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Manhattan foodies have reason to splurge this weekend. To honor the 20th anniversary of his Upper East Side restaurant Aureole, chef Charlie Palmer is orchestrating two “20 bite”, eight-course tasting dinners—one on October 31st, the other on November 1st. The menu will highlight 20 of the chef’s most popular dishes from the past two decades, including his signature sea scallop sandwich as well as earlier more architectural creations from the 80s and early nineties. Each course will be paired with wines—one is a rare 2006 Rochioli Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley, California—that complement the (self-described) “Progressive American” cuisine. Longstanding Aureole fans, who love the cozy Tihany-designed dining room and its location in a classic, two-story brownstone (the former residence of Orson Welles), should note that this event will not only ring in the restaurant’s anniversary; it will also mark the end of Palmer’s tenure on the Upper East Side. In late spring 2009, the culinary giant will move Aureole into the new skyscraper at One Bryant Park. $300/head.

Read a postcard from a member who took a cooking class with Aureole’s executive chef Tony Aiazzi.

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The Metropolitan hotel in Bangkok is introducing Touchdown at the Met, a fabulous program for anyone with a significant layover in the Thai capital. Guests of the program are picked up at the airport and whisked to the property with its acclaimed COMO Shambhala Urban Escape spa, where they can take advantage of the spa facilities, including a spacious gym, hydro pool, steam room and outdoor lap pool. A 60-minute signature massage and three-course meal at health restaurant Glow are also included in the price, which is pro-rated depending on how many people are in your party ($200 per person to $125 per person for a party of four). The only thing you have to do is keep track of the clock—time flies when you’re lounging by the pool with a fresh-squeezed juice.

The minimum lay-over for Touchdown at the Met is five hours, and the package has to be booked in advance. Rates exclude tax and service charge. Call 66 (0)2 625 3333; fax 66 (0)2 625 3320 or go to www.metropolitan.como.bz for more information and to book.

When putting together walking tours in cities around the world, Context Travel works with a variety of guides, from art historians and archeologists to yogis and shopping experts. Now, the company has added a fragrance master to their roster. This month they will host three “scent dinners” with Chandler Burr, author of Emperor of Scent and The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris & New York. The first and most elaborate will be held June 5 in Paris at the Lapérouse, a historic bistro-style restaurant, where in-house chef Samuel Benne will prepare an extensive eight-course meal for the event. The second, a more informal, five-course meal, is scheduled for June 10 in Rome’s Casa Bleve, an enoteca located in a 16th-century palazzo (during this meal, Burr will share the tales of perfumes and scents that evoke the Italian landscape). Florence is the setting for the third and final dinner, a seven-course extravaganza scheduled for June 11. The setting is appropriately grand: Palazzo Tornabuoni, a private residence club set in a former Medici Palace. The Scent Dinners will include a lecture on the history of perfume in each place, and the Paris and Florence events will also feature culinary perfumes made from edible sources. Burr, the New York Times first-ever perfume critic (his column, Scent Notes, appears in T), explains how scents are created and elaborates on the idea that fragrance, just like fashion and architecture, is a product of high-minded design. Rome: €200 ($310) per person; Florence: €235 ($365) per person; Paris: €280 ($435) per person. For more information and to book, contact Context Travel at 212-392-0303 or email info@contexttravel.com.