| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| velvety |
Posted - 02/07/2010 : 12:39:00
So I'm considering New York as my summer vacation destination. I've visited it once before, in my early teens, and fell in love with the city, even though I think I took the routine tourist theme-park ride: Empire State, Natural History Museum, UN building, I remember getting for some reason on a crappy tour bus full of Argentinian tourists, through Harlem, and all I could hear was discussions about which argentinian soccer team is better: River Plate or Boca Juniors.
The routine tourist ride was more than enough to make me want to visit New York again, but I would also like to check out more than the usual tourist magnets.
Can any of you recomend some must see places in New York, that I shouldn't miss this second time around, having already been to the more popular places? Say, related to arts, music, books, city life... You know, small cool places that don't come up on New York tourist books.
Oddly enough, I didn't visit MoMA the first time around, one of those places that now seems kind of one of those places that is obligatory. So, after MoMA, where to next? |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| danjersey |
Posted - 02/10/2010 : 14:16:17
grand central
oyster bar at five
amidst the rush
of locals
and the like
enjoy |
| velvety |
Posted - 02/10/2010 : 09:14:00
Hammerhands and Brian, thank you so much for your posts. I don't want to have detailed day-by-day "tasks" of what to do while in NY, but it helps to have some pointers and ideas. This is going to be great!! |
| kelladwella |
Posted - 02/08/2010 : 23:05:09
Great post indeed. Makes me want to revisit NY. Have fun there velvety. And write about it. ;-) |
| kathryn |
Posted - 02/08/2010 : 15:39:25
Brian, your post makes me miss you. I hope all is well!
I remember sitting in a basement listening to Fields of Marigold until I passed out.
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| Broken Face |
Posted - 02/08/2010 : 09:18:27
I could write you a very long post, but instead i'll give you my top 5 places i wouldn't let a good friend miss. The MoMA would usually be on this list, by the way, and be warned that most of these are Brooklyn-based.
1) Fette Sau/Spuyten Duyvil in Brooklyn - an amazing BBQ/meat market/Whiskey bar (Fette Sau) across the street from one of NY's best beer bars (Spuyen Duyvil) - neither is dirt cheap, but neither will set you back all that much either. A great place for a summer evening (and not hard to get to from Manhattan). fettesaubbq.com
2) STAND - simply the best milkshakes you'll ever have (and a damn good burger on top of that) - i recommend the Toasted Marshmallow shake. Not far from Union Square. standburger.com
3) The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store - a quasi-faux-store front for a tutoring center owned by McSweeney's books, they actually do sell capes, masks, etc. A really fun place (and if you call ahead, you can help tutor some kids and feel good about yourself). 826nyc.org
4) Prospect Park/Celebrate Brooklyn - Celebrate Brooklyn is a free concert series in the beautiful Prospect Park Bandshell in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Last year, i saw They Might Be Giants there on a Saturday afternoon, and David Byrne there on a Monday night. They ask for a $3 donation, but if you don't feel like paying, just sit outside the fences and watch/listen for free (ya bastard). Every week they have some sort of show, whether its a rock show or not. Once they had Philip Glass score the 1932 Dracula, once they had Femi Kuti, they usually have the Kronos Quartet once a summer. Check celebratebrooklyn.org as it gets closer to see who is playing. Even if you don't go see a band, PP is a beautiful, huge, lush oasis in Brooklyn. Totally worth the trip.
5) Holy Creme - a donut/icecream shop on 53nd (i think) and 9th (in what is still humorously called Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan, but is now just a nice, sorta gay neighborhood) that just opened and is pretty great. For $4 you can get a donut sandwich (fresh donuts cut in half with the icing/toping of your choice [over 44 options] filled in the middle with homemade ice cream) that will kill your heart a little and blow your mind a lot. No website yet. But trust me, its between 51st and 55th on 9th avenue and it is well worth a try.
Besides that, just check what's going on that particular week or two. Every museum in the city gives a free day/night during the summer, so every day you could go to a great museum gratis. If you love beer, get the Brooklyn Brewery Tour. If you want to venture WAY out in Brooklyn, take a night to go ride the world famous Cyclone at Coney Island, then enjoy a beer at Beer Island, an outdoor beach bar, and grab a hot dog from Nathan's. Go see a Mets game at the beautiful Citi Field (even if the team is likely to suck again) in Flushing Meadows, Queens. For the best burger in NYC go to Donovan's in Queens (while there, check out the bar Loki on 5th). Take a nice bike ride down Riverside Drive on the West Side of Manhattan. Walk Central Park. Check out one of the many venues run by the Bowery Presents, a halfway decent indie promoter that is giving the finger to Live Nation. Go to Other Music in lower Manhattan to see where Sonic Youth buys their music.
That was longer than i hoped for. Sorry!
- Brian |
| hammerhands |
Posted - 02/08/2010 : 08:54:10
Who watches No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD9SY8TknQc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8tIJmMZwAc |
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