Before, in-between, and after the Party

If one comes to New York for national review’s Twentieth Anniversary Gala, it would be a pity not to surround this event with doings that make for memorable memories. This, I think, is best done with the Hazelton Pile-Up System, which amounts to doing what one likes to do in large amounts within a short time. For instance: if you enjoy art, don’t see just one, but at least half a dozen galleries and museums; Ruth Berenson tells how and where (see box). The same for theater, the ballet, and the opera (I refer you again to Ruth Berenson); three ballets or three operas in a row will be much more memorable than the same over three months. If you like movies, do what I used to do the day before my children went to camp, where they would be deprived of movies: we started with the first show and ended with the last. Get to know the city by walking in three different neighborhoods in one day, such as Chinatown, Greenwich Village, and the elegant streets of the Sutton Place and Beekman Place residential districts on the East Side. If you love fancy food, eat the fanciest meals at the fanciest prices, as described further down; or make a study of New York’s ethnic restaurants, as described in the Manhattan Yellow Pages. Or become a luncheonette connoisseur, like a man I know who keeps sophisticated dinner parties entranced with his tales on the subject. If you love to do nothing, do it with panache by staying in bed for a day or two in your hopefully comfortable hotel room, reading diverting trash, and looking in a desultory manner at TV while friendly Room Service brings food and, more important, drink. I think you get the idea: moderation is about as exciting as warm beer and, while a dozen carnations is nice, twelve dozen are memorable.

An essential for any New York resident or visitor is the green Michelin New York guide, as useful here as its counterparts in Europe and by far the best guide to the city. If possible, get the Michelin before you come because it helps you plan your time, it caters to your special interests, and it tells you all about places few Manhattanites know—the city’s other boroughs: Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Why it should be so I don’t know, but it is easier to get a Manhattanite to visit somebody two hours away on the train than half an hour away by subway in another borough.

NH

About the Author

Nika Hazelton

Featured Tags

If one comes to New York for national review’s Twentieth Anniversary Gala, it would be a pity not to surround this event with doings that make for memorable memories. This, I think, is best done with the Hazelton Pile-Up System, which amounts to doing what one likes to do in large amounts within a short time. For instance: if you enjoy art, don’t see just one, but at least half a dozen galleries and museums; Ruth Berenson tells how and where (see box). The same for theater, the ballet, and the opera (I refer you again to Ruth Berenson); three ballets or three operas in a row will be much more memorable than the same over three months. If you like movies, do what I used to do the day before my children went to camp, where they would be deprived of movies: we started with the first show and ended with the last. Get to know the city by walking in three different neighborhoods in one day, such as Chinatown, Greenwich Village, and the elegant streets of the Sutton Place and Beekman Place residential districts on the East Side. If you love fancy food, eat the fanciest meals at the fanciest prices, as described further down; or make a study of New York’s ethnic restaurants, as described in the Manhattan Yellow Pages. Or become a luncheonette connoisseur, like a man I know who keeps sophisticated dinner parties entranced with his tales on the subject. If you love to do nothing, do it with panache by staying in bed for a day or two in your hopefully comfortable hotel room, reading diverting trash, and looking in a desultory manner at TV while friendly Room Service brings food and, more important, drink. I think you get the idea: moderation is about as exciting as warm beer and, while a dozen carnations is nice, twelve dozen are memorable.

An essential for any New York resident or visitor is the green Michelin New York guide, as useful here as its counterparts in Europe and by far the best guide to the city. If possible, get the Michelin before you come because it helps you plan your time, it caters to your special interests, and it tells you all about places few Manhattanites know—the city’s other boroughs: Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Why it should be so I don’t know, but it is easier to get a Manhattanite to visit somebody two hours away on the train than half an hour away by subway in another borough.