Tag Archives: financial district

The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s Ever-Changing Exhibits

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As a non-collecting institution, the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s ever-changing exhibition program embraces a range of artistic disciplines. From Andy Warhol’s pantheon of Jewish portraits to a retrospective of Where the Wild Things Are author Picture 85Maurice Sendak’s career, each presentation is timely and relevant, fostering a dialogue between museum-goers of all faiths. Partnering with national and international cultural institutions, the Museum showcases contemporary art, historical objects, film and music, literary readings, and other live performances that pertain to Judaism as both a religion and culture.

Founded in 1984, the Contemporary Jewish Museum opened its doors as the “Jewish Community Museum” in San Francisco’s Financial District with a goal of introducing audiences of all backgrounds to contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art and ideas. After much success, ten years later, the Museum hired acclaimed Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind — who won the competition to reconstruct Manhattan’s World Trade Center site — to re-envision a 1907 landmark in SoMa as its new home. Reopened in 2008 with a vibrant blue metallic steel roof surging from a Beaux Arts brick façade, the dynamic 63,000-square-foot structure marries historical and contemporary architecture.

Steps away from the SFMOMA and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, it’s a can’t-miss for culture vultures.

Yank Sing Delivers Dim Sum on the Ritz

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Picture 61If the hustle and the bustle of Chinatown’s to-go only dim sum spots makes you feel “lost in translation,” but you still have a taste for the Orient, Yank Sing might be just the thing. One of only five restaurants designated “an American classic” with a 2009 James Beard Foundation award — the Oscars of the culinary world — this delightful dining spot is the definitive dim sum house.

With unflinching, rapid-fire servings of an exceptional variety of fried and steamed small plates wheeled around in carefully choreographed carts, your only worry will be to know when to stop. Luckily, you can get comfortable sitting back to overeat and taste your terrific tea at a luxe table dressed in white linens — a far cry from the flickering overhead lights and suspended poultry of Stockton Street. Better yet, with prime locations in both the Embarcadero and the Financial District, your hotel suite or business meeting may be just a hobble, skip or jump away.

A Steakhouse that Serves up Dancing? That’s Prime

Located on the third, fourth and fifth floors above Umbria Prime steakhouse, which takes over the first two, this three-story dance mecca caters to a 25 and older clientele. Up until around midnight, 30-somethings come here to party while a younger late-night Picture 10crowd stays until the doors close at 2 a.m.

Prime the Nightclub has hosted internationally famed DJs spinning a mix of house, top 40s and mashup every Friday and Saturday night. The chic stylish younger crowd flocks to the ultra lounge with vodka bar and VIP lounge with table service. But what makes this place so great is that dinner is served downstairs nightly until 11 p.m., so if you feel like snacking late night, simply venture downstairs for a quick bite. Visit umbriaprime.com/nightlife for more information.

Insider’s Tip: If you decide to dine at Umbria Prime, you will receive a complimentary $20 admission to the upstairs club.

It’s All About The Fung Shui Views at Mandarin Oriental

Occupying the top eleven floors of a 48 story building in the Financial District, and bumping windows with the famous Transamerica Pyramid, The Mandarin Oriental hotel is the third tallest building in San Francisco.  The unobstructed views are so awesome they give you binoculars at check-in.

Arriving by taxi but traveling by Picture 18cable car, this hotel’s location is perfect for the business traveler looking for some tourism in the agenda.  The financial district is the hub of the city’s enterprise, but surrounded by the most popular destinations: Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, Coit Tower, and North Beach are all within several blocks.

Your time within the luxurious Mandarin Oriental will not be wasted, with Silks Restaurant offering Pacific Rim fine dining, and the Mobar Lounge serving appetizers and Asian-inspired cocktails.  Of course, if the stay is strictly business, there’s a 24-hour staffed business center and event space for your stay-connected needs.

Guest rooms nestled in the top ten floors are colored with clay and chile red hues, dressed with fresh orchids, and a perfectly fung shui’d window and raised bed design that allows you to enjoy the city skyline without even getting up for your binoculars.

Aricie Lingerie’s International For Sexy

Although VaPicture 10lentine’s Day comes once a year, Aricie Lingerie has been adorning women with sexy undergarments everyday since 1982. With most of the merchandise coming from Europe, you’ll find fabulous French designs from Aubade, Chantelle, Rien, and Nina Ricci, and invigorating Italian trends from R. Crescentini, Parah and Valery.

Half the fun in shopping at Aricie is pretending you’re fluent in a romance language, with designs like Fleurs de pommier Demi Bras and Signora di Quadri G-Strings. You’ll look so good in Aricie’s collections, your partner won’t care what you say when you get home!  Of course, for that extra boost at work, you’ll feel confident knowing what’s underneath that stiff professional exterior. So, skip the chocolates and clichéd Victoria’s Secret black lace and get something you’ll feel gorgeous in all year.

A Taste of Miami at Ames Hotel

The Ames Hotel, just around the corner from City Hall, is fresh and new off a grand opening in November. As the child of the masterminds behind Rockwell and Morgans Hotel Groups, of Mondrian and Delano fame, the acclaimed modern, sophisticated design shines through at thiPicture 6s New England hotspot.

The boutique property has just 114 rooms, but if you are looking to splurge, stay a night in The Apartment, the Ames’ take on a traditional Presidential Suite, which offers the ultimate in luxury- silk rugs, a velvet chaise and Egyptian cotton linens. While the Ames is a bit more traditional than its South Beach sister properties, it still mimics their style with a white-on-white décor.

Hollywood stars can almost always be found at a Morgans Hotel and the Ames and its on-site restaurant, Woodward, seek to be no exception, especially with the continuous filming going on around town. The Ames Hotel’s introductory rates are typically less than $200 per night, which just might be the best deal in town.

Cool Place to BOND over Drinks

BOND just may be the hottest place to grab a cool drink in Boston’s Financial District. Located inside The Langham Hotel, this grand dame encompasses an impressive bar with dramatically high ceilings in a room filled with enormous, countless chandeliers. Boston’s most beautiful club is also filled with some of its most sophisticated people.Picture 11

Once part of the Federal Reserve Bank, the former Julien restaurant was transformed last year into a hip setting for cosmopolitan dining and drinking. Cocktails such as The Trust, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie & Clyde and Butch Cassidy reflect the storied history of the building.

BOND is a high-end lounge that acts like a nightclub: bottle service is almost mandatory to skip the massive line that curves its way through the hotel’s lobby. A stylish well-heeled 20-something crowd comes here late night to dance and party to the DJ spinning tunes on the balcony, while an after-work 30-plus group can be seen sipping bubbly in the Dom Perignon Lounge or relaxing with a glass of Riesling while noshing on a crock of lobster pot pie or ahi tuna tataki and tartar.

Grab a reservation or make sure to get in early as BOND is one of the most upscale and sought after nightlife destinations in Boston. Check out the website at bondboston.com.