Nothing unimportant happens at The Plaza,” it was once said of New York’s dazzling Gilded Age hotel fringing Central Park. Who uttered this bold statement remains a mystery, but many like to believe it was F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby and Plaza regular along with his wife Zelda, in the Roaring Twenties. A lavish suite here is also where one of the novel’s key dramatic scenes takes place. From my white-clothed table next to a tall potted palm, I glance over at the curved bar opposite. I can easily picture the party-hungry pair perched on high stools, chatting and laughing, wafting around cigarettes in holders and chugging back cocktail after cocktail.
My daydreams take place while I’m indulging in a Central Park afternoon tea at the hotel’s legendary Palm Court. Sipping champagne beneath the room’s ornate Victorian glass skylight, I must confess to feeling quite important. Even the tiny cucumber sandwiches are a major event – dainty bite-sized morsels with lemon zest and mint labneh – and the bizarre-sounding egg custard and jam combo a pleasant surprise.
