Fun NYC Classes - Cheese Making, Chocolate Factory Tours & More!

New York City offers so much to do, see, and learn but so often we get caught up in our day to day and forget to get out and explore. In a past post from a few years back, I mentioned Coursehorse, which is now associated with TimeOut NY, and other resources to take one-time or more extended classes. Here are some of my current top picks - whatever you're interested in I promise they have a class for you! Make this your Spring of NEW things!

1. Afternoon Date Terrarium-Making Workshop @ Twig Terrariums Price: $95 (per couple) Date: Sat, Mar 25: 12PM - 1PM

(+9 more) Location: Gowanus 287 3rd Ave b/t President & Carroll Brooklyn, New York 11215

What You'll Learn: Join the Twig experts for info on what makes a healthy terrarium, hands-on guidance on how to create one, and tips and tricks to mini-scaping your own little green world. We provide all the ingredients, including a few types of forest-fresh moss, and a care sheet for you to take home with your nifty new terrarium.

2. Bake the Book Series: Birthday Cake Truffles @ Momofuku Milk Bar

Price: $95

Date: Wed, Mar 29: 7PM - 9PM

Location: Williamsburg

55 Hope St b/t Marcy & Havemeyer

Brooklyn, New York

What you'll learn: It’s our most popular cake for a reason - rainbow sprinkles + cake makes it a party! Learn the secrets to how we build our b’day cakes layer by layer, and how we take the cake scraps and transforming them into our b’day cake truffles! By the end of class, you’ll have made your own 6” cake and walk away with your own stash of b’day cake truffles, too!

3. Mozzarella Making @ Murray's Cheese

Price: $100

Date: Tue, Apr 18th: 6:30PM - 8PM

(+3 more)

Location: Greenwich Village

254 Bleecker St b/t 6th & 7th Ave

New York, New York 10014

What You'll Learn: Mild and milky, smooth and silky: any way you stretch it, we love fresh mozzarella! And in this hands-on crash course we'll teach you how to make it at home. We'll all roll up our sleeves to turn curds into the beautiful balls that we know as fresh mozzarella. Taste several samples of fresh pasta filata (pulled curd) style cheeses (think Mozzarella, Bufala, Burrata, oh my!), enjoy unlimited pours of our house sparkling and red wines, and bring home your own mozzarella masterpiece.

4. Raaka Factory Tours @ Raaka Chocolate

Price: $10

Date: Sat, Apr 01: 12PM - 12:45PM

(+18 more)

Location: Red Hook

64 Seabring St b/t Richards & Van Brunt Street

Brooklyn, New York

What You'll Learn: We offer a 45 minute tour in our factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Get introduced to bean-to-bar chocolate and learn how we make our unique chocolate bars!

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The Best Places to Relax in NYC

Following my sojourn in Palm Springs filled with heavenly hot springs, massages, and even a mudbath, I decided that pampering need not only happen once a year, or just on the West Coast. Below are my favorite local staples for massages, impromptu spa days, skincare, and beyond all right here in our great City.

1. Soho Sanctuary - Massages

(119 Mercer Street, SOHO)

What: Hands down the best my favorite place for massages in the city, Soho Sanctuary offers a wide variety of massages (Shiatsu, Sports, Deep-Tissue, Aromatherapy, etc.) all in a really lovely atmosphere. Also, a really nice 60 minute massage (of any kind) will only run you about $150 - not a bad deal for such a great location in the heart of Soho.

Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun/Mon 11am-8pm

2. Great Jones Spa - Day Spa, General Relaxation

(29 Great Jones Street, NOHO)

What: With its stunning three-story indoor waterfall and sleek, subterranean wet lounge, Great Jones Spa is one of the most enjoyable day spa experiences I've ever had in NYC. While they do offer massage and a full range of skin-care treatments, the real draw is the hidden oasis on the lower level. Free for spa visitors with tabs over $100 (and available for non-spa guests for only $50 for a day pass), the luxe setup boasts a plant-filled atrium with a hot tub, cold plunge pool, river-rock sauna, and chakra-light steam room

Hours: Open 9am-10pm Daily

3. Skin Laundry - Facials

(3 W. 16th Street - Flatiron)

What: My new personal addiction - skin laundry offers a laser light facial that leaves skin deep cleaned and toned without any visible after effects like redness or irritation. Regular Skin Laundry Treatments promise to "visibly improve skin’s smoothness, evenness, tone, texture, radiance, and clarity, while diminishing the appearance of pores, reducing the look of lines, wrinkles, and restoring firmer skin." Fingers crossed for now, but I'm on treatment 3 and so far I'm loving it. I even made my husband Bill a believer!

Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-9pm, Sun 11-7pm

4. Fox & Jane - Haircuts & Color

(223 Grand Street - Soho/Little Italy)

I am that horrible curly haired New Yorker who refuses to allow most hair professionals to lay a hand on my locks however, I am forever loyal to this salon. Their cuts, color, and atmosphere are top notch, and for the swanky location and high level service, the prices aren't too steep either. Whether you're curly, wavy, straight, or some combination, I bet they have the right stylist for you.

Hours: By Appointment

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NYC Restaurant Week, Then & Now

NYC's semi-annual Restaurant Week is a great excuse to try new places without a huge price tag. My first Restaurant Week involved a dedicated trip to NYC from New Haven my junior year of college. I was a relative tourist to NYC, and even on a student's meager allowance, I was able to sample some of the City's finest. That same summer as an intern, Restaurant Week, again, was my only chance at haute cuisine. That first year, I tried Eleven Madison Park, Brasserie 8 1/2, Nougatine, Serafina, and more whose names escape me.

Restaurant Week began as a lunch-only promotional event in 1992 but expanded to its current incarnation with restaurants offering prix fixe lunch and dinner options in January of 2010. Since then, NYC Restaurant Week has returned twice a year (Summer & Winter) with dining deals at restaurants all across NYC. From trendy newcomers to some of the city’s most established fine-dining restaurants, the three-week event gives even the most budget conscious New Yorkers a chance to try out new places and revisit old favorites.

This year, more than 380 restaurants offer three-course pre-fixe dining deals for both lunch ($29) and dinner ($42). It will run from Monday, January 23, 2017, through Friday, February 10, 2017. Reservations open Monday, January 9, 2017 and can be made online.

These are some of my favorites, from that first restaurant week and beyond – take some time to try them out or find your own favorites this year! I promise your taste buds (and your wallet) won’t regret it!

1. Brasserie 8 1/2 (Midtown)

Address: 9 West 57th Street

Price: $29 Lunch or $42 Dinner Prix Fixe

Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30am-10pm, Saturday 5-10pm, Sunday 11am-9pm

"This stylish French brasserie is just steps from Fifth Avenue on 57th Street. Chef Franck Deletrain deftly upgrades dishes from the brasserie repertoire, offering sophisticated French cuisine amidst original artwork by Léger, Matisse and others favored by the Louvre."

2. Bagatelle (Meatpacking District)

Address: 1 Little West 12th Street

Price: $29 Lunch Prix Fixe

Hours: 11:30am-4pm Monday- Friday

"Bagatelle's contemporary French cuisine finds its roots on two continents. The restaurant's talented Chef Nicolas Frézal breathes new life into the chic St. Tropez meets Paris inspired restaurant."

Seafood is a specialty here so try out the Crab Salad with Grapefruit and fennel, and Wild King Salmon!

3. Mayville (Nomad)

Address: 17 W 26th Street

Price: $29 Lunch, $42 Dinner Prix Fixe

Hours: Monday - Friday 12-3pm, 5:30-11pm

This "American whiskey bar and restaurant offers a menu of the smoked, grilled and charred flavors that have a natural affinity for bourbon. The restaurant`s namesake is the Kentucky port town from which whiskey was first shipped out of the state."

My personal favorites are the Smoked Brisket Papardelle and the Artic Char which has a bacon glaze.

4. The Stanton Social (Lower East Side)

Address: 99 Stanton Street

Price: $29 Lunch, $42 Dinner Prix Fixe

Hours: Monday - Thursday 5pm-12am, Friday & Saturday 5pm-1am, Sunday 11:30am-11pm

"Home to Celebrity Chef Chris Santos' trend setting multi-ethnic share plate menu, designed to offer guests a chance to experience multiple dishes and flavors throughout their meal 37. Enjoy French Onion Soup Dumplings, Crab Cake 'Corn Dogs' and Beef Wellington at this vibrant, 3-level space which often plays host to the city's most beautiful people."

Stanton Social is quite possibly the scene of my first encounter with Isabel, though neither of us knew it at the time. Isabel was a hostess there in 2009, and it was one of my favorite restaurants during that time period. She recommends the pineapple martini (not on the menu anymore, but she assures me any bartender worth his salt will know the recipe). Also, check out their "morning after" Sunday brunch - not a part of restaurant week but worth the experience especially with a big group!

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