New York City Restaurant Week 2012

Twice a year, in January/February and June/July, there is a unique opportunity to experience some of New York City's finest restaurants for a fraction of the usual price. Throughout the city, restaurants participate in "Restaurant Week" where they offer a three-course lunch for $24.07 (& some even offer dinner for $35). Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try out a restaurant that may usually be out of your budget, or test some new restaurants with a little less financial risk.

You can make reservations for restaurant week (the earlier the better -- many of the Best Choices for Restaurant Week sell out quickly) by calling the restaurants directly or on OpenTable.com. OpenTable has a list of participating restaurants that take reservations through OpenTable, as well as search functions to show you which participating restaurants have availabilities during on your requested date/time. About 1/2 of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week allow you to make reservations through OpenTable, but if you're making a reservation for dinner, be sure that your restaurant is participating, as their search tools show availabilities for dinner for restaurants that are only offering a Restaurant Week menu at lunch. That said, registration on OpenTable is easy, and you can collect points toward dining gift certificates by booking online.

NYC Winter Restaurant Week runs January 16- February 10, 2012 (Monday - Friday)

Christmas in NYC – 5 Recommendations For Making the Most of the Holiday

Who does Christmas spirit better than New York? The famous poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ was inspired by a winter ride in downtown Manhattan in 1823, and the elf in the film Elf (with Will Ferrell) traded a spot in the North Pole for some Big Apple holiday time.

1.       Visit  Rockefeller Center Plaza (aka the Capital of NYC Christmas), and see the big tree (here since 1931, now boasting 30,000 lights), and snap a photo or two. It’s worth fighting the crowds, particularly after dark when the lights bounce off the bare shoulders of the golden Prometheus statue. Lights click off at 11:30pm through Christmas, then at 9pm through New Year’s Eve.

2.       Visit  FAO Schwartz, and try to tap toes on the giant floor piano keyboard at New York’s most famous toy store. The best time to visit is during the week (9am Sunday to Thursday, 8am Friday or Saturday) to avoid most of the crowds.

3.       Visit  Macy’s Elaborate SantaLand - a stunner of a scene of Christmas trees, elves, toy trains and snow-filled wonder. It’s also home, per its hotline (tel +1-212-494-4495), to the ‘one real Santa Claus,’ at the very place that that marketing boon of a film Miracle on 34th Street was set in 1947.

4.       Visit a holiday show. St John the Divine’s Winter Solstice is a beloved, and rather secular (this year December 15-17), concert series, while Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular is the show every NY kid sees growing up, with dozens of dancing Santas and the line of Rockettes a-leg-kicking. Don’t forget the other boroughs. Brooklyn’s BAM is going irreverent on the ‘Nutcracker’ this year (Dec 14-31), while the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx has one of the city’s great Christmas traditions, the Holiday Train Show, with a quarter-mile toy train track passing NY icons like the Brooklyn Bridge, the Yankee Stadium and St Patrick’s Cathedral.

5.       Go window-shopping. Boutiques and department stores across the city dress up for the season. Have a walk up Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center, to FAO, and detour to Madison to see the modern, funny antics of Barney’s on Madison Ave and 62nd St.

5 Tips for Shopping on Black Friday

Black Friday - The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year:

Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving and has earned the reputation of being the busiest shopping day of the year. The name was adopted from an accounting term - red ink denotes a negative profit margin, where as "in the black" denotes a positive profit margin. Many retailers make or break their sales goals between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the season kicking off on the Friday after Thanksgiving, hence the name "Black Friday."

1. Check Out the Ads:

Your local Thanksgiving Day newspaper will be stuffed like your Thanksgiving turkey with ads, coupons, and circulars. This will be your number one source to local Black Friday savings. It will also help you organize your day to maximize savings, since many stores offer special discounts that are time specific. Example: Receive an extra 10 percent off if you shop before 11 a.m.

 

2. Do Your Research Before Friday:

If you are hoping to scoop up a deal on Friday on a big-ticket item, go ahead and get your research out of the way as soon as possible. A bad product is a bad deal no matter how cheap it costs. Being knowledgeable about the products you want to buy will help you avoid being sucker-punched with loud advertising for poor products. About.com is chocked full of buying advice on a wide variety of products from professionals who have the knowledge to help you make good decisions.

 

3. Compare Prices:

Utilize price-comparison Internet shopping sites such as PriceGrabber.com to assist you in comparing product prices. Compare the "options" included with the product. Some retailers will low-ball the advertised price on a stripped down product, and then you will be charged extra for the necessary parts that will make the product perform as expected. A good example of this is often seen with super low-priced computer printers that come without the cable (cord) or printer ink.

 

4. Look for Early Bird Shopper Discounts:

The Early Bird Shopper will be the real winner on Black Friday. Stores offering early-day shopper specials usually run the deals from 5 a.m. until 11 a.m. and with no "rain checks," which means once they run out of the products, you are out of luck. Scanning the ads and routing your trip based on your buying priorities will be important with the time-sensitive deals that will be offered.

 

5. Beat the Crowds with Night Owl Discounts on Thanksgiving:

Internet shoppers can beat the early birds by shopping online in the pre-dawn hours of Black Friday. Many retailers will be posting their Black Friday specials, which can be ordered online and picked-up at your local store. Special "Web only" deals will also be available starting as early as Thanksgiving eve. Many of the the aggressive outlet malls and factory stores will be opening Thursday at midnight, with early bird promotions in hopes of capturing your dollars before the competition has opened.