An Englishman In New York part 27

Leo

Well-known member
um...that's kinda like asking "how long is a piece of string?" ;)

whatcha into?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Good point and good question. Um, I like most kinds of music really so if there is something really good on in any style I'd rather check that than go to something in a specific style that I like better if you see what I mean. I like eating and drinking a lot as well so keen to know about good bars and cheap/nice restaurants. Record shops of course and maybe clothes shops as well, you know, the usual stuff.
My friend is keen to catch Bruce Springsteen who is playing that week so no need to recommend that, we're already on it.
 

Leo

Well-known member
cool...so basically, the typical "dissensian on holiday", then? ;-)

will get back to you with the eat/drink scenario (i'm sure others will chime in as well), but on the music store front, that's easy: it sucks! we're down to hardly anywhere anymore in manhattan:
-- turntable labs, small, most dance vinyl (120 east 7th between 1st ave-ave a)
-- other music (www.othermusic.com, 15 east 4th st between broadway/lafayette) is a small store with decent indie, electronic, The Wire-type stuff, although they've cut back on stock and increased used cds lately.
-- there are a couple of places on st. mark's place (which is actually east 8th st bet. 3rd ave and avenue a) that aren't particularly good.
-- the relocated kim's video (w/cds and some vinyl) on 1st avenue bet. 7th/st. mark's).
-- i've sometimes found ok used cds at academy records (12 west 18th bet. 5th/6th ave), big on jazz and classical.

can always to a quick side trip to williamsburg, brooklyn, a short 5-minute subway ride on the eastbound L train to the first stop in brooklyn (bedford avenue). it's kinda of annoying the same way i imagine hoxton/shoreditch and thereabouts can be, lots of slumming faux-hipster types, but also lots of bars/cafes/stores and a few decent record shops:
-- earwax records, run by wfmu dj fabio, 218 bedford ave.
-- soundfix, moving this week, opening new story on september 1 at corner of Berry/north 11th st)
-- another academy records at 96 north 6th st.

re: music venues/bands, you'll have to check local listings when in town.

just off the top of my head, more to come.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Nice one - thanks a lot guys.
Re music shopping, to be honest I (whisper it) buy most of my stuff on line so I suppose it's not mega-urgent - plus I haven't got a cd player so it's only vinyl that I'm interested in.

"cool...so basically, the typical "dissensian on holiday", then? ;-)"
You're probably right sadly.
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
My first trip to New York a year and a bit ago was a bit of a failure. Aside from going to Dubwar (the reason we went down there), we spent most of the rest of our time wandering around aimlessly on streets and subway system with ours mouths hanging open.

I kind of imagine it'd be like visiting London if you didn't know anything about London. Overwhelming.

What I mean to say is: a plan goes a long way.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Good tip I think. I have been before but only for a couple of days, remember my girlfriend doing my head in by spending about eight hours (it seemed) in one shop while I was visualising a sandtimer floating above her head and counting down to the end of the holiday.

"that's awesome. really?"
Yeah, I mean, if there is something I want to hear then I can normally borrow my girlfriend's laptop or something.... although it wouldn't play the cd that STN lent me.
 

Leo

Well-known member
i hear ya. some other random things in downtown manhattan:

-- katz's delicatessen (205 east houston, www.katzdeli.com), a ny institution. btw, the street is pronounced "house-ton", not "hew-ston")

-- bread (20 spring st), decent, moderately priced eats in soho (aka, "south of houston st")

-- and then you are just a block or so away from the New Museum, 235 bowery (www.newmuseum.org), always worth a look.

-- governor's island (www.govisland.com), open friday-sat-sun until october 11, really cool. 10 minute free ferry from 10 south st (southern tip of manhattan, near staten island ferry terminal).
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
my advice

Katz Deli is an institution. The Lower East Side in general is decent for going out at night. Also, Harlem is a good day trip, there's tons to see there.

Earwax is alright but Other Music is better. Knowing Idlerich's tastes though he's not going to be very impressed with either of those, they're just standard fare. Mostly CDs, too.

Brooklyn is worth a short subway ride for several reasons: 1) you won't end up spending most of your time in midtown Manhattan at souvenir shops or H&M thinking "what the hell happened to my vacation?", 2) it's where the non-yuppies live and work and hang out, 3) the bars are more laidback, there are three or four of them on each block, they are not full of NYU freshman, they have cheap or no covers, and drinks cost a lot less, 4) you get a real authentic New York City "neighborhood" feeling instead of just a Manhattan highrise feeling and 4) even the chi-chi restaurants are cheaper.

If I were you, I'd take the L to Bedford Ave in Williamsburg and walk around the northside one day. There's tons of shopping to hit up, and cafes and boutiques and galleries you could visit earlier in the day. Then later I'd go to an upscale hipster restaurant like Dressler, then go bar hopping, and then later to a club like Studio B one night. Or if you really don't want to run into any hipsters, you could do the same sort of thing in Brooklyn Heights--really nice but more full of lawyers and other assorted jews than hipsters.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Good tips cheers.

1) you won't end up spending most of your time in midtown Manhattan at souvenir shops or H&M thinking "what the hell happened to my vacation?"
Yeah, that's exactly what I want to avoid.

"Or if you really don't want to run into any hipsters"
Doesn't bother me to be honest.
 

petergunn

plywood violin
i hear ya. some other random things in downtown manhattan:

-- katz's delicatessen (205 east houston, www.katzdeli.com), a ny institution. btw, the street is pronounced "house-ton", not "hew-ston")
.

they serve salt beef, word................

i dunno, for me personally, traveling is always really easy b/c i all ever want to do is find where the cheap books / records / clothes shops are and eat whatever the cheap ethnic food is.... and then drink something at night... anything beyond that is a cakewalk...

that said, i think most of the advice here is dead on... manhattan above like 23rd st is sort of it's own creature... unless you are going to museums, not much of real interest... tho, i did very much enjoy the NBC tour about 15 years ago...
 

Leo

Well-known member
My friend is heavily tipping this place

http://www.difara.com/

any thoughts, is it as good as he says?

never been there, i'm sure it's great but...that's a looooong way to go for pizza, and probably not much around the nabe once you are done...unless maybe if you continue out to coney island. lots of good pizza in or closer to manhattan.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"that's a looooong way to go for pizza"
My friend is making out that this is a once-in-a-lifetime, has-to-be-tasted-to-be-believed pizza experience that would justify almost any journey. Hmmm. I guess my travelling partner wants to go to Coney Island anyway so perhaps we can combine as suggested. Cheers.
 

petergunn

plywood violin
My friend is making out that this is a once-in-a-lifetime, has-to-be-tasted-to-be-believed pizza experience that would justify almost any journey. Hmmm. I guess my travelling partner wants to go to Coney Island anyway so perhaps we can combine as suggested. Cheers.

DiFara's is damn good, but realize you will pay 5.00 for one slice and wait like 45 minutes to do so...

it's good, but i am not sure it is better than totonno's or grimaldi's... however, thinking about it, i would do it if i were you... DiFara's IS great pizza, Dom will probably not be making pizza within 5 years, might as well experience it... but, yeah, not much else to do in Midwood...

when i go to coney island, i always get a square slice at L&B Spumoni Gardens first...
 

nomadthethird

more issues than Time mag
Ha...or you could go the other way to Bensonhurst and chill with some Asian gangstaaaas after DiFara.

Grimaldi's is by far the best pizza I can remember having in NYC, but don't they always have a 30 minute line out the door, too? Plus they make you buy a whole pie, you can't get a slice.

The pizza places in midtown Manhattan (for the most part) suck, and those are the places tourists go for pizza, too sad.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Plus they make you buy a whole pie, you can't get a slice."
I'm a whole pie kinda guy anyway.
One of my friends is a lecturer at Rutgers university - how difficult would it be for him to get into New York and meet up with us?
 
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