25 years - A Pictorial Celebration

[Flying mermaid]

It all looks so nice and very different to what we had - I want to go back!

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

I want to know how much weight you put on in this trip

 

[amaroo]

Do these “no tipping” places increase their prices and pass on to the wait staff so that they end up making the same amount? Or do the staff just miss out?

Oh, and the food looks incredible! We can always count on you to give us something to drool over @amaroo !

My understanding - they're paid what they are worth I.E, a fair and reasonable wage due to their experience and service. Which is great, and I do support.

But, in my experience the USA is so geared towards the tipping system, the actual waiter/ person (not the operator that wants to be a GF establishment) turns off. We've experience quite a few GF restaurants, unfortunately all of them have produced terrible service.

I hate tipping, but I've seen the cutting edge of GF ..... and it's not pretty!

 

[amaroo]

That's shocking. I've had bad experiences at 'expensive' restaurants, but to have it happen at that level is really bad.

Yeah, it's not the best .... but it's also how a business handles the situation. I have no complaints on that front - they were, gracious, spontaneous, and very very generous! What more could you ask for!

The food and wine was absolutely sensational!

 

[amaroo]

Which wine matching option did you choose?

Not that one! As mentioned upthread, the restaurant really went above and beyond trying to right the wrongs. The last two drops were worth US$1,630 +++

The wine list is impressive at 198 pages, here it is - https://hub.binwise.com/print/WineList_PDF.aspx?ListId=210&LocationID=120

 

[VPS]

Holy F$%# - that is service recovery over and above. I've just put on 3 kg looking at the photos and my blood alcohol must be about 0,2

Thanks for sharing

 

[Daver6]

Not that one! As mentioned upthread, the restaurant really went above and beyond trying to right the wrongs. The last two drops were worth US$1,630 +++

The wine list is impressive at 198 pages, here it is - https://hub.binwise.com/print/WineList_PDF.aspx?ListId=210&LocationID=120

I gathered But I noticed they have two offerings for wine pairing. So based on the first few you had, I was curious to know which category they fell into.

 

[amaroo]

I gathered But I noticed they have two offerings for wine pairing. So based on the first few you had, I was curious to know which category they fell into.

I forgot what they called it, but it was the good one

 

[amaroo]

Totally agree, a bad experience can happen on a tier 1 airline in F or at 5 star hotels. There is nothing I have read in @amaroo post that will stop me making a booking at EMP. OT we are still trying to work out how to get 2 seats at Jiro, I am hoping that the Conrad Concierge will sort that out.

Indeed, we're very much looking forward to going back.

 

[amaroo]

NYC - Day 3

This is our 7th leisure visit to NYC, one of the benefits of having being here a few times, is the feeling that you don't have to rush around town trying to squeeze everything in.

Given the rather full and eventful night we had at EMP - we walked out the restaurant well after 1am, we had a pretty lazy start to the day. When we got going we walked out of the hotel and turned left on Barclay Street and kept walking all the way up to W86th Street, where we turned right to Central Park. We took our time and didn't take the most direct routing.

It was a beautiful day for a walk! Some of the views along the way...

High Line











Rather artistic lass doing her routine on the High Line .... she did draw a big audience!



Efficient valet parking viewed from the High Line

 

[amaroo]

That Iron Man balcony is going to be an observation deck in one of the buildings in the Hudson Yards development - it's called "Edge" and opens March 2020. Tickets are on sale now... The highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere opens in NYC's Hudson Yards in March 2020 — and you can now buy tickets to it

 

[amaroo]

Hudson Yards. This is one big hombre! 28 acre, US$25B development of the old rail yard. It's the biggest private development in US history, and the only comparable development is the Rockefeller Center that was completed 80 years ago.

You can read more here ... Everything You Need to Know About the Hudson Yards NYC Opening






There's something for everyone including this flash Citarella Gourmet Market



The observation deck should provide cracking views of Manhattan.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Is that the Vessel? I wanted to go and see that, but just wasn’t well enough when we were in New York.

 

[amaroo]

Is that the Vessel? I wanted to go and see that, but just wasn’t well enough when we were in New York.

Yes, it was pretty busy and you could only purchase tickets via a scanned thingy on the net .... we couldn't be bothered so pushed on.

 

[amaroo]

We came out the other side at 34th Street and continued to walk uptown. There must have been some sort of superhero event on..... we saw plenty dressed up ready to rumble.



This looked like it was painted - bloody big job either way.



25 blocks later, we hit Columbus Circle



Starting to feel a little peckish, we came across The Smith - Lincoln Square. It was 3.30pm and the place was packed - always a good sign. Excellent lunch, recommend this place.





After lunch we continued walking the Upper West Side - love these water tanks. Haven't spent much time in the UWS .... it looked really interesting, something for next time.





American Museum of Natural History .... from the backside.

They're doing some major works out the back, a quick google tells me they are building the Richard Gilder Center - looks amazing! Think the Guggenheim...




View from Theodore Roosevelt Park towards Central Park

 

[amaroo]

It was about this time mrsamaroo remembered she had a spa booking at the FS, so we hightailed it through Central Park to the 77th St subway



The Great Lawn



Turtle Pond





Belvedere Castle











Then it was the subway all the way downtown to City Hall.

 

[amaroo]

We always find time for this NYC favourite, and since this was the last night - it was always going to be Balthazar.

This is one beautiful restaurant, always packed, loud, and full of positive energy ..... and the food is delicious.

Sneaky photo while waiting to be seated



Mixed Oysters and Shrimp coughtail



Roasted Amish Chicken Breast



Steak Frites



Just perfect!

 

[Daver6]

What vintage was the Lynch Bages?

 

[amaroo]

Just found this in the photos ..... Cut breakfast menu



It was our last day, as we were flying out on QF12 we had an easy morning pottering around near the hotel. Having seen the Musical Hamilton a couple of times, I remembered that Alexander Hamilton and family were buried at Trinity Church, since it was just one block away - we thought why not.



For the musical buffs, we found the resting place for Hamilton, Eliza, Angelica, Phillip, and Hercules Mulligan .... plus a bunch of other famous people.

 

[amaroo]

What vintage was the Lynch Bages?

2014