worldtraveller73

Spice Market
by Jean- Georges Vongerichten
403 W 13th St, New York, NY 10014, United States

Based on a drive by on MrsWT73’s Sex in the City Tour, we opted for a dinner at Spice Market by Jean – Georges Vongerichten. Jean Georges has restaurants in many cities, including Market in our native city of Vancouver. I also happen to have his cookbook “Asian Flavors of Jean Georges” so it was a great opportunity to give him a try.

The restaurant is in the Meat Packing District south of Chelsea. It became our favorite neighborhood to visit in New York City. The restaurant is two blocks from the wonderful New York Highline, which made for a great walking activity before dinner.





I booked a reservation on Open table two days before at 8:45 PM. Open Table in New York is an interesting process, with some 1,400 restaurants available.



On arrival, we had to wait for 15 minutes while the table was “prepared” despite lots of empty tables. Indeed we were caught between the first and second services as many others were waiting as well. We were offered a seat (or stand) by the bar with the other guests. These people all had bookings since others were being turned away at the door, citing a 30 minute wait.



Inside the restaurant, a pretty dark space all around. It was the most South East Asian decorated restaurant I think I’ve ever experienced. It was done in a tasteful manner, although I didn’t feel like I was really experiencing South East Asia.









The food at Spice Market is delivered “tapas” style. This means that it’s encouraged to share since one person could be completely finished their meal prior to the other person getting anything.





We ended up sharing the satay. It was the best satay I’ve ever had. The peanut sauce was devine.



A side of fried rice with fresh egg. It was well prepared with fresh vegetables and crisp noodles.



We had some samosas with an excellent cilantro yoghurt dressing (not pictured) and a terrific striploin steak with a coriander dressing, paired with a Central Coast Pinot Noir.





The check was reasonable at $131. Spice Market seems to be a bit touristy due to it’s location. Either way, Jean Georges still puts out a solid product. It was a near perfect high end dining experience if not for the slight dis-organization near the front on arrival.

worldtraveller73

Balaboosta
214 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012, United States

We happened upon Balaboosta because I saw it on our walk through of Little Italy and it happened to be Zagat rated. That doesn’t mean much in itself but it turned out to be a great choice.

The chef originally hailed from Israel and had appeared on Throw Down with Bobby Flay and had won “Chopped”. She is presently running three New York restaurants (Balaboosta, Taim / Taim mobile and Bar Boonat). It’s sometimes a challenge to get a good middle eastern meal aside from the Falafel stand but Balaboosta easily delivered. The menu featured “Mediterranean meets Middle East” and featured weekly specials with local seasonal ingredients.



The décor of the restaurant is in small quarters. It had a comfortable, neighborhood vibe. It had an aura of chic and “hot” and popular restaurant visited by locals.







The menu had some original items on it. After spending a lot of time in restaurants, menus tend to look a little, the same after a while. Everyone seems to be chasing the same food trends. I’m happy to report that Balaboosta was much different. Here’s the actual menu



And ones from the Balaboosta Website if the actual one is a little hard to read







For the main, I went with lamb tahini with chantrelles and green Persian lime and thanin sauce with kale and pine nuts. The lamb was perfectly cooked and delicately seasoned.



It was paired with white Bordeaux (Sauvingon Blanc – 33%, Muscadelle – 32% and Semillon 34% blend). Okay, I know this doesn’t go with lamb, but who can turn down white Bordeaux? MrsWT73 was also having the boneless organic half chicken “under a brick”. It received rave reviews for both the taste and the cooking delivery.



Overall, it was a terrific atmosphere here. There is something to be said for smaller bistro style dining versus the large format scale of Spice Market. The check was reasonable of $141 USD with two entrees and a bottle of wine. With an 8:45 PM reservation, we were the last cover for the evening. We would easily return. We ended up walking away with the cookbook as well and also found it worthwhile, good tasting endeavour. ^

dat4life

Excellent report, worldtraveller73. And what perfect balance between prose and pictures. Speaking of pictures, your most recent updates put my turkey and swiss sandwich to shame, to say the least.

Flyingfox

Tipping at all for "bad" service makes no sense, even in America.

mkjr

They charge at the peace museum in Hiroshima and they too have a gift shop.

worldtraveller73

Flyingfox - I tend to agree with you. It's something that has become all to regular in the Americas.

It seems that the capitalization process is something that occurs everywhere, mkjr, in some form of another.

I personally enjoyed the Hiroshima Peace Museum. It actually had a similar proud effect on me, like this 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Thanks for your support dat4life. If it makes you feel better, I survive on a steady diet of turkey and swiss sandwiches between office meetings.

worldtraveller73

British Airways First Class Lounge and Pre-Flight Dining,
Terminal 7
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Airport, New York

Forgoing the Dial 7 car service we booked a Carmel car transfer this time with a day’s notice. The driver arrived 5 minutes later in a new black Toyota Avalon that was in much better condition that the Dial 7 car, and earning AAdvantage miles to boot! A quick 40 km/h and 45 minute drive in heavy traffic to JFK and before we knew it, we were in front of British Airway’s T7 check in. The experience was much better and more professional than Dial 7 and we would book again with Carmel in the future.





Cathay Pacific offers premium check in services on the far left of Terminal 7. It’s a facility that’s shared with British Airways and Iberia. Once inside at the premium check in desks, the Cathay Pacific check in desks at the British Airways area were manned but not open at 6:20 PM – with a sign displaying a 6:30 PM opening. No mazes set up yet but the queues to check in had started already.







There were at least six British Airways flights to London during our departure times!!



At 6:30 PM, the displays came up on the monitors and we joined the first line. We ended up stuck beind someone having trouble with his ticket and had to deal with a manager to sort it out.

When we booked the tickets, I was assigned Seat 1A and MrsWT73 was assigned 1K on the far other side of the cabin. Seats 2A and 2K are usually the bassinet position. With some reluctance, and radio clearance from his supervisor, I successfully got the seating changed to 2K and 2D.
Our bags were tagged without issue to Vancouver. We headed over to the Fast Track Security which feed all BA First / Business, Iberia and Cathay flights leaving. Bizarrely enough, the entire security line was sloped uphill about 15 degrees causing an interesting balancing situation with shoes off and bags not really wanting to slide up the conveyor in to the X-Ray machine.

The fast track deposited you in to the end of the terminal, so everything is backwards. Clearly added after to fact, the express services make you now wander through the busy terminal in order to get to the lounge, entrance of which is located by the main regular entrance.

Once into the terminal that is the chaos that is JFK T7. There were several overseas flights leaving, including 5 flights to LHR within the next 2 hours, an ANA flight, a flight to Paris Orly among others, it made for a chaotic experience.

We picked up some duty free, again by the main entrance.

A short ride up the escalators and we were given access to the BA First Galleries Lounge, which it shares with the British Airways Business lounge. It included pre-flight dining accessed from the business side.







We started out on the British Airways First Lounge side. British Airways also runs the Concorde Room at JFK, where it accommodates all of it’s “real” British Airways First Class Passengers. All of us One World leftovers are resigned to this lounge. It was pretty tranquil and a bit dated in terms of furnishings.











A small dining area was also available.





There was also the occasional low rent touch.



The food offerings were pleasant. Nicely catered. Slighty better than your average international lounge but nothing to proclaim as the “best ever”! At least the food is well presented.





I had a few snacks as we settled in.



One area which the lounge excelled in was the alcohol selection. Grey Goose Regular and Lemon, Bombay Saffire Gin, Laurient Perrier Grand Sciele champagne and a great selection of single malt whiskies available on the first side.





Some okay wines, although I stuck to Grey Goose and Tonic. I was impressed that they had four different reds on offer. ^









British Airways
Business Lounge

I took a spin over to the British Airways Business side of the lounge. It was much busier as can be expected with so many departures this evening. I actually enjoyed the layout and brightness of the sitting area a bit better than the First Side.



























The wines were also bit cheaper on the business side. These were along side regular Smirnoff (the horrors ) and Gordon’s Gin.









British Airways
Pre Flight Dining, in Business Lounge.

Pre Flight Dining is offered by British Airways with the idea that you can eat before your flight, then settle in immediately for a good night's sleep, arriving refreshed in the morning. I was looking forward to trying it out.

We got a little puckish with the late departure of the flight, so the time came and we headed over from the First Lounge side to investigate. The entry was guarded by another lounge dragon.



First impressions? My gawd, a terrific idea but super crowded. It’s worse than attempting to get food at a food stall in Asia. It was almost like the line up at the Royal Fork Buffet on half price special night. All sorts of people here, families with kids, senior citizens taking up tables and extra chairs with only a few empty places to sit.







The evil eyes here at my photo taking: This is supposed to be a dignified dining area!!



The food was pretty average bland cafeteria fare. It was all help yourself buffet, with the exception of the noodle bar. The noodle bar was supposed to be chef attended, but the chef must have been off on a 15 minute break during our visit.









After the Las Vegas buffet line up and the search for the noodle attendant concluded, I settled in with a light noodle bowl- a Vietnamese noodle dish with chicken and broth, along with some smoked turkey and salad along with a Bancroft Sauvingon Blanc white.



After we devoured that, we got out of there pretty quick. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing environment, but it beat wandering the terminal looking for food.

I topped off the evening with a quick courtesy shower at the Elemis Spa. British Airways offers “quickie” spa services to it’s Business Class and First Passengers. This service is not extended to Cathay First or Business passengers. However, there was no problems with the shower.







There was no wait for a shower room. Again, peel back the layers, the facility is showing signs of wear. I’ve seen better towels at my local YMCA.





After the shower, I retired back to the First Side prior to the flight. Overall a pleasant time made nicer by the fine selection of hard alcohol and spirits in the BA First Lounge.

CMK10

I see the BA F Lounge at JFK is as sorry looking as my last visit there

Oh and I plan to eventually make an album called "People at Airports Giving me the Stink Eye". I'll use your picture from the dining area on the front page

worldtraveller73

CMK10 - Yes the BA F lounge has had some "minor" upgrades lately in terms of better food offerings (according to the cardboard placard on the buffet). The liquor on offer was also quite nice. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else that was super duper about it. It was similar to staying in that hotel that missed the renovation schedule and was featuring decor from 10 years ago.

worldtraveller73

First Class
Cathay Pacific
JFK-YVR (John Fitzgerald Kennedy, New York - Vancouver International Airport)
CX 888 – First Class (Z)
9:55 PM – 12:45 AM
April 27, 2014
Booked: Boeing 777-300
Flown: Boeing 777-300

At about T-35, we headed down to the gate. Boarding had mostly completed by that point and we arrived to an empty maze and boarding area with just us stragglers left.



Boarding through gate 5, with only single door boarding today with a small bit of a line on the jet bridge.

We again had the personal escort to our pair of seats again at Suite 2K and 2D, our pair of seats today. I was originally booked into 1A, but was able to switch to the bassinet seat (2K) on check in. As it was on our outbound, the spaciousness of the cabin was fabulous and among the best in class.













A pre-departure beverage was offered of offered of Krug, poured at the seat with the bottle. A towel service was also offered on the tray. Load today was 6/6 (although reward space was available as late as the night before the flight).





A wide variety of Asian and International newspapers were also offered.



It was a similar order of service as to on our outbound. Menus were dropped off. Amenity kits were dropped off, along with sleep sets on a tray. My wife joined me in the jump seat of suite 2K during the pre-departure beverage, and these items were also presented to her in 2K.

Nora stopped by to introduce herself as the server today, along with the senior purser who also stopped by and personally introduced herself.

I took this opportunity to take another look at the amenity kits that had been handed out. The male kit was the same as the outbound "ermenegildo zegna".





Having already had one, I actually wanted to trade the male kit in exchange for a female kit for my sister. Regretfully, Cathay only had enough kits for the current passengers (kits perhaps loaded by sex?). Nora brought me a business class kit for her instead. I ended up taking away both the male First Class kit, and the Agnes B kit from Biz.





The pilot announced a a 45 minute delay due to localized thundershower that was making them lose their slot. We were eventually underway with a taxi and takeoff on runway 22 R.



Cathay does an excellent job of making you feel taken care of. Again, the Vancouver based crew was stellar and did an excellent job. Must have been reported around here about CX crews and how they make their passengers feel. I’d have to add to that in that the crews are very personable and are the most personable of those F cabins that I’ve had the opportunity to experience. On board, MrsWT73 joined me in the foot rest quasi-jump seat for dinner service today. A table extender was set up on the table to allow dining together face to face. We started with the usual nut service, followed by more Krug.



Today’s menu was presented:





The menu was followed by the usual fantastic wine list, and the Bordeaux Wine Promotion.









The table setting in First Class never seems to disappoint. It was also a unique experience being able to dine across from your significant other.



I started with Seared tuna with couscous artichoke mousse trimabel and yoghurt mint sauce, paired with more Krug Champagne. Good combinations but not too much taste on the tuna itself.







The second course consisted of double boiled ginseng with silkie chicken soup, served with cold plate marinated turnip with carrot, paired with, alas, more krug champagne. Typically asian and freshly prepared. Although some may have reservations about eating something that looks like a softly boiled tarantula spider.





Thank you “Bon Appetit” card, that was missing from the previous inbound service, from our server Nora Reiko.



Followed by the main course, a steamed sea bass with Chinese preserved olives, served with steamed jasime rice, kailan with black mushroom and carrot flower.





MrsWT73 went with the fettucini with alfredo sauce and truffle oil with pine nuts. It was freshly tossed and the freshest pasta she’s ever had on a plane. I sampled some and it was excellent. Based on the presentation, it must have been prepared and tossed on board as the sauce was fresh and did not have usual stale glaze of pasta that had been sitting and subsequently re-heated.

I was stuffed by this point. So I went light on the dessert and stuck with chocolate Haagen Daz ice cream, paired with chateau Pontent-Canet 5ieme Grand Cru Classee of Pauillac 2007- per the promotion card, the first classified growth estate that has moved to 100% bio-dynamic farming.



MrsWT73 had the cheese plate of brie, stilon, taleggio and machego which was brought out on a slab for her to chose form, then cut and plated in the galley. No noticeable galley noise today on this flight.



Of course, there had to be small chocolates at the end of this festivus, along with a towel service.



After the orgy of food, I requested the turndown service for the bed and dozed off for a few remaining hours of flight. The only minus of this flight is the length, in that you get a fantastic full meal service and a short sleep which personally causes me some sleeping pains when trying to nap on such a full stomach. This time was no different. Full from the food and not really tired- more nappy.



I woke up about 30 minutes from landing with the captain’s announcement of arrival. Lights were turned on gradually, which made it easy on the eyes to wake up. The service with this particular flight seemed much more relaxed than the continuing service aircraft from HK. YVR based crew.





On the descent, MrsWT73 announced, “I wanna stay on to Hong Kong.” She found it a better flight having experienced the mattress pad this time around.

Arrival at YVR on runway 08R (unusual- usually it’s 08L) and taxied to gate 64. Long walk for YVR to the arrivals hall through the beautiful concourse past the waterfall, native art and down the usual escalators. Four out of four Nexus machines broken tonight. Bags were out before we hit the belt.





It just doesn’t get better than CX F on board. Combine it with LH F ground services in FRA and you’d have yourself a perfect carrier. Even MrsWT73 was impressed. I usually have a hard time impressing her peculiar tastes but even CX was enough to keep her reeling their praises.

worldtraveller73

Conclusion:

Is there any other way to get to New York?

Cathay First Class is fabulous. If you haven't tried it, get some points and get in there to give it a whirl. The comfort of the suite and the service are the high points. The wine list isn't too shabby either.

Regarding NYC accommodations, I'd probably opt for another neighbourhood than Mid Down East. It didn't have the personality that I was looking for. The Westin Grand Central was pretty anonymous as well. With over 800 rooms, it would be hard for them to manage everyone.

New York as a city is a terrific place. I really enjoyed the Highline. I'd like to spend more time scratching beneath the surface.

Happy Contrails All...

yerffej201

Thanks for the TR. Fantastic photos. I do hate JFK and their age discriminating lounge access policy.... but that's another story.

I like CX F although I really dislike the new fabric - it's really staticky and I'd take the unrefurbished F seat any day.

offerendum

I will next year. While my wife is excited about the Hotels, I`m excited about the flight

OK, and the Hotels as well....

flyertalker00156

Thank you so much for sharing!

JVPhoto

I would recommend The Bowery Hotel or The SoHo Grand.