oriental Palace 103 Mott St. 212-219-8388
Ping's 22 Mott St. 212-602-9988
Shanghai Garden 63 Mott St. 212-571-3339
Shanghai Garden 14A Elizabeth St. 212-964-5640
Sweet-n-Tart 20 Mott St. 212-964-0380
The Nice Restaurant 35 East Broadway 212-406-9776
Tong Yan Guy 13 Mott St. 212-964-8118
Vegetarian Dim Sum House 24 Pell St. 212-577-7176
Win Luck Restaurant 16 Bowery 212-267-7640
XO Cafe & Grill 96 Walker St. 212-343-8339
Yeah Shanghai 65 Bayard St. 212-566-4884 |
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Due to great popularity, here are some extensions:
Billy Crystal, 700 Sundays, now extended through May 21st.
Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance!, extended through June 4th. |
Two more productions are scheduled to open this month:
Monty Python’s Spamalot – Shubert Theatre. February 14th previews, March 17th opening. David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and Hank Azaria team up for this new musical “officially ripped-off” from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They promise the most unforgettable musical production numbers you will ever see in the theater.
All Shook Up – Palace Theatre. February 20th previews, March 24th opening. A new musical comedy inspired by the songs that made Elvis Presley an international superstar. Think Twelfth Night in the Midwest, set to a classic rock-n-roll score of Presley tunes.
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We’ll keep you posted on more productions that will open before the May 1st deadline for the Tony Awards. See our web site for Theater and Entertainment listings for Broadway and Off Broadway Shows.
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Eight hotels served as my home away from home this past month:
Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston kicked off the New Year! The Club level is actually two floors, so you’ll want to make reservations on the floor with the coffee if you want to scamper out of bed in a bathrobe and not climb the staircase or take the elevator. Ask for a room away from the lounge for less noise.
We’ll all miss the crab cakes and omelets at the St. Regis in Los Angeles since the hotel is now closed and will become condominiums.
The Ritz Carlton, San Francisco is such a treat! Club Level at the hotel is fabulous. It took 7 hours to go from LA to San Francisco due to flight delays. Upon arrival, the smell of real wood burning in the fireplace was the perfect relaxing touch to a very challenging day. Complimentary coffee arrives in a thermos placed outside of the room each day with your wake up call. Sheer heaven! I wish that all hotels would do that. It’s the little things that make staying at any Ritz Carlton a joy because their ladies and gentlemen really do enjoy serving the ladies and gentlemen that are their guests.
Upon arrival at the US Grant, I found myself being walked to the Wyndham. Little did I know how lucky I was to have one less night to sleep at the US Grant. It closes February 1st for a renovation that was due 20 years ago. It is a true shame when a hotel with such fine bones is left to fall apart due to sheer neglect. When it opens again next year, it should be grand.
The Wyndham in San Diego is a basic convention type of hotel. The staff does a good job of trying to make you feel at home. The new restaurant Dara serves Thai Cuisine and is in the same complex as the Wyndham. The food is very good and the staff is incredibly friendly.
The Omni Interlocken between Boulder and Denver is a great place for a conference. It is relatively new, has a very nice golf course that I have played on a previous trip and the rooms are spacious. Ask for a room with a view of the mountains. The staff is very good and their buffet breakfast is wonderful. The staff is helpful and friendly.
The Hyatt in San Diego is a big convention hotel that makes you want to stay. I arrived on the day of the football championships and there were screens in the bar area and restaurant set up so that everyone could enjoy the games.
The hotel did a very clever promotion. Everyone attending the MPI convention was given a credit card providing 20% discounts on food and beverage in most of the hotel’s outlets, and even on spa services. With so many choices for the attendees, this was a nice thank you for choosing to stay at the Hyatt and spend money on property rather than going out. Ask for rooms with ocean views. I love having a coffee pot in the room. San Diego is so easy to get around. The airport is 15 minutes from the hotels, and the city has lots of good restaurants and fun things to do. If a convention is not going to be in New York, I think that San Diego is my next favorite city because everything is so easy there and the people are friendly. The convention center is fabulous, and within walking distance to most of the hotels.
The Ritz Carlton, Montreal is the original of the collection. The room sizes are generous since the hotel was built in 1911. The rooms are scheduled for a face lift in the next couple of years. One draw back is that the dining room was closed in the evening and the only place for dinner was room service or in the bar area where smoking is allowed and the smoke is thick. The staff level is exactly what you would expect at The Ritz Carlton and the pastry chef makes delicious cookies.
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