Antidote for Our Weary Holiday Travelers

Does the mere idea of another stale and tasteless crossiant from a non descript airport kiosk leave you in a blue funk?

Are you debilitated thinking of another room temperature martini served at an overcrowded, sweaty sportsbar in Terminal B?

To the rescue comes Priority Pass, "The World's Largest Independent VIP Airport Lounge Program." With access to over 500 airport VIP lounges in 90 countries and over 275 cities-you can treat yourself like a VIP-or at the very least a fair minded and well adjusted traveler-no matter where you travel, or which airline and class you fly.

With "Standard Memebership" starting at only $27 usd there's no reason to publically debase yourself by eating an oversized muffin out of a celephane wrapper ever again. Traveling is already tough enough.

www.prioritypassusa.com

The Solution To Any Hostess Gift You'll Ever Need

William-Wayne & Co.

850 Lexington Avenue & 64th Street

NYC 10021

www.william-wayne.com

I've been on the hunt for the perfect silver tray to complete the new bar banquette in my dining room. To the rescue comes William-Wayne & Co!  Offering "distinctive items for your home, garden and cottage" we have realized it is not only the ideal site for accoutrement to feather your own nest but it out-and-out delivers the dead on perfect hostest gifts for any and all occasions.

Buzz in to your best pal's ski in/out in Vail or Aspen this season with the William-Wayne & Co.  "Zebra Plates and Bowls" and you can bet on receiveing the coveted invite again next year.

Rumor has it...

that the Hotel Christopher Saint Barthelemy is offering rooms for 99 euros.  It's not to late to trade Christmas goose for grilled fish, sharing a room at Gram's with her rabid Border Collie for an elegantly appointed teak framed bed with ocean views.

Hotel Christopher St Barth

Pointe Milou-97133 Saint-Barthelemy

tel: 0 590 27 63 63

www.hotelchristopher.com

Recette pour un rare plaisir :

Prenez une petite île volcanique bordée de plages, qui a sué sang et eau sous le soleil tropical pendant des millions d'années Ajoutez-y un zeste d'aventuriers marins d'origine française à la poursuite d'une vie nouvelle, pleine de promesses Laissez mijoter le tout pendant quatre cents ans. Montez la pression et ajouter des villas luxueuses, des petits hôtels raffinés et des restaurants français de classe internationale. Arrosez cette préparation d'un mélange de détente, de loisirs élégants et de charme rustique. Servez

"I have the simplest of tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." 

- Oscar Wilde 

Warmest holiday tidings from Dress for Lunch and best wishes for a gratifying and illustrious 2009! 

Forty Carrots

Bloomingdale's

1000 3rd Avenue (between 59th & 60th)

New York, New York 10022 

A darling frozen yogurt bar meets deli on the 7th floor of Bloomingdale's.  It's the perfect spot to gird your loins for a long afternoon of holiday shopping on all 7 floors below. Outstanding flavors. A bevy of toppings! All served up in a modishly Jetson-esque space.  Don't miss the coffee flavor. Even friends who don't like coffee swear by it.

Spoons up!

A Night Cap...Always!

The classic way to end an evening. This aperitif has often been overlooked  or misunderstood. Hailing from Portugal's Douro Valley, port is one of the great wines that hasn't changed in more than 100 years. In spite of it, or because of it, vintage port is one of the world's greatest wines and the sublime way to end the night.    Some verbal technicalities:

Baixo-Corgo (BY-shoe-Korgo)

Barcos rabelos (BAR-kos-ha-BEL-os)

Cima-Corgo (SEEMA-korgo)

Colheita (col-YATE-a)

Engarrafadores (engarra-fa-DOR-ez)

Lagar (la-GAR)

Porto (PORT-o)

Qunita (KEEN-ta)

Tinto (TEEN-toe)

Touriga Nacional (too-REE-gah na-SHUN-al)

Tinta Roriz (teen-ta HOR-eez)

Vinha (VEEN-yah)

CHEERS!

Vodka Martini, Dry

Let's hope that you find yourself only at the up-market holiday sprees where the most pressing and burdensome question of the evening is "do you like it dirty?"

Forget James Bond..."shaken or stirred" is way too pedestrian these days.  The archetypical martini that will never let you down. Go! Order it!

4 to 1 Dry Martini:

4 parts vodka

1 part dry vermouth

Vital Components:

DRY: means light (1 part vermouth to 4 parts vodka) on the vermouth

DIRTY: means you go home with the bartender...and like olive juice in your martini

UP: no ice

Order this way: "Grey  Goose Martini, Up, Dry" and toast to your the skylarking that surely awaits you!

Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo!

Vital Holiday Chalk Talk

These bubbly delights hailing from the region of Champagne, France are cardinal to any celebration and the meat-and-potatoes requisite for any holiday frolic! Below find the fundamental parlance.

KRUG:

pronunciation: KROOG

Properly billed as "dramatically exploding with jubilant freshness" Krug is a declaration of your vow to holiday flights of fancy.

Tattinger:

pronunciation: TAT-EN-GER

Dare to sip the epitome of French good looks and exquisiteness in a glass.

Pol Roger:

pronunciation: POLL ROW-JHEY

with flavor so refined it reflects a whole lifestyle. If it was good enough for Winston Churchill you'll surely appreciate the refinement too.

Veuve Cliquot:

pronunciation: VUV-CLEE-KO

when your tastebuds call out for the steadfast order this time-honored ambassador to Epernay.

Lonely Hearts Club-New York

It seems downright implausible and simply impossible that one could find themselves without a dinner companion in "the most populous city" in the United States. Then again it seems more than comprehensible that after a day of fighting crowds of over 20 million or just the boys in the boardroom that you're looking for the quiet respite of a burger and hearty glass of red enjoyed in the company of no one but yourself.  It's simply uncontestable...sometimes there's nothing better.  Heretofore, our favorite haunts in Manhattan where you can avoid those pesky first date night jitters when you out out with the best date of all...yourself!

The Library:

@ The Loews Regency Hotel: 540 Park Avenue (@60th Street)

http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/New-York-City-Hotel/Overview.aspxThe Loews 

With shelves of books, racks of newspapers, cozy banquettes and a great menu that's easy to snuggle into you might consider drinking and dining alone more often.

Bar Mark:

@ The Mark by Jacques Grange: 25 East 77th Street (@ Madison Avenue)

www.themarkhotel.com

Reopened after an extensive remodel in Fall 2008 and now billing itself as "the chicest meeting spot on the Upper East Side" thankfully has not lost it's old time appeal. With complementary M&Ms at the bar it's a comforting respite to fortify before heading down the block to update your resort wardrobe at Oscar de la Renta!

A Tale of Two Toilettes

TOILETTES du New York: consisting of a bowl with a hinged seat and connected to a waste pipe and flushing apparatus; a privy. 

The definition truly doesn't do this little lifesaver justice.  After a hearty holiday brunch and some aggressive shopping we've found you are always-always are looking for proper "powder room".  Here are some of our favorite handy and luxe bathrooms in "The City".

The Peninsula: 700 5th Avenue www.thepeninsula.com
Walk in the front door, up the right hand side central staircase. Trot confidently past the reception desk on your right, make your first left, through a small parlour and the "men's" and "ladies" will be on your right.
The Carlyle: 35 East 56th Street www.thecarlyle.com
One of the finest Upper East Side luxury hotels also hides one of the finest luxury bathrooms in town.  Enter on the Madison Avenue side, take an immediate left into Bemelmans bar, walk through the bar, down a few stairs to The Gallery and look for a few stairs to your left. The restrooms are up the stairs to your left. To thank them for the hospitality on your way out stop in at Bemelmans Bar for what is arguably Manhattan's best Grey Goose Martini up with a twist. 
Bloomingdales SoHo: 504 Broadway www.bloomingdales.com
Down the stairs on the left to the men's floor. There are women's restrooms on the floor too and they are practically empty. If whilst you wash your hands you realize you are also looking a little washed up yourself pick up a new lip gloss with holiday flair in the delightfully manageable boutique cosmetics section on the first floor as you walk out.
The Mandarin Oriential:  80 Columbus Circle www.themandarinoriental.com/newyork (CAUTION: for confident toilette crashers ONLY) This toilette is up on the 35 floor but not only will you enjoy a perfectly appointed powder room but the view is worth the trip...from the 35th floor lobby...not the powder room. OK so here's what you'll need to do. Stride confidently through the Columbus Circle entrance past the security guard. He won't ask to see your key. If he does tell him you're headed up for a drink at the Lobby Lounge.  Take the elevators on the left to the 35th floor.  As you exits the elevators make an immediate right and the toilettes will be down a small hallway on your left.

Now you are free to trot around town whilst throwing caution to the wind. Whether you're midtown, downtown or updown a lovely toilette is surely only a few blocks away.

Christmas in New York

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?

They've got it.

Jack Frost nipping at your nose?

Oh most definitely.

Yule Tide Carols being piped down Madison and 76th?

That too.

And folks dressed up like eskimos in their furs recently burnished from storage?

Only in New York.

As Tom Wolfe has said of New York City "Culture just seems to be in the air, like part of the weather." and certainly this could not be more true than at Christmastime.  Just back from a weekend romp amidst a wintry mix in Manhattan I'm convinced now more than ever the holidays aren't complete without a trip.

Heretofore, some thoughts on building a delightfully perfect weekend holiday jaunt to Manhattan.

BRUNCH: when in New York "brunch" is a verb: Critical and essential to any satisfying weekend. 

Sant Ambroeus: 1000 Madison Avenue, btw 77th and 78th www.santambroeus.com

a "celebrated pasticceria and confetteria" that opened its doors in Milan in 1936 and quickly became "a meeting place for the local intelligentsia".  No other way to say it, they serve the best scrambled eggs in the world. And be sure to ask for extra bread so you can soak up as much of their signature olive oil as possible. 

Isabella's: 359 Columbus Avenue, @ 77th  www.bruguestrestaurants.com

celebrating 20 years on the Upper West Side with it's delightfully flawless delightful holiday decor and perfectly convenient location near Central Park, The Natural History Museum and The Met.

Felix Restaurant & Bar: 340 W. Broadway www.felixnyc.com

an idyllic French brasserie located in downtown SoHo. Great coffee. Even better Bloody Mary's and it would be criminal to not order the frites. In fact they come with almost every dish.  Quel fantastique!