busy girl thoughts

Time for me to compare hotels in New York, mid-town area before my memory fades. I wish I had stayed in more hotels to do a really thorough comparison, but hey i’m not hotel.com. And compared with my friends and random people on the street, I probably lived in amazing number of hotels.

Best Hotel Gym

The best hotel gym-I gotta give credit to Marquis. It’s about 2000 squarefeet (I think), has at least 10 elliptical trainers, probably more than 20 treadmills (sorry I never pay attention to treadmills since I don’t use them), and a lot of bikes and a few stair climbers. The number of cardio machines is astonishing. If I have you blindfolded and drop you off in this gym, you’d never guess it’s a hotel gym. All the cardio machines have individual TVs on. It has more than basic weight training machines, and abundant choices of free weights. It even has a spacious corner padded area to do stretches and other floor exercises, supplied with yoga mats, medicine balls, resistence balls and other Reebok powered equipments. And it’s 24 hours.
W hotel The Court/Tuscan has a decent 24-hour gym. The Court and Tuscan are right next to each other, so if you stay in Court, you have to get out on the street in order to access the gym. Hey don’t ask me why they choose to have two hotels on the same block. One time a cab driver pulled up in front of Tuscan, refusing to believe W the Court is right behind him, and I had to drag my luggage back to the Court

Best Bed
Starwood’s Heavenly Bed is definitely the best. Westin, W and Sheraton are part of Starwood. Come to think of it, I don’t remember anything spectacular about Sheraton New York though. Having been traveling for so long, I really appreciate a nice thick, firm and well padded mattress and a comforter. Unlike traditional hotels that offer a bed spread covered with you-know-what, and washed once a month, Starwood give you a real comforter with washable comforter cover. Do they wash the cover is still a mystery. But Westin’s cover is white so I’m guessing they’re forced to wash it more often than once a month. There’s subtle difference between W and Westin’s comforters too. W’s comforters are as comfortable however the cover is somewhat slippery and they usually end up on the floor the next morning. Quite a nuisance.

Unique

Two thumbs up for Library Hotel. It’s not a chain, so the drawback is you don’t get hotel points, but they compensate that with better price and much better and personal services. The most interesting part about the hotel is that the floors and room numbers are organized by the Dewey Decimal System. For example, if you stay on the eleventh floor, the whole floor is Philosophy themed. Room #6 on that floor has books related to “Love” since it corresponds to 1100.001 in DDS. The first room I stayed was “Library Management” (worst luck or what) and the second room was architecture related. I really liked that room because I got to read all about the fantastic architecture around the world.

It serves free breakfast (continental with hard boiled eggs), and 5-8pm it serves free cheese and wine. It doesn’t have a gym in the hotel, but they give you free daily passes to New York Sports Club 2 blocks away from the hotel.

For the budget-conscious
Three hotesl I stayed over a moth each: W hotel the Court, Marquis by Marriott, and Westin at Times Square. My best overall experience was with Westin, mostly because I got free upgrade to a corner suite. I’d say it’s at least 600 squarefeet with two sides of openable windows and heigh ceiling. It feels like a New York Loft. But if I ever go back to New York out of my own pocket, I’d stick with Marquis by Marriott. The rate is really good. I remember it was $219. The rooms are very spacious (rare in NYC), even bigger than a standard Westin room, and as mentioned before the gym is amazing. The only thing everybody hates is its elevators. It uses the so-called smart elevator that you punch in the floor you’d like to go before you step into the elevator, and the system assigns you an elevator. Once you step in, there’s no button in the shaft and it goes to the floor(s) that the system designated it to.

The problem with the design is that a lot of times tourists go by a big group. So if an elevator is assigned to go to 10 floors, chances are there will be more than 10 people for the ride, so one elevator doesn’t take all the people. The guests that failed to squeeze in the elevators in the first place usually would go to some other elevator that they’re not assigned too, and in turn squeeze out other guests assigned to another elevator. Now you can see the compounded chaos. In summer peak season, it’s easy to wait for half an hour for an elevator. And if you forget something in your room? I’m telling you’re better off buying it on the street.

I would NOT stay in W the Court. It’s nice on corporate account, but it’s over $330 and it’s really not all that great. The staff are snooty and they play this W theme music everywhere in the hotel. Every time you turn on the TV it’s automatic loudest volume tuned in the W channel playing that music. After a few weeks in the hotel, the music was officially adopted into the soundtrack my reoccurring nightmares.

The moment hit me again, this afternoon, when I was in Metropolitan Museum of Art, sitting in front of Vermeer’s “Woman with a Lute“. I was sitting down in front of the painting listening to the audio guide playing a piece of Lute music popular at that time. The melody was so simple and slow, compared with the contemporary top 40. Of course our popular music is a lot faster, louder, and more complex for obvious reasons. Simple lute or any acoustic instrument will no longer satisfy modern population’s appetite for music entertainment.

To appreciate this music, I tried to put myself in the ancient time. I gazed into the painting and imagine myself to be in it, sitting by the window, looking out, waiting for my lover’s return. Momentarily I was in a life that I was not constantly surrounded by sound and visual stimulation provided by mass media, the biggest noises would be a busy market, or galloping horses. I guess I could how it’d be one of the most beautiful harmony I’ve heard, at least comparing with the tunes sung by drunken men on the street.

This is when the moment hit me. I was concentrating so hard that for a nanosecond, I felt like I was “really” in the 17th century, hearing nothing but quietness, feeling the slowness of pace compared with NYC pace. Ever since I saw “Somewhere in Time” when I was a little girl, I’ve always had this fantasy of being able to time travel if I could just concentrate as hard as Christopher Reeve.

For a moment, I felt like I was there.

Aureole-It’s listed as an American restaurant instead of French on citysearch. However, the menu, ambience, and service all point it to a French restaurant. I’d say Aureole is the best of all three. The atmosphere is the most relaxed, and the food is not traditional heavy French cuisine. It’s more creative, fresh, light, yet the intensity and complexity of the flavor is not lost. Citysearch editor’s got the essence of this restaurant:

…lent toothsome crunch by a cured pancetta wrap, or sashimi-cut fluke lounging on ruby-red grapefruit–that you realize you’re savoring every inherent flavor rather than cream or oil. Boccuzzi achieves opulence honestly, balancing lively flavors with clever, complementary preparations. Crispy skate in eggless bearnaise and prosciutto-crusted rabbit luxuriate on the palate, while leaving room for blissful, can’t-miss desserts.

Dessert is definitely the best part, and it’s what makes Aureole better than the other two in ny heart. You can see the dessert menu online, but allow me to describe what I got. I got a creme brulee tasting, which came with three flavors, classic, chocolate and corn (corn with blueberry topping). I’m no longer a big creme brulee fan (after I found out what it’s made of), but the classic creme brulee was the best I’ve tried. It’s so creamy but it’s not so full of fat that you can’t taste anything else. It tastes more creamy because the texture is amazingly consistent and fine, like there’s no air particle in between the cream particles. The corn creme brulee was really interesting too. I always enjoy things I’ve never heard of before. Thumbs up for the pastry chef’s creativity. My friend ordered ‘Six Sorbet & Frozen Custard’. The presentation was wonderful. The little cups that the sorbets were in were put on a triangle rack. So it’s three on the bottom, 2 in the middle and 1 on top. Now you get the idea. The taste was out of this world as well. Too bad i don’t remember all the flavor but I remember one of them was goat cheese.

Zagat rating: 27, 26, 26 (food, service, ambience)

Jean Georges- The food is similar to Aureole. It’s vert innovative as well. The menu is more extensive, but it’s a lot pricier and the atmosphere is more uptight than Aureole. Dessert is pretty good, although fades compare with Aureole’s.

Zagat rating: 27, 26, 26

Le Bernardin-Yeah it’s a very good restaurant. But the way I look at it, the food is as good as the above two (unless you prefer traditional French), it’s really really expensive, atmosphere is most formal (jacket required for gentlemen), and the dessert was average-ok, to be fair, it’s good, but it’s not something you’d jump up and down and tell all your friends about- so why pay the premium? My guy friends didn’t wear a jacket and had to wear the loaner ones. They were super large and it was hilarious when they stood up because one of them looked like a football player and the other one stole his dad’s jacket.

Zagat rating: 28, 27, 27

Tonight I ventured out to little Italy planning to dine at Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant. After 45 minutes of train transfers and a cab ride, we only discovered that the wait at Nyonya was over an hour. There were about 50 people standing in the 6 by 3 waiting area like chicken in the cage. The food looked and smelled wonderful but we were too starved to wait (would’ve stayed if they had a bar)

After walking around a little bit, we settled for an italian restaurant nearby. The bread wasn’t impressive (cold, hard and bland, with butter, not olive oil), so I lowered my expectation for the Lobster spaghetti i ordered. When it was delivered to my table, i was vastly impressed. The portion size is obviously a winning factor. Not only was the lobster of a decent size, look all the calamari, clam and mussel they dumped on the plate. The flavor was unbelievable too. I could taste the masala wine, the nice blend of all the seafood flavor soaked in the spaghetti.

Couldn’t get enough of it!

Carmine’s is located in the heart of Times Squares. It’s one of the most popular pre and post theater dining option among tourists and theater goers alike. It’s famous for it’s family-sized portion. Well, it’s probably not your regular family. It’s more like for a family of at least 10.

That night two other girls and me, starved after walking around in a snowy night, decided to scout out this place. No menu is provided and everyday’s specials are written on the balckboards around the walls. It was quite a struggle for us near-sighted girls to read the menu. We ordered three dishes despite the waiter’s warning and pleading, and we assured him that we won’t let too much food go to waste. We ordered some pasta, veal marsala and a big basket of Caesar salad. I suppose we did pretty well, only left half of the pasta.

I’d recommend this restaurant to those who enjoy bargained-supersized-italian family meals. If you’re looking for exquisite Italian cuisine, and could wait around a month for a reservation, go to Babbo and forget about Carmines.

Last night we went to the legendary NY Cafe Wha.

Here’s the intro from their website: Located on the corner of MacDougal and Minetta Streets in Greenwich Village, the original Café Wha? was a “beat/rock” club of the 1960’s at which one could find “soul” food for mind, ear, and body. In addition to a house band that played covers of contemporary popular songs, CafeWha? was famous for both its regular customers - Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman, and Bob Dylan among them, and its musical and comedy performers. Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Kool and the Gang, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and many others all began their careers at the Wha? Even the staff had its notables - Mary Travers was a waitress at the Wha? until she joined up with Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey to form Peter, Paul and Mary. Sounds like a wonderful place to visit on a saturday night right?

My first impression of this place wasn’t all that great, to be honest. I was expecting a big lounge/restaurant setting with brand new decor and hip, uran atmosphere. But it turned out to be a tiny cramped cafe/bar underground. With a small stage in the center that could barely fit a band of 5, black booths, chairs and table arranged too closely to one another, and ultra low ceiling (my suspicion was if I were on the stage which was one foot higher than the ground, I could easily hit the ceiling with my head if I jumped slightly). But then on the other hand, we are talking about a place that has existed since the 60s w/ tons of legendary stars discovered here, what the heck was I thinking when I pictured it to be anything like Hard-rock cafe? The menu, consistent w/ the decor, was nothing fancy , featuring typical bar food such as nachos, buffalo wings and burgers.

While 8 of us sitting at this tiny booth shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, drinking watered down drinks, the show finally started. A host opened, followed by a stand-up comedian. He made me laugh pretty hard but I really didn’t appreciate him using racist jokes and even made fun of blind children and midgets. It was extremely political incorrect but I couldn’t hold my laughter. Others at the table had the same reaction, shaking their heads saying ‘oh my god, that is so wrong’ while laughing out of breath. Then the Cafe Wha? band came up. Their performance was way beyong my expectation. They played everything, from R&B to Raggae to rock. I’d say it’s the best live band i’ve heard, although I haven’t been to that many live band concerts.

During the performance the Korean girls behind us started screaming like they’ve seen a ghost. I turned around and saw two men walking really fast past us. The first man was wearing a cap w/ glasses, walking with his head down like some celebrity walking out of the airport. I didn’t know what was going on or who he was. But a few minutes later, the host announced that they had a special guest tonight, Eugene Park. The Korean girls started screaming again and my korean friends at my table were both surprised and exicted too. They said he’s really famous in Korea, a genius violinist. Eugene Park performed a few songs with the band with an electric violin and it was amazing to see his fingers moving at the speed of light. The host introduced him as the youngest student admitted at Julliard school. After his mesmorizing performance, he grabbed the mic from the host and started, yes, rapping! The surprise really cracked me up, and he was really good too with the moves and everything. No wonder he’s so popular in Korea. He has the perfect combination of a genius musician (an arrogant looking one too, and untailored of course), rap artist and a comedian. I would’ve stayed for the second show, but towards the end of the first one I flelt nauseous all of a sudden and had to leave right away.
I’m not sure if it’s the food or hang over from the previous night (probablyboth). Other than being physically sick, I really liked this experience. The total came up to be $32 per person, and I’d say i enjoyed much more than teatro Zaninni which cost more than $100.

Tonight we explored Meatpacking district. It’s a relatively newly developed area packed with trendy restaurants and bars. Not too long ago it was full of meat packing warehouse hence the name ‘meatpacking’. We went to my first japanese restaurant in NYC, Ono. A little excerpt from citysearch:
Ono
Trendy Japanese is what’s for dinner at Jeffrey Chodorow’s sceney Meatpacking District debut.
The SceneSilk shades hang from vaulted ceilings, spilling warm, flattering light over the already dashing diners. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the bamboo-filled outdoor gardens.

The FoodThe menu is huge, listing traditional Japanese fare (tempura, dumplings), inventive sushi rolls and pieces, and robata (grilled meats and veggies), as well as full entrees. The best bet: Order as you go and share everything, starting with the Kobe-style beef, dramatically presented on a tabletop grill. For the carb-phobic, there’s the rice-less spicy crab roll stuffed with tobiko and avocado, and robata: grilled skewers of lobster, asparagus, clams and much more.

I was certainly impressed with foie gras with sweet-salty shiso and plum. It’s unusual to see foie gras in a japanese restaurant. The combination of melt-in-your mouth warm savory foie gras and the cold sweet plum is rich but not greasy, sweet but not overpowering, utterly out of this world.

Afterwards we went to Level V for lounging. It’s much nicer than the hippiest bar/club in Seattle, Bada Lounge. The whole lounge was dimly lit with subtle neon red light. Wooden floor and brick wall give it an industrial touch. I had the best apple martini there. The catch is that the ‘apple’ part is no regular apple pucker. It was chilled ‘apple foam’. I have no idea what exactly that was but the texture was a cross between slush and foam.

Level V

After getting our drinks, my coworker and I were walking around (somewhat intimidated by the nicely dressed crowd). Luckily we were immediately invited to join a small party (free booze!) and got to meet our first banker/lawyer NY friends. At this point, meatpacking is definitely my favorite part of the city.

Today I met up w/ a friend whom I met from the Caribbean cruise last Sep. He took me to 3 bars near Union Square. I was so impressed! Too bad I didn’t have my camera w/ me.

The first was Coffee Shop, a combination of a bar/restaurant/lounge/dance club.

The food was alright but the waitresses were definitely hot. It turned out that they’re famous for hiring models.

I’ve had my first blood orange martini in the 2nd bar “Union Square Bar”. I told the cute bartender (a girl, unfortunately) I like it ‘a little bit on the strong side’, and she went, ‘i’m glad you told me that!’. After she mixed up the martini, she poured another (at least one and half) ounces of vodka into my glass!!! See, this is what i’m talking about–strong drinks made from a female bartender to a female patron! It was awesome. Not too sweet like minute maid for girl scouts and perfectly strong and flavorful for me!

Afterwards my friend took me to the Under Bar in W hotel near union square. It was lit w/ dim red lights. It reminded me of the club in Belagio in Vegas. Most patrons were consisted of local white-collars, men in nice suits and women in jeans and nice tops. I wasn’t used to seeing the suits in the lounge. In seattle when men are dressed up, we’re talking about nice jeans and tighter T-shirts that SUBTLY reveal tiny little bit of muscle that they work out once a week for.

I had an Apple Martini at the Under Bar and it was as nice as the one I had at Red Square in Vegas a few years ago. A thin slice of apple on top of high quality apple martini.

This is what I wanted to experience in NYC on a weekday night. Nothing fancy, but everything perfectly trendy. Looking forward to weekend nights.

Last November (Y2004) while in Portland on a short-term assignment, I made up my mind to leave Seattle for good and to experience ‘big city life’ in either SF or NYC. I thought NYC was too intimidating and chose SF instead. After several job interviews and the lengthy internal firm transfer process, I announced to Seattle office that I was leaving.

All this time, I was debating between NY and SF, and I remember telling my family and friends that ‘only if I could get a temp assignment to NYC to try it out. And yeah, like it will happen.’

Must be destiny, an hour after I made the announcement to the entire firm about my transferring, I got a firm-wide email about this ‘temp assignment to NYC’. It’s gotta be a joke, I remember thinking that. I thought I shouldn’t say anything since I’ve made the announcement about my transfer, and related personnel from both office have put in so much time dealing with my tranfser paperwork. Luckily a coworker came by, and she encouraged me to speak up. She said, ‘who cares! maybe your boss will like this arrangement better since you’re still in her group and she can take all the credit of the extra hours you work in NY!’

I gathered enough guts to tell my HR mgr. And a few days later, here I am, in NYC! Heart of Manhattan for 3 months, everything paid for!!!! I totally postponed my SF idea. It turned out my coworker was right. My boss was more than happy to hear that since I’m still under her ‘headcount’ when i’m sent to NY from Seattle, instead of being given to the SF partners.

The morale of the long, boring story? ALWAYS EXPRESS WHAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR MIND! YOU NEVER KNOW IF IT MIGHT TURN OUT BETTER.