Afternoon Tea: Bergdorf Goodman

I had a weekend of classic NYC moments: celebrity sightings (Mario Batali eating next to us at Rosemary's  in our neighborhood), a couple hours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a visit to The Plaza Food Hall, a Broadway show (Nice Work If You Can Get It with Matthew Broderick & Kelli O'Hara - fun and frothy), and...afternoon tea at the 7th floor restaurant at Bergdorf Goodman, BG. It is divine in so many ways, starting with the Kelly Wearstler-designed space, followed by the tea sandwiches, scones, and mini treats.

Friday Links to Love

Plaza Food Hall

Stories & Links I Loved This Week: 

• The Plaza Food Hall, which completely reminds me of Harrod's in London, is gaining Luke's Lobster & No. 7 Sub as tenants! AND William Greenberg, which has the absolute BEST black and white cookie in New York! The area is now known as Todd English at the Plaza Food Halls. Full story on Gothamist
• I loved this USA Today Story about hotel breakfast costs: Would you pay $15 for oatmeal? (Hell no! Go to Starbucks!)
• A fantastic map on The Bowery Boys mapping out where Mark Twain lived, worked, and played in New York City.  For all Mark Twain (how can you not be?) & NYC fans. Their free podcast on Mark Twain's New York available on iTunes is great. 
• There's no better mommy site for product reviews than Cool Mom Picks. Here is their 2011 Holiday Gift Guide.
• The Intercontinental Moscow opened this week! I loved my time at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow but am excited to see this property at some point. My posts on Moscow are here.

Adriana Trigiani's Favorite Hotels

I recently got to ask one of my favorite authors, Adriana Trigiani, a few questions about her favorite hotels. She is a dynamo, having sold millions of books and topping the New York Times bestseller list several times with the Big Stone Gap series and my favorite beach reads, Very Valentine and Brava, Valentine, set in Italy and New York.  I also love her "Viola" young adult series and Cooking With My Sisters, a collection of family recipes and stories. 

She's also practically my neighbor, living in the Village in New York City.  When I read on her website why she loved New York so much, I knew we could be friends.

Why do you love New York City so much?
Well, I need it! Every morning I wake up here I’m happy. I love my neighborhood (Greenwich Village), my stoop, the girls at D’Ags who make great coffee, my daughter’s school, her friends, the moms I’ve met through Lucia, the small shops, the magical winding streets-I could go on and on! I love grabbing a girlfriend and going up to Bergdorf’s for lunch. I love going to Little Italy and seeing my peeps who look like me. I love the theater, even when it’s bad. When it’s good-well, theaters like the Cherry Lane in Greenwich Village are loaded with history-it’s inspiring just to attend. I am jazzed through and through by this city. Underneath the energy, though, there is a pulse and I have a lot of energy and it just enhances my energy level. I feel I can do anything living in New York City. It’s spectacular.

And she was kind enough to take time out of her super busy schedule to answer a few questions for me!

What are some of your favorite hotels around the world?

Charlotte Street Hotel in London

Beverly Wilshire Los Angeles

What is the first thing you look at before you book a hotel? Do you choose specific ones for book research?

I look for comfort, service and elegance. The food has to be good and room service 24 hours.  When I'm researching a book, I'm a little more daring-I'll do inns and offbeat bed and breakfasts.  I love places filled with history.  I love books as part of the decor (i.e. The Charlotte Street hotel).

What is a hotel you must visit in your lifetime that you haven't been to yet?

Four Seasons George V in Paris

Do you have any favorite hotels & restaurants you recommend in New York City?

Restaurants in Greenwich Village--Valbella, Piccolo Angolo and Lievito's

Hotels--Love the Plaza Hotel

The Plaza Shops

Last night, I had a very old New York kind of night.  Before we went to the 21 Club for dinner, we stopped at The Plaza Hotel, now managed by Fairmont.  The Plaza has experienced more than a few ups & downs over the past few years, with new ownership, new condos and real estate debacles, and Charlie Sheen's recent party with a prostitute in the Eloise suite.

I love The Plaza for what it means to the city of New York: classic, Old-World, iconic.  Afternoon tea at The Palm Court & a cocktail at The Oak Room are New York musts.  However, there is an unmistakably tourist-y vibe, and you see people trying to subtly take photos of themselves in the lobby.

One of my favorite bakeries in Vienna, Demel, used to have an outpost at the Plaza shops.  Sadly, it has now closed and it has been replaced by a run-of-the-mill coffee shop.  Still, it's worth spending a bit of time wandering through the shops and having a glass of wine at The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English, which could feel equally at home in London. 

I bought my copy of Eloise at the Plaza Eloise shop, because where else should you buy it? Just look at this so-cute-I-could-squeal pink Eloise shop!

Plaza Shops