Stuff to Do

AllNY.com's look at things to do in NYC written by New Yorkers for New Yorkers and serious New York tourists.

Restaurants for Thanksgiving Dinner in Manhattan

Have you procrastinated about Thanksgiving dinner?  If you’d prefer a “Friendsgiving” or just another way to avoid the family stress that usually surrounds this November family get-together, there are many ways to re-locate your dinner to a more neutral and possibly more delightful location.

Here are some of my favorite restaurants in New York City that are offering fantastic turkey dinners:

The Dutch

Andrew Carmellini’s popular SoHo restaurant is offering a prix fixe dinner for $95 per person ($50 for kids 12 and under).  Served family-style, the main course selection includes a typical spread of Thanksgiving treats. Roasted turkey with chestnuts and oyster mushrooms; mashed potatoes and gravy; Brussels sprouts with bacon, horseradish, and pickled mustard seeds; spoon-bread stuffing with andouille sausage and green peppers; spaghetti squash; and cranberry-orange sauce will make sure you don’t miss mom’s cooking. A choice of appetizers ranges from oysters to salads, steak tartare, soup, and pasta.  Nostalgic about keeping tradition?  Have the apple pie or pecan pie for dessert.  Or venture into more exotic turf with a pumpkin donut or devil’s food cake. Tax and gratuity, not included. 212-677-6200, 131 Sullivan Street, Manhattan. www.thedutchnyc.com .

Rotisserie Georgette

While you may be tired of turkey, this is the place to have it as Georgette Farkas’s rotisserie preparations are the standouts.  It’s also truffle season, so many of the dishes have optional truffle supplements. The three-course menu is prix fixe at $84 per person (kids are $40 per person) and includes a choice of chestnut soup, pate, or two salads to start; your entrée (roasted turkey with all the fixins, chicken for two with black truffle stuffing and black truffle pureed potatoes for a $45 per person supplement, prime rib, branzino, or farro for the vegetarians).  Desserts are variations on the traditional like a pumpkin mousseline torte with gingersnap crust, or a non-traditional chocolate pot de crème.  Sides like sweet potatoes with spiced marshmallow crumb crust, or turkey sausage with black truffle stuffing are extra as are tax and gratuity. 212-390-8060, 14 East 60th Street, Manhattan. www.rotisserieg.com

The Polo Bar

Thanksgiving might be the time to score a reservation at this not-quite-a-club, impossible-to-get-into restaurant.  The hotspot from Ralph Lauren is strong on Lauren’s holiday favorites including butternut squash soup, roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing with pork sauce.  Drinks are included, from a Champagne toast to cider, with nuts and olives on the side. Dress your equestrian best and enjoy the setting.  It’s yours on Thanksgiving for $150 per person, tax and gratuity extra. 212-207-8562, 1 East 55th Street, Manhattan. www.polobarralphlauren.com.

Kefi

How about a Greek Thanksgiving?  Two prix fixe offerings from $35 to $95 include appetizer, entrée and dessert.  To maintain the Thanksgiving spirit, Michael Psilakis starts you with something turkey, here a turkey abgolemono soup that’s a riff on Greek egg lemon soup. Follow that with roasted turkey, done pretty traditionally with mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and gravy, and finished with a choice of two traditional Greek desserts, walnut cake with walnut ice cream, or yogurt with nuts and fruit.  212-873-0200, 505 Columbus Ave, Manhattan. Taxes, gratuity extra. www.kefirestaurant.com

Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria

If an Italian celebration is more to your liking, Il Buco’s sibling restaurant offers a cozy setting for Thanksgiving dinner. Sit at one of the rustic communal tables and enjoy a multi-course dinner for $85 per person.  A selection of salumi or cheeses is served family-style to start.  Also served family-style are the sides — sweet potatoes , kale and quinoa, and buckwheat stuffing with figs and sage — and desserts, chocolate tarte, roasted pears with rosemary caramel, and persimmon soufflé cake. You pick your own starter – black bass crudo, vegetable soup, or chestnut angolotti – and your own main, baccala in a spicy tomato ragout with clams, rotisserie-roasted heritage pork, or Hudson Valley turkey with caramelized endive and apple. Tax and gratuity are additional. 212-837-2622, 53 Great Jones Street, Manhattan, www.ibucovineria.com.

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Want to See the World’s Largest Gingerbread Village? It Opens November 13 in Queens

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, although it feels like the Fourth of July. Did we skip Thanksgiving? It’s so confusing, but at least we have the time to start our holiday shopping (Christmas, Black Friday) without wearing a winter coat or heavy boots.  And you can also get your holiday inspiration going by visiting the New York Hall of Science starting November 13 to see what might just be the world’s largest gingerbread village. Again.

Jon Lovitch, master chef and creator of GingerBread Lane, has achieved the Guinness World Record for the past two years for building the largest continuous gingerbread village in the world. While others have contended that theirs might be larger, GingerBread Lane has been the winner hands down, meeting all criteria: only edible ingredients, handmade craft, and contiguous structures.

Last year’s village was laid out in a circle, allowing a complete circumlocution around the village. This year’s version promises to be even more creative, covering 500  square with more than 1050 houses, a double-decker carousel (like the historic one on the Coney Island boardwalk), and the S.C. Kringle & Co. Department Store reminiscent of New York City’s own long-departed Gimbels of the 1900s.  Also new will be a candy factory you can see inside of as you climb the stairs to view the exhibit.

The exhibit runs from November 13-January 10, 2016.  On the last day at 1pm, all gingerbread houses are given away free.  The line starts early, sort of like getting into a Rolling Stones concert.  Kids unable to visit due to illness or other personal situations can contact info@gingerbread-lane.org to have a house shipped to them. www.gingerbread-lane.org.

New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, 47-01 111th Street, Queens; www.nysci.org.

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Let’s Entertain the Kids: Kids’ Night on Broadway and a Giant Paper Fight

Wondering how to entertain the kids before the real holidays start? Two innovative programs invite children to immerse themselves in theatrical artistry, designed to educate and amuse all ages.

One of my favorites, Mimirichi is a pantomime troupe that has achieved international acclaim. They bill themselves as specialists in the art of “paper fights.” You’ll have to see them to understand what this means, but trust me that it’s a combination of comedy, pantomime, slapstick and good old-fashioned silliness. Their newest show, Paper World, promises an interactive element as well. Not surprisingly inducted into the World Clown Academy, the three Ukrainians who comprise Mimirichi recall Marcel Marceau, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and other clown geniuses. The show takes place from November 10 – 29 at Theater for New City, 155 First Avenue, Manhattan (between 9th and 10th Streets). Tickets start at $45. The show is appropriate for ages 4 and above. Information, 800-718-1444, or http://www.mimirichi.com/events/.

Starting immediately, tickets are on sale for Kids’ Night on Broadway, February 9, 2016, brought to you by the Broadway League. Now entering its 20th year, the program offers a free ticket to kids ages 18 and under when accompanied by a full-paying adult. The 23 productions included in this special promotion include both musicals and plays with such alluring shows as Fun Home, Jersey Boys, Kinky Boots, The King and I, Something Rotten, Wicked, Aladdin, Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland, Noises Off, On Your Feet, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Lion King, Matilda! The Musical, School of Rock The Musical, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables. For the full list of shows and links to tickets, visit http://www.kidsnightonbroadway.com/shows. Discounts at area restaurants are also available.

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Dine Out for a Good Cause this Month: Breast Cancer Research

Although the leaves are turning red and yellow, October is the month for pink awareness, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A notable food event which builds awareness of the potentially deadly disease and adds a charitable component is James Beard-award winner Chef Todd English’s special dining program at Ça Va Brasserie in the Theater District. Chef English has created a special menu which evokes the color pink, a gentle and delicious reminder that there is much work to be done to eradicate breast cancer. Notable on Ça Va’s menu this month are dishes which include reddish or pinkish ingredients, all building awareness of the deadly disease and the need for the development of a cure. Proceeds from all dinners through the month will benefit the Wendy English Cancer Research Foundation.

The InterContinental Hotel, which is well situated across from Birdland jazz club and within walking distance of both Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters, is the location of Ça Va, a five-year old standout restaurant that has been feeding happy hotel guests and theater goer’s three meals a day. This month has special significance to Chef English, who established the Wendy English Cancer Research Foundation to honor his sister who passed away in 2006 at the age of 42 from breast cancer. Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the dishes created for this month will be donated to the Foundation. Special red and pink dishes include Hubbard squash and gala apple soup, with a pomegranate crème fraiche; roasted halibut with fall harvest ratatouille; and New York cheesecake with Meyer lemon, graham cracker, and blueberry. Additionally, each guest dining on any of the special menu dishes will enjoy a pink raspberry madeleine to take home for breakfast the next day. 210 W. 44th Street, Manhattan. For reservations, 212.803.4545, or www.opentable.com. cavatoddenglish.com

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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October Events for a Good Cause: Peace, Music, and Parks

The city kicks off its October event schedule with three programs for good causes: peace, music, and parks.

On October 6, Yoko Ono, founder of Imagine Peace, invites you to help her create the world’s largest human peace sign in honor of John Lennon’s birthday on October 9 (he would have been 75). Near Strawberry Fields in Central Park, the attempt at the Guinness world record will happen in the East Meadow. Expect anywhere from 6000 to 10,000 people and wear your best rock ‘n roll colors. Be there by 12 Noon (you can register onsite, too) as the photo will be shot overhead at 12:30pm. The event is free, but donations will go to the John Lennon Education Tour Bus, a non-profit mobile Pro Audio and HD video recording facility that provides hands-on experiences for students. You can sign up online at Eventbrite.

Also, on October 6, the Bulgarian Concert Evenings program in New York has its Opening Night Gala at 7:30pm at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Tickets are $40, $30, and $20 and support the development of young and upcoming musicians as well as fund the ongoing free concert program at the library of the Bulgarian Consulate General. This year’s gala features a program of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dobrinka Tabakova, and Franz Schubert played on violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano.  For information and tickets, visit www.bceny.org.

Two days later, you can show your support for the city’s parks at a benefit supporting the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy’s miraculous transformation of the abandoned Dumbo waterfront into a beautiful park. It’s a Brooklyn-style “black tie” affair taking place on Pier 2, called, not surprisingly, the Brooklyn Black Tie Ball and After Party. The October 8 event is filled with great food, dancing, and music, all with an amazing view of Manhattan’s skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. I can’t think of a more wonderful way to thank these folks for all they do like bringing us the Movies with a View series, Pilates classes in the park, and Kayak Camp. The honoree at the event is former mayor Michael Bloomberg who was the driving force in the creation of the park. Cocktails and dinners are 6-9, with the After Party from 9-11. Separate tickets are required for each. Information at http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/events/bkblacktie .

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Quiet New York City: Where to Go to Get Your Zen

We’ve had the Pope, the GA, Coldplay and Beyonce and their fans in Central Park. Road closures, subway shutdowns, and incessant helicopters.  Sometimes you just want some peace and quiet. Here’s where you can go to find some serenity in the city.

Arthur Ross Pinetum in Central Park

Immerse yourself in nature at the Arthur Ross Pinetum in Central Park. Located between 84th and 86th streets, this area of Central Park has 400 pine trees of 15 various species worldwide. Clear your mind at the Contemplation Circle and do some bird watching while gazing at the buds on the trees. Long-eared and northern saw-whet owls are known to sleep in the surrounding pines during the day, making the Pinetum a prime location for bird watchers.

(212) 310-6600, centralparknyc.org

Jacques-Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art

To truly take a step away from New York City, hop on the Staten Island Ferry for free and get a breath of fresh air as you sail away to the serenity of the Jacques-Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art. Admire the largest collection of Tibetan art in the West, located inside of the only Himalayan-temple-style building in the United States. Afterwards, take some time to wander around the beautiful meditation gardens outside. If you fall in love with the Tibetan culture by the end of your visit, then make sure to venture back to the museum in October for the annual Tibetan festival.  If you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear the monks ring the bells to break your silent reverie.

The museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 1pm-5pm.

Admission:

Adults- $6

Seniors/Students- $4

(718) 987-3500,  338 Lighthouse Ave., Staten Island,   http://www.tibetanmuseum.org/index.htm

YeloSpa

For the ultimate power nap, visit YeloSpain Manhattan and try out a YeloCabTM. After a nap in one of these cocoon-like cabins, you will feel rejuvenated and ready to get back to work in no time. Choose from a traditional massage while napping or a reclining YeloChair TM to sleep in for a weightless feeling. Customize the lighting and music in the YeloCab to your liking, and fill the cabin with your favorite aromatherapy scent. Snuggle up with a soft cashmere blanket and sleep that stress away at YeloSpa.

(212) 245.8235,  315 West 57th St., http://www.yelonyc.com/spa/

Zen Buddhist Temple

Awaken your heart and mind with a public meditation service at the Zen Buddhist Temple on the Upper East Side. Join other people looking to find their Zen and learn techniques that will help you let go of the stresses of living in New York City. The temple’s public meditation service is a great way to prepare for the work week ahead, as it is offered on Sundays at 10:30 am. The session lasts one and a half hours and is completely donation-based. The suggested contribution is $10 per visit.

(212) 888-6262,  206 East 63rd St.,  http://zenbuddhisttemple.org/locations/newyork/index.html

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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