Fall is birthday season

Fall is birthday season at my house. This means birthday parties to host, birthday presents to give, and my birthday to celebrate. And it means a lovely succession of dinners out. This all takes quite a bit of planning and starts with a list of excellent places to shop and eat. Here is my list of indispensable birthday resources.

For entertaining at home stop at Zabar’s … where you can plan a menu around their wonderful selection of breads, cheeses, prepared foods, and wonderful selection of fresh produce for the do-it-yourselfers.

Gifts for the science-minded preteen are easily found at the AMNH shop, for the fashionable at Berkley Girl, and for the fun at Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.

Young nieces and nephews and their development-oriented parents will adore gifts from Yoyamart and Kid O.

Goodie bags are easily assembled at Dylan’s and E.A.T. The Store, where selection, convenience and fun come at a price. Bargain hunters can put together a fun goodie-bag at Target and H&M.

Children receive an enormous number of gifts, more than can be enjoyed by any one child in any given year. These gifts are best shared with Evan’s Life Foundation, a wonderful 501c3 that distributes gifts to children for Christmas who will not perhaps have any other gifts to open.

For the discerning stepmother, restaurant reservations are best made at Bouley, Fedia, or Esca if followed by theatre tickets. Here the food, décor and service will all be excellent.

For an Atkins dad, Peter Luger for steak, Milos for cooked fish, and Sushi Yasuda – for sushi will not disappoint. Here the food and the service will impress, and the noise levels permit audibility.

For bestfriends, where a quiet moment is found tete-a-tete at lunch, Four Seasons.

And for a casual and celebratory dinner for oneself, uptown choose Centolire, downtown choose Prune and in the middle – though not midtown – choose Union Square. If you take your birthdays as seriously as an adult as one does as a child – choose all three.

I am proud to announce the arrival of our website myurbansherpa.net, an online guide to the sites, shops, services–and spirit–of New York City. It is designed for New Yorkers and those who visit the city and want to “Eat, exercise, explore; enjoy New York like a New Yorker.”

The site features hundreds of listings selected and written by me, with the support of a great editorial and design team including Alix Horowitz, Bryan Leister, Greg Samata, and the office of SamataMason.

The site is live and ready for browsing and consulting. I hope you will take a moment to look at the site. I’d love you to check and see if I’ve listed your favorite hole-in-the-wall establishment, hair cuttery, posh cafe, or yoga studio. Please let me know what we’ve missed so we can add your favorites alongside mine. If you register, you can write a review of one or a dozen listings, and your advice can immediately be accessed by other visitors to the site.

And please send us feedback. We have a link to OpinionLab on the main navigation menu to collect feedback anonymously. Or drop me a line by email.

The site is for you — and it needs you: by using it, refining the entries, and sending your feedback, the site will improve.

Thanks for your time. I hope you enjoy the site, and I hope it contributes to your enjoyment of our great city.

Cheers

alison@myurbansherpa.net

Alison Davis Curry
Publisher
My Urban Sherpa, LLC