Tuesday, June 20, 2006
I love being in this city. I think i was meant to be here. Lots of things people complain about, I love (how fast and hectic things are, the New York Minute), and others complaints I disagree with (I find people to be friendlier and more outgoing). And I love the density of it all. Getting around the city by train, so many great places to check out so close to each other.
But the problem with the great density of businesses is it's really hard for a business to distinguish itself from the others. Even now I can walk down a street around the corner from me and notice 5 restaurants or bars I never saw before, just because they don't have a flashy sign or other major marketing. This brings up the point (which I blogged about earlier) of the high turnover rate of businesses in New York. It's quite sad to think your favorite restaurant or bar may not exist next week. It's especially worse now that the weather is nice because lots of places are being renovated and turning into something completely new. What was there before? Who knows.
Going to great places in New York I'm always torn between places being too packed (so I can't get in) vs being empty (so I'm afraid they are going to shut down). It seems rare to find a place that has just the right number of clients to sustain itself, and not force you to make reservations a month in advance, or wait in line for an hour. In Vino is a great example of a restaurant which is awesome, and always seems to be full, but not crazy.
This past Saturday we went to see the World Cup game in Gary's neighborhood at a place called Tonic. It was a great place, but despite it having 3 floors of tables and tv screens, we had to stand. Next time I want to get there super early and grab a nice table. At half time we moved just next door to another bar, which was empty. That night we went to a restaurant/bar/club called Park, that has so much demand they won't let any party in unless there's at least an equal number of girls as guys. Luckily we were fine this time, otherwise it would suck to have to leave.
On Sunday we woke up early to see the Brazil/Australia game. We went to the one Australian bar in the city (8 Mile Creek) and despite being an hour early there was no chance of us stepping inside. We ended up going down the block to Gatsby's, which was cool, but didn't have quite the same energy. Actually, I think most of the people there were others who tried and failed getting into the Australian bar. Gary and I were wearing our Brazil shirts. It was great.
That afternoon we went to The American Museum of the Moving Image. It's all about the history of film and TV. It was really, really great. I highly recommend it. They have lots of old cameras, TVs, and other memorabilia. They teach you how all the stuff work, and how the technology progressed over time. There's also a lot on the history of video games, which I found interesting and there are lots of video games you can play. I kicked Gary's ass at DDR and Mortal Kombat.
However, the museum was fairly empty and I told Gary it would suck if it ever closed. Gary pointed out that they probably have a lot of private donations, so that's good. We got in free with Gary's Citigroup ID so I guess we weren't helping the cause either.
And finally, there's Baluchi's, which I think is the best Indian restaurant I've ever eaten at (now I think it might even be better than my parents' restaurant. Baluchi's in East Village is located next to about 15 other indian restaurants that serve the worst food I've ever had, but for $5 lunch and $8 dinner, so they are busy. And there's 1 restaurant that is mediocre, but fancy, and charges $30 for dinner.
Baluchi's is perfect. They aren't flashy, the service is great, the food is amazing, and it's fairly inexpensive. But tonight I saw that they are offering 50% off their lunch and dinner menus for dine in customers. They had this offer before for lunch since people don't want to spend $20 on lunch, but now they started it for dinner too. I really hope they are doing well and stay in business.
But the problem with the great density of businesses is it's really hard for a business to distinguish itself from the others. Even now I can walk down a street around the corner from me and notice 5 restaurants or bars I never saw before, just because they don't have a flashy sign or other major marketing. This brings up the point (which I blogged about earlier) of the high turnover rate of businesses in New York. It's quite sad to think your favorite restaurant or bar may not exist next week. It's especially worse now that the weather is nice because lots of places are being renovated and turning into something completely new. What was there before? Who knows.
Going to great places in New York I'm always torn between places being too packed (so I can't get in) vs being empty (so I'm afraid they are going to shut down). It seems rare to find a place that has just the right number of clients to sustain itself, and not force you to make reservations a month in advance, or wait in line for an hour. In Vino is a great example of a restaurant which is awesome, and always seems to be full, but not crazy.
This past Saturday we went to see the World Cup game in Gary's neighborhood at a place called Tonic. It was a great place, but despite it having 3 floors of tables and tv screens, we had to stand. Next time I want to get there super early and grab a nice table. At half time we moved just next door to another bar, which was empty. That night we went to a restaurant/bar/club called Park, that has so much demand they won't let any party in unless there's at least an equal number of girls as guys. Luckily we were fine this time, otherwise it would suck to have to leave.
On Sunday we woke up early to see the Brazil/Australia game. We went to the one Australian bar in the city (8 Mile Creek) and despite being an hour early there was no chance of us stepping inside. We ended up going down the block to Gatsby's, which was cool, but didn't have quite the same energy. Actually, I think most of the people there were others who tried and failed getting into the Australian bar. Gary and I were wearing our Brazil shirts. It was great.
That afternoon we went to The American Museum of the Moving Image. It's all about the history of film and TV. It was really, really great. I highly recommend it. They have lots of old cameras, TVs, and other memorabilia. They teach you how all the stuff work, and how the technology progressed over time. There's also a lot on the history of video games, which I found interesting and there are lots of video games you can play. I kicked Gary's ass at DDR and Mortal Kombat.
However, the museum was fairly empty and I told Gary it would suck if it ever closed. Gary pointed out that they probably have a lot of private donations, so that's good. We got in free with Gary's Citigroup ID so I guess we weren't helping the cause either.
And finally, there's Baluchi's, which I think is the best Indian restaurant I've ever eaten at (now I think it might even be better than my parents' restaurant. Baluchi's in East Village is located next to about 15 other indian restaurants that serve the worst food I've ever had, but for $5 lunch and $8 dinner, so they are busy. And there's 1 restaurant that is mediocre, but fancy, and charges $30 for dinner.
Baluchi's is perfect. They aren't flashy, the service is great, the food is amazing, and it's fairly inexpensive. But tonight I saw that they are offering 50% off their lunch and dinner menus for dine in customers. They had this offer before for lunch since people don't want to spend $20 on lunch, but now they started it for dinner too. I really hope they are doing well and stay in business.