THE GATES HAVE OPENED
Outdoor Art Comes to Central Park

Central Park’s latest public art work, The Gates, have been revealed. Celebrated design-duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude, best known for wrapping bridges from Berlin to Sydney and Chicago, have created a 23-mile pedestrian walkway studded with 16-foot-high saffron-colored gates and golden fabric panels.

“When seen from the buildings surrounding Central Park, The Gates will seem like a golden river appearing and disappearing through the bare branches of the trees and will highlight the shape of the footpaths,” says the couple.

The display is scheduled to run from February 12-February 27; it can be seen between 59th Street and 110th Street and from Central Park West to Fifth Avenue.

WHERE TO STAY
For the best view, book a room overlooking the park. While the views at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, The Pierre and the The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park will be amazing, several park-side hotels are offering special packages in tribute of the park’s ambitious new outdoor work.

Located in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, the Mandarin Oriental has set the city abuzz. And for good reason. Tony Chi designed both Asiate, the on-site eatery, featuring French-Japanese fare and a million dollar view, and the swanky MoBar. The hotel has put binoculars in every park-view room and is offering special packages that include breakfast and a book on The Gates.

The Westin Essex House on Central Park is offering special packages that include a walking tour of The Gates, along with tickets to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a Broadway show. The property is as spectacular as ever with its beautiful Art-Deco-styled lobby decorated with only the most carefully chosen antiques. Similarly designed rooms are filled with amenities that include VCRs, fax/copier/printers, scales, magnifying mirrors and bathrobes.

Like its sister hotel in Paris, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée is a quiet, rarified gem. The 152 rooms and suites mirror the luxury of the lobby, with their Frette robes and occasional pantries, complete with refrigerators and two-burner stoves. The hotel is offering specials that include a prix-fixe lunch at its lavish dining room, Arabelle, whose updated menu features Saffron infused dishes from fennel soup to poached halibut and rack of lamb.

WHERE TO DINE
Hotels aren't the only ones jumping on the Christo and Jean Claude bandwagon; nearby restaurants are offering special saffron inspired menus to celebrate the vibrant installment.

With its antique décor and bare-boned open piping, Tello’s feels like an authentic old-world Italian Ristorante. In honor of The Gates, chef Alonso Tello has added a saffron shrimp and scallops dish to his simple and traditional Italian menu.

What opened as Citarella is now Josephs. This David Rockwell-designed midtown restaurant is intriguing with its with seashell-encrusted porthole windows and its New American cuisine. New saffron-based entrees include a Mediterranean bouillabaisse and a blueberry pavlova.

Already known for its inventive Spanish cuisine, Bolo has added saffron dishes to its menu including the exotic-sounding “Chorizo and Green Peas and Roasted Rabbit Wrapped in Serrano Ham with Yellow Pepper Risotto and a Saffron-Carrot Sauce.”

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