The weekend is fortifying for Art Basel.
Get a jump on turkey day at the sleek Conrad hotel's 25th-floor lounge buffet. Start off at the full raw bar and work your way through the carvery (roasted turkey, NY strip, leg of lamb), bypass the pasta station and rally for the desserts—pumpkin spice crème brulee only comes once a year. Did we mention unlimited Bloody Marys? We just did.
You've done some of your best work at BED, a club where going barefoot is encouraged and there's always room for one more friend under the sheets. Celebrate a year in the Buddhist-temple-themed-hideaway biz with an open bar and plenty of mattress-laden revelry.
You'll brave the masses for a good deal, and the sprawling new boutique/wine bar/eyewear emporium lures you to Mall Madness this weekend with promises of 30 percent off most major labels including Dsquared, Rogan and Helmut Lang. Thoughts of a post-purchasing Pinot should get you through it.
You always make sure to check out MOCA's annual Tuesday night party, as it's the official kickoff to the Art Basel bonanza. Grab a Grey Goose cocktail in the neon-lit courtyard as you observe the various gallerinas in town and absorb the inauguration pomp, featuring a live performance by members of the Cleveland Orchestra. (Because Cleveland doesn't just rock, it also blows.)
Go all anime on Art Basel with this jaunt through Japanese pop culture's obsession with Godzilla-like monsters and vinyl toys. Throw in complimentary Asian bites from RA Sushi and Rubi Rey cocktails and you're quickly a fan of this pop-surrealism-meets-Kid Robot thing.
