Terry Trucco

Up in the Air: Having a Drink at the Tallest Hotel Bar in New York

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No sooner do we get a new hotel that sets a height record for New York (and North America), than up pops Bar 54 at the new Hyatt Times Square New York, the tallest hotel bar in town. Is it a coincidence that our new mayor is New York’s tallest ever?

Even in a height-obsessed city a bar on the 54th floor qualifies as up there. Bar 54 crowns this new glass-box hotel like a fedora, its floor-to-ceiling windows bordered by expansive open-air terraces that should be breathtaking if the weather ever warms up. For now the bar, which opened last week, is strictly an indoor affair. Read more

Terry Trucco

Feed Me: New York Restaurant Week Returns for a Three-Week Winter Run

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Just when it seems winter can’t get any testier – ice, snow, more snow – Restaurant Week 2014 breezes into town February 17 through March 7 with its offer of agreeably priced prix fixe lunches and dinners. Can spring be far away?

Well, yes. But in the meantime you can feast on $25 lunches and $38 dinners, three-courses each. And that’s sweet. Read more

Terry Trucco

A Chic New Hamburger with a French Accent — Direct From New York By Way of Bordeaux

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If Louis Lassen, the Connecticut sandwich shop owner often credited with inventing the hamburger, had been French, the world’s most iconic sandwich might look something like a clever new creation making its debut this week at Gaby, the French brasserie at the Sofitel New York.

Meet the Franburger, a slender ground-beef patty nestled in a crisp sour dough baguette and topped with melted Brie, lettuce and sliced tomato. Lest there be any doubt about the sandwich’s allegiances, it’s served with French fries. Read more

Terry Trucco

What Are New York City’s Best Hotel Restaurants?

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This month Michelin and Zagat had their say. Which hotel restaurants did these reviewing heavyweights smile upon?

The Modus Operandi differ sharply between the two guides. That said, you’ll see many of the same names in both. Read more

Terry Trucco

Flatbreads, Burgers and Brooklyn Beef Jerky – A New “Dining Concept” for The New York Hilton

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Last summer, Herb n’ Kitchen, the new restaurant at the New York Hilton-Midtown, was briefly the talk of the town, never mind that it hadn’t opened yet. In case you missed the fuss, Hilton announced it was closing its woefully outdated all-purpose restaurant and launching a new “dining concept” in the vast space at the back of the lobby. Read more

Terry Trucco

Is That Beer In A Champagne Saucer? The Pierre Mixes Up Seven Chic Brew-Based Cocktails

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In John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, the character Doc becomes obsessed with a fanciful drink he’s never tasted and has, in fact, never seen – the beer milkshake. “He wondered what a beer milkshake would taste like,” Steinbeck writes. “The idea gagged him a bit, but he couldn’t let it alone. It cropped up every time he had a glass of beer.”

Beer isn’t Cointreau; it’s a self-contained, stand-alone drink. But like prosecco, bourbon and other staunch stand-alones, it can play nice with the right accompaniment. The new Beer Cocktail menu at The Pierre’s silky Two-E Bar shows just how nice. Read more

Terry Trucco

When the Roof’s a Farm: Five New York Hotels that Grow Their Own Food

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Hard as it may be to picture – especially if you’re gazing at the Empire State Building – Manhattan was once blanketed by farmland. John Rowland, the 19th-century surveyor who mapped Manhattan’s street grid, knew all about it. In his spare time he fashioned nearly 100 maps of the island’s farms.

But enough history. Manhattan farming is back, albeit on a very small scale (think planter boxes). Still, finding a Manhattan hotel that grows its own food – or at least some of it – is a lot easier than it was as recently as a year or two ago. Read more

Terry Trucco

Stumptown or Starbucks? No Problem – They’re Next Door at the Park Central Hotel

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Coffee unleashes strong passions. For everyone who swears by Starbucks there’s someone who would rather choke than order up a Grande anything.

Bean lovers probably feel just as strong-minded about Portlandia’s Stumptown brew, which if nothing else, is a lot more exclusive. (Translation: it’s harder to find.) Read more

Terry Trucco

Up Close and Personal with the Empire State Building at the Refinery Hotel Roof Bar

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When a tower is as tall as the Empire State Building, you can see it from a lot of vantage points. Still, the view from roof bar at the new Refinery Hotel is special.

The hotel stands just four blocks north of the once-tallest-building-in-the-world. From the roof it appears so close you feel you could almost leap over in a King Kong moment. Read more

Terry Trucco

A Taste of France from the Ritz Paris — And Yes, You Can Try This At Home

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It’s the weekend of liberty, equality and fraternity as Bastille Day — July 14 — rolls around  this Sunday for the 224th time. Paris not in your travel plans? The Serendipity, created by Colin Peter Field for the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Paris, bills itself as France in a Glass.  The Ritz is closed for renovations this year, but you can try this one at home. Read more