Happy Holidays 2009-2010 -- Going on Hiatus for a Week

Thank you, Matt, for this international journey -- it makes a perfect Holiday Card for all my friends and followers around the world. Happy Travels everyone and wishes for a safe, healthy, peaceful and love-filled year to all.

Marea Ups the Formal Quotient in Dining... Wonderfully

I loved my meal at Marea, Chef Michael White's stellar vision of Italian seafood on Central Park South in the old San Domenico space now sleekly done with clubby touches and a crudo bar. No misses here -- from the ricci starter of sea urchin spread with lardo to the pastas, lobster with burrata, Hawaiian swordfish with fruit and the sublime affogato dessert drink. Can't wait to go back to try Marea's Le Collezione menu at the Crudo Bar, offering six crudi, five small portions of pasta, and dessert for $125. 240 Central Park South, 212-582-5100.

A Deal a Week: A Great Luxury Hotel Deal in NYC – Pay for 2 nights, Stay for 3 and Get a VIP Shopping Package

Surround yourself in luxury in NYC when you visit this January and February. With NYC & Company’s Signature Collection Third Night ™ promotion, you’ll take Manhattan in style.

Have you ever dreamed of living like Eloise at The Plaza or sipping on a “Red Snapper” in its home at the King Cole Bar in The St. Regis? Now you can without breaking the bank, even if you already live in Manhattan! This promotion includes accommodations at 15 of the city’s most prestigious hotels for three nights (for the price of two!) and a VIP shopping package at Saks Fifth Avenue consisting of an exclusive personal-shopping experience in the Fifth Avenue Club, special savings, and complimentary coffee and dessert at Saks Fifth Avenue’s Café SFA overlooking Rockefeller Center and the Channel Gardens.

The promotion is valid from January 4 – February 28 at these Signature Collection hotels: The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel; Hotel Plaza Athénée; Jumeirah Essex House; Loews Regency Hotel; The London NYC; Mandarin Oriental, New York; The New York Palace; The Peninsula New York Hotel; The Pierre New York; The Plaza Hotel; The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park; The Sherry Netherland; The St. Regis New York; The Surrey; Trump International Hotel & Tower; and The Waldorf Towers.

For more information, contact NYC & Company by clicking here. Photo credit: Mandarin Oriental, New York

Take Your Kid to Broadway FREE in February on "Kids' Night on Broadway"

Tickets to Kids Night on Broadway are ON SALE NOW for Feb. 2, 3, and 7. Kids 6-18 go free with a full-paying parent.

Participating shows (subject to change):

Broadway

Billy Elliot the Musical

Chicago

Fela!

Finian’s Rainbow

Hair

In the Heights

The Lion King

Mamma Mia!

Mary Poppins

Memphis

Next to Normal

The Phantom of the Opera

Ragtime

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

West Side Story

Wicked

Off Broadway

Avenue Q

Stomp

Click here to buy tickets

A Deal A Week: Baltimore for VIPs

All the talk today about baseball trades is making me yearn for Spring Training. Camden Yards is the magnet for me when it comes to Baltimore, but there’s so much to do when it’s not baseball season. Harbor Magic Hotels has teamed up with The National Aquarium to provide an experience that's both fun and for a great cause. This package combines a stay at one of Harbor Magic Hotel’s three hotels with VIP entry into one of the best aquariums in the world—all while supporting the aquarium’s conservation initiatives. See the amazing jellies exhibit, or just sit back and take in the new 4-D Immersion Theater or dolphin show.

A couple of other suggestions: if you have time, take a quick walk from the Aquarium to two of Baltimore’s distinctive museums, The American Visionary Art Museum (for something new and completely different) and Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, just across from Camden Yards and filled with the curator's personal collection of "culture." To stoke the hunger from your Baltimore blast, ask for the crabs at two of the city's best seafood restaurants: Obrycki's near Fells Point and Phillips Seafood around the bend from the Aquarium.

The "Harbor Magic" package includes overnight accommodations and breakfast at Pier 5 Hotel, Admiral Fell Inn (my personal favorite) or Brookshire Suites plus VIP immediate entry and all-inclusive access for 2 to the Aquarium. For more information or to book, visit http://www.harbormagic.com/aqua/index.asp.

Want a Piece of NYC Restaurant History?

If you've gotten one of those increasingly rare holiday bonus checks recently, you may want to splurge on some of the goodies at auction from two of Manhattan's closed and soon-to-close icons, Cafe des Artistes and Tavern on the Grill. Items from the first are already being sold (except for the famous murals). Tavern's goodies, including some from Maxwell's Plum and the original Russian Tea Room, go on sale January 13. There's even discussion, as of today, of offering up the Tavern on the Green name for sale. Such sad endings to such beautiful restaurants (no comment on the food, however).

Get Thee to an Off-Broadway Show This Month

Although Broadway ticket prices can be gotten at discount of late, there are lots of innovative off-Broadway plays to consider as well. Among my favorites, The Toxic Avenger shows that the life as a green superhero is definitely the way to go. Based on the cult 1985 film, with music by Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan and some amazingly camp performances by the ultra-talented Nancy Opel and the clueless Sara Chase, Toxie is a hoot and should not be missed. Hurry! It closes January 3. New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St..

If you saw the Vagina Monologues, you'll love Nora and Delia Ephron's hilarious and touching Love, Loss and What I Wore which features a rotating cast of readers, each acting out a vignette that touches the core of a woman's fashion sensibilities and life entanglements. Ending on January 31, the current cast includes Kristin Chenoweth, Lucy DeVito, Capathia Jenkins, Rhea Perlman and Rita Wilson. Westside Theatre Downstairs, 407 West 43rd Street (Between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Drink and Eat Responsibly on December 4 -- Chef Michael Psilakis Feeds You Free

Planning to be in the Meatpacking District tonight? If you're a night owl with the munchies, the food genius behind Kefi, Anthos, and Mia Dona, will be serving free chicken shish kebabs, lamb burgers and vegetables with couscous from a food cart at the corner of Gansevoort Street and Ninth Avenue from midnight until 2am.

Part of a project to promote responsible drinking (so you can sop up all those martinis and mojitos), the cart will also provide free bottled water.

And, if you're really in need of support, there will be free rides on standby to help get you to a taxi, a train, or even your apartment.

Anthos on Urbanspoon

Mia Dona on Urbanspoon

Casual is the New Black Tie

I broke my own rule last week: I wore jeans to theater. And restaurants known for fine dining now accept jacketless diners and women in flip flops. Is this a product of the economy? Or global warming? Or a combination of the two? It's an interesting time, albeit a dressed down one. My birthday is in a week, tho, and I sure as heck will be celebrating in style. If you want to join me for a drink, leave me a comment, and I'll tell you where to meet me and what to wear.

No Worries about Losing the Olympics, Chicago -- You’ve Got The Addams Family!

Halloween may be long gone, but Chicago keeps the spooky spirit alive with the world premiere of The Addams Family Musical, now through January 10, 2010 at the Oriental Theater. From the team behind the ultra-succesful Jersey Boys, the creepy-kooky musical stars Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia in this "mysteriously ooky"comedy based on the TV series from the mid-60s. Tickets range from $28-$105 and can be ordered at http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

The historic and recently restored Palmer House Hilton makes it even easier to score tickets to the show with their new "Addams Family" package. Stay overnight and you'll get two adult tickets to select Saturday night performances (December: 5, 12, 19; January: 2, 9) in the Dress Circle section. To book this package, call reservations at 866-581-5466. While you're there, be sure to grab a seat in the opulent lobby and enjoy a cocktail before dining at the hotel’s Lockwood Restaurant. Voted One of 10 Best Restaurants To Open in 2008 by The Chicago Tribune and a 2009 Open Table Diners’ Choice winner, Lockwood’s Executive Chef, Phillip Foss, presents a menu that is truly to die for (Addams Family pun intended).

New Yorkers, don't despair. The play moves to Broadway on March 4 to the Lunt-Fontaine theater, but tickets are already a hot commodity.

A Deal a Week: Sedona's Enchantment Resort Wants You to Share and Shop... and Get 2 Free Nights

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holidays are in full swing! As an early gift to guests, Enchantment Resort in Sedona has a new "Season for Sharing" package that gives you 2 free nights if you book 3 consecutive nights. After you've explored the beautiful Arizona outdoors and the mystical red rock formations of Boynton Canyon, you can indulge your shopping instincts at Tlaquepaque Village, a gorgeous village of specialty boutiques and art galleries. Like its Mexican artisan namesake, this village has more than 40 specialty boutiques and art galleries so you can shop 'til you drop. The package includes free transportation from the resort to the shop.

Afterwards, relax and refresh with a Native American or Ayurvedic treatment at one of the top spas in the U.S., Enchantment's Mii Amo. (Spa add-ons are priced separately).

To book, click here or call 800-826-4180. The package lasts just until Christmas, exactly when you'll be able to give out all those fabulous gifts you've just bought.

Highline Ballroom -- A Great Venue for Great Music

The High Line - Meatpacking District is really jumping. Just saw this amazing band, Forro in the Dark, with Pistolera as the opener. Another wonderful addition to the NYC nightscape.

Contest Extended -- Enter to Win a Copy of Fodor's Family: New York City with Kids

Happy Thanksgiving! Travel Mamas has extended the contest, so you can still enter and win a book.

Click here for info about what to do in New York City and for details on how to enter.

A Deal a Week: Remembering JFK at the Fairmont Copley

In remembrance of the tragedy on November 22, 1963 and, on a more positive note, in the spirit of LIFE’s new book, The Kennedys: End of a Dynasty, the Fairmont Copley in Boston has introduced a package that celebrates the life of another one of my favorite Kennedys: JFK. This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, and the JFK: To The Moon Package commemorates one of President Kennedy’s most notable achievements: putting the first man on the moon.

The JFK: To The Moon Package starts at $269/night and includes overnight accommodations and two tickets to the JFK Library and Museum where you can see the new Moonshot: JFK and Space Exploration, a thought-provoking exhibit featuring original documents, photographs and artifacts from the Mercury Atlas-9 Mission, the Friendship 7 space capsule and the Saturn 1 Rocket.

The Fairmont Copley has also created a unique experience for the true JFK devotee: the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum Suite. This suite, developed with the assistance of the JFK Library’s curators and archivists, serves as a mini-museum spotlighting the life of our 35th president. (The suite is available for an additional charge of $200/night).

This package is valid through March 31, 2010. For more information and reservations, click here.