Help me make the most of my three days in NYC

April 17, 2007 6:27 PM

Help me plan an awesome weekend in NYC!

This weekend (4/19 - 4/22) I'm going to see a good friend who recently moved to the city, and we're ready to hit the town. Please offer suggestions for unique, memorable experiences that won't cost us a fortune and don't require a wardrobe upgrade.

Likes:
Live music (bluegrass, classic rock, Ween, DMB, jazz, etc.)
Tasting Whiskey
Unique City Experiences (Staten Island booze cruise is one I've done before and liked)
Asian Cuisine
BBQ
Exploring cool neighborhoods
People watching
The absurd

Dislikes:
$12 drinks
Ridiculous cover charges
Fancy people with fancy attitudes (unless just watching them - see above)

(Oh yeah, I'm leaving my wife and kid at home, and we're both straight men in case that colors your suggestions).

posted by man on the run to Destinations: What to Do (26 comments total)

For Asian food, here's my three:

Cho Dan Gol -- excellent Korean, mosty veggie.

Grand Sichuan on St. Marks street -- spicy chinese, get the twice-cooked pork and cold spicy beef. And St. Marks has excellent faux-punk people watching.

Momofuku -- pricey ramen. Get the pork buns, split an order.
posted by Bookhouse at 6:42 PM on April 17

Whiskey: D.B.A. on 1st Ave. & 2nd St.
Asian Cuisine: Yakitori Taisho on St. Mark's (8th st.) between 2nd and 3rd Aves.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 6:44 PM on April 17

What I know about New York I know because I go there to eat. You have to go to the EXCELLENT DUMPLING HOUSE because their dumplings are EXCELLENT. It's at Lafayette and Canal, next to the Subway (sandwich, not underground). They have cold sesame noodles, very New-York-Chinese, but the dumplings are indeed EXCELLENT. I learned about this place on another AskMe thread, and couldn't thank the recommender enough. It's now somewhere I eat whenever I go. I don't know if this quite tickles the barbecue needs, but you can get some real Southern style food at Delta Grill (700 9th Ave), and there's often live music. Pulled pork, unsweetened corn bread, po' boys - lots of classic things, and every once in a while something creative. Besides these, you can pick from a world of delicious international selections from this Time Out article: Around the World in 80 Cuisines. I think I've eaten at 25% of these now, and they're all deeeelicious so far. I know I've linked to it before, but only because it's that good.

Everything else: Is it going to not freeze this weekend? walk or bicycle the length of the island, dodge crosstown whenever something strikes your fancy. Last year a walk of this sort took 9 hours, including 5 meals along the way, all from the list above. There cannot possibly be a better way to see all walks of life in one go. What an introduction to New York!
posted by whatzit at 6:46 PM on April 17

Tasting Whiskey: St. Andrews on 44th St. between 6th and Broadway. Also, not to miss is an Innis and Gunn beer, which is aged in oak casks. Delicious.
posted by harrumph at 6:53 PM on April 17

oooh, whiskey and barbecue... Two weeks ago I stumbled upon this great place in Williamsburg called Fette Sau, that does its own take on barbecue, and has a bourbon/whiskey list about 60 bottles long. Yeah, I came for the BBQ, but I stayed for the bourbon... might be worth a trip given your interests.
posted by jrb223 at 6:58 PM on April 17

Oh, and seconding Yakitori Taisho on St. Marks. Be sure to try the chicken meatball skewer.
posted by harrumph at 7:01 PM on April 17

Momofuku Ssam is even better than Momofuku ... plus it's full of pork!

My favorite restaurant in the village is AOC Bedford, a tiny place with a GREAT whiskey list, including a 5-scotch or 5-bourbon tasting menu that is surprisingly affordable and very generous. Yum.

Dumpling House is great. New Green Bo for dim sum & the dish of crispy fried eels.. MMMMMgood.
posted by luriete at 7:03 PM on April 17

Whiskey & BBQ: Bar BQ, 20th St. and 6th Ave in Brooklyn. Definitely my favorite bourbon/BBQ spot in the city, and I've tried them all. Nothing fancy, just authentic, cheap eats and a thoroughly stocked whiskey shelf.

If you do make a field trip to Brooklyn, consider visiting LeNell's in Red Hook to pick up a bottle of whiskey for the ride home. Make that an afternoon thing though, it gets a little creepy on the waterfront after dark.
posted by sonofslim at 7:23 PM on April 17

If you're there Thursday afternoon, check out the Yankees and Indians at 1 p.m. Yankee Stadium is truly a terrific place to watch people, and when you think about being in the same building where Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle did their best work, well, it doesn't get much better than that. Plus baseball games are socially acceptable events at which one may drink beer in the afternoon.
posted by shallowcenter at 7:38 PM on April 17

You did not mention pizza but it would be evil of me to not give you this tip:

John's Pizza -- on Bleecker Street and 6th or 7th avenue (hey what do you know, they have a website).

It's a sit down restaurant -- incredibly good, unique, brick-oven pizza. Get a pepperoni pizza and a bottle of red wine. I guarantee you you will not be disappointed.

If you're in the Greenwich Village area, there's a great chinese restaurant called Sammy's Noodle Shop -- 6th avenue somewhere between 10th and 14th street, I can't remember exactly.

The Comedy Cellar on Bleecker street is my favorite comedy club on earth-- a lot of headlining comics, plus people like Seinfeld have been known to just stop by and do a set for fun. You might want to call ahead and make a reservation if you're going on a Friday or Saturday, because sometimes there's a waiting list at the door. Good drinks there too. Drink whiskey and listen to comedy all night, it doesn't get much better than that.

If you are looking for Jazz, the Blue Note jazz club is on West 4th, around 6th avenue. Small's is not too far, but I can't remember the address offhand.

All of these places are in/near Greenwich Village, so if you are looking for interesting neighborhoods, people watching, and the "absurd," you will be sure to see it all in this area.
posted by Alabaster at 8:07 PM on April 17

This NYT article on Korean fried chicken in NYC makes it sound terrific. Can locals confirm/deny?
posted by zamboni at 8:41 PM on April 17

I know practically all the suggestions here are already for Asian restaurants, but must recommend Kang Suh, a Korean place on 32nd and Broadway (right near Herald Square).

The best best best Korean barbecue ever. And I'm Korean.
posted by brina at 9:08 PM on April 17

Oh and there was a very good Thai restaurant on the SW corner of Broadway and 10th street. I'm not sure if it's still there -- last time I ate there was in 2000, and this building seemed to have a new restaurant in it every few months. But it was very good, so hopefully it's stood the test of time.
posted by Alabaster at 9:16 PM on April 17

I really like Mandoo Bar, which is on the opposite end of the block from brina's suggestion. It's 32nd/5th Ave on the south side of the street. While I love the mandoo ramen, I'm now thinking about the literally dozens of times I've walked past Kang Suh to get there. Hrmph.
posted by ersatzkat at 4:44 AM on April 18

zamboni, I can confirm that Bon Chon served me some damned tasty chicken. Everything seemed pretty overpriced, but my god, it was delicious.
posted by Greg Nog at 5:21 AM on April 18

i second
>Whiskey: D.B.A. on 1st Ave. & 2nd St.
>the comedy cellar and making reservations. i saw dave chapelle there and chris rock

also: museums! the museum of natural history has an imax theater that has some excellent showings.
posted by goldism at 6:02 AM on April 18

You might want to check out http://www.forgotten-ny.com/. That may give you some ideas that would address your people watching/exploring cool neighborhoods/love of the absurd.
posted by blaneyphoto at 6:08 AM on April 18

For barbecue, I really liked Virgil's, off of Times Square. When I mentioned that to some New Yorkers, they rolled their eyes. Of course, they were New Yorkers.
posted by Alt F4 at 7:05 AM on April 18

I see that no one has weighed in on the cheap drinks/avoiding cover charges. If the New York DBA is anything like the one in New Orleans, the drinks will be expensive, and it'll be full of those kind of people you don't necessarily like, and there'll be a cover.

I don't know what kind of music they'll be playing, but the New Orleans DBA usually plays good music, which is its saving grace.

Just be careful you don't nod your head too vigorously in a place not licensed for dancing.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 7:14 AM on April 18

Korean fried chicken is wonderful. I haven't made it out to Unidentified Flying Chicken, but Bon Bon Chicken recently opened on Chambers between Church and Broadway. Its delicious. I go there once a week.
http://bonbonchicken.com/

For music I'd check out the schedule at the Knitting Factory, NY. They have a bunch of stages, the tap bar there has very reasonably priced beers on tap for this area. However I think for the main stage most nights there is a cover.
http://knittingfactory.com/index.php

For exploring cool neighborhoods and some of the best people watching around I'd head to the East Village/Alphabet City. While wandering the East Village at midnight after getting your drink on I'd hit up Crif Dogs for a Chihuahua (Bacon wrapped hot dogs w/ avocado & sour cream) Momofuku is a good suggestion from others too.

Chinatown is always an interesting experience. In Chinatown go to the Peking Duck House (get there early ). Definitely order the Peking Duck. Go to Canal St. and buy fake Swiss Army watches for 10 bucks.

If its nice out walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. On the other side make your way down to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Skip Grimaldi's the line isn't worth the wait. Take a water taxi back to Manhattan if they have service on the weekends. From here you can see some sites like Wall St., the Stock Exchange, etc. Walk south to Battery Park where you can see a nice view of the Statue of Liberty. Walk around the southern tip of Manhattan, up the West side on the nice path there and cut East when you get near Houston St. From there you can get some great people watching done North in the W. Village or South in Soho.

Get a map that has the subway stations on it. Buy a unlimited ride metro card for the weekend. It will be well worth it. Most of the stuff I suggest is downtown. I really can't stand 42nd St. and don't know much to do above Midtown so sorry about that.

Have fun!
posted by zackola at 7:43 AM on April 18

you have to visit Joshua Tree. I forgot the exact address, but it's my favorite place to have drinks late night. they play music videos on either projection or flat-screen monitors throughout the bar/restaurant and all they play is old school rock and dance songs. songs like "pour some sugar me" by def leppard, stuff by madonna, bon jovi, etc. always a good crowd, never a cover, and always good music and food.

i would also visit ruby foos. awesome asian cuisine and a memorable atmosphere.
posted by deeman at 7:59 AM on April 18

Wow, here's hoping I'm just not reading the appropriate irony into Deeman's response. Or, alternately, I may have misinterpreted the question - did you want expensive, watered down drinks that don't get much more interesting than a Jack and Coke with lime, frat boys and their vapid arm candy shrieking, and all the character and attitude of a suburban TGI Fridays on a weekday happy hour? And don't even get me started on faux asian cuisine on a busy traffic corner in Times Square.

It must have been irony, and my sarcasm filter needs to be recalibrated.

I LOVE Mandoo, I haven't been there in absolute ages and the mere mention of the place has me salivating obscenely.
posted by bunnycup at 8:07 AM on April 18

On BBQ: There are many exceptional examples of various foods you can get in NYC. BBQ is not one of them. NYC actually ranks as one of the worst BBQ towns in the country, IMO.

Though I will say that Asian + BBQ = Korean BBQ = Awesome.
posted by mkultra at 8:31 AM on April 18

Alabaster, if you meant the branch of Lemongrass on University and 11th, it moved to 13th between 5th and University.
posted by brujita at 8:52 AM on April 18

I third Mandoo Bar. The dumplings are fantastic.

For a wider assortment of Korean food, I also like Do Hwa, which is in the Village (55 Carmine St., at the corner of Bedford St.). They do a great bibimbop, and the ginger martinis are excellent.

I have not yet found good BBQ in NYC, unfortunately.

For unique experiences, you could check out this Friday's Rubulad party in Williamsburg. Do some Googling to find out where and when.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:07 AM on April 18

Nolita House has a bluegrass brunch on Sunday mornings, but I've heard that the band lacks a banjo.

I've been to DBA in New Orleans and it is a great bar. I had beer, but they did have an extensive whiskey list.
posted by Frank Grimes at 5:57 PM on April 18