If you haven’t been to Chelsea Market, you’re missing out. It’s one place we bring almost all visitors who want to see New York City. But that’s a whole other post.
One section of Chelsea Market has a an open area with a bunch of small vendors, mostly selling food. The Doughnuttery was new from our previous visit, and we ordered a few of their little doughnuts.
Their schtick is that they make them fresh and you choose what kind of sugar you want on them. you can see the sugars on the shelf above (and the menu is below). Continue reading “Treat of the Day: Doughnuttery”
Learn about pirates and deep sea exploration at Shipwreck. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Groupon has discounted tickets as I post this, but act quickly. If you’re new to Groupon, get the tickets here. If you’re already a Groupon user, get the tickets here.Search under Long Island, NY in the search bar on top for “Shipwreck.” Tickets on Groupon are $12-15 (kid/adult), which is a savings. Read the Groupon fine print before buying.
As you might imagine, treasure seeking is a high tech affair. The exhibit focuses on finds from Odyssey Marine Exploration, a deep ocean exploration public company (NasdaqCM: OMEX) that salvages items from shipwrecks and does mineral exploration. They choose from the 6,500 shipwrecks in their database, evaluating them based on archeological importance, claims to the property, and other factors.
Did you know that dolphins and porpoises are whales? We learned that, plus many other interesting facts about whales during our visit to the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibit Whales: Giants of the Deep. Admittedly I knew very little about whales before going to this exhibit. I didn’t know that the precursors to whales WALKED, losing their legs eventually as they took to the ocean full time. A simulation video of the whale’s evolution is a good visual representation.
Did you know that whales can be broken up into two categories: toothed whales and baleen whales? Toothed whales are smaller, and include dolphins and porpoises (porpoises don’t have beaks, dolphins do). Baleen whales are filter feeders, taking in larger amounts of small food and filtering it out, where as toothed whales go for single prey, swallowing it whole.
I’ve been wanting to check out Yotel for some time, and finally made it there when I went to a toy show. One of the nice women working in the information area agreed to take me to see some rooms. I didn’t realize how generous she was going to be, as she took me to a lot of rooms to give me a good idea of the various types they have. My kids were in heaven and wanted to stay there.
Yotel is at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street, an easy walk from Times Square (and Port Authority). The hotel is more economical than many, with rooms starting at $149 (in winter, for the smallest room for 2) and going up from there.
The front of Yotel, on 42nd and 10th. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
Yotel is a very funky hotel with smaller than average rooms (think cruise ship), and they actually call them cabins. The space is well designed though, and you kind of forget about the size when you realize how much else it offers. Like great design! Yotel in NYC is the only actual freestanding hotel in its group – the other three are airport hotels at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and Amsterdam’s airport, where you can book by the hour without worrying feeling like you’re in a brothel.
Leave your luggage with YOBOT while you hit the town on your first or last day in town. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
If you’re looking for a unique holiday market with high quality vendors, check out the Union Square Holiday Market which runs through December 24th, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. More than 100 booths have a variety of items, from gourmet foods to soaps, from hats to dog clothing, from toys to jewelry. My daughter and I spent a leisurely 2+ hours strolling from shop to shop, buying a few gifts and nibbles. Here’s what we saw:
The Union Square Holiday Market. Yes, it’s crowded. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan 2012Copa Soaps smell so good and are a good deal at $5/each. Nice gift box assortments too. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan 2012
When we had friends in town who wanted to see a Broadway show, I looked through the list that would be family-friendly (and shows we haven’t already seen). We settled on Bring it On the musical, a Broadway adaption of a movie. I was a little wary about the subject matter, having never been a cheerleader myself, nor having cheerleader aspirations. The show was a lot of fun, though, and taught some good lessons about being true to yourself and being nice to other people.
the countdown before the show was similar to what you’d find in a sports arena
I’m sure you know about Dylan’s Candy Bar, and all the candy it contains. In fact, it was a Treat of the Day sometime back. However on our recent visit, my husband saw a sign outside for happy hour. What does that mean in a candy store? Well, it turns out they have an actual bar upstairs, in the same area that you can get ice cream treats. It’s slightly roped off and we had to show ID to get in (though they let our kids in with us, stamping their hands).
This is what lured us into to Dylan’s Candy BAR.
They served drinks like a S’more shot, with marshmallow vodka, whipped vodka, creme de cacao, and garnished with a graham cracker rim. Or try a Sugar Rush Shooter with different vodkas (cake, coconut, whipped cream) and a sugar rim.
Eleni’s in Manhattan’s Chelsea Market was a delight. Their specialty is cookies – you’ll see how each of them is decorated like its own piece of art. They have a wall of different design groups. Their cupcakes are also scrumptious. And kosher and baked in a nut-free factory. Take a look at what you’ll find throughout the store.
