Posts Tagged ‘manhattan bridge’

Your Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for Fans of New York City

Tours and Books

Steinway Factory experience - Courtesy New York Adventure Club

Here’s a way to share your love of New York with tours you can take from your living room. Do you have a love of the piano? Sign up for the Steinway Factory experience. Are you curious about how the subways came to be? Become a savvy straphanger learning about the city’s transit history. Did you know about New York City’s various evolutions as the Center of Jazz in the US? The diverse virtual tours from the New York Adventure Club explore the special nooks and crannies of NYC. An egift card is your ticket to adventure. This might just be the start of a brand- new love affair.

Courtesy John Donohue's All the Restaurants in New York

Brooklyn-based artist John Donohue has created the perfect gift for a foodie, particularly one who’s pining for the pre-pandemic NYC dining experience. Donohue’s signed, limited-edition prints of many of New York’s favorite restaurants are a creative tribute to the city’s dining establishments. They’re also a feel-good gift: you’ll be supporting the city’s badly hurt restaurant industry with your purchase. Fifty percent of print-sale profits go to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.  If you’re as obsessed with these illustrations as I am, John’s book, All the Restaurants in New York, will look fabulous on your coffee table, too.

Courtesy Betsy Polivy

Walking Manhattan Sideways by Betsy Polivy is a compilation of the author’s years of chronicling the small businesses on Manhattan’s side streets. The beautifully photographed book will warm your heart as you read about the entrepreneurs who make up the city’s independent and enduring character. The book is a love letter to the melting pot that is New York, and a vicarious trip through the Big Apple.

Cakes, Cookies, Chocolates and More

Courtesy Bake Me A Wish! New York

Celebrate your love this Valentine’s Day with a gourmet, heart-shaped cake from Manhattan’s Bake Me A Wish!  New York. Available in two sizes, the larger ten-inch cake can be customized with the name of your special someone or a very personal romantic message.

Courtesy Levain Bakery

In time for Valentine’s Day, Levain Bakery is finally shipping their Two Chip Chocolate Chip cookie, a decadent take on a classic chocolate chip cookie sans nuts and brimming with semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips. You can skip waiting in the bakery line for your fresh treats:  these oversized cookies are baked for immediate shipment and are packed in a whimsical blue gift box. If you sweetie drools over Levain’s original Chocolate Chip Walnut or Oatmeal Raisin flavors, you can order those, too.

Courtesy MarieBelle Chocolates

Indulge your sweet tooth with MarieBelle Chocolates’ artisanal ganache collections. Each ganache is artfully decorated with a Valentine’s Day design that tells a beautiful love story. Special for the holiday, the MarieBelle Valentine Truffle Box is an assortment of European-style truffles in dark chocolate, matcha and Champagne. The packaging, designed by renowned fashion illustrator Izak Zenou, is a Valentine’s Day collectible. Champagne is always better when it’s wrapped in chocolate.

Courtesy Bushwick Farm

Is your honey sweet, salty or spicy? Bushwick Farm has foodie gifts to sass up your holiday menu for any taste preference. Born in a test kitchen in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, Bees Knees honey comes in a delightful gift set as do the company’s Trees Knees maples and Weak Knees srirachas. Go for the ultimate buzz with the Threes Knees Spicy Trio for a signature tasting experience.

Courtesy Coffee Project New York

The coffee, candles and macarons gift box from Long Island City’s Coffee Project New York puts a coffee-centric finishing touch on an at-home romantic meal. Light the coffee-inspired candle, pour a taste of three coffees (or just one if you prefer) and linger over strawberry verbena macarons from Le Petit Paris, a French bakery also in Long Island City. Maybe pour a spot of Cognac for an added kick.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility - Courtesy Open House New York

Tired of roses and Champagne? On February 14, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and Open House New York host a virtual Valentine’s Day tour of the city’s largest sewage plant, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility, where wastewater from storm drains and toilets and sinks of more than one million New Yorkers is cleaned each day in a complex system, including eight giant stainless steel digester eggs. This tour sells out every year, so you’d better hop online NOW. For 2021 it’s virtual – but, next year, you’ll want to reserve the in-person event as soon as it goes on sale. Seriously.

Renew Your Vows - Courtesy Times Square Alliance

Times Square Alliance invites couples each year to renew their vows on Valentine’s Day on the iconic red stairs in Duffy Square. This year’s event is a bit different. Only a few couples will be able to participate live due to social distancing requirements, but you can show your love online by registering for a virtual space. It’s still the ultimate NYC way to avow your commitment to each other anew.

DUMBO in Brooklyn - courtesy Dumbo Improvement District

For a professional holiday photo memory, free of charge, head to DUMBO in Brooklyn on Valentine’s Day weekend. No, it’s not to grab the influencer shot you see all over Instagram with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. A Heart Sculpture, designed and fabricated by Bednark Studios, has been installed on the Empire Stores patio, creating a perfect picture frame. Strike a romantic pose in the middle of the lipstick-red art piece for a photo via the Self Portrait Project, courtesy of the Dumbo Improvement District. From 5-9pm on Saturday and Sunday photos will be projected on the Manhattan Bridge at dimensions of 65 by 40 feet. A link to digital photos will be available on the @dumbobrooklyn Instagram account on February 20. To keep you warm, you’ll also receive commemorative Valentine’s Day hand warmers.

Enjoy the Last Weeks of Patio Dining and Drinks in Brooklyn and Manhattan

Now that Hurricane Florence has finally passed and glorious weather is upon us, it’s time to dine outdoors again while the temperatures are still lovely. Here are some wonderful restaurants and bars with patios perfect for people-watching and soaking up the rays in these last few months before fall hits.

Brooklyn

Pig Beach, 480 Union St. Gowanus; www.pigbeachnyc.com

Pig Beach is the critically acclaimed outdoor barbecue restaurant located in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn from Chef Matt Abdoo (Del Posto) and award-winning barbecue teams, Salty Rinse and Ribdiculous Bar-B-Krewe. The all-star team here brings an eclectic barbecue-focused menu to the Gowanus waterfront showcasing barbecue varieties from around the United States. If you’re chilly, there’s also a large indoor space, now open year-round. Come here, first, for a canoe trip on the Gowanus – it’s an experience you’re unlikely to forget.

Gran Electrica, 5 Front St. DUMBO; http://granelectrica.com

Another Brooklyn favorite, Gran Electrica is the Bib Gourmand Mexican restaurant located underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO. Gran Electric offers an authentic and market-driven Mexican menu inspired by traditional Mexican street fare. From hand-pressed heirloom corn tortillas made daily stuffed with lengua, cilantro, onion and radish, to day boat scallops marinated in aguachile, the cooking shows diversity of the many regions of Mexico. The beverage program incorporates Mexican flavors with seasonal ingredients and also features an expansive agave list with more than 50 types of tequila, mezcal, racilla and sotol. The large outdoor area has a breathtaking view of the Brooklyn Bridge. To get here, rent a Citi Bike from Chinatown and bike over the Manhattan Bridge.

Sauvage, 905 Lorimer St, Greenpoint; www.sauvageny.com

Sauvage, meaning wild in French, is a neighborhood restaurant in Greenpoint, founded by the team behind James Beard Award-winning oyster bar and cocktail den Maison Premiere. The decor, cocktails, and wine all add to the restaurant’s distinct dining experience, creating an outdoor “natural” environment with a lush profusion of planted herbs and botanicals filling the restaurant. Facing nearby McCarren Park, the sun-filled restaurant has a lovely outdoor seating

Manhattan

The Smith Restaurant & Bar, Lincoln Square, Upper West Side; https://thesmithrestaurant.com

The Smith offers a wonderful choice for patio dining after an evening at any of the ballet, music and theater venues at Lincoln Center or Jazz at Lincoln Center on Columbus Circle. Under the direction of Executive Chef Brian Ellis, The Smith’s menu features bistro classics and seasonal fare from local farmers and purveyors. The restaurant has a popular craft cocktail program with house-made ingredients featured and an extensive wine selection which includes more than 20 wines by the glass or carafe.

Bowery Road & Library of Distilled Spirits, Union Square;

www.boweryroad.comwww.libraryofdistilledspirits.com

Taking its inspiration as well as ingredients from the nearby Union Square Greenmarket, Bowery Road is an all-day restaurant serving market-driven fare from Chef Ron Rosselli.  Some of the seasonal appetizers include pinto bean hummus with mole spice, seeds and flatbread; roasted carrots with pine nut cream and garlic-honey vinaigrette; marinated beet salad with avocado cream, pomelo, hearts of palm, and almond dukkah. Main courses mix vegetarian with meat-centric choices such as the Union Square Market grain bowl with farro, quinoa, lentils, avocado, broccoli, mushrooms, and sunflower; or Niman pork adobo with mango, radish, onion and corn crepes.

Together with adjacent craft-cocktail destination Library of Distilled Spirits, where more than 1200 different spirits are offered, Bowery Road gives a Manhattan sidewalk-patio dining experience that’s unusual in its spaciousness. Happy hour is popular here as a stop en route to the nearby subway hub, serving up a menu of well-priced cocktails, wines , beer and a shareable bucket and beer filled with fried chicken, two draught beers and snacks.

Vinatería, 2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem; www.vinaterianyc.com

At this beloved Harlem neighborhood restaurant, market-driven and vibrant dishes celebrate the rich culinary traditions of Italy and Spain. Cult favorites like spicy veal meatballs with creamy parmigiano polenta, or fresh rosemary pappardelle with lamb ragu attract a clientele of both locals and visitors. Vinateria’s expansive wine list is chosen from small producers and is full of surprising yet accessible finds, while the artisan cocktail program uses house-made tinctures, seasonal produce and fresh-grown herbs from the restaurant’s own garden. A large outside patio wraps around the restaurant (a corner building), seating 40.

Tavern on the Green, Outdoor Courtyard, Upper West Side; www.tavernonthegreen.com

Tavern on the Green’s outdoor courtyard is the perfect Central Park location for brunch, lunch, and dinner under the soft glow of string lights. Seasonal dishes from Chef Bill Peet include seared yellowfin tuna nicoise salad, miso marinated glazed marrow bone, wild mushroom toast on brioche, and smoked salmon tartine, with trout caviar. The bar at the top of the courtyard offers a separate setting for beer, wine, and cocktails such as white peach sangria, and the refreshing Hot as a Cucumber craft cocktail made with vodka, jalapeño, fennel, and cucumber. Enjoy a wonderful walk in the park to get here – the restaurant is located off Central Park West at West 67th Street or via the interior roadway encircling the park.

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