S in NY - suggestions & advice

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silverfish
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S in NY - suggestions & advice

Post by silverfish » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:28 am

I am going to New York (state and city) in October and am amusing myself compiling a list of everything I want to eat while I am there. I am definitely going to McDonalds once because, hey, it's America. Bagels, of course. Cinnamon scrolls because they don't make them (like that or pretty much at all) in Australia. Hopefully pumpkin pie.

But are there any iconic foods a tourist may not know about which they should definitely eat while there?

(If any sources of such food are near literature-, speculative fiction-, art- or illustration- related sites of interest, that is always a plus).

I have not yet decided on an appropriate modification of NoS, but I will before I leave.

tthornell
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Post by tthornell » Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:41 am

There is the popular bakery in Soho or Greenwich Village called the Magnolia Bakery. Specializes in cupcakes. The best sweet thing I have ever put into my mouth (and I can eat cake for dinner, trust me).
The cupcakes are small, more like European size.
I lived in NY for two years for I found out about it. It was shown on Sex and the City and my wife told me about it.

Also, go to the Financial District during the week, around the Staten Island ferry, about 2 blocks up from the ferry there is a guy selling Gyro's. 3 bucks and the best gyros I have eaten anywhere, ever. Be wary of the chicken kababs you smell on the street, they smell great but are pretty flavorless. Good luck.

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navin
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Post by navin » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:26 pm

If you like seafood and can find a Weathervane, those are great. I think there's on north of the city (a fair bit north) in Saratoga, and there are a few scattered throughout New England if you make it east of New York.

Of course, when I think New York, I think pizza. :-) Can't recommend a specific place though, but I'm sure somebody else can..
Before criticizing someone, you should try walking a mile in their shoes. Then you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:28 pm

How fortunate you are that the no-s founder himself is a born and bred New Yorker!

Unfortunately the founder was rather young and broke for most of his career there, so I'm not really in a position to speak about fine dining in NYC ... but I can help with this:
when I think New York, I think pizza. Can't recommend a specific place though, but I'm sure somebody else can..
Sal & Carmine's on 101st street and Broadway. It's a real hole in the wall, and don't try ordering anything besides pizza (like salad, God forbid) or the old guys are liable to get offended. This is regular ny style pizza, nothing fancy. And its appeal isn't immediately obvious. But when it hits you, it's like an Epiphany. I'm still not sure what it is that makes it so great. There's gotta be some secret catnip like ingredient (my mother thinks it's just salt, which is Seinfeldian enough to perhaps be true).

While you're up on the upper West side, Zabars is definitely worth a stop, just for the frenzied shopping experience. The russian chocolate babka is very nice. And if you're still up there at 3 in the morning, Big Nicks Pizza/Burger joint (open 23 hours a day) is a venerable neighborhood insitution, but again, nothing fancy.

I'll wrack my brains to see if I can think of anything else...

Reinhard

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ClickBeetle
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Post by ClickBeetle » Sun Sep 16, 2007 6:43 pm

Well, you've got to go to Brooklyn, of course, and have an Egg Cream at Gus's Restaurant. It's right around the corner from The Brooklyn Museum of Art, the second-largest (and least crowded) art museum in New York.

It's just like the Met, only you won't be elbowed to death. And you'll be in Brooklyn, which is the home of everything trendy and cool these days (as well as all the authentic ethnic neighborhoods that disappeared from Manhattan decades ago).

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/about/
Chance favors the prepared. - Louis Pasteur

silverfish
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Post by silverfish » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:21 pm

Thanks so much for these suggestions! My travelling companion is compiling detailed lists of museums, tours and stores to visit. My list is short and made up of items like:
- Buy art magazines
- Talk a relative into letting me drive on the right side of the road (in Buffalo, not New York)
- Go to movies
- Get hair cut
- Eat

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:52 pm

A little late, but here's the yelp page on sal and carmine's:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/Qab4GBAxxjacF4K ... 20carmines

Reinhard

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:55 pm


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gratefuldeb67
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:45 pm

Hahaha!!!! Big Nicks!!!!
That brings me back!!!

Yeah, lemme add my two cents here.
If you can afford a very nice meal, go and eat at Provence, in the West Village. Great French food!
The best shish kabob is at Mamouns in the Village.
I too recommend Zabars.
If you are really loaded with money to burn, go have lunch at Cafe DesArtistes (sorry I can't spell in French)..

How about some good Blintzes at Ratners in the Lower east side and maybe a pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli (same block I think?) on Delancy..

Hope you have a great time!
You might be gone by now..
Wondering what your reaction is to Mc Donalds??
LOL :)
Love,
Debs x
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

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