COURTESY PHOTO
The Whitney Museum, designed by Isabella Stewart Gardner expansion genius Renzo Piano, punctuates the Meatpacking District skyline.
By CARLEY D. THORNELL
NEW YORK CITY — With endless nightlife, world-famous restaurants and some of the planet’s most fascinating art, how’s a couple to choose what to do first in the Big Apple? It’s easy when one of you was a history major: Visiting the family home of the original White House Power Couple at the Roosevelt House (sorry, Obamas) is a must.
This virtual time machine offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our 32nd president, from polio to politics and wife Eleanor’s civil and human rights activism. Historian/curator Deborah Gardner says interest in free exhibits and weekly tours here have spiked since the recent election. It’s easy to see why as she leads fascinating (and free) lectures about the cozy library where FDR chose his cabinet, was inspired for Fireside chats and brainstormed the tenets of social programs like the New Deal.
Deals themselves aren’t too hard to find in January and the winter months in New York, especially at the Bernic, a chic, intimate 96-room hotel that opened on E 47th Street in November. While its contemporary aesthetic is a striking contrast to the Roosevelt House’s Neo-Georgian façade, it’s a relaxing oasis, a 20-minute walk away offering floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies in almost every room. Standard queen accommodations hover at just around $150 for this toney part of town, though you’ll hover much higher above this bustling metropolis from up to 21 floors above. For couples like us, who prefer adventuring over lazing about at a B&B, it was the perfect getaway — the easy drive in from just off the Queens Midtown Tunnel was a breeze and we admired awesome views from our balcony toward the East River and United Nations headquarters.
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It was a multicultural weekend in more ways than one, especially since our trip coincided with NYC Restaurant “Week” (technically two), where the city’s top nosheries offer up three-course menus for $42, or lunch for $29. If you’re dreaming of warmer climes but can’t afford a plane ticket, check out Noreetuh, where the Hawaiian menu spans much larger than Spam. Berkshire pork potstickers, tuna poke and kalua pork cavatelli fit the bill for delightful layers of flavors and textures, and the service offered a ray of Pacific sunshine to chase off winter’s chill.
Or visit Ukraine via Veselka for some heartier fare just right for February. Borscht, stuffed cabbage and goulash don’t exactly make for traditional “date food,” but the complexities and art to balancing smoky kielbasa with the bright tang of sauerkraut in bigos, a hearty hunter’s stew, can’t be overlooked. No matter what your heritage — or if you’re just a carb queen like me — the lure of pierogi dumplings is much like Yogi Bear to a pic-a-nic basket here, and a sampler plate offers a great way to try traditional varieties like potato or cheese along with hipster specials like buffalo chicken. (Plus, it’s open 24/7!)
In addition to expanding your culinary horizons, there’s plenty of literal options too, and the New Jersey skyline has perhaps never looked lovelier than from the cantilevered balconies at the Whitney Museum of Art. Depending on one’s preference for contemporary works, the building itself — designed by Renzo Piano, the genius behind the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum expansion — may be a highlight, but the portraiture, sculpture and interactive exhibits make great talking points over a pop at the nearby Biergarten at the Standard. This combo brunch joint and bar space is anything but standard, and we combined our afternoon in the Meatpacking District catching up with old friends over a delectable Americanized version of shakshuka, a North African dish with baked eggs, lamb sausage, lentils, tomatoes, yogurt and coriander.
The scene was definitely more chill than the Sunday dim sum brunch at Tim Ho Wan, the darling of both cool cats and Asian families celebrating both Chinese New Year and this new outpost of the popular chain that requires waits of up to four hours in Taiwan and Singapore. The East Village eatery isn’t any different, and with a line snaking around the block of an hour just to put one’s name on the list — then up to three hours more to get inside — the scene feels more like waiting for tickets to the world’s hottest rock concert than what turns out to be blazingly-hot deep-fried dumplings. But such is the price to get a taste of the world’s least-expensive Michelin-starred restaurant, and there’s plenty to do in the neighborhood (including pre-gaming with a delectable doughnut from coffee shop City of Saints while in line next door), or trekking over to the independent Strand bookstore. With a collection spanning 18 miles of tomes, there’s plenty of food for thought to be had before a Sunday afternoon drive back to Boston.