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 What was once the notorious Limelight Disco (previously a church) on 6th Avenue has been transformed into yet another food hall. And this one was a religious experience! 24 individual shops line the perimeter of the building, offering  chocolate, pastry, pasta, gourmet sandwiches, cupcakes, you name it! Hunter Boots has opened their first freestanding boutique here alongside Selima, the famous optical shop, Le Sport Sac, Havaianas and Petrossian Caviar. It is a bit touristy, nonetheless, a fun place to drop in for an afternoon gelato.
 Limelight Marketplace 
656 Avenue of the Americas (20th Street)
(212) 226‑7585, opening May 7 at 2
Mon through Sat, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
 Todd English’s new multi-menu restaurant, the Plaza Food Hall, is a very welcome addition to midtown Manhattan. It is a zip code (10019) that offers more Manolo Blahniks, expense account restaurants and tourist traps than any in the world. Sadly, all of the great little restaurants have been forced out. The Plaza Food Hall definitely  is not small (80 seats in @6,000 square feet), nonetheless it is a “village” comprised of 8 different food stations. The beauty or perhaps the democracy of the set up is that you can have whatever you want wherever you sit. We were seated at the stunning Ocean Grill and Oyster bar. We perused the 8 plus restaurant cards and decided on flatbread (which comes from another  station … not a problem!) The salads, desserts and wine list are the common link between all locations. The service was exquisite and the dinner was delicious. One drawback is that this is a “date restaurant”. You are seated at bar stools at a bar, so 2 people is preferable or perhaps a menage à trois maximum. (If you are into that sort of thing.) At this point, no reservations, but it looks like they are about to hook up with our favorite, www.opentable.com
The Plaza Food Hall
1 West 59th Street (side entrance to the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park)
New York, New York 10019 212.986.9260
Sunday — Thursday 7:00 am — 10:00 pm
Friday — Saturday 7:00 am — 11:00pm
EATALY -“Wow … that’s Italian!”
It’s like an Italian Harrod’s food hall in New York.
Turin-based megastore, Eataly, has teamed up with multiple chefs and TV personalities (Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali for starters) to open their Manhattan flagship. We were totally blown away! It is 50,000 square feet of Italian heaven! Everything from the multiple Kartel-chaired restaurants to the morel mushrooms to the champagne bar to the Alessi boutique was divine. At last count there were 5 restaurants, but that  number is woefully unconfirmed. (We just kept getting sidetracked, with all the shopping.) We had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated at the Pizza & Pasta restaurant, but the service was excellent and swift. It was truly the best pizza that we have ever eaten. After that, we had a field day food shopping. There is an overwhelming selection of everything; 2,000 different pastas, 400 varieties of olive oil and 1,500 square feet of Italian candies. They even have a vegetable butcher! As expected, the first Saturday open, it drew record crowds (most we re tourists) and — who would have guessed – a lot of them were speaking Italian.
The next best thing to attending the opening? Watching it on Youtube. Here’s a link to the Zagat coverage. Get a mini tour from Cesare Casella (Chef-Owner: Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto) who tastes some procuitto and sips espresso (so close, you can almost smell it) and listen to Lidia Bastianich talk about the team that made all this happen under one roof.
And here’s the New York Post coverage.
Ribbon (which appears to be some sort of pasta) cutting with the mayor and Archbishop Dolan is here.
And how great is this? Download the Eataly iphone app here!
Fabuloso! Run don’t walk to:
Eataly
200 Fifth Avenue (at 23rd Street)
New York, New York 10010
Open 10:00 am — 11:00 pm
NO RESERVATIONS 212.229.2560
  
In case you were not aware, I was out of the shop for a day or 2, recovering from foot surgery. While doing a little shopping online (my version of pain management!) I heard the “ding!” of my mailbox, and found the card below waiting for me. Many thanks to the folks (and dogs) at Mabel & Henry for their thoughtful Get Well card/pdf. They still haven’t finished their website, but the insider knows that if you’re persistent you can still order custom cards for any occasion. They will write and design something spectacular!
We just were chosen one of the 2011 Best Stores in Texas! Please have a look at this very charming and savvy site. Our humble thanks and gratitude to all of you.
Cristiana & Betty
We were in Né w York for the weekend approving our cashmere samples. August used to be no man’s land in the city, but due to the huge tourist industry, the restaurants were booming. (Luckily, we missed the horrific heatwave.) We decided to try 3 restaurants that had opened with in the last six months. Friday night we had dinner at Casa Lever which replaced Lever House. It is Italian (owned by the Saint-Ambrouse group) nonetheless, it reminded us of Terminal 1 at Charles De Gualle Airport! It is quite mod to say the least. We found the food to be good, but expensive. The wine list was amazing. We had a delicious bottle of rose. The waiters are charming and extremely handsome. Casa Lever, 390 Park Avenue, (212) 888‑2700
Dinner Saturday was at Colicchio & Sons (Top Chef Tom Colicchio’s newest.) We loved everything about it from the food to the wine to the service to the décor. The Yellowfin tuna appetizer was divine, as were both our main courses. You simply can’t go wrong with anything on this menu. After dinner, we strolled the Highline. (See our previous post for photos!)  It was a lovely night, but all we could think about was how we finished off dinner: a tasting of 6 sorbets. Yum. Colicchio & Sons, 85 Tenth Ave. (at 15th Street) (212) 400‑6699
Lunch on Sunday was at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s new ABC Kitchen which is located in the basement of ABC Home Furnishings. This store has always been one of our favorites, and the restaurant is sure to become one too. They specialize in fresh organic and local ingredients, and it was quite evident from the menu – as well as the flavors of everything we ordered. Peekytoe crab toast, tuna sashimi, followed by a spinach and goat cheese pizza and the wild striped bass…for a minute, it felt like we’d been whisked off to the Hamptons! abc kitchen, 35 E. 18th St. (212) 598‑3020
Exciting news! Our dear friend, fashion and lifestyle guru, Roz Pactor is putting together three fabulous seminars at Tony’s. See the details from Roz below.
Welcome to the first ever Chic Sheet Speaker Series, featuring nationally acclaimed speaker, Karen McCullough. This special series will be exclusive to Tony’s Restaurant, where the food is guaranteed to be scrumptious and the conversation lively!!!
This not-to-be missed series of three dynamic speaking engagements promises to be not only informative, but chocked full of fun.
- Sept.1: Attract, Engage and Profit From The Next Generation will enlighten you as to what makes each of our generations tick and how we can best learn to work and live together. You’ll love it. Karen is hilarious!
- Sept. 29: Social Media, Not Just For Kids; learn what all the hype is about and how you can benefit from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Nov. 30: Karen talks about her fascinating new book, The Seven Women Project with a fashion accessorizing presentation by yours truly with accessories from à bientôt. You can see the latest accessories trends and how they can help change your basic look 7 different ways.…..just in time for Holiday Shopping!
Looking forward to seeing you and your friends at this first ever exclusive Chic Sheet Happening!
Click here to register.
We just had the best visit with our friend and very creative journalist, Emily Kelly, who writes for The Loop Scoop.
Check out the article about the shop that she’s just posted!
 We popped into Danny Meyer’s new “Roman Trattoria”, Maialino, in the Grammercy Park Hotel. We looked. We listened. We learned.
Here’s our tip for the day: don’t worry if you can’t make a reservation. We went at the last minute (plane delays…don’t talk to me about it) and were thrilled to settle in at the bar where no reservations are needed. We dined on wonderful cured meats, Italian cheeses, fresh bread and split an order of Spaghettini alle Vongole and my favorite, Carciofi Alla Romana. (Brings back fond memories of Roma!) The place is fabulous. Reminds us of some of Danny’s other fine establishments (Union Square Café, Grammercy Tavern) with its casual-yet-sophisticated tone. That was me in Irving & Fine, Jimmy Choos and an armload of gold chains.
Reservations: 212–777-2410. Bar Maialino welcomes guests on a walk-in basis.
Bar Maialino: M-F 7am-Midnight, Sat-Sun 10 am-Midnight
Trattoria: Breakfast: M-F 7:30–10, Lunch: M-F 12–2, Brunch: Sat-Sun 10–2, Dinner: Sun-Th 5:30–10:30/Fri-Sat 5:30–11
We are busy at the shop today, with a wonderful Irving and Fine trunk show!
Come by today, Friday, May 14th and tomorrow, Saturday, May 15th from 10:00 am until 5 pm to see their lovely tunics and caftans.
See you at the shop!
Betty and Cristiana
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What was once the notorious Limelight Disco (previously a church) on 6th Avenue has been transformed into yet another food hall. And this one was a religious experience! 24 individual shops line the perimeter of the building, offering 
chocolate, pastry, pasta, gourmet sandwiches, cupcakes, you name it! Hunter Boots has opened their first freestanding boutique here alongside Selima, the famous optical shop, Le Sport Sac, Havaianas and Petrossian Caviar. It is a bit touristy, nonetheless, a fun place to drop in for an afternoon gelato.
Limelight Marketplace 
