Celebrating the unique melding of cultures and cuisines, Chifa presents guests with a truly one-of-a-kind dining experience that showcases a Peruvian/Cantonese fusion menu. In the 19th century, with the presence of a Chinese community quickly growing in Peru, both cultures benefited from a sharing of culinary technique and
history. The result is a deliciously vibrant fusion cuisine that showcases South American cooking techniques and ingredients, complemented by intricate Asian flavor profiles and texture combinations. Dishes like the Chaufa – made with stir fried rice, chorizo, mango, edamame, and scallops – illustrate this tasty union of cultures, and prove that food fusion is a beautiful thing.
My spouse and I stayed at the Newark Airport Marriott for one night in
late December prior to a holiday vacation. We booked a “park, stay, and
fly” package that include one night’s lodging and parking for seven
days. The package rate at this Marriott property was a little more
expensive than other associated properties a few miles away from the
airport; however, we felt that being able to see the airport from the
hotel provided us with a level of mental comfort was worth a few more
dollars, as well as the fact that this is a full-service property with
on-site restaurants. (We have also stayed at the Courtyard and the
Springhill Suites near the airport in the past.) There was plenty of
parking, and the lot was gated and required a key card to enter and
exit. (You have in and out parking privileges.)
Although this
hotel is technically on-site at Newark Liberty International Airport,
you cannot legally walk to the airport from the hotel. (It might be
possible to walk – it is extremely close - but you would need to cross
airport traffic and an airport parking lot.) The hotel provides 24-hour
transportation, and we were told that the shuttles leave every 10 to 15
minutes, although not on any set schedule like on the hour, quarter
hour, half hour, etc.
The lobby is attractive, as are the
on-site restaurants, which included JW’s Steakhouse [this didn’t appear
to be open when we were there, but maybe I didn’t look closely enough],
Mangia di Casa [Italian], and Chatfield’s [English pub]. We had drinks
late at night at Chatfield’s, which was had ample seating, a decent menu
(“bar food”, although we didn’t order any), and good service. There is
an indoor/outdoor pool and a gym, but we neither used them nor saw them.
There is a flight status board in the lobby, so you can keep informed
of departures and arrivals even if you don’t have your computer with you
(I don’t think internet access was free, but I didn’t use it so I can’t
say for sure). I remember seeing an ATM in the lobby, as well as one of
those Marriott pantry areas where you could buy a snack or drink.
(There was what looked to be an empty storefront, though, that might
have once housed a tiny gift/sundries shop.)
The night we
arrived (approximately 5:00 pm), they had a table set up in the lobby
where they were serving hot chocolate – complete with big bowls of
whipped cream and marshmallows. I had planned to partake of the
refreshments the next morning before my flight, but it wasn’t available.
I’m not sure if it was a holiday treat, or whether they do it during
the winter months, but I thought that it was a nice cozy touch to
welcome guests.
We drove into Manhattan for dinner on the night
of our stay – even though it’s only about 16 miles, it took about one
hour to drive there because there was traffic (around 6:00 pm), but only
30 minutes to return (no traffic at 10:00 pm). We’ve talked about doing
this “dinner run” previously before embarking on other trips (when
we’ve stayed at the other Newark Marriott properties) and wondered how
easy it would be, and it was easy enough that we plan to do it again.
(We fancy ourselves as “foodies”, though, so driving for an hour for a
great meal is not unheard of for us.) We checked out the other
transportation options before deciding to drive ourselves, but they
weren’t any less expensive (I think the PATH and AMTRAK trains were both
$15 per person each way, a taxi was $50 each way, even a shared van
service was $30 each way [for us and up to nine of our closest
“friends”]) and seemed to require more effort (transferring from the Air
Train to the regular train at Newark Station, then getting at cab at
Penn Station in NYC, or pin-pointing our schedule enough to set times
for the car service to pick us up).
We would stay here again if
the price was right and the parking package suited us (sometimes the
package only includes four nights free parking, and additional days are
exorbitantly priced).
Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and leading American restaurateur Stephen Starr opened a New York City location of their immensely popular Philadelphia restaurant, Morimoto in January 2006. The 12,000-square foot Japanese restaurant is a premier dining destination for Manhattan’s connoisseurs of cuisine and style. Chef Morimoto, acclaimed for his ability to integrate Western ingredients into traditional Japanese cuisine such as tempura, sushi, and sashimi, offers uniquely contemporary Japanese cuisine, revolutionizing the New York restaurant scene, much as he did while serving as executive chef of Nobu. Chef Morimoto, born and raised in Hiroshima, learned the art of sushi and traditional Kaiseki cuisine by training under several of his country’s esteemed master chefs. After running his own restaurant in Japan for five years, Chef Morimoto moved to New York City to explore Western cooking styles. Fifteen years later, he has become well known for his unsurpassed culinary talent in fusing international ingredients into culinary masterpieces, best demonstrated in the TV show Iron Chef. Among Chef Morimoto’s passions is his collection of traditional Japanese culinary tools. The contemporary Japanese menu infuses traditional dishes with Western ingredients and preparation techniques. Morimoto’s sashimi salad appetizing platter of seared toro, smoked salmon, barbeque eel, tuna and hamachi presented in blond wood box and flavored with five different sauces. Other signature dishes include The Duck, Duck, Duck is roasted duck leg and a “duck sandwich” (made with cucumber and a foie gras infused croissant) accented with a red miso sauce and a soft duck egg. Designed by world-class architect Tadao Ando, Morimoto is located directly underneath New York’s exciting Highline project. The stoic steel facade is highlighted with an archway and the largest traditional Japanese noren curtain ever created to welcome guests. The bi-level restaurant is separated into a 160-person seated dining area and a 40-person lounge in the lower level. Ando achieves a Zen-like serenity throughout the space by using glass privacy walls between tables, rice paper walls, and an organic ceiling that resembles the raked sand of Eastern rock gardens. Morimoto boasts a 1,500-square foot exposition kitchen, surrounded by a 24-seat wooden sushi bar, where diners can watch Chef Morimoto prepare his signature dishes. Overlooking the exposition kitchen is the omakase bar, a table where eight very fortunate patrons will enjoy a true Japanese culinary experience. Each guest is to remove their shoes as is tradition and be seated, and then Chef Morimoto and his chosen team will specially select and cook the meal for the table – the Omakase, or chef’s tasting menu. Leading guests downstairs to the lounge is a sparkling sculpture - a wall made of 17,000 Tynant spring water bottles that weighs nearly 9 tons. Furniture for the restaurant was designed by Ross Lovegrove and produced by high-end furniture maker Poltrona Frau. Famed lighting designer Arnold Chan of Isometrix is responsible for the lighting throughout the entire space. Morimoto brings together Japan’s most esteemed chef with Japan’s most award-winning architect. This is the first of architect Ando’s projects in New York. He has created high-profile projects in Japan, Europe, and the United States, including the Buddhist Water Temple in Awaji Shima overlooking Osaka Bay, fashion designer Tom Ford’s New Mexico home, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Texas, and the Pulitzer Museum in St. Louis Missouri. In 1995, he was named the eighteenth Laureate of The Pritzker Architecture Prize, his profession’s highest honor.
My spouse and I stayed at the Hampton Inn SoHo in mid-December 2012. We remitted Hilton Hhonors points for a free night's stay, although we think at that time of year, the room rate was about $350 per night.
This smallish property contains 19 floors (actually 18 floors, because there is no floor 13), and there are approximately 10 rooms per floor. Corner rooms end in 00, 01, 08, and 09, but according to the map in the hotel directory, they do not appear larger than others on the floor. Rooms ending in 03 and 05 are adjacent to the elevator, so they may be a little smaller than others, and maybe a little noisier. (We had one of the rooms next to the elevator, which was a bit small but not necessarily noisy.) Some rooms on the 17th and 18th floor are larger than on other floors; those room numbers end in 00, 02, 04, 06. The choicest rooms are on the top/19th floor: number 1901, 1095, and 1907 because they are penthouse suites with balconies.
Also on the 19th floor, for use by anyone, is an outdoor terrace, where there are comfy chairs and some small tables arranged around some plants. Smoking is permitted on the terrace. There were no umbrellas on the deck, but that may have been because we visited in December. It would be a great place to hang out and catch some sunshine on a beautiful day!
There is no on-site parking at the hotel, nor is there valet parking service available. Some street parking exists (if you pay careful attention to the parking meter restrictions), and there is a garage nearby at the corner of Varick and Broome Streets, just at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel (which makes exiting the city by car easy). Supposedly, the hotel has special rates at the garage, but we did not find them to be any less than we could have found without the hotel relationship; the charge is $35 for 24 hours, with no in/out privileges; any hours over 24 incur a pricey hourly charge, so it may make sense to pay for 2 days instead.
The hotel has a small pull-in driveway to use for loading and unloading passengers and luggage. The hotel provides a complimentary buffet breakfast, which is held in two adjoining rooms - one "regular" room, and the other a glass-type atrium with sky views. (On weekdays, you can pick up a “grab-and-go” breakfast bag instead of spending precious time at the serve-yourself buffet.) There is a small outdoor area off the atrium with a table and chairs for smokers; there are also a few tiny tables and chairs outside the entrance to the bar where you can smoke or enjoy a drink outdoors. The small, on-site Artifakt Bar has a separate entrance from the street; open evenings only, it doubles as the baggage storeroom during daylight hours. There are some computers in a corner of the small lobby for guest use. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.
We like the location of this hotel in lower Manhattan. It is just on the edge of SoHo, adjacent to Greenwich Village, and is within easy walking distance of Chinatown, Little Italy, and Canal Street. It is located on a small, somewhat quiet block very close to the entrance of the Holland Tunnel.
This hotel fit our needs nicely, and we would stay here again without hesitation, especially if we could reserve a room on the 19th floor!
