I HEART NEW YORK

I have just returned from my annual pilgrimage to New York to celebrate the birthday of my longtime journalist pal Pat Sellers, a preternaturally glam native New Yorker with an enviable collection of ball gowns rivalled only by the archives of Oscar de la Renta. I have known Pat since the ‘80s, when I hired her as the New York stringer for the Star’s Star Week TV magazine. Pat not only covered the TV beat for a slew of U.S. magazines including Soap Opera Weekly, she was a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan magazine and a personal favourite of legendary editor Helen Gurley Brown. As a result, she has tons of showbiz friends who often come along for bouts of super shopping punctuated by restorative martini breaks.

This is the obligatory selfie taken in the lobby of Pat’s midtown apartment on the first day of my visit.

My first martini in New York, the land of the free pour. Bartenders here aren’t stingy with their shots and often give you the rest of the shaker. I’ll drink to that.

Table for one, sir? Coal, Pat’s magnificent standard poodle, is having a drink at Bryant Park’s Holiday Market.

Pat, me and Coal al fresco at Bryant Park Holiday Market, just before we gorged on deep-fried pickles, the only things I bought except for a truffle pretzel, which wasn’t nearly as good as it smelled. The Bryant Park market has become way too crafty.

Coal the wonder dog with his master, Pat’s husband Spencer Ross, who is a ringer for Humphrey Bogart circa African Queen. Appearances notwithstanding, Ross is not an actor.  He is a legendary sports announcer. Just Google him. He has been described as “one of the best, if not the best radio play-by-player ever to call a game.”

Department store Christmas windows on pricey Fifth Avenue decked out in magnificent baubles.

From high-end to back end: An arresting display of cheap leggings in the schmatta district.

As disappointing as the Bryant Park Holiday Market was, Pat and I scored big-time at the one at Grand Central Station, which is worth visiting for the architecture alone. Here I am with Mariella de Leeuw, creator of the orange Mongolian fun-fur purse which followed me home. C’mon, Josephine Baker would have worn it as a skirt.

Pat is not only a fashionista, she is a major foodie. Here is a selfie of Pat, me and her caterer pal Freya, on our yearly Chinatown graze, a food-binge where we hit at least half a dozen restaurants/food stalls. Elasticized waistbands are mandatory. My personal fave is the hot-and-spicy won tons at Vanessa’s Dumpling House at 118A Eldridge St.

Chinatown in the rain. It says Little Italy on the sign but Chinatown has encroached on it. The rain was really pissing down and my crappy umbrella was useless. My pants were soaked and Pat’s take-home bacon buns were soggy.

Cool graffiti I encountered on Stanton St. while en route to Koneko cat café. Lots of interesting dive bars along the way as well. Just sayin’ -- for future reference.

This tabby is ready for his close-up inside Koneko cat café at 26 Clinton St., where for a mere $14 you can cuddle rescue cats for an unlimited time. I sorely needed a cat fix after a week away from my four furries. And while traversing Clinton St., the Leonard Cohen Clinton reference from “Famous Blue Raincoat” kept playing on my inner soundtrack.

A festive street scene I encountered while returning from Broadway after seeing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which I heartily recommend. Note the Empire State Building at upper right.

The de rigueur shot of skyscrapers because what says Manhattan more than towering buildings.

It wasn’t all shopping and scarfing food. There was culture too. We took in the awesome Picasso exhibit at MoMA until our backs gave out after two hours of walking on marble floors. This is titled “Pregnant Woman” but could easily be me after too much food and beverage in NYC.

Do not adjust your set -- a pair of MoMA-goers at Picasso exhibit decked out in on-trend clashing patterned coats.

This is by far the coolest couple in New York, two Picasso exhibit fans. They could be extras in a Janis Joplin/Jimmy Hendrix/Sly and the Family Stone retrospective.

Pat is test driving a fabulous faux-fur cape at Accolade on 1410 First Avenue, her go-to clothing boutique. We split a bottle of bubbles, furnished by the affable owner, which goes down well but does nothing for sales resistance.

You could tour this table. Actors Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives), Linda Thorson (The Avengers), Jessica Walter (Arrested Development), and Pat have smart cocktails at the King Cole Room in the luxe St. Regis Hotel, home of the $25 Bloody Mary.