New York Fashion Week: Drinks on Me!

By: Finance Foodie

Bryant Park’s usual state as quiet and peaceful place to watch the birds and catch up with friends has again been invaded by the frenzied fashionistas and flashing lights of the photo hungry paparazzi. This only means one thing: another New York Fashion Week is in full swing!

The liquid diet trend had become even more aggressive at the Tents this season, as the variety of free drink options has expand by twofold while the food selection has continued to remain at almost none. I was rather impressed by the selection of beverages options - clearly dehydration will not be an issue! - and decided to do a taste test of what I saw.

O.N.E water*: I know it’s trendy to be eco-chic, but someone needs to tell O.N.E. that their cartons are travel unfriendly and a logistical nightmare. Apparently, the O.N.E water is designed to be consumed and thrown away in one (or O.N.E ) sitting and the re-capable drink nozzle is just for show. I realized this only when I saw my “recapped” O.N.E carton made a shallow pool in my handbag. The water damage was minimal, but nonetheless, slightly annoying (made worse by my overall state of hunger and painful shoes).
Diet Coke: Cool and interesting bottle. But still same old boring Diet Coke.
McDonald’s McCafe: Mickey D’s first showed up last season and still is by far the most popular booth at the Tents (someone on McDonald’s marketing team is going to be getting a fat bonus this year). Even though the station was constantly mobbed with long lines, the servers were uber-nice and chipper as if on a permanent caffeine high.
Rouge Tomate’s Cucumber Cooler*: Rouge Tomate, a hot new restaurant in Manhattan, offered alcohol-free Cucumber Coolers as a healthy alternative to the coffee and alcohol. The coolers were created by RT’s mixologist Rainlove (sweet name!) Lampariello and consisted of cucumbers, cucumber juice, and lemonade. Very tasty, crisp, and chock full of Vitamin C!
Muscle Milk Light*: Isn’t Muscle Milk a workout drink? Silly fashionistas! - last time I checked, standing/sitting around waiting for a show was not considered exercise. The 100 calorie drinks did taste surprisingly good – like whole milk injected with chocolate syrup and had only a slight hint of a protein aftertaste.
Wine and Cocktail Bar: Like salt and pepper, alcohol and fashion go hand in hand. The bar is pretty much the same every year and of course, always very crowded.
So there we go – a plethora of fun liquids that make the lines for the port a potties even longer! The only thing missing from this beverage line up were promotional mugs!

*denotes new beverage items this season