sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,342
- Like
- 109,614
I have been to NYC enough times that I have little interest in touristy type things like NBC Studio tours, the Circle Line tour, going to the top of the Empire State Building, etc. Heck, I have never done any of those things. What I prefer to do is check out historic landmarks, cool neighborhoods and non national chain type eateries...places that offer unique things I haven't encountered before.
Towards that end, here are some places I have visited so far while in NYC.
First off, I am staying in Hell's Kitchen, north and west of MSG. Not far from Times Square, but a little off the beaten path and a lot less commercial than the Theatre District. There are a lot of good places to eat around this area. Among the ones I have checked out so far are:
Planet Sandwich on 9th Avenue and 39th St. Lots of choices here, I had a burger which was supposed to be one of the top 100 in NYC. It was reasonably priced and tasted good to me. Service was very good. Very well seasoned.
Manganaro's Heroboy Restaurant on 9th Ave between 37th and 38th Sts. They sell pasta, salads and sides but are best known for their heros (someone told me they coined the word hero for a sandwich). They feature heros here, large sandwiches with high quality ingredients and reasonable prices. They have some issues with service, which is apparently uneven to a legendary degree, to such a point that many visit to see if they get yelled at by the volatile older woman who often works there. I was treated well on my visit and enjoyed my hero very much.
Amy's Breads on 9th Avenue just south of 47th St. The day I visited was a cold morning and there was a line outside the store just to get inside out of the cold. They supply bread for many restaurants in the city, also make pastries, muffins, scones, etc. I bought a cherry cream muffin and a chocolate chip scone. Loved them both.
Sullivan St Bakery is on 47th St between 10th and 11th Avenues. Another place with a big line. They do a bunch of funky stuff. I think they might be best known for their cold pizzas. I got a patate (I think that was what it was called). It was a thin crust slice of pizza with potato slices on it baked a beautiful golden brown. Had some butter in it and rosemary, lots of flavors going on. Excellent. Also got a bomboloni (so something like that), a golden light dough similar to what Crispy Creme does, filled with a vanilla pudding like substance. It was good but in retrospect, I wish I tried another one of the cold pizza options.
I have taken a couple of walks on the High Line, a unique urban park that runs along the west side of Manhattan from 3oth street to 14th street near 10th avenue, not far from the Hudson River. This was once an elevated set of train tracks that ran almost to the battery. It was built in the 1930s but rendered obsolete by the trucking industry. Almost torn down, it was re-discovered by urban explorers and championed by a host of people who eventually convinced politicians to save it and spend a little money to make it into a park. It is a quiet oasis in the chaotic environment of Manhattan that offers some great view of the city and the river. It is a special place that I urge anyone who goes to NYC to stop by, especially if you want to get some exercise and peace of mind in lower Manhattan.
One of the best things about walking the High Line is that it leaves you in the West Village, a really good and quaint area of Manhattan I had never been in before. The grid system of avenues and streets breaks down right about at 14th St, where the High Line ends, and as you walk south, you are transported into a residential area that is very quiet, with almost no road traffio, a lot of people walking their dogs or taking their kids to school, lots of old townhouses, narrow cobble stone streets going in all sorts of weird directions, little parks, etc. It reminded me of London a bit. I had no idea something like this existed in NYC. Again, it is really nice to walk around away from all the traffic and hustle and bustle for a bit.
Walking further, I ran into Bleeker St, which I have vaguely heard of. mentioned in a few food shows and maybe newspaper articles. What a cool area. Found some excellent music stores, some more excellent bakeries (another Amy's Breads), lots of interesting looking restaurants and other stores. The area around Our Lady of Pompei was especially cool. Loved the Bleeker St Records (they have LPs, and new and used CDs, big selection) and another bakery I stopped at. called Rocco's Pasty Shop. They had a great selection, especially with cheesecakes. I got a slice of chocolate that was awesome.
I kind of stumbled on all of this on a quest to get to Katz's Deli, a place a number of friends have told me is the best deli in the city. It is on Houston (pronounced Hus-ton I believe), near Ludlow, not far from 1st Ave. Katz's also had a big line, but it moved quickly and soon I was biting into a pastrami on rye that was everything I was told it was going to be. Very moist, lots of flavor, none of the fat I have encountered the previous times I have had pastrami. Not a pastrami fan but I am when it comes from Katz's. Cool place that has been around since before 1900.
Towards that end, here are some places I have visited so far while in NYC.
First off, I am staying in Hell's Kitchen, north and west of MSG. Not far from Times Square, but a little off the beaten path and a lot less commercial than the Theatre District. There are a lot of good places to eat around this area. Among the ones I have checked out so far are:
Planet Sandwich on 9th Avenue and 39th St. Lots of choices here, I had a burger which was supposed to be one of the top 100 in NYC. It was reasonably priced and tasted good to me. Service was very good. Very well seasoned.
Manganaro's Heroboy Restaurant on 9th Ave between 37th and 38th Sts. They sell pasta, salads and sides but are best known for their heros (someone told me they coined the word hero for a sandwich). They feature heros here, large sandwiches with high quality ingredients and reasonable prices. They have some issues with service, which is apparently uneven to a legendary degree, to such a point that many visit to see if they get yelled at by the volatile older woman who often works there. I was treated well on my visit and enjoyed my hero very much.
Amy's Breads on 9th Avenue just south of 47th St. The day I visited was a cold morning and there was a line outside the store just to get inside out of the cold. They supply bread for many restaurants in the city, also make pastries, muffins, scones, etc. I bought a cherry cream muffin and a chocolate chip scone. Loved them both.
Sullivan St Bakery is on 47th St between 10th and 11th Avenues. Another place with a big line. They do a bunch of funky stuff. I think they might be best known for their cold pizzas. I got a patate (I think that was what it was called). It was a thin crust slice of pizza with potato slices on it baked a beautiful golden brown. Had some butter in it and rosemary, lots of flavors going on. Excellent. Also got a bomboloni (so something like that), a golden light dough similar to what Crispy Creme does, filled with a vanilla pudding like substance. It was good but in retrospect, I wish I tried another one of the cold pizza options.
I have taken a couple of walks on the High Line, a unique urban park that runs along the west side of Manhattan from 3oth street to 14th street near 10th avenue, not far from the Hudson River. This was once an elevated set of train tracks that ran almost to the battery. It was built in the 1930s but rendered obsolete by the trucking industry. Almost torn down, it was re-discovered by urban explorers and championed by a host of people who eventually convinced politicians to save it and spend a little money to make it into a park. It is a quiet oasis in the chaotic environment of Manhattan that offers some great view of the city and the river. It is a special place that I urge anyone who goes to NYC to stop by, especially if you want to get some exercise and peace of mind in lower Manhattan.
One of the best things about walking the High Line is that it leaves you in the West Village, a really good and quaint area of Manhattan I had never been in before. The grid system of avenues and streets breaks down right about at 14th St, where the High Line ends, and as you walk south, you are transported into a residential area that is very quiet, with almost no road traffio, a lot of people walking their dogs or taking their kids to school, lots of old townhouses, narrow cobble stone streets going in all sorts of weird directions, little parks, etc. It reminded me of London a bit. I had no idea something like this existed in NYC. Again, it is really nice to walk around away from all the traffic and hustle and bustle for a bit.
Walking further, I ran into Bleeker St, which I have vaguely heard of. mentioned in a few food shows and maybe newspaper articles. What a cool area. Found some excellent music stores, some more excellent bakeries (another Amy's Breads), lots of interesting looking restaurants and other stores. The area around Our Lady of Pompei was especially cool. Loved the Bleeker St Records (they have LPs, and new and used CDs, big selection) and another bakery I stopped at. called Rocco's Pasty Shop. They had a great selection, especially with cheesecakes. I got a slice of chocolate that was awesome.
I kind of stumbled on all of this on a quest to get to Katz's Deli, a place a number of friends have told me is the best deli in the city. It is on Houston (pronounced Hus-ton I believe), near Ludlow, not far from 1st Ave. Katz's also had a big line, but it moved quickly and soon I was biting into a pastrami on rye that was everything I was told it was going to be. Very moist, lots of flavor, none of the fat I have encountered the previous times I have had pastrami. Not a pastrami fan but I am when it comes from Katz's. Cool place that has been around since before 1900.
