Luxury Travel: the All Caviar package at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park

The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park is going over the top with its new All Caviar Package. Guests who love luxury travel can live large with this one night experience.

After being met on arrival with a caviar martini (a martini accented with an exclusive Petrossian “caviar cube”), guests will be whisked to their rooms overlooking Central Park.

That afternoon, guests will enjoy a gourmet caviar tasting at Petrossian, led by one of the French caviar legend’s knowledgeable teams.

The next morning, the package includes a full American breakfast, in-room or in the hotel’s Star Lounge, plus a 60-minute Caviar Skin Crème Massage at La Prairie at The Ritz-Carlton Spa. The package ends with a three-course caviar-paired meal at Petrossian.


The package includes a late checkout and starts at $1,985. Park View rooms are standard with the package, but upgrades are available for an additional cost.

6-course mobile gourmet meal served aboard NYC subway car



Pop-up
shops, hotels, and restaurants are all the rage, and dining cars are standard on most long-distance trains but what do you call a pop-up restaurant on a subway car? Earlier this month, a 6-course mobile gourmet meal was served on board a New York City subway car by supper club A Razor, A Shiny Knife with participation from “culinary collective” and Gadling favorite Studiofeast. Diners rode from Manhattan‘s 8th Avenue station on a Brooklyn-bound L train, feasting on caviar, fois gras, and filet mignon, all in under an hour. Courses from several supper clubs were prepared and plated before getting on the train, and perfectly timed to be served by waiters boarding at specific stops. A maître d’hôtel oversaw the luncheon, refilling water glasses (no alcohol allowed as per the MTA) and helping to stabilize makeshift “tables” tied to subway poles with twine.

The full menu posted on Studiofeast‘s website included:

– Hamchi Crudo, Bone Marrow, Trout Roe, Laproaig, Sweet Lime
– Foie en Brioche, Port Wine, Raisin,
– Ramp, Black Garlic, Cippolini, Morel, Thyme
– Petit Filet Mignon, Pomme Puree, Asparagus
– Pepper Jam, St Andre
– Chocolate & Gold Leaf Panna Cotta, Raspberry

The twelve lucky foodies (including two “walk up” visitors from Argentina pulled in to cover no-shows) were treated to the gourmet meal which cost an estimated $1,600, ending with gold-leaf-dusted panna cotta. The subway authorities were not satisfied customers, though no one was arrested or fined for the stunt. “Subway trains are for riding, not for holding parties,” said Charles F. Seaton from the MTA.

Event organizers have yet to announce their next meal-on-the-go, but the video hints at another unlikely location: San Francisco’s Alcatraz. Hoping for your own moveable feast? The Dinner in the Sky team is available for rent around the world.

Daily Pampering: Caviar and champagne coffret gifts

It’s time to start thinking about the holidays, and with the holidays comes holiday gifts. But of course, there’s always one person on your list who makes shopping complicated. What do you get the person who has everything?

West Hollywood’s Petrossian Boutique and Restaurant came up with the solution: an awe-inspiring caviar and champagne coffret priced at $490.

Nothing says luxury quite like champagne and caviar. Petrossian’s coffret, which showcases the affinity between champagne and caviar, includes:

  • 125 g tin Tsar Imperial Transmontanous Caviar
  • 2 – 375 ml bottles Louis Roederer Brut Premier
  • 2 – Mother-of-Pearl spoons

Petrossian also offers gifts and customized epicurean baskets including tastes of Caviar, Smoked Salmon, Foie Gras, and French Chocolates.

You have a choice: buy the silly box of socks with Santa’s eight reindeer and Rudolph fully represented, or go for something a little classier, like caviar.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Daily Pampering: The Pierre Hotel’s organic caviar and oyster tasting

When the Pierre Hotel wants to celebrate, it celebrates in style. In honor of the hotel’s 80th anniversary, the Pierre in New York is recapturing the glamour of its past with a tasting flight of a trio of organic caviars with wine and vodka pairings.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from October 22 – December 31, 2010, Executive Chef Stephane Becht will debut the caviar tasting menu and The Pierre’s Two E restaurant. Enjoy a hand-selected tasting menu of organic caviar as well as North American oysters with wine and sprit pairings. The tastings start with three organic American Caviars served with blinis and crème fraiche for $65. The caviars served include:

AMERICAN PADDLEFISH: From the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, these glistening steel gray eggs rival Sevruga from the Caspian Sea
MOUNTAIN LAKE WHITEFISH: From Montana, these crisp and golden eggs burst with a fresh, mildly salty flavor WILD
HACKLEBACK STURGEON: This dark, silky caviar from the rivers of Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee offers a refined, nut-like flavor with a semi-sweet finish

If oysters are more your liking, choose from Neguac, New Brunswick shells, Kumamoto from California, Oregon, and Washington and Chesapeake Bay oysters.

Add wine or vodka pairing for $14 that includes: Chablis Domaine Roland Lanamtureux 2007 Burgundy; Muscadet ‘Clos de la Senaigrie’ Luc Choblet 2008 Loire; Picpoul Saint Garrigue 2007 Languedoc. Vodka options include Russian Standard Imperial; Belvedere and Chopin.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.