Living large isn’t really a choice in Manhattan—it’s the law! Especially where food is concerned. From the reliable Pain Quotidien to the Michelin-starred Modern—with bagels, macchiati, gelato, and a few memorable cocktails in between—we sampled with gusto last week in NYC.

Here is a mouth-watering panino—marinated artichoke hearts, fontina and ham—I swilled daintily at the super posh Sant Ambroeus Ristorante at 1000 Madison Avenue. Here the women really do wear Prada and the men all speak Italian. I finished off this inexpensive lunch ($13) with a macchiato and chocolate gelato. That fueled my walk all the way back to Times Square.

Duty-bound, we located the ultimate New York bagel at Ess-a-Bagel on Lexington Avenue. We joined the queue that snaked outside the door for a half hour and finally scored bagels the size of Canaan. Slathered with lox, tomatoes, cream cheese, and onions, these were the motherlode of chewy, dense, delicious. Thank you Matthew for your fieldwork!

The night we flew in, we had a terrific meal at Daniel Boulud’s Bistro Moderne, which I’d booked because it was two blocks from our hotel overlooking the non-stop action of Times Square. Lovely wines, a plump lobster roll with killer french fries for my companion Melo, and fresh wild striped bass on a hash of leeks and peppers for me. Yes, it was a good idea to have a table booked at the end of a day of travel.

The next night was Hamilton, but first a light pre-theater dinner of salmon and pasta at the charming Osteria al Doge (above), another savvy choice a few blocks from the theater.

Our mega-meal happened next—a four course prix fixe at the Modern’s dining room, an elegant but unpretentious tasting tour through one of the better kitchens in Manhattan. Every bite, every sip, lived up to our expectations.

An amuse of fresh tomatos three ways, was joined by the first of several breads and this charming ring of herb-embedded butter (image above). Indulgence in every way (and if you get that pun, you get extra credit).

My first course was a lovely orchestration of seared prawns with toasted pistachios. Next two luscious pieces of lobster with shelling beans in fennel sauce. Duck breast with baby chanterelles (shown here) arrived with the sweet tangy surprise of glazed cherries (all the while I’m enjoying a 2016 Sicilian Nerello Mascalese loaded with the magic of volcanic terroir, but I switched to a pricey-but-worth-it 2015 Domaine Rollin Burgundy toward the end). Dessert, shown here, was as diversely delicious as it looks.

Strawberry bavarian cream, with small ornaments of sorrel cream and nasturtium ice cream. Note the very tiny nasturtium leaf decoration. Oh God.  No course was too large, or too small. Every portion was worth eating, and worth having splurged for.

The next night was our other Broadway date, The Band’s Visit, after which we made a pilgrimage to the Algonquin Hotel, and toasted one of our favorite writers with a drink named after her—the Dorothy Parker, a bracing cocktail of gin, lemon, St. Germain served in a cocktail flute. With it we inhaled a wonderful slab of wood-fired flatbread covered with prosciutto and arugula.

I spent the last day in NYC on my own, wandering through the electrifying Catholic Imagination show at the Met, checking out the Louboutin boutique, and ending up having a light supper at the Modern’s Bar Room, an inviting and vigorous place to enjoy brilliant food, fine libations, and meet unusual, avant-garde, and quite frequently entrepreneurial movers and shakers. I’ve eaten here many times—prices are a fraction of those in the more formal Dining Room.

I loved every bite of a basil spaghetti, topped with soft, melting,burrata and toasted pine nuts, paired with a mourvedre/grenache blend.

I love New York, and this visit—with a great traveling companion and the prior decision to cast economic caution to the winds—was the best ever. From the stellar Broadway shows to the gorgeous architecture to the eccentric, beautiful, and well-dressed natives, it lived up to all my expectations. Next time I would skip the overrated Highline (yes, it is nice to see all the new sky-rises at the Docks, but…) and avoid the overly pricey tea at the Plaza (not as wonderful as any in London).

New York is a great city. Don’t leave this planet without a visit.

[more videos and images at my Instagram page]