Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Hello from New York City!

We arrived safe and sound, and thanks to the nicest staff in history, we were able to check into the Maritime Hotel a little early...like 7 hours early. It's such a cool hotel, and features a nautical theme (to say the least). You can see from this photo, all the windows are portholes.

Here's the view from our room, which looks exactly like a cabin on a cruise ship. You couldn't pay me to go on a cruise, so this is the closest I will ever come to the experience (by the way, if you're a cruise ship company, and were actually thinking of paying me to go on a cruise, I was just kidding).

In what I'll take as a harbinger of things to come, this beautiful pear, balsamic, and blue cheese salad was placed down on our table at the Green Table, in the Chelsea Market, and we were told it was compliments of the house.

Of course I assumed they had recognized me as the minor web celebrity chef I pretend to be, but when asked why we'd been given this lovely treat, the server said, "because we just had a bunch of guests who were very demeaning to the staff, and so we just felt like doing it for you." Okay then.

Stay tuned for updates, and maybe even a few of those beloved reruns. Oh, and to the rude, insensitive jerks who ate lunch just before us, thanks!

14 comments:

Heather said...

Enjoy NYC! Be sure to grab breakfast at Sarabeth's in Chelsea Market, on the weekends a Sarabeth's sit down restaurant has an hour wait but at the CM location you can get the same pumpkin waffles right away. Also near your hotel is Billy's Bakery, great cupcakes. If you see Tipsy Parson skip it, I've heard nothing but bad things. Enjoy!

Guy said...

not that this is any of my business, but you did just refer to yourself as a minor celebrity... so how often do you get recognized? i'm sure your devoted fans are dying to know!

Donna said...

Chef John ... glad you're enjoying NYC. I imagine that the pear salad tasted as good as it looked ... hopefully it was amazing :)

averagebetty said...

OH! Have fun you two!! Sounds like things are already going your way :)

Bryan and Yuka said...

Welcome to NYC!

Since you came here we feel obligated to tell you a few of our favorite restaurants. Hope you have time to visit one.

For breakfast the best is Brooklyn Diner, ironically in Manhattan. It may just look like a diner but it's not.
http://www.brooklyndiner.com

For dinner you have to go to Benjamins. It's a little pricey but worth every penny for the best steak you've ever had.
http://www.benjaminsteakhouse.com

If you find yourself in Brooklyn and want great Italian it has to be Fragole. Best Italian we've had this side of the Atlantic.
http://www.fragoleny.com

Hope you have a good time.

Amy said...

I'm so excited for you! I found Food Wishes when I googled peach tart.. and I love that recipe! I just made pear tarts and decide to check in and see what was up with you! I was thrilled to see that you won the you tube challenge. I won't be a bit surprised to find out you have a show on the Food Network! Good luck! I'll be keeping up with you on your blog. =)

aaron said...

Chef,

I recommend the tuna appetizer at your hotel. I live around the corner - there are so many good places within a 5 minute walk from where you are.

Go discuss cheese with the staff at Lucy's whey in Chelsea Market - Always fun. Plus you can pick yourself up a beer pretzel caramel made by a Brooklyn company called Liddabit.

One of my favorite brunch spots at the moment is Trestle on Tenth which is on 23rd and 10th. When you are finished eating their rosti you can walk it off on the Highline.

Anonymous said...

Looking at the photo of the hotel, I'm curious which half is your room on? The one with the rain clouds, or the one with beautiful blue sky?

Don Madrid said...

Your hotel was a building originally designed and built for retired sailors back in the 70's. Hence the porthole windows. Have a great time in NYC! I lived there nearly 18 years before making the move to Madrid. Folks are giving recommendations so here's mine. Breakfast or brunch - Balthazar's. Donuts - the Donut Plant on the lower east side. (seriously, don't miss that). And Batali's joint, Del Posto, near the meat packing district just got a 4th star from the NYTimes so that may be worth checking out.

Enjoy!

Asian Malaysian said...

oh dear. That explains that oddly flavoured complimentary seafood bisque I got.

Anonymous said...

Good Luck becoming the Next Food Network Star!

Rita said...

have a great time in NYC!

rude, insensitive jerks who ate lunch before you? what happened? or, are you being fictitious again? :D

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John,

I myself just moved to NYC this past Sun (from Philly originally), so I feel a parallel here since I follow your blog and vids closely. Best of luck on meeting the Food Network executives - you definitely deserve your own show.

Yours,
-Tyler

Rowan said...

john, foodwishes.com is my favorite foodblog. You being in NY (my hometown and stomping grounds) is totally awesome!