An unforgettable dinner. worth every penny. no joke.
full review
One of the best meals I've ever had. Everything is great. The sliders and pork are their specialty and are the best I've
ever had. Friendly staff. It's hard to get a reservation here, but they have some walk in tables so show up and be prepared
to wait. It's worth it!
Gary and I had an excellent dinner here. Instead of ordering the Chef's Omakase tasting menu, we just ordered
a whole lot of sushi. Well, we started with the Otoro Tartate. Then we proceeded to have every different type of
sushi they had (well, until we were full). We had otoro, sea bass, tiger shrimp, japanese bonito, clam, crab,
scallops, octopus, and more. The best ones were the crab, scallops, and otoro. No rolls here, only high quality sushi.
A bunch of us ended up here randomly because Cafe Habana across the street couldn't accomodate our large group. I'm glad
they couldn't. This brazilian restaurant has a great menu with lots of appetizers and sandwiches. Most of their
dinner entrees are special and rotate. I tried four different entrees and every one was incredible. I had roast pork with
a pineapple chutney. We also got two desserts: guinness chocolate cake and a passion fruit pavé. Especially for the price,
this is one of my top New York restaurant picks.
Number one steak, 22 years in a row. It really is that good. The restaurant isn't fancy. They have been serving
meat for many years and they know how to do it. And you almost don't need to order, you always get the tomato and onion
appetizer, steak (rare please!), spinach and potatoes. The highlight was the whiskey sour, best I've ever had. They don't
use sour mix at all. Highly recommended.
Ruth's Chris - *****
Obviously this isn't a NY only restaurant. I don't think I'll go back to Peter Luger's again unless someone is visiting
NY and wants to go there because it's famous. The steak was great (on par with Lugers). The chopped salad was amazing,
all the sides were great, and the apple tart was perfect. Given Luger's horrible service, I'm glad to have a new
favorite steak.
Stanton Social - *****
THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. One of the best restaurants I've ever been to. Tapas style. Every item will blow you away.
Go in a big group to try more food. Wow. Remember: spinach salad with beetle nuts
Black Hound Bakery - ***** -
website
On Christmas I took a cake from Black Hound to my uncle's place in Long Island. It was a ginger bread cake with layers
of fresh apricots and cream. It was surprisingly light, not too sweet or filling. We easily finished the whole thing.
One of the best cakes I've ever had.
Friend of a Farmer - *****
This is a popular brunch spot but after failing to get in on several occasions due to long lines, I went for dinner instead.
It was delicious, one of my best meals in NY. They give you free corn bread with apple butter spread. The potroast and the talapia
were both great. I've also had their pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheescake. yum!!
One of my best meals in New York. A tiny wine cave with a huge wine selection and great service. Every dish is
incredibly rich and flavorful. Make sure to ask for recommendations. Manager is Keith, Mac user :).
Great Belgian beer place in west village. AWESOME mussels and fries. Awesome beer.
It doesn't get much better than this. Food, service, everything. book early! Check out my full
review. Been here three times
for restaurant week lunches. You have to call right at 9am 28 days early to get in.
Chiles and Chocolate - *****
Authentic Oaxacan cousine in Park Slope. The Mole is amazing. Very cheap. Highly recommended.
Katz's Deli - *****
The sandwiches are HUGE and awesome. Get the standard pastrami on rye. Yum!
Very cool restaurant and bar. Very crowded so show up early on weekends. Great food. Excellent spinach lentil soup.
Delion Grocery - ***** - Broadway and 8th St
Awesome Deli, cool people working there. I love the turkey sandwich on an everything bagel with jack cheese
lettuce, tomato, and an egg on top. wow. delicious.
Schillers Liquor Bar - ***** -
website
Great restaurant in LES. All the food is great, all the cocktails are great. You can't go wrong here (except the wait for a table).
Try a New York Sour. And don't miss the Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert.
Cafe Zaiya - *****
Cool Japanese dessert and coffee place next to my house. I think they are related to Beard Papa. Very good desserts that
are not too sweet. The iced mochas are much better than starbucks and made with care :)
From the outside it's a taco stand. But go through the employees only door, through the kitchen, and you find yourself
in a beautiful Mexican restaurant. Margaritas are perfect, food is great. Supposedly a celebrity hot spot.
Italian food heavy on the meat. Had boar (awesome) and tried the pork (great), short ribs with mole (awesome),
and more. Everything was well done and unique. We split some ravioli in truffle sauce as an appetizer and it was
perfect. Highly recommended.
Pizza in Williamsburg. Wow. Some of the best pizza EVER.
Awesome Cuban food. Recommend the Steak and corn salad, chicken quesadillas, and plantanes. The fish tacos are also
supposed to be good. You have to get the Mexican corn. Basically, everything is spectacular, and it's cheap.
They've only been open a month and I've been there *way* too many times. Great chocolate pizza, chocolate fondue, milk shakes,
everything is great. Bring your sweet tooth!
This is a culinary institute that sponsors chefs in school. They have dinners at their location in West Village that cost
$100 and are members only. These dinners are prepared by the best chefs from the world and all the money supports the institute.
All the food and drinks and donated. We went to a dinner hosted by Riingo restaurant. $100 for a 5 course meal with Hors D'oeuvres,
dessert, and wine pairings is a great deal. It was a delicious meal. You can see the chef preparing all the food and even talk
to him in the kitchen. I'm very tempted to join James Beard, but there are so many restaurants in NY I want to try...
Cyndee bought me an assorted pastry platter from Ferrara delivered to my door. It was a beautiful selection of pastries.
I had my doubts. Would it be as good as Venieros? Honestly, I think it's easily a notch or two better. Each piece was unique
and delicious. I couldn't stop eating (and there was a lot to eat!)
Beautiful restaurant though a bit cramped. Everything was fresh and delicious. New Zealand lamb, crab salad,
chocolate cake, you can't go wrong with that.
We had a large group go to Jane for New Year's Eve dinner. It was a prix Fixe meal and unlimited sparking wine.
I thought they might skimp on us but they didn't. The food was fabulous and our champagne glasses were always full.
They let us keep the table for a full 3 hours, and they even gave me and Aki a large glass full of chapagne on the way out
to make sure we had a nice buzz :)
Great tapas restaurants on Ave B. Good food, good service, beautiful restaurant, great margaritas. Get the Margarita del
Mercado. And the guacamole.
Mercer Kitchen - ****
Incredible. Steamed Shrimp Salad with avocado, fish entree, delicious cheesecake. Great from start to finish.
Looks like a great place to go for cocktails too. $24 lunch offered. We went for restaurant week.
Chanterelle - ****
Everything is great. Went for restaurant week lunch. Otherwise expensive.
VERY cool, hip place. Great drinks (martinis). Amazing food. All around great. Check out
review. I go back a lot!
So much incredibly delicious food, you won't be able to decide what to get.
Cool little bar in Nolita. Empanadas are great, burger is great, good Belgian beer. Apparently the cheese plate
is one of the best in NY. Owner (Scott) is often bartending. Talked to him a lot about how he started up the place.
It's fairly new. Highly recommended.
Artisanal - ****
Awesome! We went for restaurant week. We ordered the large cheese and meat plate which was delicious. I love
cheese. The rest of the food was great as well. I had no room for dessert and took it home. I had that
cheesecake later and it was fabulous.
Cafe Boulud - ****
Good French restaurant. Great service. Good for restaurant week. Check out my full
review
The Burger Joint - ****
A hidden burger place inside the fancy Parker Meridien hotel. Great burgers and fries. Beats the Shake Shack,
and you don't have to stand in line outside for 45 minutes (though that can be a good thing on a nice summer
day).
After thinking Chickpea was king for almost a year, but hearing rumors about this place in the West Village,
Mamouns opened up on St Marks just half a block from Chickpea. The falafel sandwich is tasty and cheap (2.50)
but small so you can get 2 for a meal (or 1 is a perfect snack). The shwarma tastes better than Chickpea's but
it's more processed meat so I don't know if that's a good thing. In any case, YUMMY cheap food.
I usually don't like heading over to this neighborhood around NYU, but it's on the way to my hair stylist.
Well, it's worth going there for this place. The Undu Chicken (egg and chicken) is delicious. Get two, you will want another.
Dosa Man (NY Dosas) - **** -
website
I never eat street food but I'll make an exception here. The masala dosa is spicy and delicious. You can drink
sambar while you wait. There's also a dosa with fresh vegetables. Awesome.
Baluchi's is an Indian food chain in New York, but each chef is different. The food at the East Village location
is some of the best Indian food i've ever had (except mom's home cooking!) And they are near all the crappy cheap
Indian places on 6th street, so they have lots of special offers to compete on price. Service is also great.
Asian/soul food fusion. Awesome. You have to get the ribs. BYOB so make sure to take drinks with you. Update:
no longer byob.
Awesome Asian Hawaiian fusion. Great food and service. Check out my full
review
Cool German beer garden with lots of indoor and outdoor seating (though I'm sure it still fills up in the summer).
Lots of great beer. Food is good but not as good as Zum Schneider but the place is bigger so you don't wait as long.
If you are looking for a delicious, typical NY pizza, this is the best I've had. The crust and sauce are perfect. They don't use
shredded mozerella cheese but real sliced cheeze from blocks. The sausage is fresh and uncooked when placed on the pizza before put
in the oven. If this place was closer to me, I'd go all the time.
Patsy's - ****
Patsy's is about 95% as good as Grimaldis, and it's right by my house and the service is much better. I just found out there's a family tree
for Grimaldis/Patsy's/Lombardis.
Lombardis - ****
About the same as Grimaldi's and Patsy's, not surprisingly. Maybe I'd put Grimaldi's a notch higher. Get the homemade meatballs
on your pizza here. Best topping by far.
Totally awesome beer spot. This place is packed so expect to wait a looong time (especially in the summers). Great selection
of beer, and very, very good food. I think it was better than the sausage I had in Munich!
Awesome French place opened 24 hours. Great lamb burger!!!! Avoid the rush, get there at 3:30am (not 4am).
Another great italian place. Too bad it's second to In Vino.
Update: I ate here again. I thought the food was excellent and it was quite inexpensive. A great casual dinner spot.
Excellent Italian place in the theater district. All you can eat pasta for $22. Great food. Dessert sampler for $5 is amazing.
Best cheescake I've ever had. All desserts were incredible.
davidburke & donatella - **** -
website
$24 LUNCH. Wow. So amazing. Great food. Get the lobster bisque. Go for the year round $24 lunch. Check out my full
review. My most frequent nice lunch spot.
City Crab - ****
Delicious. Lobster burger. Great bread basket.
Blue Ribbon - ****
Fancy, interesting food concocuna pizza napoletana
tions. Very experimental. You will get some interesting dishes that you might not find anywhere else.
A good experience, but too expensive for what it is.
Got delivery from this place. Really great food. Mango chicken curry is awesome. Huge portions. THey also
have a location in Jackson Heights, so you know they are authentic.
Sushi Yasuda - ****
Was here many years ago. Must go back now that I've been eating better sushi .
Freemans - ****
Great restaurant in LES hidden away down an alley. Near Lorely.
Chinese Mirch - ****
I love Chinese Indian (Chindian?) food! This place is great. highly recommended.
You have to go all the way to Harlem, but it's worth it! Lots of great beer too.
Good food, wine. Went during restaurant week, though prices aren't much higher normally.
Venieros pastry - ****
Great pastries, great coffee.
Poke ****
Great sushi in UES. Some of the best sushi i've ever had. Just fish, no chicken teriyaki here! BYOB
Always packed. You usually have to wait 30 minutes to get into this tiny place. But it's worth it. Noodles
are delicious. Pork buns are awesome. Good selection of beer and sake.
One of my best meals ever was at Craftsteak in Las Vegas. Craftbar is the lower end, casually restaurant. Still very good
but not over the top like Craftsteak.
Banc Cafe - ****
yummy food, not expensive. good brunch, not crowded.
All they do is rice pudding. Lots of great flavors to choose from. Don't get too much! The solo is good for 2, the
epic is good for 4. Then order more if you need to (it's not cheap).
La Maison du chocolat - **** -
website
Awesome cafe. Perfect location to take a break from a day in the MET.
Cafe Orlin - ****
great brunch, open 24 hours
Get the shwafel sandwich with lamb, spicy cabbage, onions and lettuce. Lots of red and white sauce too.
Joe's Shanghai - ****
China Town. Get the soup dumplings!
Cosi - ****
It's a bit chain sandwich place, but they make very good sandwiches (Pesto chicken!) and some of the best coffee in NY.
Roy and I went to Tabla for lunch. It's not indian food, but American/French food with Indian spices and twists.
I've never had food like this before and I really liked it. All the indian influences were well blended with the
other flavors. The restaurant interior was beautiful, reminding me of the Gaudi architecture I saw in Barcelona.
Go for lunch (prix fixe). Dinner is expensive!
We had a large group here for my birthday. All the food is very good and fancy, but definitely not worth the money.
Sadly we were disappointed. Nothing wowed us. Service wasn't that great either. A 3/4 hour meal like this is supposed
to be an "experience" but I didn't think it lived up to the hype.
I really wanted to love this place. It's by the same owners as Jewel Bako. But nothing here really wowed me. I
love the concept. Spanish/French small plates. There's a $50 tasting menu. Every dish was very interesting and
unique, but nothing really hit it. Even the wine I ordered didn't impress me. I would love to give it another
shot, but given the cost, I probably won't.
San Loco - ***
Mexican food chain similar in taste and menu to Taco Bell. Except everything is fresh, all the chicken is white meat, etc.
Delicious! I get hooked on this place once in a while and go back for several meals in a row.
$24 LUNCH. Good scandinavian food.
$24 LUNCH. Pretty good, not that special.
a bunch of Phi Psis went to Calle Ocho for dinner. It's all the way on the Upper West Side. The interior of
the restaurant is spacious and very cool. The food was good, and even though it was restaurant week, the
portions were HUGE. I had to take my dessert to go.
I just wanted some soup dumplings. They were pretty good. A little cold. Service wasn't great.
But they only cost $4 for 8 :)
Very good italian place in LES, but with In Vino just blocks away, why bother?
Food was so-so. Not great but passable. A little expensive for what you got. Cocktails were fabulous.
Had a drink that was Hendrick's gin with Raspberry Sake and some other stuff. The restaurant itself
is beautiful and always packed.
Cronkite Pizzeria and Wine Bar - *** -
website
Gary and I were super excited about this place opening in the LES. It's the same chef as Fornino. Unfortunately my first
visit was disappointing. I am going to give it another shot, though. CLOSED!
Kuma Inn - ***
Good Thai style tapas in a hidden, upstairs LES location.
Great food, friendly service. It's basically all you can eat with lots of variety. Check out my full
review
Ray's Pizza and Bagel Cafe - ***
Maybe I'm biased because this is the the closest food to me, but I think it's excellent pizza, and good everything else.
Go in there to check out the murals on the walls.
Chinatown Brasserie - *** -
website
Good chinese food, dim sum, etc. Trendy place with a young crowd, great cocktails.
Yaffa Cafe - ***
Open 24 hours and delicious.
Nina Argentinian Pizzeria - *** -
website
Great pizza with some unique toppings.
Witchcraft - ***
Sandwich shop (related to Craft). Good but a little expensive for what you get. I prefer a deli sandwich.
Indochine - ***
The food was good all around, but not great. The cocktails were very good. The service was horrible.
Overall a good restaurant, but nothing special that makes me want to go back.
All over New York. Good frozen yogurt with few calories.
Very, very good food but a little overpriced. Great deal during restaurant week.
Burrito type wraps. Delicious.
Applewood - ***
Very good restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Nice, homey atmosphere. A bit overpriced for small portions, but
it is high quality food. Don't order the margarita.
Nice little place in Hells Kitchen. Get the quesadillas!
Cafe d'Alsace - ***
Huge beer selection, good french food, great service.
Payard - ***
Good food, great patries. Go for coffee and dessert. Buy a box of chocolates! Check out my full
review
Dim Sum in China Town - ***
Can't remember the name of the place I go with Tony and Kate but it's good.
One of my best meals ever was at Craftsteak in Las Vegas. This Craftsteak was good but not as good. Definitely overpriced.
The burger is a great deal at $15. It's probably the nicest restaurant you can just walk into with no reservation. This
can be both good and bad. But if you crave a nice restaurant at the last minute, go here.
Paul and I went for
National Wine Week. The Filet Mignon was very good
but the vegetables were pretty bad. Overall good food. *However* since we went for National Wine Week we got unlimited
wine for $10. We were there for about 3 hours total and definitely drank our share. The waiters were great and poured
us as much wine as we could drink. Highly recommended for next year's National Wine Week.
Year 2: Just as good. We walked in and the waitress said "What's up guys, ready to get drunk?" Wow. It was awesome.
Shake Shack - ***
Great burgers (high quality meat), good fries, great shakes. Served in Madison Square Park. Also serve
beer and wine so you can drink at the park on a nice day. Highly recommended, though the 1 hour line sucks.
Zen Noodle House - ***
Cool noodle place on St Marks. Cheap and good. 2 for 1 happy hour. $6 pitchers after 10pm. Half price sushi!!
Ethiopian food in Nolita. Spicy bean curry and chicken curry were great. Supposedly they have great Tiramisu!?
Great belgian fries with a bunch of different sauces. Great (fatty!) snack.
Beard Papa - *** - broadway at 8th st
Great cream puffs
Australian Homemade - *** -
website
St marks near Ave A. Awesome ice cream, and great little chocolates. Perfect dessert after dinner in that area.
The Spotted Pig - ***
Cool place in the West Village. Had the burger which was pretty good, not great. Basically meat with
fancy cheese on top. Most of the menu is pretty unique stuff. Service was so-so. I think they are famous
because of the changing menu which has very interesting items on it.
barbone - ***
Great outdoor garden seating. Food is good, not great.
All they serve is macaroni and cheese in different flavors. It's yummy!
Good dumplings. Pretty cheap. check out the webcam!
Fanellis - ***
chicken club was awesome
Good food, beautiful restaurant. TERRIBLE service. But they have a "pay your age" dinner so I can get a 3 course
dinner for $26. Definitely a great deal for high quality food.
Saigon Grill - **
I only had the Pho and it was bland and watered down. Update: went again. The pho was pretty bland and there
was very little meat. After adding a bunch of salt, pepper, and hot sauce, it did end up tasting pretty good.
But it's not really worth it. I haven't tried anything else here.
White Castle - **
I had to try it. Went there in Queens on the way back from the US Open with Joe (Harold and Kumar). Food was pretty
terrible. But was fun to check it out :)
I guess this is or was one of the most cutting edge restaurants in New York. Maybe it was too cutting edge for me. Food wasn't that
special, very expensive. Don't recommend at all.
Brasserie - **
The restaurant is cool but the food is just not that good. And it's very expensive. not recommended at all.
Delmonico's - *
Overpriced steakhouse in financial district. Check out my full
review
Il Cantinori - *
Overpriced. Ordinary. Check out my full
review
Aureole
Terrible service, food was good. Wouldn't go back.
Corner Bistro
Often said to be one of the best burgers in New York. The burger was very good, but really nothing that special.
Other than that, the fries sucked, bad service, and the places wasn't very clean. Maybe it's better for drinks
and a burger on the side, rather than a lunch outting.
Next door to Corner Bisto. How can you not walk in when you see all the chocolate? Mocha was good but ordinary.
Mint chocolate piece was good. Chocolate chip cookie with orange was awesome.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Good ice cream. Great views of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. Near Grimaldi's Pizza.
Had southern style Chicken and Waffles at this restaurant in Harlem. DELICIOUS. Totally worth the trip. And you can walk
back through Central Park (if it's not dark yet!)
Good Japanese that delivers to me.
I think Meena walked into this place randomly in the West Village. Really really good sushi.
Cooper 35 (Asian Pub)
A 20 second walk from my apartment. $4 drinks all night (about as cheap as it gets in NY). Asian style food is very
good. High quality incredients, cheap. Vegetable and tofu curry with rice for $6.
Forget about the normal New York hotdog and get something extraordinary. The menu is full of hot dogs with all sorts
of toppings. I got a bacon wrapped dog with pineapple. It was awesome.
In N Out style burger, but not quite as good. Ok if you are in the mood for In N Out.
Good, cheap Thai food. Happy hour for 2 for 1 drinks. Good curries.
Great Peruvian chicken. everything here is great.
More good, cheap Thai food. Curry puffs are great and Drunken noodles!
Nice cafe. Get the Moroccan fish, and the Orange Chocolate cake for dessert.
Uptown
UES restaurant, fixed dinner for $45 for 2 including a bottle of wine. awesome food. stuffed chicken, spinach dip
dtut
Very cool coffee shop. feels like friends. make your own smores at your table
Sultan
UES. Great Turkish food. Pretty cheap. Might be closed now?
How can I live without Subway. Just a block away and as good as California! Couple guys working there are from Nepal
and Gujarat, India.
Je'Bon
Noodle house on St Mark's. Awesome location, huge space. Terrible food, no beer license. Just go to
Zen noodle house instead.
BBQ place. Sides were good, meat wasn't so great.
Expensive and lame. Trying to be a cool SoHo place.
So so Italian restaurant. Reminds me a lot of Bona Fides, but add 50% to your bill since now you're in the
West Village. Save some cash, walk half a mile to Bona Fides. Or take a cab to In Vino and you will be happier.
Very unimpressive food. Terrible service. Rude waiter. Overbilled. Expensive. Don't go here.
Pretty average food. Way overpriced for what it is.
Crumbs
Huge muffins. Not as good or fresh as Magnolia's.
Magnolia
They are good muffins, but I wouldn't stand in line for an hour for them.
empire schedzuan - good chinese delivery
better burger in UES
good turkey burger, baked fries ok. not that healthy (they pretend they are)
Crappy indian restaurants on 6th st
brick lane - ok, over done, expensive
virage: 11.50 brunch, fresh oj, huevos rancheros
Amy's bread
Good muffins and stuff.
Good food and service, if you find yourself in mid town west.
A Salt and Battery
good fish and chips
humus place - good hummus, a little expensive. they have turkish coffee
Benny's burritos - 6th st and Ave A
good, simple, high quality $8 burrito, not mission style though, bad sangria. Good guacamole.
johns pizza on bleeker, ok
Sweet rhythm
West Village. Good music, burger, scallops
new korean place - eemo on 1st ave. good korean but overpriced. sake and soju
Indian Bread Co.
Disappointed. Dry and flavorless.
not that good. portions small, expensive. don't bother.
My favorite bar in New York. Tiny little place with great beer and cocktails. Quiet, relaxing, hidden.
Rated one of the best bars in the world
Death & Co - *****
Another winner. Great drinks, great service, and really close to me. I love it.
Back Room - *****
Owned by Tim Robbins. Has a secret back room. Best bar EVER. great drinks, great music,
not crowded, nice staff, comfy chairs. I love it.
As secret as they get. Secret address, phone number changes every few months, and you have to call and make a
reservation to get in. Drinks are AMAZING but expensive ($15). Highly recommend checking this place out, if you
can get in.
Double Happiness - *****
Great drinks, great music, and cheap!
My favorite beer bar. Awesome German and Belgian beer selection. Serve food also. Owner, Jimmy,
is super cool. Opened 6 months earlier. He hooked us up with free beer samples. A real beer
connoisseur who knows his beer and selects each one they serve. Highly recommended.
Great Belgian beer place in west village. AWESOME mussels and fries. Awesome beer.
Hop Devil Grill and Belgian room - ***** -
website
Great bar. Huge beer selection.
Another great bar. in Soho. Great mixed drinks.
The East Side Company Bar - ***** -
website
totally secret bar. you have to know its address to find it. good cocktails. Some of the icy, fruity drinks have
little alcohol in them. Applejack Sour is great.
Campbell Apartment - **** -
website
Really cool lounge inside Grand Central. Lots of comfy chairs, great cocktails.
Cool little bar in Nolita. Empanadas are great, burger is great, good Belgian beer. Apparently the cheese plate
is one of the best in NY. Owner (Scott) is often bartending. Talked to him a lot about how he started up the place.
It's fairly new. Highly recommended.
Great wine bar on St Marks and Ave A. Awesome block.
Awesome place. Great beer selection, pretty big space, good music at the right volume.
Decibal Sake Bar - ****
Very cool, hidden little place.
Union Hall - ****
Great bar in Park Slope. Bocce ball available. I think they also have live music.
Free pizza with every drink. and Skeeball! Very cool place. trivia nights. cool bartenders. Dive bar.
Fifty Seven Fifty Seven - **** -
website
Great martini bar in the four seasons. $20 each, but they include the shaker so it's like one and half martinis.
Huge selection with lots of fancy fresh fruits and things.
Pianos - ****
Cool hipster bar. Great live music. Awesome place.
Mercury Lounge - ****
Saw Voxtrot play. Also Robbers on High Street. I definitely need to see more live music.
Russian vodka bar. Mixed drinks and martinis are good but not strong. Rated one of the
best in the world. Great atmosphere. Good food.
Puck Fair - ***
very cool chill bar. not loud. good music
Good drink specials, great juke box.
Heidelberg - ***
German beer in the UES.
Nicknamed "Miami Beach" because that's the feel. HUGE roof top bar with great views.
Russian Vodka Room
I really don't like vodka but otherwise this place is cool.
Cool bar with rooftop access.
Didn't eat dinner here, just drinks. It's hard to get in unless you have girls and guys. Drinks are good, a little expensive.
But the place is huge and very cool.
Sorta sucked. Expensive, bad drinks. Bad food. Cool atmosphere I guess.
Employees Only
Great bar, great drinks in West Village
The Delancey
Cool bar on the Manhattan end of the Williamsburg bridge. Has a roof, but there's a cover to go up.
Union Pool
Bar in Williamsburg with outdoor seating.
Japas Karaoke
Went here a lot when I first moved to NY. Fun little place, nice staff.
Bob's
Good club in LES. Great music.
Odessa
Spent too much time here when our friend, Jeff, was bartending.
Hotel Gansevoort
Bar at the top of the hotel in meat packing. Views of New Jersey (which aren't that nice). Mostly B&T. Skip it.
Maritime
Another crap bar in meat packing. Skip it.
Camel
Korean club. Spent way too much time here when I first moved to NY.
Mercury Bar, Joshua Tree, Bar 515
All next to each other on 3rd ave.
Players
Random bar in Korea town
Gatsby's
Sports bar in Soho. Nothing special, but an ok place to watch sports events.
I loved it! Great show. Very fun, good music, great acting. Cheesy but fun. The crowd gets into it. They claim "people are dancing in the aisles."
While not exactly true, I could see it happening :).
Whitney Museum of American Art
Really, really great. Went for the 70s era art exhibit. Loved it and everything else there. Highly recommended.
The Daily Show
Totally cool. Got to sit in the front row, center. Jon Stewart rocks. Went a second time also.
New York Transit Museum
Very cool museum! See the history of the NY subway system. The museum is in an old subway station. Takes about 2 hours
to see it all.
Conan O'Brian
The overall experience was much, much better than a Daily Show taping. We were only in line
for about one hour for just over an hour of entertainment (vs 2 hours in line for a 24
minute Daily Show). The studio is much nicer, though still much smaller than you would expect.
Overall there was a lot more energy in the program. Conan O'Brien is hilarious. Plus everyone
got a free tshirt. You can't beat all that for a free show!
The Late Show with David Letterman
Even better than Conan! If you are visiting New York, this is the one to do. It's in the Ed Sullivan
theater on Broadway. The set is gorgeous. The backdrop behind Dave isn't just an image of NY part a #D
model with bridges, buildings, and lights. The entire taping experience was great from start to finish.
Comix
Great comedy club on W 14th St. Every seat in the house is good. Good bar. Food menu looks good but wasn't.
We saw Janeane Garofalo and Marc Maron. Not bad for $25. Much better than the crappy comedy clubs in the West
Village.
Museum of the Moving Image -
website
Really great museum in Queens. Shows technical history of film, as well as lots of exhibits
and props from movies. Highly recommended.
Tennis US open
I went on a Thursday for both the day and evening sessions. In the day I stuck to the small grounds courts and saw some great
matches up close. At night I saw Federer vs Blake in the quarter finals. Lots of fun, highly recommended.
MET
Really amazing museum. So much great stuff to see from all over the world. They have 60 hours of audio tours and I really
want to do it all over the next year. A great place to spend a rainy day.
Brooklyn Museum
Saw the Annie Leibovitz photo exhibit, Ron Mueck scultures (amazing!) and more. Highly recommended.
The Phantom of the Opera
It was ok.
Yankees game
I went for a day game when we had the day off from work. Surprisingly easy to get to Yankee stadium from East Village
(maybe 30 minutes at most). Fun game. No bad seats really. The bleachers are alcohol free.
Avenue Q
Very funny, good show.
The Producers
Pretty funny. not great
Bronx Zoo
Not as good as Portland zoo or San Diego, but not bad. Tigers are awesome. Don't miss the polar and grizzly bears.
You have to take the monorail ($5) to see certain parts of the zoo
NY Aquarium
In Coney Island. Pretty ghetto. Very old and lots of exhibits shut down. It was free when we went. I don't think I
would pay $12 to see this. Only interesting things were the giant walrus, hairy crab, and the sharks.
Coney Island
Went on July 4 for Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. Also watched a World Cup game in Brighton Beach.
Macys July 4 Fireworks
2006 - saw the South Street Seaport fireworks. Next year Midtown!
Top of the Rock
Went when my dad came to visit. Great views.
American Museum of Natural History -
website
Saw the Darwin exhibit. And dinosaurs!
Guggenheim
Awesome building. Too bad there's exterior construction right now.
Hudson River, West Village
The Hudson River around the West Village is gorgeous. I've run this path many times. I now see the appeal of the W village
though it's a little out of the way for me. I like being more central to lots of neighborhoods.
International Center of Photography -
website
Cool photography exhibits. I need to go back for the permanent collection (need an appointment).
cooper hewitt national design museum
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Awesome. Better than I remembered. Make sure you make reservations in advance because thats
the only way to get inside the status (though even then only to the top of the pedestal).
The Vertical Hour
Play starring Julianne Moore
Rockefeller Center
Checked out the Christmas Tree, ice skating, and more.
Christmas on Fifth Avenue
Walked from 59th and Fifth down to my house, checking out all the window fronts and holiday shoppers.
Central Park
Can't say that I've spent a lot of time in Central Park, but I've walked through much of it and seen a lot of the major
attractions (minus the zoo). Also walked through the northern part near Harlem.
I went to play some blackjack at this casino in Connecticut. Very impressive! It's not just some random Indian reservation
casino with just gambling. There's lots of great food, great shopping, an entire resort. It's very well done, and pretty
much at the same quality level as Las Vegas.
MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art
Great museum, huge, lots of cool stuff to see. Loved the interior design, saw the Pixar exhibit, and of course, photography.
Bodies
Cool exhibit of human bodies. Lots of great info to read, but audio tour is probably better.
Great pool hall, good music and drinks.
Bowling. Monday night, $20 unlimited.
New York Botanical Garden -
website
Nice gardens in Brooklyn. I went when there was a Chihuly glass exhibit which was
amazing.
Pictures are here
Central Park Zoo
Surprisingly good zoo. I recommend it. Sea lions are cool. There are also polar bears,
monkeys, penguins, and more.
Pictures are here
Saw lots of planes and the Concord. Good stuff.
New York City Opera
Saw Semele. My first opera!
Atlantic City
Took the bus on a Friday night from Port Authority. The bus costs $31 round trip and the casinos give you back $20
in cash. Atlantic City sucks. It was a ghost town even though it was a holiday weekend. The casinos are super ghetto.
It seems like nothing has been remodelled. AC is fine to go to if you just want to gamble for a day, but forget it
if you are looking for a cool boardwalk, bars, or clubs.
