Afternoon Tea at Baccarat Hotel New York

I was very excited to experience afternoon tea at the Baccarat Hotel New York. You take the elevator to the 2nd floor, and the Grand Salon which is such a gorgeous place for afternoon tea. You can even experience the city's most expensive tea service here, at $600, the Baccarat’s Tsar Nicholas II menu is 10 to 20 times as expensive as those of most of its competitors. The other available tea services are the King Louis XV ($95) and the Prince of Wales ($110). There are so many choices here, and very unique offerings. 

The gorgeous chandelier as you walk in to enter the elevator to the Grand Salon 

The table setting, with Baccarat crystal of course, is stunning 

I LOVED these champagne flutes 

The decor is just as over-the-top as you would expect 

We choose the Prince of Wales tea service, like having an English tea at Windsor Castle. 

Savories

Cucumber with Cream Cheese Foam and Grapefruit

Vadouvan Courgette Presse with Brie and Apple

Lamb Botifarra Tartelette with Romesco

“Peas and Rice” with Snapper Crudo and Tomato

Foie Gras Gougère with Strawberry Rooibos Jam

Sweets

Raspberry Rose Charlotte

Tartlette aux Fruits

Baba au Rhum Exotique

Religieus des Tuileries

Warm Housemade Scones

with Devonshire Cream and Seasonal Gelée

Unfortunately, the staff was not totally on their game the day we were there. We ordered tea service for 2 but were only brought one at first. It took a while to flag our waitress down to say we had ordered 2 afternoon teas. I really felt for the level of this hotel ( a five star ) and the Baccarat name, it should be perfect every time someone dines here. 

As pretty as everything looked, this was the least amount of food I have ever received at an afternoon tea. I must say I was a bit disappointed but I loved the tier plates it was served upon. 

These were the savories, which was very tiny indeed 

Desserts looked pretty but I didn't feel they tasted anything special 

The tea service used was of course Baccarat and was really lovely. We paired the afternoon tea with Earl Grey which was very tasty.  

This was the lamb tart which I did enjoy 

These two items were interesting looking but not a whole lot of flavor 

Vadouvan Courgette Presse with Brie and Apple was quite tasty 

Raspberry Rose Charlotte was very pretty looking, taste was okay as I am not a Raspberry fan 

Foie Gras Gougère with Strawberry Rooibos Jam was my first try at Foie Gras and I must say, it didn't really appeal to me 

Baba au Rhum Exotique which I felt is made much better at the Italian bakeries 

You can also dine from the menu at The Grand Salon, which is something I would like to try. I hate to say but I wouldn't do the afternoon tea here again. The atmosphere was gorgeous, the Baccarat crystal is just divine, but I do not feel it was worth my $145.00. If money is no object, and you just want to experience an afternoon tea as luxe as possible, this would probably be right up your alley. Please leave a comment if you do experience afternoon tea here and let me know how you liked it.

The Baccarat Hotel New York 

The Grand Salon 

Afternoon Tea Hours

Wednesday - Sunday

1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

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Classic Harbor Line Architecture Cruise

I took my 3rd (can you tell I like these) cruise at Chelsea Piers in September. This one was the NYC Architecture Cruise and it didn't disappoint. Here is the information from Classic Harbor Line's website:

AIA New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), in collaboration with Classic Harbor Line, is pleased to announce the 2017 AIANY Around Manhattan Boat Tour’s eighth Season. To accommodate demand, the Yacht Manhattan II has joined the Classic Harbor Line’s fleet to serve an expanded menu for architecture and infrastructure tours. Four distinct tours are offered: NYC Architecture, Lower Manhattan Architecture, NYC Bridges & Infrastructure and the Historic Architecture Tour. Meticulously designed 1920’s-style yachts offer comfortable, teak detailed, climate controlled cabins with excellent sight lines. Guests are free to wander the decks for even greater views while Classic Harbor Line’s crew serves a complimentary beer, wine or Champagne and light snacks.
 Tours, provided by AIANY guides, are scheduled seven days a week and offer visitors, locals, architecture tourists and students insightful narration covering New York’s iconic landmarks, modern architecture and engineering masterpieces. Art Deco spires, harbor monuments and infrastructure like the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, plus recent buildings by Frank Gehry, FAIA, Renzo Piano, Hon. FAIA, and Richard Meier, FAIA, among other world-renowned architects are just a few of the tour highlights seen from New York City’s historic waterways. Tour features are thematically linked to illustrate the transformation of NYC’s waterfront from industry to booming residential development, ecologically driven park design and resilient urban planning to accommodate storm surge and rising sea levels.

I was actually lucky and googled for a discount code which I received 25% off the ticket price. Remember when you are doing any trips or even online shopping to google for a promo code, many times I find one that works for me. 

Any cruise where I can get champagne I am pretty happy. This day turned out to be a gorgeous one, I booked this about a week prior when I saw the forecast. I feel very lucky to be able to do that now. 

How gorgeous is she? The best way I think to view her is from the water. 

Our guide from AIA New York Chapter was very knowledgeable and told us about lots of history regarding the buildings we were viewing. There are about 5 different architecture cruises to choose from and I choose the AIANY Around Manhattan Architecture Tour which took almost 3 hours. 

There was to be light fare on the cruise, but I was a bit disappointed in what was offered. I do like Greek cuisine but not everyone does, so they should  have had some other items like cheese and crackers available. This was included in your price along with 1 glass of champagne or wine. You are not here for the food, but I still think it could have been better. 

So many great views, the city really is beautiful from the water. 

We went as far as Yankee Stadium 

This city has so much to offer. Please be sure to take in one of these cruises as they really allow you to see it's magic. My next one needs to be at night as I can only imagine how glorious that will be! It is very easy to get to Chelsea Piers for these cruises & makes for a very memorable trip to NYC. If you missed my review of Bateaux New York, you should definitely check that out. 

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