PX This.

Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"

So, what do you do in the industry?
I currently own three restaurants in NYC.

And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
I try to take off at least twice a year, for about a week to 10 days each time.

What made you choose la República Dominicana for this vacation?
It came highly recommended to me by a good friend of mine.

And where did you stay?
Tortuga Bay at the Puntacana Resort. My friend told me great things about it, and it sounded right up my alley. So I took a chance, and I’m glad I did.

How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Wonderful. Actually better than I had expected.

Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Major glitches? No, none. The food could have been a little better, but it wasn’t bad. As a food professional in NYC, sometimes you have to learn not to be so spoiled by the standards we keep.
Oh, and the outdoor jacuzzi on our balcony didn’t look entirely clean to me, but I tend to avoid public jacuzzis and hot tubs in general, anyway. Nasty.

Any great standout experiences?
Wow, where do I begin? First of all, I love the fact that they pick you up right on the airport tarmac and whisk you past the immigration line and you’re off and away and in your room in what feels like 10 minutes. And the little golf cart they give you is so great. I love that you can feel as private or as social as you like, because you have access to the bigger and more bustling Puntacana Resort. So all you have to do is drive your golf cart over, and it feels like a night out on the town. The little restaurant all the way over by the marina was our favorite.
And the beach is incredible. Is that the whitest sand I’ve ever seen in my life? Could be! The current kicked up the sand so the sea wasn’t quite as clear as I would have liked, but still, pretty nice. The ecological trail is fantastic, too. My kid went crazy in those lagunas. How does that water stay so unbelievably clean and clear? It was amazing.
And the fact that you have all this less than 4 hours away is incredible. I would definitely come back here.

How much did you blow all week?
Less than I would have thought. Flight: About $550 each. Room: About $750 per night. Meals/drinks daily: About $200 to $250 averaged.

Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"

So, what do you do in the industry?
I was a floor manager and beverage director for a [very popular] 110+ seat restaurant in SoHo, but I recently left. I’m currently on hiatus to travel until March.

And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
It seems to vary a lot from year to year. This year I took off about 11 weeks.

What made you choose Las Vegas and Santa Monica for this vacation?
It was a last minute trip. I just decided I didn’t want to stay in NYC for the New Years holiday, because so many of my friends were going out of town. I have friends living in both Las Vegas and Santa Monica, so I decided to visit before I flew to San Francisco where my family lives.

And where did you stay?
In Vegas, at The Wynn. I think I would have preferred to stay at THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay, but my friend booked this stay through his company somehow, and that’s where we ended up. In Santa Monica, I stayed at The Viceroy.

How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
The Wynn was fine, but a little cheesy— like almost everything in Vegas. I thought The Viceroy was beautiful and I really liked it a lot, but then toward the end of my stay, I started to get this sort of "swinger" vibe— like it seemed as though people were leaving their room doors open as some kind of sex invitation. I mentioned this to my friend who lives in Santa Monica and he just laughed at me like I’m so naive or something. I don’t know, maybe I am! That’s not quite my scene, sorry!

Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Well, since you asked— Oh my god, why is the service so bad in Las Vegas? I mean, I guess that’s just Vegas, but the service was so bad. Ugh, we went to Alex and that was awful. Sooo awful. And Bar Masa? What a joke. I mean seriously— if you’re going to charge $80 for a bowl of risotto, you’d better get your shit together, what the fuck. OK, it was a $48 sea urchin risotto, but then they put truffle on it for an extra charge. Well, why wasn’t the truffle freshly shaved at the table? It’s supposed to be shaved last minute. But this was like they shaved it in the kitchen and then stuck it the window under the lamps or something. It was all messed up on top. And personally I thought the space was so ugly. Granted, not as ugly as the one in NY, but probably even uglier because you know they got millions of dollars to build this huge ugly place.
Ugh, we would have been so much better off just having dinner at Dos Caminos (where my friend is a manager)… and that’s saying a lot.

Any great standout experiences?
We did to go to Guy Savoy, too. And that was amazing. Really great.
Also, my friend works for Blue Plate Oysterette in Santa Monica so I tried dinner there. It was so good I went back a second time a day later.

How much did you blow all week?
Umm, well, I didn’t blow much. My friend paid for nearly everything in Las Vegas; I think he feels guilty because he makes so much more money than I. And I was "a guest" to my friends in Santa Monica so they took care of a lot of the expenses there, too. Right now I’d say I’m less than a $1000 down total.

Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"

So, what do you do in the industry?
I’m a chef. [And commercial kitchen consultant for several popular restaurants worldwide].

And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
Total? About 5 or 6.

What made you choose the Turks & Caicos for this vacation?
I’ve been hearing nice things about it for a while now. A good friend of mine has been there several times already, and I trust her judgment when it comes to stuff like this, because her tastes are similar to mine.

And where did you stay?
Amanyara. I love Aman hotels. If there’s an Aman wherever I’m traveling, I’m there.

How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Excellent as always. That’s why I always choose Aman whenever possible.

Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Well, funny enough— my friend, who’s also stayed at Amanyara before, tried to warn me about the "glassed up windows." Apparently, the bungalows used to have "windows" that were merely screens with adjustable louvers to block out the sun/wind if necessary. She was very disappointed to find on her last visit that they had closed up the louvers by replacing the screen with glass, apparently because of a "sand fly" problem; the tiny little flies were passing through the screens. This, in effect, makes it impossible to open the bungalow up to any fresh air at all; if you leave the sliding doors open, then of course you allow mosquitoes and other flying insects inside. My friend had tried to warn me about this prior to my booking the arrangements, but, as a person who’s partial to air conditioning anyway, I didn’t think it would be a problem. Well, it turns out my wife hated not being able to open the windows; she loves the sound of the surf at night while she’s sleeping. Plus, she would have preferred fresh air to AC, and I would have gladly given up the AC to make her happy. In this case, we didn’t have any choice.
I also don’t know why there seems to be such a noticeable fly problem at their smaller, casual restaurant near the beach. Obviously outdoors, a few flies can’t be helped. But an overabundance of flies is generally not a good sign; it usually indicates uncleanliness somewhere.

Any great standout experiences?
I did think this specific Aman hotel was particularly beautiful. And the beach was quite extraordinary.

How much did you blow all week?
For everything? About $12 grand.

Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"

So, what do you do in the industry?
I’m a real estate investor, developer and entrepreneur with considerable financial interest in the F&B industry.

And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
I tend to take a lot of shorter trips throughout the year, about every 8 to 10 weeks.

What made you choose Costa Rica for this vacation?
My wife has a very good friend in Costa Rica (who also happens to be a restaurateur). She’d been planning a visit for several months, but I convinced her to postpone it for the holidays so we could travel there together. I’d been to Costa Rica several years ago and was curious to see how it had changed and/or developed. Plus, since we were planning to be away for the New Year, I thought it best she be able to celebrate with her friend, as that can make all the difference for the holidays.

And where did you stay?
Since my wife’s friend is based in Tamarindo, we chose the best hotel we could find closest to her friend’s home, which was Tamarindo Diria. It turned out very well, because we were a mere two blocks from her restaurant, and only five blocks from her home. It’s also quite centrally located, directly on the beach, with a lot of places within walking distance.

How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
OK. For the price however, it was extraordinarily impressive. Any traveler would be hard pressed to find those accommodations at that astoundingly low price (especially during the holidays) anywhere in the world— except perhaps in Las Vegas (where the rooms in all the luxury hotels are essentially loss leaders).
Also, the food at the hotel wasn’t very good, so luckily there are numerous commendable places to dine very close by: Wok ‘n Roll, Carolina’s, Le Beach Club and El Coconut were all exceptional.

Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
The only major disappointment was that the two (other) restaurants our friend recommended to us (Paola’s and Nogui) were both closed on New Years day, and we weren’t able to rearrange our schedule to fit them in to try them. Oh, and for some reason, Tamarindo Diria was forever running out of towels.
Plus, we did have one incident where an errant forceful wave pushed my wife onto a rock and she scraped her foot and leg. She’s a trooper though, and thankfully she wasn’t hurt badly. It was a pretty good reminder that one must always be very mindful of the power of the ocean.

Any great standout experiences?
I think the trip overall was a standout, one of the best we’ve ever had. We got to meet another new friend on this trip too, and it was really wonderful and special to spend the time with them.
We also rediscovered a great modest little restaurant I first found years ago on my previous trip (Hotel Las Tortugas), and we absolutely loved its simplicity and rustic charm. We had two perfect lunches there (even though it was a good four mile walk down the beach to Playa Grande).

How much did you blow all week?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to plan the trip far enough in advance, and the last minute booking cost us pretty dearly. We barely managed to snag two available seats at $1200 each (economy; business was unavailable), which didn’t include a small domestic return flight from Liberia Guanacaste to San José ($115 each). The hotel was about $200 per night (including breakfast), and food/drink per day was probably about $200 averaged (including some dinners with friends). Other activities (sailing, equipment rentals, etc) was perhaps another $600 total.

Welcome to: Where I Spent My Week Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"

So, what do you do in the industry?
I was a General Manager/Maitre d’ for an [popular] restaurant in Tribeca, but I left there about a month ago. I also used to be a managing partner for a Midtown restaurant several years ago. I’m currently on hiatus until the end of January.

And you have how many weeks off a year, generally?
I generally take about 4 weeks off a year, but not in succession.

What made you choose Virgin Gorda for this vacation?
We weren’t able to book the trip that far in advance, so I guess our first priority was finding something that was available, nice and not too expensive considering the such late notice. I do have a travel agent and she recommended it according to my needs. We also didn’t want to travel too far and have a very long flight or a lot of connections. However, it still took almost 12 hours overall, because we had one connection and a boat ride.

And where did you stay?
At Little Dix Bay, which I think was originally built by the Rockefeller family. I did hear of Little Dix Bay prior to this; I know it was a super hotspot maybe 20 years ago. A friend of mine told me he visited there briefly around that time— he was sailing the Caribbean with friends and they dropped in there for a drink, and he loved it.

How was the ambience/service/amenities etc?
Not bad. However, the resort does seem to be a little worse for wear and could use some sprucing up here and there, especially the rooms. Also, it was a lot more family-oriented than we were led to believe, but that could also have been exacerbated because of the holiday. The beach was lovely, though.

Any major glitches and/or disappointments?
Our first meal upon arrival was at the more casual restaurant near the dock, and that was awful. The service was incredibly apathetic considering the cost of the resort as a whole. The food was pretty terrible, too. We decided to just avoid that place for the rest of the trip which affected our overall spending, because it was the least expensive dining spot. Also, if you chose not to partake in the very very expensive (!) all-you-can-eat/drink New Years Eve buffet, there were no other options for dining than room service. There must have been some kind of lesser surcharge for the buffet upon booking, because I find it very hard to believe a lot of those families (of 6 or 8+ people) paid that astonishingly exorbitant price per person for the experience. We could eat at Per Se for that kind of money.

Like I said, I also thought the room was shoddier than advertised. There were cracks in the walls and bathroom tile, for example, and the linens were cheap and worn out. There’s no TV and no dock for playing music, so late at night if we weren’t tired, we had to resort to watching movies (which we had with us) on my laptop.
Even the beach experience was somewhat strained, as these families get very territorial and downright rude about "their" little area with "their" lounge chairs and tables. So in that sense, the resort should have been better prepared for the upswing in holiday traffic and provided ample accommodations for everybody.

Any great standout experiences?
The water is the clearest and most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. It was the one thing (aside from my companion) that salvaged the trip and made it all truly worthwhile. I’m an avid swimmer, so being able to swim in the sea that was as warm, clean and placid as a pool was wonderful. The prevalent stingrays are a little scary though, but thankfully, there were no bad incidents.
Also, the complimentary daily afternoon "tea" was a nice welcomed touch. Perfect for the sunset after a day on the beach, right before freshening up for dinner.

How much did you blow all week?
The airline tickets were about $700 each. And the room was about $650 per night. Food/drinks every day were probably about $150 per day (but breakfast is included with the cost of the room).

PX This would like to extend you and your loved ones a warm and happy holidays and a prosperous new year.

We’re outta here! We’re taking a much-welcomed extended recess. We will return on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. See you next year!

:)

John Gulager presents: A small tribute to Brittany Murphy

Earlier:

• Feast

• "last night i went and had drinks with GUESS WHO…"

• "check it, it’s diane-goldner [john-gulager’s wifey. remember them?] in her fierce geld-iaz dress!"

ha ahaa look! it’s john-gulager and diane-goldner. how awesome is this:

whoa time out wait a second, you haven’t seen Feast yet?! how is that possible? PX This and Feast are like totally cosmically connected. haven’t you been paying any attention at all? what are you even doing here? what kind of half assed koreshian cultist are you?

it’s time for you to sit down and watch Feast. yah, all three of them. have a marathon. just in time for the holidays! yay!

Earlier [archived]:

• "check it, it’s diane-goldner [john-gulager’s wifey. remember them?] in her fierce geld-iaz dress!"

Ironstone Cabernet Franc 2004 – California
Cost: $5.99/half-bottle (Full bottle at about $10)

I’m still dealing with a mild head cold and sinus congestion— taking the day off to rest and load up on the Sudafed; it helps clear the nasal passages. I know I shouldn’t be drinking, but a balanced meal always includes a glass of wine. I’ve been going to the local wine shops and pretty much snapping up their half bottle selections— I enjoy venturing into new wine territories and finding a decent value is always great. This one is a cabernet franc, commonly used as a blending grape in small percentages to add complexity (most often to a wine made of cabernet sauvignon), so it’s nice to see a small handful of producers making wine of the adjunct grape. Cabernet franc, if done right, reveals a subtle vegetal/green spice, and it can be quite difficult to harness that on its own— but the Kautz family, who produce the Ironstone Cab Franc, seems to have gotten the recipe quite right. Notes of roasted cherry and red berries are promising and with just a touch of sage and green leaf to make the wine interesting. It’s silky and slightly watery in texture, perhaps its only fault, as the mid-palate is quite light and lackluster. But for the price, it’s a pretty good value and certainly has enough in it to capture your attention. And then you sip again… Sweet!
Rating: 86

All your favorite NYC denizens, captured drunk on video— and slurring their words and everything! What more could you possibly ask for? Now it really feels like Christmas!

:)

See also: “SPOTTED: Indochine’s 25th Anniversary”