OT: An Englishman in New York
- Thread starter britdevil
- Start date
JimEIV
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2003
- 66,098
- 28,445
I will definitely check this place out.
Obviously good beer isn't an issue here in the UK, but I am very interested in trying some obscure 'Murican ales.
Their beer isn't good lol. It's more about the atmosphere IMO.
But you want a little more obscure and like retro style arcade games , I would suggest Barcade.
http://barcadenewyork.com/
Check out their beer list. Pretty nice.
I've never been to the Manhattan location only Brooklyn but I hear its the same.
BurntToast
Registered User
No offense, but even the dollar pizza in NYC is better then most pizza places in Europe. The best NY eateries don't always need the glitz and glamore. Have a dirty water hotdog .
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
large beer selections sort of near where you are:
http://www.gingerman-ny.com/beer/
http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/rattlenhumeast
http://www.gingerman-ny.com/beer/
http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/rattlenhumeast
JK3
Go Easy-Step Lightly-Stay Free
I didn't read through the whole thread yet but the Staten island ferry is free, there have been apparently scammers selling tickets for it.
Also the met museum and museum of natural history have suggested donation prices so you can actually give 1 dollar to get in. The cashier might give you an attitude but ignore them.
Also the met museum and museum of natural history have suggested donation prices so you can actually give 1 dollar to get in. The cashier might give you an attitude but ignore them.
Oneiro
Registered User
- Mar 28, 2013
- 9,439
- 11,010
Yeah, a lot of people don't remember that you can pay what you want at those museums.
Another less-mentioned museum that I love: The Frick. Some of the greatest paintings in the world in a mansion. Very close to the Metropolitan Museum.
If you have the budget (it's expensive) and you appreciate theater/dance/haunted stuff, you may want to see Sleep No More at The McKittrick Hotel. It's an interactive play where you can follow the characters that interest you throughout the building. Not for everybody but I enjoyed it.
I do like the Battery Park area for times when you just want to walk and talk with good company. Also, Shakespeare's Garden in Central Park always seems to work with the ladies so I'm sure your wife will appreciate it.
For nice, obscure beer, try the Old Rabbit Club. It's unmarked on the outside, low lit on the inside but you're guaranteed to find something great you've never heard of.
A couple quick-eat spots I love: most Joe's Pizzas, Xi'an Famous Foods, Doughnut Plant.
Another less-mentioned museum that I love: The Frick. Some of the greatest paintings in the world in a mansion. Very close to the Metropolitan Museum.
If you have the budget (it's expensive) and you appreciate theater/dance/haunted stuff, you may want to see Sleep No More at The McKittrick Hotel. It's an interactive play where you can follow the characters that interest you throughout the building. Not for everybody but I enjoyed it.
I do like the Battery Park area for times when you just want to walk and talk with good company. Also, Shakespeare's Garden in Central Park always seems to work with the ladies so I'm sure your wife will appreciate it.
For nice, obscure beer, try the Old Rabbit Club. It's unmarked on the outside, low lit on the inside but you're guaranteed to find something great you've never heard of.
A couple quick-eat spots I love: most Joe's Pizzas, Xi'an Famous Foods, Doughnut Plant.
Thanks for the tips mate.
Only four days till the big day now. Married men, should I be nervous?
Finished work yesterday and yes, I've had a beer.
BenedictGomez
Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
BTW, I just spent a week in Antigua back in February and it was very enjoyable. It was my first experience at an all-inclusive resort (The Verandah) and it was worth every penny. Shopping up at St. John's, and some exploring down at Nelson's Dockyard to see some history.
Probably the best part was getting a private tour by a taxi driver and his wife. Went all around the island and see more local non-tourist type places.
Anyway, Congrats and good luck.
KohoDonuts88
Registered User
From a frequent visitor perspective...
Last summer, my daughter and I went full tourist mode in NYC. Stayed at The Row. Pretty good hotel. Very convenient location.
We took an OnBoard New York tour. Well worth it. We did the NY See It All tour.
For airport travel, we used Airporter NYC to and from LGA. You can pick up / drop off right at the Port Authority which you'll only be a couple blocks away from. Be prepared for an hour's trip considering traffic.
When I travel alone, I buy a 7-day MetroCard for $30. Unlimited subway / bus travel. 10 or 11 rides and it's paid for. From LGA, take the M60 bus to 125th street and jump on the A train to the Port Authority. It really won't take you any/much longer, because you'll very possibly be stuck in traffic with the shuttle. All depends on your luggage situation, and how adventurous you are with public transit. But a good way to save some cash. I haven't taken a cab in the city in 13 years, and I'm there once or twice a year.
Take the Staten Island Ferry to see the statue. Or as was suggested, do a Circle Line cruise (I think that's an option on CityPass?).
Other than shopping and the requisite photos, get out of Times Square.
AMNH is fantastic. You can't see it all in a day.
Google "NYC walking tours".
100% make a plan around what you want to see, how you'll get there and great places to eat.
Have fun.
Munich-Devil
Registered User
Some recommendations/experiences from my trip to NY (and the States) in last December and March:
- Food: Don't go to Fast Food Places, they are more expensive than here and the quality is worse. They are often more expensive than smaller shops that sell better food. We went to "Cucina Liberta" for breakfast on the last day and it was absolutely great. It's directly across Battery Park, so you can eat outside and then just take the Ferry over to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. "Katz's Deli" was great as well! There are also great Dumpling Shops in Koreatown.
- Beer: Most Beers over there are not worth drinking. But still give them a try if you like overly intense flavours, since most Beers used flavoured ingredients.
- The NHL Store is the worst. Don't bother visiting it, except if you're looking for Crosby stuff.
- There is free WiFi almost everywhere. If you might think you need wifi during a certain time, just try to make Screenshots in Google Maps where Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are located.
- Subway/Metro is no problem. Just get the thing that's similar to the Oyster Card. The Map System isn't that complicated as well, but try to be informed about maintenance.
- If you're going to get the NY Pass: Try to calculate if it's worth it for you. I wasn't able to go to all the Museums etc. because i went to 2 NHL and 1 NFL game.
- Empire State and Top of the Rock: Both worth a look, if you've got the NY Pass. I recommend using one of the for a look above the city by day and one by night. We didn't have to wait long (Rock: Friday 11 am, Empire: Sunday 10 pm)
- Be careful when you cross the streets. It's usual that they make a right turn on a red traffic light. One of the biggest deathtraps for a European.
- The Bus Tours were worth their money because they get you directly to the points of interest. There is also a night tour where they get you over to Brooklyn so that you can take really nice Skyline Pics.
- Get used to prices being without taxes. So if you see something for 2 Dollars and you're happy to get rid of your change....you probably need to pay more.
- We took a plane from LaGuardia to Boston on Wednesday at 8 am. We drove with the Subway to Astoria Blvd and there is a free shuttle Bus. Definetly bring some time with you, because sometimes they absolutely reschedule your flight to different Terminals, you need an extra Shuttle over there and so on. Also Security Checks take veeeeeery long.
- Immigration: They are pretta aggressive at the moment, so try not to hesitate with answers. I got interrogated for 2 hours because they thought i was muslim...i'm a 6'3'' blond and blue eyed german. I travelled with a Russian with German Citizienship and they even called the German Authorities to ask if he lives there and i had many people from the States as Contacts whom they also called. I heard many stories like this from fellow Students and friends as well over the last year. So much about that
- The usual Tourist Stuff: 911 Memorial, Times Square (not nice there, but you should still visit it), Central Park, go over to MSG and yell at people wearing Rangers Stuff etc.
- Otherwise: We walked by foot from Wall Street (where our Hotel was) over to the Central Park around 9 am. Was great to see the city wake up, the sunlight starting to shine in via smaller streets, etc. Exploring a city by foot is always great.
- Food: Don't go to Fast Food Places, they are more expensive than here and the quality is worse. They are often more expensive than smaller shops that sell better food. We went to "Cucina Liberta" for breakfast on the last day and it was absolutely great. It's directly across Battery Park, so you can eat outside and then just take the Ferry over to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. "Katz's Deli" was great as well! There are also great Dumpling Shops in Koreatown.
- Beer: Most Beers over there are not worth drinking. But still give them a try if you like overly intense flavours, since most Beers used flavoured ingredients.
- The NHL Store is the worst. Don't bother visiting it, except if you're looking for Crosby stuff.
- There is free WiFi almost everywhere. If you might think you need wifi during a certain time, just try to make Screenshots in Google Maps where Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are located.
- Subway/Metro is no problem. Just get the thing that's similar to the Oyster Card. The Map System isn't that complicated as well, but try to be informed about maintenance.
- If you're going to get the NY Pass: Try to calculate if it's worth it for you. I wasn't able to go to all the Museums etc. because i went to 2 NHL and 1 NFL game.
- Empire State and Top of the Rock: Both worth a look, if you've got the NY Pass. I recommend using one of the for a look above the city by day and one by night. We didn't have to wait long (Rock: Friday 11 am, Empire: Sunday 10 pm)
- Be careful when you cross the streets. It's usual that they make a right turn on a red traffic light. One of the biggest deathtraps for a European.
- The Bus Tours were worth their money because they get you directly to the points of interest. There is also a night tour where they get you over to Brooklyn so that you can take really nice Skyline Pics.
- Get used to prices being without taxes. So if you see something for 2 Dollars and you're happy to get rid of your change....you probably need to pay more.
- We took a plane from LaGuardia to Boston on Wednesday at 8 am. We drove with the Subway to Astoria Blvd and there is a free shuttle Bus. Definetly bring some time with you, because sometimes they absolutely reschedule your flight to different Terminals, you need an extra Shuttle over there and so on. Also Security Checks take veeeeeery long.
- Immigration: They are pretta aggressive at the moment, so try not to hesitate with answers. I got interrogated for 2 hours because they thought i was muslim...i'm a 6'3'' blond and blue eyed german. I travelled with a Russian with German Citizienship and they even called the German Authorities to ask if he lives there and i had many people from the States as Contacts whom they also called. I heard many stories like this from fellow Students and friends as well over the last year. So much about that
- The usual Tourist Stuff: 911 Memorial, Times Square (not nice there, but you should still visit it), Central Park, go over to MSG and yell at people wearing Rangers Stuff etc.
- Otherwise: We walked by foot from Wall Street (where our Hotel was) over to the Central Park around 9 am. Was great to see the city wake up, the sunlight starting to shine in via smaller streets, etc. Exploring a city by foot is always great.
Yes (after a full stop), but not in NYC (although it doesn't stop some people anyway).
Ripshot 43
Registered User
- Jul 21, 2010
- 13,777
- 10,543
Grew up in Jersey and moved down to Florida in 2000. It had been almost 10 years since I had been back to the NJ/NY area. A girlfriends cousin was our guide for the day. First thing I asked was to bring us to the best pizza place when we got into the city.
That SOB brought us to Sabaros. We have those in Florida, thanks/no thanks, no chain restaurants.
1)no doubt on fast food. if you want fast food, get a slice, or a dirty water dog, or a gyro off a truck. Chains too, I mean I don't go to chains in general but especially when traveling and you want to see a new place.
2)When beer was mentioned earlier in the thread and someone mentioned how beer is good in England I though "Is it?". And just the other day I was talking to some people who were in Ireland and England, and the word on Ireland is "Guiness and that's it" which is fine, but you know. Where as the word on England was: not much going on there beer wise either. Now Germany may be a different case, but the US craft beer movement is very intensive and imo producing some great beers. And a wide variety. I'm also not into flavored beers, but by no means are you limited to that. Obviously like the thought on chain restaurants above, you want to avoid your macro brews, your bud's or Coor's etc, but to say the beer here in the states is to be avoided? A rather uninformed statement imo.
BenedictGomez
Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
How long has it been since you've been to America?
A funny thing happened in the last 20 years, we went from probably the worst place on planet earth for beer to the undisputed global king of beer.
There is no place in the world right now where innovation is taking place in the beer world than the U.S.A. Some of it is admittedly truly horrible, like chocolate & coffee flavored pilsners, etc..., but there are more microbreweries here now turning out remarkable small batch brews than anywhere.
The revolution has been swift. It started in the 1990s, but didnt take off, but in the last 10 years new microbrew pubs open an an almost daily basis. I live in rural New Jersey, and yet there are numerous microbrew places within 30 minutes of me, and 2 just opened in the last year. You walk into a liquor store here, and the problem for an IPA lover like myself is no longer being constrained to the same 1 or 2 choices, but I have almost too many choices, with new arrivals from Minnesota, Iowa, Oregon, Texas, the entire nation, seemingly popping up each day. The major brands, the horrible large manufacturers you're thinking off (Miller, Budweiser, Coors) are losing so much market share that they are responding by buying these small microbrewers. Goose Island, for instance was bought by Anheuser-Busch. Kona Brewing and Redhook were bought by another large consortium. Some others like Dogfish Head (a personal favorite) has turned down numerous multi-million dollar offers and remain solo.
The point is, in 2016, I would challenge someone to find a better nation in the world for beer drinkers than America.
I think you'll find that traffic regulations in New York / New Jersey are more like helpful "suggestions" than actual laws. The rest of America doesn't work like that.
Last edited:
BenedictGomez
Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
That guy obviously spends no time in NYC, and I'd question if he's from Jersey (sounds like someone who moved here from Kansas).
Funny thing is that's basically a scene straight out of the office!
Yeah. Either that guy's form was assumed by an alien lizard person playing the part of a New Yorker...or he was totally screwing with you.
Artichoke pizza all day.
Artichoke pizza all day.
I think the commercials say more pedestrians are hit via lefty turns then righties. So keep that head on a swivel.
Rights on red are illegal in most intersections in the city, so I'd venture to say that stat is probably right.
Ripshot 43
Registered User
- Jul 21, 2010
- 13,777
- 10,543
Holy crap, that clip is amazing!!!! I've never really watched that show. Gave me a good laugh, thanks.
He was just a lazy POS. I found out that it ran in the family (the girl I dated)
I want to say it was a year or so after some portion of the memorial to ground zero from 9/11 was made and we wanted to go there despite knowing it was a tourist destination (I wanted to pay my respects) and he refused to take us.
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
you can cross the street when it says not to, if you're in a rush. just don't hesitate and be smart about it. my mentality, as terrible as it is, is that the car can't kill all of us. also, totally i totally use people as human shields as i cross (at least, in my mind)
New Jersey
(pacmanghost x) sad again
- Apr 20, 2005
- 2,609
- 1,474
Some recommendations/experiences from my trip to NY (and the States) in last December and March:
- Food: Don't go to Fast Food Places, they are more expensive than here and the quality is worse. They are often more expensive than smaller shops that sell better food. We went to "Cucina Liberta" for breakfast on the last day and it was absolutely great. It's directly across Battery Park, so you can eat outside and then just take the Ferry over to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. "Katz's Deli" was great as well! There are also great Dumpling Shops in Koreatown.
- Beer: Most Beers over there are not worth drinking. But still give them a try if you like overly intense flavours, since most Beers used flavoured ingredients.
- The NHL Store is the worst. Don't bother visiting it, except if you're looking for Crosby stuff.
- There is free WiFi almost everywhere. If you might think you need wifi during a certain time, just try to make Screenshots in Google Maps where Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are located.
- Subway/Metro is no problem. Just get the thing that's similar to the Oyster Card. The Map System isn't that complicated as well, but try to be informed about maintenance.
- If you're going to get the NY Pass: Try to calculate if it's worth it for you. I wasn't able to go to all the Museums etc. because i went to 2 NHL and 1 NFL game.
- Empire State and Top of the Rock: Both worth a look, if you've got the NY Pass. I recommend using one of the for a look above the city by day and one by night. We didn't have to wait long (Rock: Friday 11 am, Empire: Sunday 10 pm)
- Be careful when you cross the streets. It's usual that they make a right turn on a red traffic light. One of the biggest deathtraps for a European.
- The Bus Tours were worth their money because they get you directly to the points of interest. There is also a night tour where they get you over to Brooklyn so that you can take really nice Skyline Pics.
- Get used to prices being without taxes. So if you see something for 2 Dollars and you're happy to get rid of your change....you probably need to pay more.
- We took a plane from LaGuardia to Boston on Wednesday at 8 am. We drove with the Subway to Astoria Blvd and there is a free shuttle Bus. Definetly bring some time with you, because sometimes they absolutely reschedule your flight to different Terminals, you need an extra Shuttle over there and so on. Also Security Checks take veeeeeery long.
- Immigration: They are pretta aggressive at the moment, so try not to hesitate with answers. I got interrogated for 2 hours because they thought i was muslim...i'm a 6'3'' blond and blue eyed german. I travelled with a Russian with German Citizienship and they even called the German Authorities to ask if he lives there and i had many people from the States as Contacts whom they also called. I heard many stories like this from fellow Students and friends as well over the last year. So much about that
- The usual Tourist Stuff: 911 Memorial, Times Square (not nice there, but you should still visit it), Central Park, go over to MSG and yell at people wearing Rangers Stuff etc.
- Otherwise: We walked by foot from Wall Street (where our Hotel was) over to the Central Park around 9 am. Was great to see the city wake up, the sunlight starting to shine in via smaller streets, etc. Exploring a city by foot is always great.
Good recommendations.
For food, I love Katz's and Mandoo Bar (K-town). Dim Sum at Jing Fong in Chinatown, too (I actually prefer 88 Palace, but Jing Fong is the place to go if you're only going once). I think the Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien is awesome. And I'd get a drink at Angel's Share before / after dinner at Rairaiken (or Momofuku). I'd probably try dessert at Chickalicious at some point in there.
In terms of the site seeing, I like everything you said, but I probably wouldn't go to any of it. IMO, the best part of NYC is that the music and bars. Things don't close until 4am and there's nothing like stumbling out of a club, getting a 5am slice of pizza (or gyro), and then getting home / to your hotel room as the sun rises. But, to each his own. All the tourist stuff Munich-Devil mentions is worth doing, too.
Oh - one worthwhile bar not mentioned yet is the Willy Wall. http://willywall.com/ Its a barge out by the Statue of Liberty. You need to buy tickets for the ferry to get there. It's pretty unique. Could be a fun afternoon / early evening activity.
