The Ride of Your Life

Like most New Yorkers, I avoid Times Square like the plague. Even with the Bloomberg-mandated closure of Broadway, the area is a traffic-snarled den of caricature artists, slack-jawed tourists and bad chain restaurants. Were it not for theatre, I wonder whether I'd ever visit this part of town. And yet, it was not always so. I remember my early fascination with Times Square, its bright lights and 24/7 excitement. To me, it represented the pulsing heartbeat of New York, the energy epicenter that gave the city life.

Last night, for 90 minutes, I found myself in love with Times Square all over again.

As a passenger on a new attraction called The Ride, I got to see the city from an atypical vantage point--sideways. The Ride is a coach bus with outward-facing stadium seating for 50. With a floor-to-ceiling view of the cityscape outside, The Ride is deliciously voyeuristic. But what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Literally, because pedestrians get to gander right back in at you.

With a tight-looped route that that sticks primarly to the West 40s and 50s, The Ride is conducted by two perky, New York-savvy guides. For sardonic comic relief, their commentary aided and abetted by input from the bus, who is given a Knight Rider-style voice and personality.

But the real treat to be experienced aboard The Ride are the pop-up street performances that unfold before passengers' eyes. A UPS delivery guy who drops his packages to do a spontaneous break dance and a sailor and nurse who perfectly recreate Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic image of a couple locked in a never-ending kiss are among the surprise attractions viewers will get to see on their journey. As delightful, if not more, are the stunned reactions of passersby, who have no clue as to what is happening, but who whip out their cameras to film the action faster than you can say iPhone.

It's a great addition to the Great White Way, a wonderful experience for tourists--and believe it or not--locals, too. Tickets from $59. For more info, click here.

Call Me a Cab!

How would you feel about standing on this floor tile at the brand-new Gansevoort on Park Avenue South?
The balcony of the property's sky bar (21 stories up, mind you) is filled with them!

Getting Crabby in Grand Central

From the subterranean caverns of Grand Central Terminal has emerged a creature we're all quite pleased to see: soft-shell crab. Fresh from Florida, the first-catch crustaceans made their seasonal debut today at the iconic Grand Central Oyster Bar. The scrumptious offering costs $31.95, which will net you (sorry, couldn't resist) two large soft-shells crabs, sautéed with garlic herb butter. “The soft shells usually arrive earlier in March," says executive chef Sandy Ingber, "but it’s been a little colder than usual." We've noticed. Fortunately, certain things are worth the wait.

For Gossip Girls, Real and Imagined

Private school girls, this is your lucky week. (If you actually like to eat, that is.) Swank Park Avenue Winter (the restaurant that changes its name, décor and menu with the seasons) throws open its doors this week to women of all ages who arrive wearing a school uniform. Wearers of plaid skirts and white blouses (and every other variation thereof) will be treated to a free meal. And for those ladies who have surpassed the ripe old age of 21, the eatery will also include two free drinks. The unusual promotion has been devised to celebrate the restaurant's inclusion in tonight's episode of Gossip Girl and will continue the rest of the week. Bet you're wishing you hadn't given your old school duds to Goodwill now. Didn't Sister Mary Alice Magillicuddy tell you you'd come to love your uniform one day?

Fare Thee Well, New York Post?

If Vanity Fair journalist and author Michael Wolff (The Man Who Owns The News) is correct, the New York Post may not be long for this world. At least, not as a Rupert Murdoch publication. Addressing the New York Press Club last night, Wolff predicted that once Murdoch buys the New York Times! (which, says Wolff, is all-but inevitable as the Gray Lady teeters on the edge of financial ruin), the Australian newspaperman will lose interest in the Post, which bleeds his News Corp of millions of dollars every year. Murdoch's shedding of the paper famed for headlines such as "Topless Woman in Headless Bar" may well prove to be the paper's death knell, forecasts Wolff, who believes, if anything, the tabloid will be folded into the Daily News. As for the city's paper of record, Wolff called the Times slushy and in need of an owner who can re-energize it. He believes that a Murdoch buyout of the NYT would save the periodical from its current state of wayward irrelevance. Wow. Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times in the hands of one man? Unimaginable. But, in Wolff's belief, unavoidable and not such a bad thing. Stay tuned.