San Genaro's Feast 2012

Once again the streets of Little Italy, Nolita, and a bit of Chinatown has been invaded by the Feast of San Gennaro. This year marks the 86th year for the festival and for all the years I've been around they have the usual staples: sausage and peppers, cannoli's, zeppoles, pizza, pasta and what feels like millions of people; this year is no different.

There is excitement in the air and you can have fun and will find some inventive foods, freshly rolled cigars, rides, games, and even some art. Definitely worth a trip if you have never been or even if you have.

Now until September 23rd.

Bar Hopping - Bryant Park

Its the unofficial start to Autumn today and many are saddened that the evenings spent outside are now a thing of the past or at least until next summer. Let me tell you it isn't so! Autumn is the best time of year! I love it. The weather is cool and crisp yet warm enough where you can still spend time outdoors comfortably. The weather will be glorious until at least the end of October. Be sure to not hibernate too soon.

A great place to go is Bryant Park. Last week I met up with some co-workers at the Bryant Park Cafe for an afterwork drink. We were having a great time as we had prime real-estate by the bar but one of my colleague's insisted that if we went to the Bryant Park Grill it would be more fun because it was a rooftop. Reluctantly, we left for greener pastures. The Bryant Park Grill rooftop is very nice and it does have a nice over head view of the park but we didn't have great real-estate by the bar and could not get a table. We stayed for one drink and were once again on the move to for the Bryant Park - Southwest Porch. Which happens to be my favorite spot in Bryant Park. It feels like going out to a friend's backyard. There are swings, rockers, adirondack chairs, and power outlets just incase you need to charge your phone. The good part is you do not have to buy anything from the bar to hang out there but you will need skill in scoring a comfortable spot.

Live instagram feed of Bryant Park

Gallow Green above Sleep No More

I couldn't resist immediately making a reservation for Gallow Green the day after receiving the invitation above from the McKittrick Hotel. I opted for 8pm on Friday night. Upon walking into the rooftop bar it felt like walking into a secret garden where the hostessess have names such as Firefly and Clover and the mixologists and staff all have a 1930's 1940's vibe to them. A DJ plays a mix of lounge-y relaxed music. It is a really pretty and romantic place; great for a date. Making a reservation requires a $20 advance purchase and is applied towards your tab. Drinks are priced at about $14 each. The house cocktail list includes "Damned Spot" and "Third Degree". They also offer a variety of punches for 2, 4, and 6 people. Click here to view pictures of Gallow Green. Located at 542 West 27th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.

Click here for my post on Sleep No More.

NYC's Largest Block Party - Museum Mile

In under one week on June 12th from 6pm - 9pm ten of New York City's greatest museums will be open to all free of charge! I attended the Museum Mile festival a few years ago and thought it was a great way to browse museums like the Neue Galerie New York or the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution which I had never even heard of. It is also fun to just walk along Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 105th Street and see what events are taking place on the streets. It is one big cultural block party complete with music and entertainment for children and adults.

The Highline

Have you been to the Highline yet? If not; make the time and get over there.  Since the Highline reopened as a park in 2009 it has become a major tourist attraction and with good reason. First of all it is a great concept: make something beautiful and unexpected (public park with lovely greenery) out of something ugly (decrepit train tracks). Second, the Highline has added much needed green-space to an area which never would have gotten it without the innovative design. And third, it is a great place to people watch and photograph!

This is a live photo stream with the #highline hashtag from Instagram:


The Highline has also partnered up with chefs and restauranteurs that create food that is thoughtful, creative, and interesting and it is offered right on the Highline. Click here to see the current partners.

The last few times I went to the Highline I had lunch at Artichoke Basille's Pizza. They have a delicious, can you guess? artichoke pizza! It is conveniently located across the street from the West 18th Street entrance. After you eat the pizza you walk off the extra calories.

The Highline is open daily from 7am to 11pm
It is wheelchair accessible
For more information click here

Coney Island

$6 for a ride on the Wonder Wheel

Gated Carts Gated View

View of Coney Island from the Wonder Wheel

I was in New York City for Memorial Day and decided to check out Coney Island.  It was about 90 degrees in Manhattan and I thought getting away to the beach would be good respite from the heat. Upon arrival it looked like 1,000,000 New Yorkers had the same idea.

We couldn't resist stopping to eat at the Original Nathan's Famous Frankfurters. It was surprising we were able to find seating in the sea of people but we managed to score a great shaded table. The frankfurters were very good but for future reference; rule of thumb: eat after you get on the rides. With our full stomachs we were only able to get on the Wonder Wheel (stationary cart not the swinging cart). I wanted to get on the Cyclone and I noticed some new rides in Luna Park but my full stomach and the fleshy crowds turned me off.

My idea for a respite from the heat was right on as there was a beautiful cool breeze off the ocean unfortunately it wasn't relaxing. Way too many people and too much going on. I want to give Coney Island another shot this summer season. I'm thinking of going to the Mermaid Parade on June 23rd. This year marks the 30th anniversary.

Basement Bhangra celebrates 15 years!

When the New York Post created the above video in 2009 Basement Bhangra; SOB's popular party was 11 years old. Next month marks the 15th anniversary of the monthly party which is held on the first Thursday of every month. I went to May's Basement Bhangra last Thursday and had a lot of fun dancing to DJ Rekha's music.

What is Bhangra? DJ Rekha describes it as a folk music that originates in Punjab; a region divided by India and Pakistan. What makes DJ Rekha's Basement Bhangra so appealing, for so many years, is that she mixes in other music styles such as Dancehall, Reggae, and Hip Hop. President Obama describes it as an "uniquely American sound."



On Basement Bhangra Thursdays, SOB's opens its doors at 7pm where there is a Sangria Open Bar until 8pm. At 9pm there is a free Bhangra dance lesson (although you don't need to know how to dance Bhangra you just need to have a love of dancing and the moves will come to you). By 10pm SOBs is full and people are having a great time on the dance floor.

Below is Pyar Baile by DJ Rekha and Dave Sharma Featuring Zuzuka Poderosa and Meetu Chilanan the
first video from DJ Rekha's label Beat Bazaar Music.

SOBs
204 Varick St
Corner of Varick and West Houston
New York, NY 10014

While in Miami...

Cloudy and rainy view from Loews balcony

I just got back from Miami last night and I would have liked to stay a few more days considering how much rain we experienced throughout our short four day four night stay. Overall it made for some pretty bad hair days, not enough tan time, and plenty of party time. During the inclement weather; napping, shopping, idliing in restaurants or at the hotel lobby took up most of the time (great because i needed the rest). Thankfully the nights were dry, warm, and allowed us to Party Like A Rockstar. 

We partied at Liv Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday it was House music and Sunday it was Hip-hop. The different genres brought out a completely different crowd. Liv is located at the Fountainebleau which is a huge resort with three restaurants (Hakkasan, Gotham Steak, and Scarpetta), two night clubs (Liv and Arkadia) and a huge lobby bar; Bleau Bar, which we dubbed the Reject bar. Amongst other amenities.

Bar at Hakkasan

The door policy at Liv is pretty intense and pretty difficult to get past without a table reservation or good looks and charm. Luckily for us the latter got us in cover-charge free (I overheard someone mention it was $30 for women and $60 for men). Once inside Liv we were impressed. The place is bigger than expected, the sound is fantastic, the energy was amazing and made for a fabulous time. On Monday night ended up at FDR  at the Delano Hotel for their Monday is the New Friday Party. The vibe at FDR was different from Liv in that it was a much more intimate and diverse crowd with a really good and fun mix of music.

We dined at Sushi Samba - always good, never lets you down - especially those tuna tacos! Hakkasan was an experience! The design is modern yet old world, the service impeccable, and the [Chinese] food mouthwatering. A must if in Miami (and I just found out, in NYC and other parts of the world). We went to Prime One Twelve  for steaks and we were not disappointed! They were cooked to perfection and the sides were fattening and delicious. We also dined at Yuca (Young Urban Cuban American) for some good old cuban fusion food.

Miami is such a fun place to go and escape from reality, I always have fun there. The best part is that a plane ride from NYC is under three hours.

SoBe 

Frolicking on the beach

So long Miami

NikeTown Run Club NYC

Me running with the Nike manequins 

I went running with the NikeTown Run Club (57th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues) for the second time and I really like this club! Everyone is there to run and have a good time doing it. The club meets three times a week Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30pm and Saturdays at 9am.

I will advise anyone and everyone to try it, its free! The best part is you can go straight after work and check your bags securely at the store. You can also change there; just walk into any empty fitting room or you can go to the restroom on the third floor. You can even borrow a pair of Nike running shoes. So if not having a proper pair of running shoes is one of your excuses for not running then you are out of luck. I wish I had known that as I probably would have started running sooner.

One thing to know is to arrive at least 10 minutes early otherwise you will walk into a chaotic NikeTown lobby. There will be like 50 people standing around, signing in, checking bags, getting a drink of water, or catching up with run buddies and you will have no clue what is going on and get left behind. If you do get left behind do not fear, just rush over to "the statue." Huh? Statue? What statue? Where? That would be the statue of W T Sherman at Grand Army Plaza on 5th Avenue and 59th Street.

"Meet at the Statue" for stretching and getting into groups

Once everyone is at the statue the stretching begins! A series of stretches for about five to ten minutes. Once that is all over announcements are made (Run Club is canceled this Thursday due to Nike getting ready to outfit all of the NFL teams on Friday). Then you are broken up into groups: Run/Walk, 3 miles, 5 miles and 7 miles. It looks like every run with the club is a little different by taking different routes and or doing "Indian runs" like I did the first time I was there. Each group is lead by Nike pacers who are very encouraging and keep your spirits up and running.

I went with the 3 mile run today and boy was it tough! I could barely walk when I was done but I'm glad I did the run and not the run/walk. Hopefully I'll be in better shape just in time for summer.

For more information like NIKETOWNNewYork on Facebook or follow them on twitter @NikeNYC.

Happy Running!

Looking for India in Jackson Heights

I recently had a craving for all things Indian meaning I really wanted Indian food and I wanted to go shopping for Indian inspired jewelry and clothes. I called a friend that spent a few weeks in India earlier this year and asked her to join me. We got on the 7 train and headed over even though it was chilly and pouring rain all day.

Upon stepping out of the 74th Street - Broadway stop, I felt like we had traveled to India, which is why it is known as little India.  I should not have been surprised considering how Chinatown is taking over my own neighborhood but I couldn't help it. I always think ethnic neighborhoods are interesting upon first glance.

Wedding Attire

Our first stop on our Indian excursion was Neena Sari Palace (I think, the rain kept me from taking notes) where they had beautiful wedding saris, jewelry, and also casual clothing/sari's. I feel in love with it all but only ended up with a silk tunic.

Souvenirs at Butala Emporium

Souvenirs at Butala Emporium

Souvenirs at Butala Emporium

We also stopped into Butala Emporium where they had all kinds of Indian things like Shaeyes (Indian eyeliner), Indian Vogue and Bazaar, household items and furniture. A great place to pick up souvenirs or gifts.

Lunch at Delhi Heights

We had lunch at Delhi Heights. They were offering a buffet but we opted out of it and ordered a la carte.  The food was very tasty and fresh and the portions were just right. I would definitely recommend this place and return but I am also curious about Jackson Diner.

After our meal we went food shopping at Patel Brothers supermarket. They have any and every ingredient for Indian cooking imaginable. I really liked the sacks of rice because the sacks doubled as cute bags. If the rice had not been so heavy I might I have taken one home with me. I did bring home some Indian frozen dinners. My friend swore they were amazing and sold me when she said "fresh all natural ingredients and no preservatives." At $2 each I picked up three different ones. I also picked up some frozen naan to go with it. I had the Dal Makhani (lentils in tomato cream sauce) tonight and it was a very good buy! Delicious. I'll have to get more next time I'm there.

I really wanted to check out the Jackson Heights Historical District but alas it was too rainy. I'll have to keep it on my list for next time.

Starting to Run

I've been thinking and talking about running for over and year and yesterday a friend sent me an email about the Niketown Run Club including the details for the run this coming Thursday. She also suggested I go to JackRabbit Sports to get a shoe fitting.

I was so determined to get my running shoes this afternoon I didn't even think about what I was wearing. I knew I was going to get on a treadmill but I still went in my high heels and pencil skirt and put my name on the list to be fitted. It was while I was waiting to be fitted that I started to feel self conscious. Luckily before I considred leaving my name was called.

My sales associate, Terry, was very helpful and suggested I change and provided me with a pair of shorts, socks and a generic running shoe. Terry analyzed my run on the treadmill and explained that my feet over-pronate when I run and that a stability sneaker would be ideal for me.

She presented me with three stability running shoe options. I tried on a pair and ran on the treadmill again to see the difference in my gait. There really was a difference! My pronation was normal in the stability shoe. Sold!

I bought the http://amzn.to/1TLe1yE for the same price being offered at Amazon. Also, if I shop there again I will get a 10% discount.

The Badoo Project

My Badoo Project profile pic

While on my way to work on Thursday morning I picked up AM New York to read on the subway. I came across a blurb on "The Badoo Project" It said they would be taking the ultimate profile pics by some of America's leading photographers all for free!  All I had to do was sign up. I was lucky enough to score a spot at 4pm on the last day of shooting which was Saturday March 24.

The first thing I had to do when I arrived for my appointment was to sign up for Badoo.com. The guy who was helping me sign up said Badoo was like Facebook but for meeting new friends (not existing).  He also told me my new professional photos would be up on the site before I was gone from 74 Mercer St.  The photo shoot process was fun - I'm sure it would have been more fun had I gone with a friend but I didn't know what to expect and the friends I mentioned The Badoo Project to had no interest.

After checking in I was invited to the lounge area where snacks and beverages were provided. They also had a ping pong table, a wall to graffiti, and some fun seating (like beanbag chairs). People looked relaxed and like they were enjoying themselves or sat nervously waiting like I did.

I want instant gratification wall at Badoo Project

After waiting for a few minutes a lady with an iPad called my name and informed me I was next for hair, makeup, and styling services. Hair, makeup and styling!?! I had no idea! At this point I became very excited! It also made the experience feel like a seriously professional photo shoot (which it was, only it was an express photo shoot).

My hair stylist complimented my hair and just added some product to make it look fuller. My makeup artist commented that I had "a lot of good things going on" and gave me a bright red lip. I was really impressed with the styling area as it was huge and filled with all kinds of hats, sunglasses, accessories, and even clothing. My stylist said she liked my scarf and just gave me some bangles to add to my wrist. The whole process took about five minutes - I guess I arrived camera ready :)

My photographer was Kenneth Cappello. He wasn't very talkative but his assistants were all very nice and made me feel comfortable. Kenneth informed me the photo shoot would be about one minute long and that I should change stance and expression after clicks. During the shoot I just smiled and moved around a bit and Kenneth was good enough to give me some direction and voila! before I knew it the shoot was over.

I then walked over to the editing stations were an editor helped me narrow down my photos to 8 (max number of photos allowed). I was given a printed photo to take home as a souvenir along with a couple of cute t-shirts.

T-shirts from Badoo Project

All in all the Badoo Project experience was awesome! And now I have some fantastic photos to use as a profile pictures.

Also, please vote for me! I want to be on billboards all over NYC Click here.

Wine Tasting in the North Fork

Recently GiltCity.com had a deal on Hampton Luxury Liner Long Island Music and Wine Tour. It was 59% off the regular price of $175 per person and so my friend and I could not pass it up. The tour includes visits to three well known Long Island Wine Country Vineyards; Pindar Vineyard, Duck Walk Vineyard, and Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard.

My friend and I went on the tour this past Sunday (last day of the GiltCity deal). Lucky for us we got great mild weather for mid March. I'm sure as it gets further into spring and summer the tour will be nicer as the vineyards will be in full blossom and more picturesque.

The bus picked us up on Lexington Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets at 9:30am. The tour included "breakfast on the coach" which translates into egg and cheese sandwiches, apples, juice/water/soft drinks, and a variety of chips. The bus is very comfortable, clean, and equipped with WiFi. Rush Hour the movie shown on the bus; I opted out of watching. A variety of magazines and newspapers are also provided on the bus.

We arrived at Pindar Vineyards at around 11am which included tastings of 5 wines out of about 15 varieties of wine and a complimentary wine glass. The wines are all fairly priced. The staff is not very helpful or informative. The tour is at Pindar for about an hour.

Wine Selection at Pindar Vineyards, LI

Pindar Vineyards - more than 500 acres

Next stop on the tour was Duck Walk Vineyard. Upon arrival I was bit concerned there was only one server for about 50 people on the tour but Connor was awesome and was able to entertain, inform, and pour us 5 tastings while keeping us in smiles. He made the visit to Duck Walk memorable. Also memorable was the Blueberry Port. We were at Duck Walk for about an hour.

 

Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard was last on our tour and we were there for three hours. We were given three drink tickets for tastings and a stamp which granted us 20% off the wine and gift shop. We were glad this vineyard had food available as we were very hungry by the time we arrived at around 2pm. I was disappointed the food selection was sparse. I opted for the Merlot Meatballs and a Cheese Plate (just okay and slightly over priced. I really wish I had packed my own lunch (as two ladies from our tour had) I'm sure I would have been a lot more satisfied. Baiting Hollow is also a horse and pony rescue and the proceeds from some of the wines support it. At this vineyard is where the "music" part of the tour comes into the picture. I can't say I was impressed/entertained by the music but it was decent background music.

Horses at Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard

 We were back where we started in NYC by 7pm. All in all we had a very nice day, it was great to get out of the city even if just for a short while. This tour is very good if you have never been to Long Island Wine Country and if you can find a deal on the price it is a must! 

For more information on Long Island Wine Country click here.

The Orchid Show: Vertical Gardens

This is the tenth year of the New York Botanical Garden's Orchid Show. Artist and botanist Patrick Blanc  created the Vertical Gardens this year which feature green walls covered in ferns, exotic plants, and thousands of orchids. If you are a lover of flowers or just beauty in general seeing this is a great way to spend the day or evening.  The show is on now until April 22nd 2012.  Orchid Evenings are Saturdays throughout the Orchid Show plus Friday April 20th 6:30 - 9:30pm.

Tickets to the show are $20
Orchid Evenings are $30 and include a cocktail.
For 20% off use code 9029 at checkout valid only online.

To share your photos on Instagram, Twitter, Foursquare, and Pintrest use hashtag #orchidshow.