NY State of Mind

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Boring travel advice thread ahoy!

The other half is going to New England for a research trip just before Easter, and I'm going to head over to join her for a week or so at the beginning of April. Probable schedule for the two of us is most of a week in New York and a few days seeing somewhere else.

Hence we're after recommendations for:
where to stay (at least, what areas to look in)
where to eat (cheap, stuff we can't get in London)
where to drink (fancy beer)
where to dance (suitable for geeky 30-somethings, so nowhere too Logan's Run)
where to find out about live music (esp weird experimental shit)
somewhere else to go for a few days for a bit of contrast (ie probably small-townish and scenic but still with a bit of life). We're thinking New England for this.

Thanks!
 

dert

Well-known member
new england will probably be quite muddy at that time of year - i'd advise hiking in the berkshires, greens, adirondacks, or whites, or something on the coast of maine. where exactly in new england will you be? i'm in vermont.

for new york: eating, puerto rican food, dancing, bossa nova civic club i guess, maybe good room brooklyn? weird shit: the stone
 

Leo

Well-known member
so many iconic nyc places have closed in the past few years due to rising rents that it's depressing to respond to a question like this and think about what's gone. that being said, food wise...cheap stuff you won't find in london:

katz's delicatessen (http://katzsdelicatessen.com)on east houston/ludlow, often full of tourists but still a one-of-a-kind experience, as long as you eat meat and don't mind paying $19 for a pastrami sandwich. on the lower east side, so in the area of many small bars, shops.

eisenberg's (http://eisenbergsnyc.com) on fifth ave bet 22nd/23rd also very ny lunch counter-type experience if in the neighborhood (across the street from the flatiron building).

great jones cafe (http://www.greatjones.com), tiny place been around abut 30 years, southern cooking. east village area, a couple of blocks from other music (http://www.othermusic.com) NOTE: don't expect to do much/any record shopping here because most of the record shops have disappeared.

if no room at great jones and you don't feel like waiting, try around the block to b bar (http://www.bbarandgrill.com). very slightly more upscale but not really, nice big room converted from a former gas station (avoid friday/sat evenings).

while nothing is truly cheap here, you might find it to be so with the favorable exchange rate (i always find london to be really expensive).

if you get bored with manhattan, take the L train to bedford st in williamsburg brooklyn and laugh at all the hipsters (and go to the rough trade store!). greenpoint, just north of williamsburg, is less gentrified/douchy but probably not worth just wandering.

i don't know of one nyer who has gone to the 9/11 museum (because why would i) but apparently it's a big tourist draw. museums in general are expensive, moma admission is $25. ps1 (http://momaps1.org) can be a fun/easy trip, an old ny schoolhouse converted into a contemporary art space, take the #7 train to the court st. and get a taste of long island city/queens.

trips out of nyc are tricky if you only have two days.

will add more later if i think of anything.
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Cool stuff, thanks!

I think the basic plan is to fly into Boston (for various reasons) on a Friday, wander out somewhere within about four hours bus or train from there for a few days, down to New York and then back out again from Boston the next Sunday evening.

Considering going somewhere like Portland ME, Providence RI or out to Cape Cod or Nantucket or inland to the hills - still poking at a load of guidebooks and stuff.

Thanks for the nyc suggestions.
 

Leo

Well-known member
i grew up about 10 miles from providence, ri. not a bad small city, has a bit of a youngish vibe (due to brown university and RISD [rhode island school of design]) but not sure it's worth the trip if you have only a week to travel. nantucket involves taking an hour-long ferry ride, but you might be here in the off season (they don't start running until mid-april/may).

like nantucket, it's also off season for cape cod, so some places might not be open yet.

you might find enough to do in boston, tbh.
 
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