Doing New York Right with David Rosengarten

December 5-9, 2007

Wednesday, December 5:

If you’re coming from out of town, check into your hotel, relax and get ready for an exciting evening! If you prefer, you can make your own hotel arrangements or commute from home – but we’re holding prime, Park View rooms at the Helmsley Park Lane on Central Park South with lovely, gentle Central Park greeting you every time you glance out of your picture-perfect window. And Fifth Avenue shopping is just steps away…

Views from the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel

6:00 PM Gala Arrival Cocktails at:

King Cole Bar, The St. Regis Hotel, New York

Two East 55th Street at Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022

Fernand Petiot, who created the Bloody Mary in Paris, also brought it to America at the King Cole Bar where he added more spice and renamed it the “Red Snapper”. It’s a perfect place to unwind from your travels. Maxfield Parrish’s mural of Old King Cole and his fiddlers three sets an elegant yet playful mood – but don’t overdo the almonds, macadamias and wasabi peas because there’s serious dining ahead for us!

~8:00 PM Dinner at:

206 Spring St. (between 6th Ave. and Sullivan St., i.e., SoHo)

Since its opening in 2002, multiple three-star reviews have established Fiamma as one of the top Italian restaurants in New York City. With the introduction of Chef-Partner Fabio Trabocchi in September 2007, a multi-starred award-winner himself, Fiamma is set to ignite as he presents a menu steeped in regional Italian traditions recast with modern vision.

A devotion to style and authenticity, executed with the finest ingredients and supreme artistry, reflects throughout every aspect of this SoHo mainstay, one of Stephen Hanson’s B.R. Guest properties. Entering the New York dining scene for the first time, Chef Trabocchi brings with him such prestigious awards as the James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic (2006) and Food & Wine Best New Chef (2002). Hailing from Italy’s Le Marche region, he has already made his mark on Italian dining around the world – in Moscow, London and (most recently) Washington, DC, where he received a series of four-star reviews from the Washington Post for his restaurant Maestro at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson’s Corner, MacLean, VA. In addition, Trabocchi brings a team of loyal chefs (among them, Chef de Cuisine Nicholas Stefanelli and Pastry Chef Tom Wellings) who have followed him from Maestro to take part in keeping Fiamma as hot as ever.

With the menu at Fiamma, Chef Trabocchi displays his passion for Italy’s culinary traditions redefined with bold style and a contemporary sensibility. Drawing from such well-known preparations as Carpaccio and Gnocchi, Trabocchi redesigns the dishes through the principles of form, structure and artistry to present something that is both familiar and completely new. In the case of Carpaccio, Chef Trabocchi rolls the paper-thin prime beef tenderloin around tofu that has been marinated in lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, honey and extra virgin olive oil, topped with a crisp of Parmigiano Reggiano and a poached quail egg. Meanwhile, for the Sicilian classic, La Pasta con le Sarde, Chef Trabocchi adds dill and pine nuts onto a bed of Neapolitan vermicelli, nestled beside sardines gratin.

Extensive sourcing of the finest ingredients combined with such meticulous culinary practices as butchering on-premise, results in an array of dishes that are richly layered and precisely prepared: From the bold Il Rombo, roasted and hay-smoked turbot served with a ragu of chanterelle mushrooms, to the refreshing Il Branzino, wild striped bass poached in extra virgin olive oil served with sea beans and topped with the traditional Sicilian Salmoriglio and raw razor clams, to  Il Vitello da Latte, a duo of roasted veal rib eye and slow-braised veal cheeks served with silky-textured fine mashed potatoes and hazelnuts, and Il Bue, seared Kobe beef with celery root, Brasato sauce, bone marrow and nepitella, an herb native to Italy that tastes like a combination of parsley and mint. 

Pastry Chef Tom Wellings applies the same principles of traditional ingredients elevated with modern technique in his artful array of desserts, which includes such delicacies as Il Gelato, sheep yogurt ice cream served with pear soup, pinenuts and fresh blossoms, and I Fichi e La Ricotta, warm black figs poached in port and served with buffalo ricotta gelato (a whimsical dessert expression of a traditional cheese course). Fiamma receives a new face to its wine program in the form of Sommelier Ania Zawieja, formerly of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at Four Seasons Hotel, New York, who adds to the existing array of Italian wines with selection from the classic regions of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Spain and the United States in honor of Trabocchi’s bold, rich flavors. The wine list will feature 600 selections and 20 wines by the glass as well as an extensive array of grappas. B.R. Guest Master Mixologist Eben Klemm completes the picture with a cocktail menu designed to evoke Italy’s aperitif traditions, combining a playful garnish of rose foam to the Citrus cocktail of Plymouth gin, grapefruit, Mirto and Campari, and the seasonal fruits of quince and cranberry to Belvedere vodka and egg white for a Fruit drink.

Just as Chef Trabocchi reignites the kitchen at Fiamma, designer Jeffrey Beers refreshes the sophisticated, modern Italian décor with newly upholstered banquettes in shades of white-gold and deep chocolate, smoke-colored glass pendants that cast a sultry glow, and a Venetian red wall of luxurious, rare eel skin. Shades of amber, crimson and earth underscore a theme of Italy’s heritage re-imagined with contemporary style.

Fabio Trabocchi, Chef-Partner is meticulous about his cooking – from the sourcing of ingredients to the butchering of meat to the Italian traditions that are the foundation of his dishes. This attention to detail is, in turn, evident in his extensive knowledge of Italy’s culinary heritage, skillful techniques and creative imagination. As a result, Chef Trabocchi has received considerable acclaim for his talents. However, while honored by the attention and awards, Fabio sees things differently. To him, he is only as good as his last dish, and his accomplishments are equal testimony to the skill and talent of his culinary team.

Fabio’s passion for cooking grew organically beside his father and grandparents growing up in Italy’s Le Marche region. First exposed to the wonders of fresh, seasonal ingredients and his homeland’s culinary traditions on his family’s farm, a young Fabio was frequently dispatched to the local butcher, baker, vegetable stand and fishmonger to buy ingredients – all of whom guided him to the best products with a wink or a nod. Fabio’s grandmothers, in turn, taught him the ways of preparation, a responsibility he took very seriously, practicing relentlessly until he got things right. By the age of 8, he was very comfortable in the kitchen, which explains his decision to pursue culinary school in his early teens and his progression of apprenticeships in kitchens throughout the region. By age 16, he was working in the kitchen of a three-star Michelin restaurant, Gaultiero Marchesi, and at 18, he was responsible for the entire kitchen staff at the Michelin one-star Navalge Moena. By age 20, he was Chef de Cuisine at the exclusive club Byblos in the seaside town of Rimini.

In addition to his passion for food, Fabio’s passion for travel was another inspiration for his career choice. This passion was fed through a series of moves after leaving Rimini: He ventured to Moscow to open an Italian dinner club, then to Washington, DC, to serve as Chef at Bice Ristorante, and then to Marbella, Spain, where he opened another Bice in the five-star Puente Romano Hotel. From Spain, he moved to London to open Grissini at the Park Hyatt Hotel, a sister restaurant to the Grissini at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong. While still in London, Fabio began to showcase his own culinary style at the celebrated Floriana, where he won the Carlton Award for London’s Best Young Chef in 1999. The acclaim, in turn, earned him the attention of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC, which invited him to design his own kitchen and create the vision and concept for Maestro in the Ritz-Carlton Tyson’s Corner in McLean, VA. It was while at Maestro, where he created a study in the evolution of Italian cuisine, he launched into a new stratosphere of the American dining scene. In 2002, he was named Food & Wine’s Best New Chef, Chef of the Year in 2005 by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, and the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef – Mid-Atlantic in 2006. As the restaurant’s chef de cuisine, he also earned a series of four-star reviews from the Washington Post.

Describing his style as very bold, Trabocchi’s culinary philosophy is steeped in regional Italian traditions. “I’m part of a generation of Italian chefs who are not set in the past,” he says. “It is important to respect our traditions, but also to bring them up to modern tastes through presentation and technique.” Trabocchi celebrates his personal culinary heritage in his first cookbook, Cucina of Le Marche (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2006), co-authored with Peter Kaminsky.

Trabocchi shares his philosophy with his cooks, many of whom followed him from Maestro in Washington, DC, to Fiamma in New York. He demands the same level of quality and precision as he demands of himself and his dishes. As explained by both Nicholas Stefanelli, Fiamma’s Chef de Cuisine, and Tom Wellings, Fiamma’s Pastry Chef, “Fabio can see quality in a person or an ingredient; he knows how to draw it out even when you, yourself, don’t realize it’s there.”

~10:30 PM Buonanotte, amici! Use our private bus to your Manhattan hotel or garage, or continue to light up New York on your own.

Thursday, December 6:

Breakfast on your own. (It’s impossible to do breakfast wrong in New York! The Park Lane has a sit-down affair in its lovely 2^nd floor restaurant overlooking Central Park. For the adventurous, we’ve gathered a number of suggestions and their menus for the asking.)

~9:30 AM Private bus to:

A Morning of Great Art, Old and New

10:00 AM
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street

Our private guide takes us through the highly acclaimed special exhibition, The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings and the related Drawings and Prints from Holland’s Golden Age, after which we will have free time to explore. If you haven’t seen the newly expanded permanent Greek and Roman Galleries, the masterful layout and lighting show off the sheer volume and overwhelming quality of these collections that rival any on earth.

Special Exhibition: The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A display of some 230 Dutch paintings from the Museum’s superb collection, dating from about 1590 to 1800. 2nd floor. From September 18, 2007–January 6, 2008.

Special Exhibition: Drawings and Prints from Holland’s Golden Age: Highlights from the Collection: A selection of drawings and prints by artists active in Holland during the 17th century, chosen from the Museum’s collection. 2nd floor. From September 18, 2007–January 6, 2008.

Permanent Exhibition: New Greek and Roman Galleries: Opened April 20, 2007, the eagerly awaited opening of this new complex of Hellenistic, Etruscan, and Roman galleries completes the reconstruction and reinstallation of the permanent galleries of Greek and Roman art. Greek and Roman Art Galleries, 1st floor.

11:50 AM Bus leaves front of Metropolitan Museum for:

12:20 PM

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

11 West 53^rd Street at Sixth Avenue

After a total renovation over the course of two years, MoMA is back in its expanded Manhattan digs. A new design by Japanese architect Yushio Taniguchi retains architectural elements of the old building while giving the galleries a spectacular transformation. The layout, which groups most artwork in chronological order, will reveal its secrets with the help of our private tour guide, who will take us through the two major special exhibits of this season, one on Georges Seurat and the other on Martin Puryear, after which we will have time to explore the museum’s permanent collection of world class modern and contemporary art.

Vincent van Gogh’s "The Starry Night," Pablo Picasso’s "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," René Magritte’s "The False Mirror"

Roy Lichtenstein’s "Girl with Ball, " Andy Warhol’s "Golden Marilyn, " ‘Marc Chagall’s "I and the Village," Paul Cézanne’s "The Bather," Gauguin’s "The Seed of Areol"

Auguste Rodin’s "Monument to Balzac," Henri Matisse’s "Dance(I)"

Special Exhibition: Georges Seurat: The Drawings.

Once described as "the most beautiful painter’s drawings in existence," Georges Seurat’s mysterious and luminous works on paper played a crucial role in his short, vibrant career. This comprehensive exhibition—the first in almost twenty-five years to focus exclusively on Seurat’s drawings—will present over 135 works, primarily the artist’s incomparable conté drawings along with a small selection of oil sketches and paintings. Surveying the artist’s entire oeuvre, from his academic training through the emergence and elaboration of his unique methods to the studies made for his monumental canvases (such as the renowned A Sunday on La Grande Jatte), the exhibition will also present important new research on his artistic strategies and materials. In bridging description and evocation, Seurat masses tones to abstract figures, weaves skeins of conté crayon to test the limits of decipherable space, and engages with the Parisian metropolis, illuminating urban types, revealing the ever-expanding industrial suburbs, and offering a tour through the world of nineteenth-century popular entertainment. Most of all, his dramatization of the relationship between light and shadow resulted in a distinct body of work. Though Seurat is perhaps best known as the inventor of pointillism, this exhibition will demonstrate his tremendous achievement as a draftsman and the significance of his working methods and themes for the art of the twentieth century. Sixth floor. October 28, 2007–January 7, 2008

Special Exhibition: Martin Puryear: Sculpture

The Museum of Modern Art presents a major exhibition of the sculpture of the acclaimed American artist Martin Puryear (b. 1941). The retrospective will feature approximately forty-five sculptures, following the development of Puryear’s artistic career over the last thirty years, from his first solo museum show in 1977 to the present day. Puryear began his career in the 1970s alongside other members of the Post-Minimalist generation. Working primarily in wood, he has maintained an unwavering commitment to manual skill and traditional building methods. His sculptures are rich with psychological and intellectual references, examining issues of identity, culture, and history. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication illustrating all works in the exhibition, with additional reference illustrations of the artist’s works and other comparative material. Sixth Floor. November 4, 2007–January 14, 2008.

1:45 PM Walk one block to Lunch at:

Le Bernardin

155 West 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenue

Le Bernardin, New York’s internationally acclaimed four-star seafood restaurant, was born in Paris in 1972 by sibling duo Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze. Dedicated entirely to the cuisine of Gilbert Le Coze, the self-taught seafood wizard, it only served fish: Fresh, simple and prepared with respect. Le Bernardin was named after an order of monks who liked to eat and drink and a song about the monks that Gabriel Le Coze, Maguy’s and Gilbert’s father, kept singing to them.

Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze were born and raised in a small village called Port Navalo in Brittany, France. Le Coze’s parents owned and operated a small restaurant and inn, the Hotel de Rhuys. Gilbert received his cooking lessons by helping his grandfather and father in the kitchen and on the fishing boat while Maguy Le Coze worked alongside her mother in the dining room.

The dual combination of Gilbert’s new cooking techniques — unheard of in the Haute Cuisine-obsessed salons of Paris’ better restaurants in the early seventies—with Maguy’s energy and drive in the dining room propelled Le Bernardin to one Michelin star in 1976. Considering that Le Bernardin was opened on a shoestring budget with Maguy’s and Gilbert’s parents helping out in the kitchen as the only employees on opening night, the Michelin accolades were an incredible accomplishment.

Continuing its success story, in 1980 the restaurant moved to a larger location garnering two coveted Michelin stars. This was the highest acclaim for a seafood-only restaurant since the powerful Michelin organization reserves the right to bestow three stars to restaurants with menus that also offer meat, games, poultry and fish to its diners. Le Bernardin insisted on only serving the best fish, carving out a niche in the competitive restaurant world of Paris and establishing an international reputation.

Inspired by the triumph of Le Bernardin in Paris and its many American clients, the Le Coze’s sought to open a Le Bernardin in New York in 1986. By again employing the technique of "divide and conquer", Maguy commanded the functions of the dining room and décor, while seafood virtuoso Gilbert took control of the kitchen.

In no time, Le Bernardin became a four star restaurant which is renown for setting standards in the cooking of seafood in America. The restaurant holds several records in New York: it received its four star review from the New York Times only three months after opening—that’s how much Gilbert’s unconventional cooking had taken New Yorkers—and is the only New York four star restaurant that has maintained its status of excellence for more than 10 years. Reviews have come in 1986, 1989 and 1995 with the same verdict: Four stars.

After the unexpected death of her brother Gilbert in 1994, Maguy Le Coze is now working closely with her partner/chef Eric Ripert. Ripert, one of the brightest talents in the kitchens of the world, and Le Coze continue to uphold Le Bernardin’s position as one of the world’s premier restaurants. In 1998, Maguy Le Coze won the coveted James Beard Award for "Outstanding Restaurant" in America, and in May 2003 the James Beard Foundation named Eric Ripert “Outstanding Chef”.  The 2004 Zagat’s Guide rated Le Bernardin number one for food in New York.

Finally, in 2006, Michelin gave its three stars to this venerable Seafood Mecca, one of the first group of American restaurants to be so honored.

Eric Ripert, Chef-Partner

Le Bernardin’s Chef Eric Ripert, the James Beard Award recipient for 2003 Outstanding Chef of the Year (Chef Ripert’s acceptance speech at WWW.JAMESBEARD.ORG) was born in Antibes, France, in 1965. He began his relationship with food in the most formative of all kitchens, his grandmother’s. Watching, tasting and learning at her elbow, Ripert developed the Mediterranean palate that influences his cooking today. When the young chef’s family moved to Andorra, just over the Spanish border, he expanded his repertoire to include Spanish flavors and ingredients. 

Ripert attended culinary school in Perpignan, and in 1982 moved to Paris to work at La Tour D’Argent, the renowned Parisian establishment that dates back more than 400 years.  After two years as a cook, Ripert moved to the Michelin three-star, Jamin, where he soon was promoted to Assistant Chef de Partie. He left to fulfill his military service in 1985, then returned at the request of Jamin chef/owner Joel Robuchon, as Chef Poissonier.

Ripert came to the United States in 1989 to work as sous chef at Jean Louis in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. In 1991, he moved to New York, where he worked briefly as sous-chef under David Bouley until he was offered to work for Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze as a chef for Le Bernardin. 

In 1995, Ripert earned a four star rating from the New York Times, and has subsequently been praised in magazines such as Gourmet, Food Arts, The Wine Spectator, W and Elle. In 1997, GQ named Le Bernardin the best restaurant in America. It continues to receive critical acclaim for its food and service, including being recognized by the Zagat Guide as the “Best Food” in New York City for the past four consecutive years. In 1998, the James Beard Foundation named Le Bernardin Outstanding Restaurant of the Year and Eric Ripert Top Chef in New York City, and in 1999 they received the Outstanding Service Award.  In 2003, the Beard Foundation named Ripert Outstanding Chef in the United States. In 2006, Le Bernardin was one of the first four American restaurants to be awarded three Michelin stars.

Ripert is the Chair of City Harvest’s Food Council.  In this capacity he works to bring together New York’s top chefs, restaurateurs and others in the food community to assist City Harvest in its mission to raise funds and to increase the quantity and quality of food donations. Ripert is also the President of the newly formed Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation.  The foundation serves as an ongoing tribute to Chef Jean-Louis Palladin and seeks to keep alive his great contributions to the culinary arts.  Part of its mission will be to develop programs to increase the understanding and appreciation of high quality ingredients among young chefs and food professionals.  

Ripert has been the guest chef at the French Embassy in both Mexico and in Venezuela, at the masters of Food and Wine in Carmel, California, and for the New York City Ballet.  In 1996, Chef Ripert became a part owner of Le Bernardin.

After lunch, bus to hotel … or you could start working on your shopping list – but there will be plenty of time for shopping tomorrow and Saturday!

6:15 PM Bus pick-up for a Thursday Evening of Jazz – we start our evening preparing for a high level of jazz by getting a little high with open bar and hors d’oeuvres at:

Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola

Jazz at Lincoln Center continues to make its expanding case for New York as the jazz Mecca of the world, with its flagship nightclub, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, bringing the hottest jazz bands in the business to New York’s Time Warner showcase. You can expect a spicy variety of world-class musicians to grace its stage. “We welcome all to come, enjoy the great music, the great view and the great food,” Jazz at Lincoln Center director Wynton Marsalis explains. "Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola is designed to entertain people in the spirit that Dizzy had...very welcoming. We want people to have a good time. We want the musicians to feel comfortable to play. We want people to come in and have a memorable experience. This whole facility is designed for international participation. This is a hall of integration...to bring everything together."

7:30 PM This evening’s Coca-Cola Club headliner is the amazing:

Lewis Nash Quintet

Featuring

Lewis Nash, drums

Jimmy Greene, tenor and soprano saxophones

Jeremy Pelt, trumpet

Renee Rosnes, piano

Peter Washington, bass.

Lewis Nash, Drums and Band Leader

Rhythm Is My Business" is the title of his debut recording as a leader, and rhythm is a booming business as far as Lewis Nash is concerned. He is the drummer of choice for an incredible array of artists - from the masters of the music to the hottest young players of today - and is equally in demand as a clinician and educator.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Lewis developed an early interest in music and began playing drums at age 10. By age 18, he was performing with local jazz groups. By the time he was 21, Nash had become the "first call" jazz drummer in Phoenix, working with Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper, Red Garland, Lee Konitz, Barney Kessell and Slide Hampton during their engagements in the city.

In 1981, Nash moved to New York City and joined the trio of the great jazz vocalist Betty Carter. For nearly four years, he toured internationally with Ms. Carter. He is featured on three of her recordings, including the Grammy winning "Look What I Got." World-renowned bassist Ron Carter hired Nash in 1984. As a member Carter´s nonet, quintet and quartet, Nash toured extensively and is featured on several of the bassist’s recordings.

In the fall of 1986, saxophonist Branford Marsalis asked Lewis to join his quartet. That active association spanned two years and several continents, and is documented on Marsalis´ Grammy nominated recording "Random Abstract", as well as two videos: Royal Garden Blues (directed by Spike Lee) and "Branford Marsalis - Steep".

From 1988 to 2000, Lewis worked with trombone master J.J. Johnson, Don Pullen/George Adams quartet, legendary saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson and the Tommy Flanagan Trio, with whom he is featured on seven CD recordings with the late piano master. During this period, Nash also toured and recorded with both the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. His impressive discography (over 300 recordings) includes projects with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Benny Carter, Hank Jones and John Lewis, as well as new jazz stars Diana Krall, Joe Lovano and Roy Hargrove. Demonstrating his stylistic diversity, Nash is also featured on recordings by Natalie Cole, Bette Midler, Nancy Wilson, Kenny Rankin, Melissa Manchester and George Michael.

Currently, while he continues to perform and record with a wide variety of artists, Nash leads several of his own exciting groups, from duo to septet. Outside of his many touring and recording accomplishments, Lewis has become a sought after jazz educator. His lectures, clinics and workshops are as much in demand as his bandstand and studio work. Lewis Nash: Rhythm is indeed his business!

9:30 PM Private bus to Chinatown -- David leads us to a late night nosh at his favorite Cantonese den.

~11:30 PM Private bus to your Manhattan hotel.

Friday, December 7:

A Gourmet Slice of New York Life with a rather Nice, Well-Honed Knife:

Today will be a day of sausages, cheeses and pairing with wines, at very special places. For the shoppers, one option to keep in mind is that the catalogs of products at both Salumeria Biellese and Artisanal Premium Cheese Center are extensive and you will be able to take their catalogs with you and order at your leisure. The unusual opportunity of today will be to learn from the producers and the experts themselves – sort of along the lines of teach a person to catch good fish instead of just handing them a good fish… what goes into making their products and why – what difference does their special care and expertise make in the products that they produce? What taste combinations are they striving for, with say wine or cognac?

10:15 AM

Salumeria Biellese

378 8th Ave. (corner of 29th Street)

We’ll make a quick stop at Salumeria Biellese, the revered sausage and salami producer (in Manhattan, it’s a vibrant restaurant as well) where they feature Old World style Italian products with an emphasis on the highest quality ingredients, niente artificiale. We’ll get the low-down on their guanciale and culatello, spicy sopressata and wild boar cacciatorini. Grab a catalog and make a dash back to the bus, because school is about to begin – our major: cheese and wine…

11:00 AM

Artisanal Premium Cheese Center

500 West 37th St., 2nd Floor
(Entrance on 10th Avenue)

Wine, Cheese tastings, and much more! We’ll have a private, interactive, delicious, and dynamic cheese class, learning about cheese in a unique, exciting, and fun tasting experience. The school, Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, was founded by Chef Terrance Brennan, whose New York City restaurants Picholine and Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro (just across town where we’re headed for lunch today!) have revolutionized cheese appreciation in the U.S. It makes the world’s finest cheeses available nationwide as never before. Our own Cheese and Wine class will be administered by Artisanal Premium Cheese’s Dean of Curriculum and Maître Fromager Max McCalman. He will take us to the depths of the extraordinary pleasures of handcrafted cheeses, the results of the ancient art of affinage – the completion of the cheese maker’s labor of love – patiently nurturing each of the more than 300 cheeses Artisanal offers to optimal ripeness and peak flavor.

Before our class begins, Max will take us on an exclusive tour of the school’s custom-built, state-of-the-art cheese caves. Then we will proceed to our classroom where he will provide us with the roadmap for matching various cheese types with the wines that best suit them. We’ll review all the cheese basics: milk types, textures and flavors, as well as how to shop for, care for, and serve fine cheeses. Then he will guide us through choosing wines that complement each cheese type. You’ll be invited to sample luscious cheeses paired with delicate wines and discover marriages that suit your own personal taste.

Max McCalman, Dean of Curriculum and Maître Fromager

Renowned as one of the cheese world’s living legends for his expertise, insight and passion, Max McCalman is dedicated to helping others understand and enjoy the unique pleasures of artisanal cheeses. As America’s first restaurant-based Maître Fromager and a “Garde et Jure” as designated by France’s exclusive Guilde des Fromagers, Max established the critically acclaimed cheese programs at New York City’s Picholine and Artisanal restaurants over the past decade and has become a highly visible advocate for artisanal cheese production around the world.

A veteran of the food and hospitality industries, Max has spent most of his professional life as a Maître d’ Hotel and Sommelier. He served as General Manager of The Water Club in the early 1990s and joined Picholine in 1994 where, as Maître d’, became a dedicated scholar of artisanal cheeses and created that restaurant’s fabled cheese program with Chef-Proprietor Terrance Brennan.

As Dean of Curriculum at the Artisanal Premium Cheese, Max is leading the charge to raise awareness and spread the joys of artisanal cheeses to consumers and professionals alike with a distinctive, engaging style that suggests equal parts possession and obsession. Max also serves as a consultant to the trade and is a lecturer and teacher at the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School), the Culinary Institute of America, New York University, the DeGustibus Chef’s Tasting Series, The New School, and Walt Disney World. He has been featured on the Television Food Network, the CBS Evening News, the Cable News Network, and Martha Stewart Living Television. Max’s first book, The Cheese Plate (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2002) was nominated for awards by the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Cooking Professionals. His latest book, Cheese: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best (Clarkson Potter), is an expansive reference on the world’s finest cheeses and wine-cheese pairings. Max lives in Manhattan with his daughter Scarlett.

12:30 PM Private bus to Lunch at (how appropriate):

Artisanal Fromagerie • Bistro • Wine Bar

2 Park Avenue, on 32nd Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue

The bustling Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar with its handsome Art-Deco inspired interior designed and configured by noted architect Adam Tihany, is a wonderful place to savor inspired French bistro dishes like Classic Swiss Fondue, Boudin Blanc, Rabbit au Reisling and more traditional fare like Coq au Vin, Cassoulet Toulousain, and Bouillabaisse. But it has become even better known for its extraordinary selection of artisan cheeses, crafted in small batches by hand, according to time-honored recipes. Artisanal features an unparalleled selection of 250 artisan cheeses matched by 160 wines by the glass, along with updated brasserie fare. Its 160-seat dining room is outfitted with a mural-sized painting that has been hanging in French bistros since the 1930’s.

Of course, our lunch menu has been designed to complement our morning cheese and wine pairing class!

Terrance Brennan, Chef-Proprietor

As Chef-Proprietor of two highly acclaimed restaurants and the man behind Artisanal Premium Cheese, Terrance Brennan has established a solid position at the forefront of New York City’s culinary scene. The son of Annandale, Virginia restaurateurs, Terrance Brennan began cooking at the age of 13 and thereby began a career that would see him rise steadily through the ranks of America’s most renowned and imaginative chefs. Following positions at several Washington, D.C. restaurants and hotels, Terrance served as a saucier at Le Cirque under Alain Sailhac and worked in many of Europe’s greatest kitchens, including Taillevent, Le Tour d’Argent, Moulin de Mougin, Gualtiero Marchesi, and La Gavroche. Terrance’s signature culinary style took form while working under Chef Roger Vergé at Le Moulin de Mougins in the south of France. Inspired by the region’s ‘‘cuisine of the sun,’’ Terrance returned to New York City and refined his art as Chef at Annabelle’s, the Hotel Westbury’s Polo restaurant, and Prix Fixe.

In 1993, Terrance opened his first restaurant, Picholine, which he named after the petite green olives indigenous to the Mediterranean coast. The restaurant quickly earned three stars from The New York Times for its sumptuous French-Mediterranean fare, received the Zagat Survey’s Highest Overall Ratings from 1997 to the present, and is a perennial award winner for its 600+ wine selections. Picholine was also Terrance’s launching pad for the introduction of the traditional European cheese course as standard fare for fine dining in America. In September 2006, Terrance created a new design and menu concept at Picholine, bridging the gap between the formality of the previous motif and the modern sensibilities of his cuisine. Since the renovation, Picholine again earned three stars from The New York Times, four stars from Crain’s New York Business, and four stars from New York magazine.

Terrance extended his groundbreaking cheese service in 2001 with Artisanal, a bistro-fromagerie-wine bar that gained immediate prominence as a shrine to the pleasures of fine cheeses and was awarded Best Brasserie Cuisine in the 2002 Zagat Survey. Over 160 wines by the glass are available to pair with a dizzying selection of cheeses, seasonal fondues, along with the City’s finest French brasserie cuisine.

Paying the ultimate ‘‘homage to the fromage’’ in the spring of 2003, Terrance opened the Artisanal Premium Cheese - a 10,000-square-foot facility dedicated to the selection, maturation and distribution of the world’s finest artisanal cheeses. The cheese center is home to five custom-designed cheese caves - the first of their kind in the United States - where more than 300 expert-selected cheeses are affined (aged) to their peak of flavor and made available to America’s top-rated restaurants and connoisseurs alike. The cheese center also hosts a wide variety of educational classes for consumer and professional audiences year-round and offers Artisanal signature products like its Premium Cheesecake and line of Gougères.

On February 28, 2007, Terrance set the Guinness World Record™ for the World’s Largest Fondue live on NBC’s TODAY show. He created a 2,100-pound cheese fondue in a 220-year-old, three-ton kettle heated by custom propane burners. Brennan’s fondue combined the highest quality ingredients, including grated gruyère and Swiss cheese, white wine and a signature seasoning mix consisting of salt, lemon, pepper and garlic. The cheese fondue was donated to City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization servicing New York City for 25 years.

A frequent guest on the TODAY show, Terrance has also appeared on Television Food Network, PBS, The Martha Stewart Show, CBS’s The Early Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly. Terrance, who was named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine and nominated for two 2007 James Beard Foundation Awards (Best Chef: New York and for Outstanding Restaurant for his work at Picholine), shares his love of cooking in his cookbook, Artisanal Cooking: A Chef Shares His Passion for Handcrafting Great Meals at Home (Wiley, 2005).

2:45 PM Take the bus back to your hotel or go shopping on your own.

Friday Evening: Doing New York Right Means Optional Entertainment Choices

We thought about taking the group as a whole to a must-see opera or the hottest Broadway show or the Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular, etc. But we concluded that the experience of doing New York right should somehow resound with the incredible diversity of the Big Apple – somehow we should strive to accommodate everybody’s individual taste in this land of the free – and in the city with the best and most diverse entertainment money can buy…. When we gather afterwards, we’ll be able to share our divergent evenings. So tickets are optional and at your request. That being said, assuming most of you want the best available tickets of the shows you choose, the best way to ensure that is to walk right up to the box office and talk it over with the real ticket masters of New York... and that’s what we’re going to do. You can choose from the list of suggestions under both Friday and Saturday, and if you don’t see what you have your heart set on, let us know and we’ll put our sneakers on and head over to their box office… Give us a phone number to reach you in case there are any choices to be made when we’re at the point of purchase, or trust us to get the best available seats. Ticket purchases are nonrefundable.

A.

8:00 PM December 7: Bellini’s Norma, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; Met Price List A below

Bellini’s masterpiece: “The supreme bel canto opera—an ideal marriage of dramatic rigor and vocal refinement—returns to the Met with the intense Russian soprano Maria Guleghina in the notoriously demanding title role. She performs opposite the formidable mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick, who sings the role of Norma’s rival, Adalgisa. Maurizio Benini, who led last season’s hit production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, conducts.”

7:00 PM or 9:30 PM December 7: 2007 Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Radio City Music Hall.

This year, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular invites you to a celebration 75 Years in the making – a once-in-a-lifetime, extraordinary experience that will redefine "Spectacular" from the moment you enter the doors! Snow will fall, the glow of fireworks will light up the stage, and the Rockettes will debut three new dazzling numbers as part this year’s spectacular celebration. The show promises to delight from the moment you enter the hall with a showcase honoring their enduring tradition, and immersive moments that will envelop you and your loved ones in the true meaning of Christmas.

8:00 PM December 7: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. New York City Ballet, State Theater, Lincoln Center. ($110 standard peak)

There’s nothing like George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker  – The greatest dance company in the world’s perennial favorite. Remember? Of course, you do. Little Marie at the Christmas party. The marching toy soldiers  and the adorable  mice. The Sugar Plum Fairy and Mother Ginger in her 85-pound dress.  A dreamy on-stage snowstorm and Tchaikovsky’s memorable music. So many beautiful ballet dancers, so many magical sets and the one-ton Christmas tree that no one can ever forget. 

B.

Choose from this list of major theaters or dig up a smaller gem:

Dramas

Come Back, Little Sheba – Biltmore Theatre 

Cymbeline – Vivian Beaumont Theater 

Farnsworth Invention, The – Music Box Theatre 

Homecoming, The – Cort Theatre 

Mauritius – Biltmore Theatre 

Pygmalion – American Airlines Theatre (Comedy/Drama)

Rock ‘n’ Roll – Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly Royale) 

Seafarer, The – Booth Theatre 

Top Girls – Biltmore Theatre 

Comedies

Is He Dead? – Lyceum Theatre 

November – Ethel Barrymore Theatre 

Pygmalion – American Airlines Theatre (Comedy/Drama)

Ritz, The – Studio 54 

Musicals

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The – Circle in the Square Theatre 

Avenue Q – John Golden Theatre 

Catered Affair, A – Walter Kerr Theatre 

Chicago – Ambassador Theatre 

Chorus Line, A – Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (formerly Plymouth) 

Color Purple, The – Broadway Theatre 

Curtains – Al Hirschfeld Theatre 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas – St. James Theatre 

Drowsy Chaperone, The – Marquis Theatre 

Grease – Brooks Atkinson Theatre 

Hairspray – Neil Simon Theatre 

In the Heights – Richard Rodgers Theatre 

Jersey Boys – August Wilson Theatre (formerly Virginia) 

Legally Blonde – Palace Theatre 

Les Misérables – Broadhurst Theater 

Lion King, The – Minskoff Theatre 

Little Mermaid, The – Lunt-Fontanne Theatre 

Lone Star Love – Belasco Theatre 

Mamma Mia! – Winter Garden Theatre 

Mary Poppins – New Amsterdam Theatre 

Monty Python’s Spamalot – Sam S. Shubert Theatre 

Phantom of the Opera, The – Majestic Theatre 

Rent – Nederlander Theatre 

South Pacific – Vivian Beaumont Theater 

Spring Awakening – Eugene O’Neill Theatre 

Sunday in the Park With George – Studio 54 

Wicked – Gershwin Theatre 

Xanadu – Helen Hayes Theatre 

Young Frankenstein – Hilton Theatre 

Solos

Bronx Tale, A – Walter Kerr Theatre 

Year of Magical Thinking, The – Booth Theatre

~10:30 PM After our evening performances, wherever you are, you are invited to:

A private apartment

853 Seventh Avenue between 54^th and 55^th

The theater district might just as well be known as the Kosher Deli district, with one pile of pastrami stacking up against dozens of delicious competitors. But there’s no question about who’s the King: it’s the Carnegie Deli – but it has one major draw back: it’s no place to write home about, what with the unwashed masses crowded in like sardines and being mistreated by overworked, impatient waiters, whose major goal seems to get rid of you as fast as they can. We’ve solved that problem with one of the great secrets of New York – it’s the Take-Out Capital of the world! Of course, it helps if you have a spacious apartment across the street to take advantage of the local fare – and that’s what we have! We’ll improvise on the timing: those who are free are welcome to join David as he walks into Carnegie Deli and orders and orders… if you prefer you can meet us across the street. On the menu: Matza Ball Soup, mounds of pastrami, corn beef and brisket, stellar homemade rye bread, perfect pickles, potato salad and cole slaw, Dr. Brown’s Celery, Cream and Black Cherry soda, fine wine and beer. Dessert? Why, New York Cheese Cake, of course.

Saturday, December 8:

Sleep late or beat the shopping hordes to come. Whatever you do, don’t fill up…

12:30–4:30 PM Nine-Course Chef’s Tasting Menu, preceded by open bar, passed canapés, champagne and wine at:

10 Columbus Circle), 4th Floor (Time Warner Center at 60th Street)

Jackets are required for gentlemen. Neither Jeans, sneakers, t-shirts nor shorts are permitted.

Okay, we know it’s the most expensive meal in the Western Hemisphere, but is it worth it? We’re going to give Per Se every opportunity to prove themselves. From the open bar with passed canapés, wine and champagne reception in our private dining room through each of the nine courses, we’ll live the ambience, service and, of course, the tastes that have welled from the vision of Chef Owner Thomas Keller. David is working with both chef and sommelier, and will give us his take on the meal between courses.

PER SE opened in the spring of 2004 the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle in New York. With it, Thomas Keller brought his distinctive hands-on approach from Napa Valley’s THE FRENCH LAUNDRY to New York, reflecting his intense focus on detail that extends to cuisine, presentation, mood and surroundings. Keller chose Adam Tihany, today’s pre-eminent restaurant/hotel designer to draw together subtle references of The French Laundry and elements from both his and Keller’s pasts. From the Blue Door entrance (modeled after the famed blue door at The French Laundry) to the fireplace, fieldstone and elegant but simple décor, one feels as if they’re dining in an appropriately adorned metropolitan version of Keller’s flagship restaurant in Napa Valley. The dining room holds just 15 tables and boasts spectacular views of Central Park. There’s also a salon, bar, wine cellar, a private room for 10 and another that accommodates up to 60 guests.

It is fair to say that Per Se has utterly won over the food critics: words like magical and witty are tossed with superlatives like genius. Here is a sample from of Robb Report’s review: “The East Coast twin of French Laundry, Keller’s famed restaurant in Yountville, Calif., Keller says that, gastronomically, the two restaurants display the same high standards and occasionally some of the same dishes, such as butter-poached lobster, a French Laundry staple. Keller often leaves Per Se in the hands of chef de cuisine Jonathan Benno, who works with him to create a unique brand of haute American cuisine. Their interpretation involves brilliant (if maddeningly exact) French technique and fanatical pursuit of the finest ingredients coupled with American dynamism, courage, and whimsy in the use and presentation of those ingredients. For example, the Per Se version of macaroni and cheese is made with mascarpone-dressed orzo that serves as the bed for a lobster, cooked sous vide (poached in an airtight plastic wrap to maintain its juices). The lobster is served in a flight of three tails poached in butter and lacquered with different glazes: saffron-vanilla sauce, red beet jus, and vermouth glaze. Each has a buttery sea-brine flavor and texture, but the sauces impart subtle complementary accents. Pastry chef Sébastien Rouxel’s desserts display the same wit and skill of the main courses. His rendition of a Creamsicle consists of a scoop of orange-scented vanilla ice cream drenched with molten Valrhona chocolate that quickly hardens into a shell. A tasting of prunes cooked sous vide alongside a trio of fennel-flavored morsels is equally memorable. The herb also finds its way into the accompanying toast, the marmalade, and the Yountville fennel bud ice cream, which is made from fennel grown near French Laundry. Like French Laundry, Per Se is characterized by innovation and craftsmanship, and by Keller’s complete control of the operation, which he declines to compare to other New York restaurants. “We’re trying to look at ourselves to make a difference, not at others. I don’t mean that at all arrogantly, but rather humbly—I like to think that we make a difference with what we are by who we are.”  —Anthony Giglio.

Thomas Keller, Chef, Owner

Thomas Keller is internationally renowned for his innovation and dedication in his culinary pursuits. Born in Southern California and later moving to Florida, Keller began his culinary career, as a teenager, working in a Palm Beach restaurant managed by his mother. His passion for cooking took him to France in 1983, to apprentice in the kitchens of Guy Savoy, Michael Pasquet, Gerard Besson, Taillevent, Le Toit de Passey, Chiberta and Le Pré Catelan. Returning to New York City in 1984, he gained recognition at La Reserve and Restaurant Raphael, before opening his first restaurant, Rakel, in 1986. He received rave reviews for five years until he moved to Los Angeles as executive chef of Checkers Hotel.

Keller purchased The French Laundry in 1994, with the goal of creating a three-star country French restaurant in the heart of the Napa Valley. Keller credits his staff for the many accolades and awards that the restaurant has received. The French Laundry Cookbook, authored by Keller, was awarded three 1999 International Association of Culinary Professionals awards, including Cookbook of the Year, as well as the 1999 Versailles Cookbook Award in Paris. In 1998, Keller opened Bouchon, also located in Yountville. The casual French bistro, designed by Adam Tihany, has been a favorite for locals and a destination as well. More recently, he opened Bouchon Bakery next door. Keller also collaborated with Raynaud and the design firm Level on a collection of simple yet sophisticated white porcelain dinnerware called Point (in homage to the great French chef and restaurateur, Fernand Point). Keller has also delved into the world of wines. Modicum, a Napa Valley Cabernet, has been developed with French Laundry General Manager Laura Cunningham. In 2004, he opened Bouchon at the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas as well as the highly anticipated Per Se in the Time Warner Building in New York City.

4:30 PM Au revoir, mes amis nouveaux! Plenty of time to rest before a Saturday evening performance of your choice.

Saturday Evening: Doing New York Right Entertainment Options (All Tickets Subject to Availability)

A.

8:00 PM December 8: Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; Met Price List B below

Who better to portray the world’s most famous lovers than opera’s ultimate charismatic duo, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón? Gounod’s ultra-sensual interpretation of Shakespeare is an ideal vehicle for their unique and incandescent appeal. Plácido Domingo presides on the podium – one assumes Conductor Domingo will have recovered from his afternoon performance as Tenor Domingo!

8:00 PM December 8: 2007 Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Radio City Music Hall. $50-$100

This year, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular invites you to a celebration 75 Years in the making – a once-in-a-lifetime, extraordinary experience that will redefine "Spectacular" from the moment you enter the doors! Snow will fall, the glow of fireworks will light up the stage, and the Rockettes will debut three new dazzling numbers as part this year’s spectacular celebration. The show promises to delight from the moment you enter the hall with a showcase honoring their enduring tradition, and immersive moments that will envelop you and your loved ones in the true meaning of Christmas.

8:00 PM December 8: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. New York City Ballet, State Theater, Lincoln Center. ($110 standard peak)

There’s nothing like George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker  – The greatest dance company in the world’s perennial favorite. Remember? Of course, you do. Little Marie at the Christmas party. The marching toy soldiers  and the adorable  mice. The Sugar Plum Fairy and Mother Ginger in her 85-pound dress.  A dreamy on-stage snowstorm and Tchaikovsky’s memorable music. So many beautiful ballet dancers, so many magical sets and the one-ton Christmas tree that no one can ever forget. 

8:00 PM December 8: Red Hot Holiday Stomp, Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Time Warner Center

By popular demand... You roll up on the North Pole in a red ‘56 Cadillac. You sport red tweed vines, red suede shoes, a white mink tie and sing those "Arctic Basin Street Blues." Then you’re greeted by a swingin’ combo of elves in red pork-pie hats, and that’s when you know there’s only one place you can be—a Wynton Wonderland—a world where joyous music meets comic storytelling. Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe "Pinecone" Gordon, Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson, Victor Goines, Joe Temperley, "Papa" Don Vappie, Reginald Veal, Dan Nimmer, Herlin Riley and Roberta Gumbel rile the reindeer with new arrangements of holiday classics swung with Crescent City style. Bells, baby. Bells.

8:00 PM December 8: Pierre-Laurent Aimard Performs Beethoven, New York Philharmonic, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. $32-79 (better seats sold out at time of printing)

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with soloist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Smetana’s Má vlast and Dvorák’s Czech Suite. Philippe Jordan conducts.

8:00 PM December 8: Brandenburg Redux II, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Christian Zacharias, Piano Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, $25- $98

Bach’s "Brandenburg" Concerto No. 3; Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo and Finale; a new work by Christopher Theofanidis; and Schumann’s Piano Concerto.

B.

Dramas

Come Back, Little Sheba – Biltmore Theatre 

Cymbeline – Vivian Beaumont Theater 

Farnsworth Invention, The – Music Box Theatre 

Homecoming, The – Cort Theatre 

Mauritius – Biltmore Theatre 

Pygmalion – American Airlines Theatre (Comedy/Drama)

Rock ‘n’ Roll – Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly Royale) 

Seafarer, The – Booth Theatre 

Top Girls – Biltmore Theatre 

Comedies

Is He Dead? – Lyceum Theatre 

November – Ethel Barrymore Theatre 

Pygmalion – American Airlines Theatre (Comedy/Drama)

Ritz, The – Studio 54 

Musicals

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The – Circle in the Square Theatre 

Avenue Q – John Golden Theatre 

Catered Affair, A – Walter Kerr Theatre 

Chicago – Ambassador Theatre 

Chorus Line, A – Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (formerly Plymouth) 

Color Purple, The – Broadway Theatre 

Curtains – Al Hirschfeld Theatre 

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas – St. James Theatre 

Drowsy Chaperone, The – Marquis Theatre 

Grease – Brooks Atkinson Theatre 

Hairspray – Neil Simon Theatre 

In the Heights – Richard Rodgers Theatre 

Jersey Boys – August Wilson Theatre (formerly Virginia) 

Legally Blonde – Palace Theatre 

Les Misérables – Broadhurst Theater 

Lion King, The – Minskoff Theatre 

Little Mermaid, The – Lunt-Fontanne Theatre 

Lone Star Love – Belasco Theatre 

Mamma Mia! – Winter Garden Theatre 

Mary Poppins – New Amsterdam Theatre 

Monty Python’s Spamalot – Sam S. Shubert Theatre 

Phantom of the Opera, The – Majestic Theatre 

Rent – Nederlander Theatre 

South Pacific – Vivian Beaumont Theater 

Spring Awakening – Eugene O’Neill Theatre 

Sunday in the Park With George – Studio 54 

Wicked – Gershwin Theatre 

Xanadu – Helen Hayes Theatre 

Young Frankenstein – Hilton Theatre 

Solos

Bronx Tale, A – Walter Kerr Theatre 

Year of Magical Thinking, The – Booth Theatre

~10:30 PM After our evening performances, wherever you are, you are invited to:

A private apartment (or…)

853 Seventh Avenue between 54^th and 55^th

David insists New York can and should provide an improvised late night nosh based on the the group’s locations and group’s last minute vote (type A’s: feel free to assert yourselves!), especially after our Per Se extravaganza. Get ready to mix skepticism with giddy expectations! Just a thought from David: Korean barbeque anyone?

Sunday, December 9:

Check out of hotel. Happy holidays!

P.S. There’s a 9:00 AM performance of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at 51^st and 6^th Avenue…

Still time to walk by the Christmas Tree and Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center – 50^th and 5^th Avenue…

Shopping tip: Need to do some more shopping? Leave bags with concierge until you need to depart. Some private shoppers have Sunday morning availabilities and you can call them to solicit ideas and have items shipped. If you’re interested, we have a list of “screened” private shoppers at many stores from Bergdorf Goodman’s and Saks to FAO Schwartz.

Metropolitan Opera Price List A

Orchestra Premium	$295	Grand Tier Front	$205
Orchestra Prime	$205	Grand Tier Rear	$140
Orchestra Balance	$140	Dress Circle Premium	$160
Orchestra Rear	$110	Dress Circle	$110
Center Parterre Premium	$375	Balcony Premium	$90
Center Parterre Boxes	$320	Balcony	$70
Side Parterre Boxes	$140	Family Circle Front	$36
Grand Tier Premium	$295	Family Circle	$15

Metropolitan Opera Price List B

Orchestra Premium	$295	Grand Tier Front	$220
Orchestra Prime	$220	Grand Tier Rear	$150
Orchestra Balance	$150	Dress Circle Premium	$175
Orchestra Rear	$120	Dress Circle	$125
Center Parterre Premium	$375	Balcony Premium	$100
Center Parterre Boxes	$320	Balcony	$80
Side Parterre Boxes	$150	Family Circle Front	$42
Grand Tier Premium	$295	Family Circle	$42

RESERVATION FORM

Doing New York Right with David Rosengarten, December 5-9, 2007

Please Print or, for faster service, call toll-free 1-877-814-6502

Yes, David, I/we want to join with you on your upcoming New York doings and rights!

CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

! Doing New York Right–December 5-9, 2007 including four nights at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel, Park View Room Double Occupancy: $4,842 per person, i.e., $9,684 per couple

! Doing New York Right–December 5-9, 2007 including four nights at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel, Park View Room Single Occupancy $6,267

! Doing New York Right–December 5-9, 2007 not including hotel $3,417, i.e., $6,834 per couple

Name (s):

Address: City: State: Zip Code:

Tel. – Hm: Ofc: Fax: Email:

Enclosed is my check in the amount of $ . Make check payable to the Joseph H. Conlin Travel Mgt. and mail to:

Joseph H. Conlin Travel Mgt., LLC

853 Seventh Avenue, Suite 4A

New York, NY 10019

Please charge my credit card in the amount of $

Please circle: Amex MC Visa Card Number:___________________________ Exp. Date:__________

Tickets will be purchased separately. You may use the same credit card or another one to purchase tickets:

! Use the same credit card for ticket purchases

! Please charge this card for separate ticket purchases:

Please circle: Amex MC Visa Card Number:___________________________ Exp. Date:__________

CANCELLATION POLICY: All ticket purchases are nonrefundable. You may cancel your hotel reservation until November 5, 2007 (30 days before) with no penalty. Within 30 days, we will do our best to return as much as possible: our contract allows a couple of further cancellations, but if more occur, we will divide the total penalty among all who cancel their hotels after November 5. All non-hotel charges, including restaurants, food classes, transportation, museum entries, etc., are refundable until November 20, 2007, after which they are non-refundable.

We offer a basic travel insurance plan through AccessAmerica (as well their deluxe coverage, but for New York it’s unnecessary for most travelers). Here are the premiums for $3,500 and $5,000 of coverage to give you an idea:

Age 31-59 Age 60-70 Age 71-75 Age 76-79 Age 80+

$3,500 $110 $158 $213 $260 $306
$5,000 $154 $255 $301 $367 $449