Travel And Dining In NYC, Restaurant Week

This is part two of an article on NYC dining. Kindly written for Oonique by Reed @ Reed's Tickets.

The first part can be found here: Dining in New York.

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Combine Travel And Dining In NYC With Restaurant Week!

If you're looking to combine travel with good dining in NYC, then Restaurant Week is the perfect event for you. It's held twice a year, once during late January, and then again during June. The event takes place right across the city, with participating restaurants offering a three course lunch for $24.07 and in some cases, dinner as well for $35. The idea behind this event is to allow people to taste foods from restaurants which they normally would not have a chance to visit.

This event allows them to sample food at a reasonable price, whether it’s expensive or exotic fare!


Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar, NYC

How To Make The Most Of It

Naturally there are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure that you can get the most out of Restaurant Week. Many people do end up having a rough time because they either seem to choose the wrong restaurants or they are bombarded with disgruntled waiters. It's true that during Restaurant Week, the waiters do see to be a little on edge--this could be because there are lots more patrons to deal with but not nearly enough tips! In any case, it's important to prepare ahead of time before you start hitting the restaurant circuit.

First of all, and perhaps most importantly, you need to reserve early. Since many of the top restaurants in New York take part in this event, you can be sure that people will be clamoring for a table. It's best to get on the phone as quickly as possible and book your table well in advance. In general, it's often much easier to get a reservation for Mondays-Wednesdays than other days of the week.

All That Glitters Isn't Gold

Many people make the mistake of assuming that all participating restaurants in Restaurant Week offer fabulous fare--unfortunately this isn't true. While some restaurants really shine and offer wonderful food, others don't seem to have much apart from bad food and bad service. Rather than blindly choose a restaurant, it makes more sense to check out some of the restaurant reviews first. You'll also be able to get a better idea of what dishes are available, as some restaurants might not offer their signature dishes for this event. You can also check out the restaurant's website to find out what they plan to offer on the menu. Be clear about the prices as well--oftentimes, things like beverages can be extra.


A front waiter | Photo from SFGate

While you might meet some annoyed waiters on your Restaurant Week, do make it a point to generously tip the ones who serve you well. Remember that this event often means extra work for them but at the same salary. Apart from that, many of them feel that Restaurant Weekers are just out for a cheap meal and they don't tip. Generously tipping those waiters who give you good service is a great way to break this misconception.

And if you've liked a restaurant, don't forget to tell other people about it! Word of mouth is one of the best ways to learn about what restaurants are great, and which ones can be missed during NYC's Restaurant Week.

The author of this article writes about New York entertainment and Getting NYC Concert Tickets advice online.

Dining in New York

Yes, I've still a backlog of e-mails to get to--being a writer is a crazy endeavor. I have a short story to see to first, and then I'm on to writing book03. I'll update my sites when I can.

For now, here's something a little different: an article on NYC dining. Kindly written for Oonique by Reed @ Reed's Tickets!

PS: Part 2 of this article can be found here: NYC, Restaurant Week.

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Know Where To Eat In NYC!

Let's face it - you could be a lifetime native of NYC and still get confused when it comes to finding a good restaurant. Why? Because new places literally pop up every day here - apart from that, some truly legendary eateries have quietly established themselves in the city but you don't know where to look! The good news is that no matter what your taste or budget is, you'll find the perfect place to eat somewhere in the Big Apple.

1) Budget Meals

When you think about dining on a $10 budget, you're probably not thinking about very fine dining. You're probably not even expecting a very tasty meal - but that's just where NYC proves you wrong. There are a number of places out there where you can have a great meal for as less as ten bucks. A lot of them are hard to find though - for example, there is a burger place next to the Le Parker Meridien but you'll probably have to ask the hotel concierge for directions to get there! But it's a place worth knowing about, as you can get a tasty cheeseburger, fries and a soda for just ten dollars.


Great NY Noodle Town | Photo by Yun Cee Ng

If you're in the mood for Chinese food, even in the middle of the night, then you can head over to the Great NY Noodle Town. Here you can order roast pork and noodles in soup, vegetables in oyster sauce and roast duck on rice for just $9.50.

If you'd like Middle Eastern cuisine, Mamoun's offers both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in a cozy atmosphere. A falafel sandwich, some Turkish coffee and tabouleh will cost you about eight bucks. You can even get a budget piece of history by dining at Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop, which has been around since 1929 - here you can get matzo ball soup, an egg cream and a chopped liver sandwich for just under nine dollars.

2) International Breakfasts

In any other city, your dining options for breakfast would be pretty limited. But not in NYC - you can literally taste any number of breakfast dishes from anywhere in the world.

Feel like having some Dim Sum in the morning? There are a number of places all over the city that specialize in this uniquely Asian style of brunch. Of course when it comes to breakfast in New York, everyone thinks of bagels. Whether you like them toasted, chewy or doughy, you'll find the perfect bagel for you.

But what if you've got a craving for a truly American breakfast? We're talking classic dishes like steak and eggs or buttermilk pancakes - if you want something extra special then head over to Norma's for a really rich breakfast treat.


Breakfast for Lunch? Always @ Norma's

Of course these dining options are just the tip of the iceberg. NYC offers something for everyone in terms of good dining.

For example, opera buffets offer people some great dining and a chance to listen to professional opera singers at the same time. From the most expensive restaurants in the world to places that serve you food for as less as ten bucks, you can find it all at NYC!

The author of this article writes many helpful pages on New York City entertainment, such as How To Get Concert Tickets.

Elegant Gift Baskets

White Jasmine Spa Gift Basket

Chesapeake Bay has some truly unique gift baskets. The artful presentation is sure to please and impress even the most discerning of gourmets.

The White Jasmine gift basket above comes in a chic black and white polka dot motif hat box. It certainly combines well with the specific range of items -- and adds a modern twist as compared to the traditional woven baskets that gift sets are usually presented in.

As there is some chocolate included in this gift set, expedited shipping for gifts with chocolate is recommended if you are purchasing during summertime. This gift is shipped with ice packs and insulation and must be delivered in 1-2 days, to avoid damage during warm weather months (June through August).


Lavender Serenity Spa Gift Basket

The spa gift baskets are an indulgent range of pampering products, perfect for de-stressing and/or unwinding after a busy day. The Lavender Serenity gift set even includes floral stationary, as well as a book entitled "The Promise of Wisdom". The book contains 350 pages of inspirational stories. The butterfly adorned gift hamper adds a quaint touch to this set.

Other spa sets include The Weary Golfer (Men's Spa Set), and the Yoga and Green Tea Essentials, amongst others.


Grilling Gourmand Gift Basket!

For true gourmet lovers, the gourmet gift baskets are a dream come true. The plentiful and savory items, attractively packaged, pack all the more punch in both style and substance.

Corporate Gift Baskets

As you probably already know, "first impressions count". This certainly extends to gifts baskets. A fine quality gift basket makes for a brilliant presentation, whether the event is a wedding, arrival of a new baby, or business-related.


The Elegant Gift Basket -- suitable for a variety of special occasions

At The Gift Basket Pros, there is a wide selection of gourmet corporate gift baskets, cookie bouquets, gift boxes, and more to choose from (Wine or Spa & Pamper gifts, anyone?).

The selection is impressive, along with the list of Forbes Fortune 500 companies that trust TGBP for their business gift giving services (American Express, AT&T, Harley Davidson, etc).

With the corporate holiday gift baskets, you can let your imagination and taste buds run wild!

Know someone that loves cookies and chocolate? Think of how it'd be like for them, to receive a Mrs. Fields Cookie Gift, or Golden Godiva Gift Basket. I’m sure the decadence would make them feel on top of the world (they’re very likely to remember/appreciate you, not to mention your good taste too).


Deluxe Corporate Gift Basket -- yummy

These are just some of the contents in the Deluxe Corporate Gift Basket:

# Tangy Apple Salsa
# Harry London Chocolate Covered Pretzels
# Ginger Spice Biscotti
# Chocolate Fudge Shortbread Cookies
# Sonoma Jack Cheese
# Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
# Butter Toffee Pistachios
# Ghirardelli Chocolate Bars
# Kasilof Smoked Salmon
# Nunes Mocha Almonds
# Staufers Caviar

*I’m totally salivating...*

Certain products have free ground shipping -- look out for the red diagonal banner on selected items.

PS: For those interested, Cornell University has a page on corporate gift giving research. Companies connect with universities because they view it as a very important resource, and invest in it to ensure its future is secure. Included in corporate gifts for research institutions: real estate, travel grants for students, and gifts of intellectual property.

Love-ly Cookies

Jungle Love Colossal Cookie

Wow, that's really a huge, tempting, sweet-looking cookie. The cookie weighs more than one pound (450 grams), and is hand decorated. Nice way to bring out one's wild side ;)

The giant cookie costs $34.95, and costs $48.95 if you include 12 additional mixed cookies.



Love Notes

Yes, these love note cookie cards are edible. They cost $14.95. Each fresh baked sugar cookie is covered in white chocolate, with a card design and border of candy hearts and sprinkles.

What's nice about this one is that there is an Edible Food Writer included to personalize your own special cookie card message. The gift box is tied with coordinating sheer chiffon ribbon. An optional, personalized (non-edible) gift card is included with the purchase.

Order early -- shipping prices start at $9.99, for 0-3 lbs gift items. You can check the shipping rates on each individual gift page before checkout as well.

Coincidentally, Presentville Gifts was established on Valentine’s Day 2005. Shipping is currently available in the USA only.

I'll look out for stores which have international shipping in the next few posts.

Unique Japanese Gift

A nice way to discover the exotic world of Japanese cuisine (sake in this particular case), is with this seven-piece sake set. The bottle measures about 7 inches (17.7cm) tall, and the cups are 2.25 inches (5.7cm) tall. The set is handcrafted in Japan.

AsianArtMall.com deals exclusively in Asian Arts and Crafts. Most of the products are directly acquired from the artists or production houses. This allows AsianArtMall to offer their items at affordable prices, without compromising on quality control. Some of the products are even custom made for the company, and only available on their website.

They have a special "For Her" section too, which features jewellery imported from Thailand, Bali, Japan, and China. Each piece is hand selected for its uniqueness.

AsianArtMall has full-time buyers which are located throughout Asia. If there's a product somewhere out there, they'll be able to find it.

PS: Sake Bar Hakkaisan is a place where you can read more about the art of drinking/appreciating SAKE.

Wilson Manor Crafts

Coffee Grinder

I was actually checking out the fountain pens of Wilson Manor Crafts, but I thought this was interesting too (by the way, the fountain pens are a favourite among collectors. There's also a complete line of fine handcrafted wood pens).

Buying whole beans is a great way to make fresh coffee every morning. Hand-grinding it makes it much more special. This functional coffee grinder will allow you to do just that.

The coffee grinder is made of cast iron and Hickory. The bottom drawer opens up to let you scoop out the ground coffee inside. The bottom of the grinder is lined with cork to provide a non-slippy base that will not damage table and/or countertops.



And if you know someone who likes to play darts (I was very into it at one time!), they're sold at Wilson Manor Crafts as well. These are soft-tipped Cocobolo darts for electronic dart boards. Weighing 20 grams each, the tips and flights are standard threaded, and come with three replacement tips. Supplies are limited. The darts come in a set of 3.

PS: Cocobolo is a prized wood highly favored for fine inlay work, and musical instruments like guitars and basses.

Shakespeare's Den

Smart Gifts for Intelligent People

I absolutely love this huge website (their storefront header is spiffy too!).

Shakespeare's Den can easily boast about having the largest collection of Shakespeare related gifts and merchandise, available on the internet.

Classics and hot favourites include The Shakespeare’s Quips, Cusses, and Curses Quiz Deck, and in fact, there's an entire section of products devoted to Shakepeare's Insults.

Here are some of the insults featured on the Shakespeare's Insults T-shirt:

* You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian!
* False of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand
* Idol of idiot-worshippers
* I do desire we may be better strangers

The food products (like mints and teas) come in very attractive, charming packaging that any Shakespeare fan would appreciate.

You can even search for gifts based on the plays - Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, and so on.

Gifts like the hilarious "To Pee, or Not To Pee" baby bodysuit is a simplified version of the epic quotation, suitably so for the much younger crowds.

Chocolate Pizzas

What caught my eye straight away: Chocolate Pizzas!



Roberta's Chocolates are handmade by Colorado's premier chocolatier. In addition to delightful chocolates, Roberta's Chocolates also carry a wide variety of unique confections including scrumptious candies, smooth creams, covered nuts and luscious truffles.

There's also a sweetheart fun-fondue set, which can be found on the MadeInColarado website. The set includes recipes for Chocolate Fondue, Salsa Cheese Dip and Hot Artichoke Dip.

And of course, you can satisfy your sweet tooth over at the gourmet food section. Some items: critter candy, snow snacks, chocolate wine sauce. Don't forget the Colorado Premium Habañero Hot Sauce too!

Cape Cod Potato Chips

Cape Cod potato chips stand out as old-fashioned, premium kettle cooked potato chips with a crunchiness and hearty potato flavor.

The nice thing is that this brand of chips isn't saturated with additives. Some brands of potato chips have loads of salt and dreadful MSG (monosodium glutamate, a food additive which can trigger headaches and other symptoms in some people. Myself included!). Cape Cod chips aren't soaked in oil either.

At first, I used to think that some of these "premium" brands were only marketing themselves as premium, so that each product item could fetch a higher price from us hapless consumers.

However, after a few years' worth of being slightly more aware of the food I'm actually eating, I think sometimes the higher price IS precisely because the product is of a higher quality than some other mass-produced brands. You spend less to buy stuff like that, but time-honoured traditions and care that goes into making a product (whatever it is), are compromised with mass production.

Whenever I want a good packet of chips - not just to munch on while zoning out watching TV - I'll find myself cruising the potato chip snack shelves of grocery stores, then stalling as I consider which new type of chips of Cape Cod's I'd try, heh.

I liked the Sea Salt & Vinegar packet (some might find the bite of vinegar a tad sharp. I find Sea Salt great on food though). The Cheddar Jack & Sour Cream tastes zingy. And of course, their good old Classic chips can be counted on.

Towering Gift

Why not give this elegant chocolate tower for Christmas? It's beautiful to look at and it's filled with goodies - goodies like chocolates, pretzels, popcorn, brownies...

Those with a sweet tooth will find themselves spoiled for choice at Presentville. Some of their mouth-watering confectionery creations include chocolate-covered Oreos, giant fortune cookies, and chocolate pretzels (ooh!).

The Pop Art gift tower is another eye-catching set, which is packed full with solid milk chocolates, a decorated star cookie, gourmet caramel popcorn, crunchie nut mix and brightly wrapped fruit flavoured hard candy.

Their novelty items include cookie bouquets, and I think I'd have a hard time finding someone who didn't enjoy them. There's even Happy Studying and Keep Smiling bouquets for school-goers. Even the most studious of us could do with sugary pick-me-up goodliness from time to time.

I also liked the Happy Anniversary cookie basket - truly a great way to treat your special someone that you care for. There's a large butter crème frosted cookie that's iced with your personal message too.

Presentville's corporate and business sets are fine ways to show a customer how much you appreciate them. Some of their luxurious wine gift baskets are hand delivered. Many of them include crackers, cheese, candies, nuts, seafood, confections, teas, or coffees. Salivating yet?

Jam & Jelly

http://www.chathamjamandjellyshop.com/

At this shop all jams are hand made. They even hand pick all the local fruit to make sure their products are of the highest quality. A perfect gift for jam and jelly lovers.

And if you happen to be in their neighbourhood (Cape Cod, MA), you can even drop in to sample the jams and jellies - at least 75 different varieties are available for tasting at any one time.

Mmmm......Chocolate!

Sooner or later I knew I'd get to chocolate....delicious, mouth watering, chocolate! Yummy. And that includes fudge, truffle, candy.........made fresh in a candy kitchen. Order yours at
http://www.villagepeddlervt.com/

Haunting Halloween

Still not too late to grab these goodies for Halloween.

And don't forget those tote bags for the kids to go trick or treating!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Available at http://www.cookiepots.com/Halloween_treats.htm