A New York Holiday
New York City during the holidays is incredibly festive and you can definitely feel an extra buzz in the city. Each year, my husband and I make a point to jump on Amtrak and partake in the festivities. We are able to keep this up post-baby and truly make it a getaway due to loving grandparents, although we’ll take baby soon!
NYC is one of those places that I strongly believe one website, guide, or blog will never be able to cover all the ground and as soon as something is written, it’s basically out of date. That being said, here are some fun things to do/eat for a weekend in New York at the holidays!
Holiday Sites
· Rockefeller Center & the Christmas tree – depending on how familiar you are with the city, this may cause you heartburn because of the crowds, but if you’ve never seen it, it’s a must to stop by! The holiday decorations, ice skaters, and giant tree are the heart of the city’s holiday spirit. I’ve seen it a million times, as I had a quick stint working at 30 Rock during the holiday season, and I still took a peek!
· Fifth Avenue – Saks Fifth Avenue store windows, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Cartier, Tiffany, and tons of other stores all decked out for the season (you can combine this with Rock Center)
· The Plaza Hotel – this hotel had wreaths taller than my husband
· Central Park – gorgeous autumn colors in the trees, festive ice-skating rink, and a carriage ride if you can stand the smell of the horses (yikes!)
· Bryant Park Christmas Village – super packed, but cute little stores and a rather large Christmas Village. Tons of people getting snacks, hot chocolate, and ice-skating. It's also behind the NY Public Library and you can have visions of Carrie smashing Big over the head with her bouquet (or is that just me?)...
Okay, you’ve done your sightseeing, now you are STARVING – what hot spots to hit for food and cocktails?
· Le Coucou – my favorite Philadelphia restaurateur opened this NYC spot recently and earned the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. As you can imagine, reservations were hard to score for this one, but if you happen to be up at midnight 28 days before you want to go, you might have a shot (I may or may not have done this). At any rate, we got a reservation and thoroughly enjoyed the veal tongue w/ caviar and the duckling for two. It’s a cool, casual, but upscale take on traditional French dining. A must do!
· Public Kitchen at the Public Hotel – talk about the epitome of downtown cool vibes. This newish hotel was absolutely brimming with hip millennials throughout the lobby bars. Public Kitchen from Jean Georges had the same vibe. We ordered a ton of appetizers and I’m still thinking about the dumplings and the spicy tuna tartare
· The Ship – a speakeasy type bar with an unassuming door and red light, once inside you descend the stairs into a cavernous little hotspot with great craft cocktails. We stopped by for a drink and were thoroughly entertained by the people watching
· Please Don’t Tell (PDT) – one of the original NYC speakeasies located inside of a hot dog shop (Crif’s). You go through the hot dog shop to the phone booth, pick up the phone and wait for the other side of the booth to open, which is where the bar is. Like many speakeasies, you need an actual seat (no standing) and reservations are hard to come by. There was a line and a 3 hour wait when we showed up at 9:30 on a Saturday night. But, $20 to the hostess and we skipped all that and were led straight in. Who would have thought! Again – wonderful craft cocktails and do yourself a favor and get a Crif dog. They have gourmet toppings and while they are beef hot dogs, they are rather light and the flavors are quite unexpected. We may return just for a dog
· Upland – light, airy, and popular restaurant near Union Square. We’ve been for dinner and went this time for brunch. This one never disappoints and has something for everyone on their menu
Hotel – obviously, there’s thousands to choose from in NYC, but this time we stayed at the Intercontinental Barclay. It’s gone through a massive renovation in the lobby and the rooms. The lobby was absolutely gorgeous all decked out for Christmas. It even had a posh kid’s holiday corner that we definitely want to bring baby to. The hotel bar is the Gin Parlour and had so many different kinds of gin, it made my head spin. But as a gin lover, I really enjoyed trying their house made tonic. Our hotel room had beautiful molding and was spotless. All in all, I’d return!
What did I miss? Are you in a New York state of mind, now?!
