IntroductionT6 a cartographer, "The Big Apple," New York City, is made up of fiveslices: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, too.It covers a land area of 25,ooo square acres, has a population of 7 1/2million and is one of the great metropolitan centers of the world. Thepulse beat of this huge metropolis is the island of Manhattan--known tothe world as New York, New York. It is in Manhattan that everythinghappens: Wall Street houses the great financial district; Seventh Avenueis the fashion capital of America; Madison Avenue is synonymous withadvertising; major national and international corporations are neighborson a five-block strip of Park Avenue; the headquarters of TV networksare clustered around the Avenue of the Americas; Broadway connotes theTheater; United Nations Plaza regularly plays host to the world's leadingdiplomats. But Manhattan is also just plain home to the four authors of thisbook: Charlotte, Isabelle, Phyllis and Susan. We now live within fourblocks of one another and, collectively, we have lived in New York, NewYork, for eighty-seven years. Like the other 7 1/2 million with whom weshare residency, we have a certain twenty-block radius that is "ourtown." It is centered on Manhattan's East Side, which is politicallyknown as the "silk-stocking district" and is in the heart of one of theworld's most concentrated and most fashionable shopping and culturalareas. This book is about that New York. What we four luxury-lovingpersons set out to do was to tell you about the shops we shop, therestaurants we frequent and the services we rely on. This is a personal and opinionated directory that represents om taste,our style and our demands for quality, service and value. It is a guide towhat we think is great in the better-known places as well as in all thelittle oases we haunt which a visitor or even a less-experienced NewYorker might never unearth. Part of the fun in writing this book was theopportunity it gave us to thank the people who really care about theservice or product they provide. We have listed others whom wepatronize only because they have something we want or need and can'tget elsewhere. Part of the excitement of Manhattan is that it is an ever-changingscene, with its buildings constantly being torn down and rebuilt. In fact,one visitor commented that "New York will be a lovely place if they