Summer Strategies

How to Blow Off Work (Part I)

Recipe for a decadent day

By Lorelei Sharkey & Emma Taylor
Published May 21, 2005

The Ziegfeld Theater.

(Photo: Joshua Lutz)

You could sleep all day. Or you could begin with the guiltiest pleasure of all: a 7 a.m. Today show concert at Rockefeller Plaza. Held throughout the summer, they feature stars like Norah Jones and Jimmy Buffett (a hero of hooky). Check the Today Website for the schedule . . . and don’t forget your HI MOM sign.

From there, it’s all downhill: Treat yourself to French toast with fruit on the patio at Pastis, which now serves a full breakfast from 8 to 11:30 a.m. every weekday (9 Ninth Avenue; 212-929-4844). Mosey over to Just Calm Down for a pedicure (men too): “The Grape Gatsby” ($75) includes a red-wine soak, grape-seed scrub, and a glass of wine (32 West 22nd Street; 212-337-0032). Catch a blockbuster at the posh Ziegfeld (141 West 54th Street; 212-777-FILM #602); on a weekday you won’t have to fight for a seat. Lunch on popcorn and Milk Duds.

For afternoon cocktails, head to the huge outdoor bar at the Maritime Hotel (363 Ninth Avenue, at 16th Street; 212-242-4300). The bar technically opens at 5 p.m., but they’ll start serving drinks at four. Get a three-course prix fixe at that tacky but lovable classic, Tavern on the Green. Work off dinner at the new, sceney Marquee nightclub (289 Tenth Avenue, near 27th Street; 646-473-0202), then catch a cab—or call Bermuda Limousine International (212-647-8400) for a Mercedes—out to Red Hook’s pier for a nightcap under tiki lamps in Lillie’s cozy back garden (46 Beard Street; 718-858-9822). By closing time (4 a.m.), you’re ready for breakfast again in Manhattan: Florent has outdoor tables, 24-hour service, and a late-night eggs-and-toast special (69 Gansevoort Street; 212-989-5779). You might need some time off to recover, so book a room at the Tribeca Grand (tribecagrand.com): Its “Sex in the City” package (available on Fridays in July) includes chocolates, champagne, and a late checkout.