Go Fish!We have a holiday tradition called the Four Fish Feast.  Every family member is responsible for creating a fish dish and a few weeks before the Feast, we trek down to Chinatown to case out the freshest fish in the city.  Although there are a ton of seafood sources in the city, we like Chinatown for cheap, fresh fish (and yes, often very much alive fish).  This year sea bass, trout, scallops and calamari are on the menu.  Other holiday traditions beyond the gluttony?  A visit with ABC Home and Carpet's Santa (he's the real deal), Macy's at midnight, brunch at Norma's and of course red velvet cupcakes!  For the young people, each receives one box of presents for ever year they've spent on this earth.  Too bad the tradition doesn't extend to grown-ups or i'd be expecting a ton of boxes.  Ah, old age.

Tofurky Disguise KitI once had a desk job.  When I wasn't at the desk, I was at the movies because this particular job comped all the movies that I saw.  Seriously, my expense report detailed all of the latest releases and obscure hits that I could fit into a day.  (Yes yes, this was P.C. - pre-child)  Once I got the hang of submitting movie ticket stubs to HR, you better believe that I took my role as Roger Ebert the second, extremely seriously.  By the way, AMC's MovieWatcher loyalty program is rad.  Once in awhile I miss those carefree moviegoing days, but then I remember the Holiday movie previews that inevitably started around this time.  Those gag-inducing previews that detail all of the upcoming holiday-inspired cliched flicks to debut on Thanksgiving weekend.  Which brings us to Tofurky.  In NYC, not only do you not have to cook, but you can also find numerous tryptophan-free Thanksgiving meal options.  So lazy vegetarians rejoice (present company included), this Thanksgiving holiday you are off the hook.  

ps. Happy 1st Anniversary to whyushould.org!  Which, to provide the backstory, all began last year when some people we knew insisted that we were out of our minds to raise our infant son in a studio apartment in this big, bad, germy city, lol.

Dress Up

The Halloween industry needs a makeover. Go to any Party City (actually don't ... I just waited in line for 30 minutes) or a pop-up Halloween store and the costumes for sale look dusty and dated. (Speaking of dating, someone actually compiled a list of the Top 10 Halloween costumes to wear on a date) If you're up for it, the city celebrates Halloween for two weeks straight and you can attend everything from lowbrow events to really clever gatherings (like the Starving Artists Halloween Ball) and of course everything in between. I am currently attempting to track down a costume that compliments Nash's hilarious silverback gorilla suit. A friend suggested the Empire State Building. Love it!

ps. if you're dying to get out of this ghost town, check out this great list of Haunted Hotels.

Go Truck YourselfWith all the available commercial real estate in Manhattan, one may wonder why so many shops are hitting the streets.  But the novelty works and the store-in-a-truck model is hotter than ever.  This afternoon I bought my falafel lunch out of a truck on 15th and 5th avenue and I regularly buy coffee from the Mud truck (the third best cup of coffee in Manhattan imho) ... there seems to be no shortage of food-related snacking trucks.  There are also the unexpected, sometimes silly truck traders like the knife grinder truck, the bookstore in a truck and the clothing shop in a truck.  Which actually stopped me cold the other day.  Causing me to wonder out loud, would Tedde work as a store on wheels?  Would that enhance the brand and shopping experience?  We've been told many times that the products are so compelling in person and as we continue to explore retail venues and partnership opportunities, maybe the truck will rise to the top.  

Just On VacationOne fine summer evening not too long ago, we decided at 11pm to go to the top of the Empire State Building*.  We splurged on the express tickets (highly recommended because you will be treated like a VIP with these tickets) and we also brought our camera.  On the way over, we couldn't resist a stop at the flourescent lit Mister Softee truck.  Its legendary service intact (insert note of sarcasm), moments later we found ourselves facing an extroverted New Yorker ... taking the pair of us in with one stealth glance (over dressed - our first night out in months, with a camera, cherry dip cones in hand).  He asked if we would like him to take our photo, to capture this special moment in time.  It was a great offer because we somehow never manage to get a shot of us together.  After he snapped what turned out to be a horrible photo, he cheerfully handed back our camera and shouted (yes shouted ... actually shouted with excitement and happiness) WELCOME TO NEW YORK!!  I couldn't believe it.  Just moments ago I had been fighting this inexplicable inner battle ... whether to hand this guy our camera or not, wondering if he was going to grab it and run.  And it turned out to be this poignant moment, demonstrating true sincerity and the sometimes unexpected welcoming spirit of New Yorkers.    

* who knew, the Empire State Building is actually open till 2am (every day) which possibly would have been a more exciting time to recount these adventures