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Published: August 6th 2007
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The group at Sparks
I was just too tired for photos! The main New York attractions that we saw on our final day in New York were food-related ones (well, except for the companions who were able to do some really high end shopping). The lawyers and I once again spent the morning in meetings. We were treated to another presentation by my marketing hero, Ross Fishman, who once again gave an engaging show that made the audience laugh and think strategically about their marketing. Then, we were off to the offices of our host firm for our breakout sessions. Since I was leading mine, a marketing-focused session, I was a bit nervous both about what I would say and how many people would show up. I shouldn't have worried - we had 20 people in a room for six, and once the conversation got started, it was hard to put an end to it! We were the group that ran the longest, and as a result, I was late for my own dine around!
A "dine around" is when we reserve a limited number of places at various restaurants in the city we are visiting and then send the lawyers and their spouses to these restaurants with a host from the local firm. For this particular dine around, we had made reservations at 14 NYC restaurants. We planned to meet the group in the courtyard outside the NY Palace and provide the hosts with final lists and large red numbers to identify them with. Splitting up the group this way went more smoothly than the last several dine arounds, and we were soon off to our own restaurants - the Rock Center Cafe.
The Rock Center Cafe is a great restaurant, if you can sit outside. Luckily, the weather was gorgeous, so our group of almost thirty could sit outside with no trouble. The Rock Center Cafe is located right in the center of Rockefeller Plaza - in the winter, it's where you can find the skaters, just in the shadow of the large gold statue there. I've been to the restaurant before, and it never disappoints. I had a delicious spicy chicken wrap, followed by a fabulous dessert of two stacked chocolate "donuts" (not true donuts), whose center was filled with melted chocolate, which was paired with a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream. Hands down the best dessert I had all week. Our table was the smaller one of the tables there, and I enjoyed the conversation and the sun immensely.
Afterwards, it was back to the hotel for a break. I had about four hours to myself before our final dinner at Sparks. Sparks is best known as being the location where a notorious mobster was gunned down just outside. It's also well-known for having ridiculously large portions of beef. They didn't disappoint. Our group wandered over to the restaurant a few at a time, and packed into the crowded room for our private cocktail hour. Everyone was tired, so the relaxed and informal atmosphere was perfect. I wandered around, chatting to various people in the group until it was time to be seated. Tables were of varying sizes, and seating was up to everyone there, so the group quickly matched themselves up with their friends and sat down. We were then presented with specially printed menus detailing the wide variety of appetizers, salads, entrees and vegetables available to us. It was overwhelming! I finally decided on a lettuce & tomato salad and the filet mignon. The salad that arrived at the table was my dream salad - just iceberg lettuce with a vinaigrette dressing. The tomatoes were even on the side, so I was very happy. It was perfect! Then, the main course arrived and everyone was blown away by the portion size. The piece of filet mignon that I got could have fed my whole family! I added some hash browns to the side of my plate, and managed to eat about a third of the beef. I did bring the rest home in a doggie bag for my dogs though - a true "doggie" bag! The meal was good, but overwhelming.
Finally, dessert arrived - fruit, cheesecake, a chocolate nutty cake, and tartufo for the table. I had some of the fruit, cheesecake and tartufo, and all were good. I especially enjoyed mixing the fruit with the whip cream and a little bit of cheesecake. By that time, I was exhausted, so I declined to accompany the fun group to the Copa Cabana and began the long trek out of the restaurant. No one seemed to want to leave! It was almost impossible to navigate my way through everyone to get to the door. I was also saying goodbye to everyone - the group seemed to have had a wonderful time and had a lot of complimentary things to say. I eventually made it to the door, and confirmed that it was raining. Luckily I borrowed my dad's umbrella and with my Austrian escort, returned to the hotel. After another round of goodbyes the following morning, it was time to leave New York behind - what a week!
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