Sofitel & TAO top New York City highlights

My family and I have indeed experienced heaven. That is because we spent four nights in a gorgeous luxury suite at the Sofitel New York (www.sofitel.com) located at 45 West 44th Street, a very short walk from Times Square and Broadway theatres. For us, the location could not have been better.
This elegant 30-storey midtown Manhattan hotel is just a stone’s throw from Fifth Avenue. There are 398 spacious rooms on 30 floors, including 52 suites and one presidential suite. The executive suites encompass a bedroom with a separate seating/work area, which can be closed off from each other for in-suite meetings. While the bed in our main bedroom was as comfortable as can be, seldom have I seen a mattress as perfect as our sofa-bed. There is excellent cupboard space, bathrobes and slippers to use during your stay and an in-room safe with plenty of room to place your valuables.

The grand staircase of the Sofitel New York

All guestrooms have a spacious marble bathroom, three telephone lines, broadband Internet access and fully stocked mini-bars. Room service is available 24 hours, along with international newspapers, nightly turn-down service with Evian water; and imported French bath products. There is a fully equipped fitness centre on the basement floor.
The Sofitel New York first opened on July 14, 2000. The lobby is large, warm and welcoming, with the concierge ready to guide you. Staff here speaks 52 different languages and there is a French-speaking ambassador in each hotel department. Upon check-in, the hotel will valet park your car at the Hippodrome facility across the street and have it ready for when checking out.

On the evening we arrived we decided to dine at Gaby, a traditional French brasserie and bar named for a Parisian model who made a name and career for herself in New York in the 1920s. Just off the lobby of the hotel, the restaurant seats 128 people. There is easy interior access for hotel guests and an entrance on 45th Street.
This is a classy restaurant, popular not only with hotel guests but those going to a Broadway show. Pre-theatre menus do exist here. The restaurant is open all day, beginning at breakfast and for lunch as well.

We enjoyed an absolutely outstanding dinner at Gaby, having the great advantage of meeting Executive Chef Sylvain Harribey in person. He first prepared a marvellous and tasty butternut squash cappuccino, with truffle oil and fleur de sel. This was followed by a unique spring lobster salad, featuring some sumptuous lobster, fruits, avocados and greens. There were two main courses: oven roasted lamb loin, crusted with Dijon mustard, white bean puree with pumpkin seed oil, vegetable tian gratine and Harribey’s own creation called the Franburger. This was served on a crispy baguette with melted brie cheese, caramelized onion and piment d’Espelette pepper aioli and French Fries on the side. We shared some extraordinary desserts: a crème brulee, a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate chip and raisin pudding with cinnamon ice cream.

A bird’s eye view of the TAO dining area

New York City is indeed the place to dine, with an endless array of choices to please your palate. The one restaurant we had heard a lot about was TAO (www.taogroup.com), the pioneers of the Pan-Asian trend that swept New York City over a decade ago. We dined at TAO Uptown at 42 East 58th Street. Upon entering the restaurant, one is immediately struck by a 16-foot Buddha floating above a reflecting pool filled with Japanese carp. The Pan Asian restaurant specializes in authentic Hong Kong Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines. There are three levels of dining, including the prized “Skybox” which offers views of what once was a movie theatre. Tao has 300 seats on three levels, a sushi bar, lounge and two bars at which to enjoy the food and the show. Be sure to make reservations.

We started off with some appetizers: hot edame and roasted shishito peppers. That was followed by spicy tuna tartar on crispy rice, six pieces we split among us happily. The Peking duck spring rolls, with hoisin sauce, were deliciously crispy but the outstanding item of the night which I strongly recommend was the satay of Chilean sea bass with wok roasted asparagus. The lobster and shrimp spring roll with shiitake mushrooms and spicy pineapple sauce was a treat, a bit spicy but nothing too difficult to handle.TAO has a magnificent sushi menu.

The wok-seared New York sirloin with shiitake mushrooms cut like butter and was served with some crispy roasted potato wedges. An order of crispy orange chicken, beautifully prepared scallops and some white rice rounded out the main course. For dessert try the sugar dusted doughnuts with a trio of dipping sauces – caramel, chocolate and vanilla.

Mike Cohen’s email address is [email protected]. Follow his travels on Twitter @mikecohencsl.