Early days in the pandemic I spent a good dose of time regretting the moniker of this operation. While exploring new terrain in the back hills of Montauk I would stomp around muttering something along the lines of…”stupid, stupid, stupid name.” Grab Your Group and GO (or GYGG) was pretty much the antithesis statement of what to do in a pandemic and an annoying reminder of what we were missing. I got over it, but here we are a year later still unable to grab too many people or go to too many places. Yet we now have threads of hope that we will soon be able to gather our group as we once did.
So as we slowly ease back into things, on offer some ideas for you to Grab Your little mini Group and GO:
The Peak Restaurant (right above The Edge in Hudson Yards)…
I needed to get the family out of the house and wanted a proper place for a recognition of being well on the road to recovery. It turns out this was just the right spot. If you are anti indoor dining then this is not the place for you, BUT if you are ready to ease back in this is a pretty special way to go. We got parked in a private dining room on the 101st first floor overlooking the always sublime Manhattan skyline with The Empire State Building lit up in red and green as the centerpiece of our view. The food is EXPENSIVE, but quite good. I guess the view is baked into the price of the food? The service was excellent and the handling of precautions seemed sensible too. Our favorite waiter was a furloughed opera singer.
You and your little group get the remarkably speedy elevator ride all to yourselves. The elevators to the restaurant are not shared with The Edge so you get whisked right up and right back down when you are done (your reservation does not include access to The Edge). Reservations are made on Resi. The sunset spots are competitive. You can book 21 days in advance. Lunch spots are easier to nab. Click here to learn more.
Art co-mingling with landscape as Art…
A visit to the New York Botanical Garden is always a good idea, but when they unveil the place with art intermingling with nature the experience is next level good. Tickets to Kusama: Cosmic Nature will go on pre-sale to members on March 11th (tomorrow) and to the general public on March 16th. Mark your calendars accordingly. Here’s how the exhibit is described on the NYBG site:
Experience Yayoi Kusama’s profound connection with nature
Contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is one of the most popular artists in the world, drawing millions to experience her immersive installations. Exclusively at NYBG, Kusama reveals her lifelong fascination with the natural world, beginning with her childhood spent in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s seed nursery. Her artistic concepts of obliteration, infinity, and eternity are inspired by her intimate engagement with the colors, patterns, and life cycles of plants and flowers. Click here to learn more.
Immersive Art in a to be named setting: Who wants to Gogh? (their tagline not mine)…
Not sure what to think about this one. It is a travelling digital art exhibit of some of Van Gogh’s most famous works (being marketed aggressively). Reviews are mixed from the other locations and seem to be a bit polarizing with lots of checks in the LOVE box and others in the ehh..not worth it box. I will say June is pretty much all sold out. I will also say I just enjoyed the experience of studying the calendar and buying a ticket to something. With hope for pre-season training being on the calendar I picked a date in late August for the family to go. If you are around the evening of August 26th you should join too. 7pm. Now the big challenge is I just need to remember to go. So far away. To learn more about this exhibit and possibly grab your tickets click here. Oh and note! They don’t have a location yet. This might make some folks uncomfy, but I think it only adds to the intrigue.
I think that is it. Have fun grabbing your little group and going places that work for you. If you find something you think the group would enjoy please let me know that too. 🙂
