Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Cookie Policy
Eating out was pretty ‘meh’ in New York, but there’s plenty to do and see.
If theatre’s your thing then read my latest New York Broadway reviews here.
Junior’s near to Times Square had inedible French Toast – think deep fried cardboard with some wood chips on top with a side of sweet snot. Pointless trying a ‘bagel hotdog’, yuck, and not patient enough to get in line for Apollo Bagels in West Village. Regular street vendor hot dogs were insipid for a whopping $10. Not the best city to get classic street food. Best thing I ate on the run was Focaccia from Eataly at Flatiron. The great thing about mid Manhattan is there’s often somewhere to sit on pop up chairs and tables. Worth keeping a look out for Japan Fest – the biggest Japanese (and Korean) street fair in the world which moves around the city.
New York’s not cheap – we are talking $25 per cocktail – taxes and tip all in.
Great food, service and vibe at Loulou a cozy French bistro on the corner of 19th Street and 8th Avenue in Chelsea. Plates came fast and furious with with juicy rib eye strip steak with fig jus, a truffle mushroom flatbread ($22) comes out like a slice of thin crust pizza with Shitake & beech mushrooms, and a stand-out side of Brussels sprouts in a cast iron skillet with smoked bacon, thyme, and jalapeño apple vinaigrette. We didn’t get round to dessert but were offered a shot glass of espresso martini, now there’s an idea. There’s an $80 prix fixe menu with pretty much everything on it.
CHELSEA CAFE
Hotel Chelsea New York
Hot spot of the moment is the Chelsea Cafe in the no longer shabby Hotel Chelsea – see and be seen kind of place with a blow your head off Blood Mary and perfect fries, French American bistro style. Perhaps the next Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Andy Warhol are brunching there now, budget permitting.
7TH STREET BURGER
7th Street Burger – smash hot or not?
7th Street Smash Burger
You’ll have read the hype about smash burgers, so had to take a bite of 7th Street Burgers – white tiled, holes-in-the-wall premises with a short menu of burger, or burger with cheese. Really a bit sweaty and not well-seasoned so don’t know what all the fuss is about. I enjoyed the onions and an ice cold Coca Cola – called a Mexicoke (it’s in a glass bottle, less sweet and made in Mexico).
Straight off the street, into a Cheers-feel bar and restaurant with exposed brick, movie and music posters and an inside-outside look. Plenty of space between tables for pre- or post theatre reviews. The martinis are strong, the food good and the best mashed potato I’ve tasted in years – made with Yukon spuds. There’s a joyful take on Tuna Tartare with jalapeño and pickled ginger ($23). This is inventive home cooking with panache. Spicy lamb meatballs with tzatziki – yes, I am in.
BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB
www.birdlandjazz.com
315 West 44th Street New York, NY 10036
$10 food/drink minimum
Your name’s not on the list – Alan Greenhalgh MANinLONDON at Birdland Jazz Club New York 2024
Monday night is Broadway’s night off but not for Jim Caruso and his long-running Cast Party at Birdland with open mic celebrating Broadway, jazz and nightclub communities. The night I was in Victoria Shaw (The River with Garth Brooks) was there celebrating her daughter Ruby’s wedding and they both got up and sang. The lights are low so you can’t see the food, sadly couldn’t taste it either. Southern Fried Chicken ($27) but the calamari was plentiful. For regular jazz nights, Birdland’s booking history reads like a who’s who of jazz: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Erroll Garner, and many, many others.
New stars being cast here every Monday night from 9.30pm.
159 West 48th Street, New York City, New York 10036
New York – The Big Olive
If you have a head for heights try the rooftop bar at RT60 Hard Rock Hotel (with its own entrance lift lobby) – 34th floors up at West 48th Street amidst the bustling heart of Midtown Manhattan, with double aspect North and South facing city views. DJ, good-looking crowd and not too loud for conversation at the bar.
MONOMONO – www.monomonony.com
The good looking space, but disappointing Monomono, a Korean place in East Village is a confusing flower shop come vinyl record library come restaurant. The kimchee fried rice showed no evidence of that – soggy, without flavour and what were they thinking putting in mozarella? Madness at $22.95 but okay value for 12 Mon Wings at $34 served with some token vegetables and Ssamjang ranch dip – a hoisin ketchup with little kick. The chicken wings were trapped in a shell, not the crumbed KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) I was used to. Only American Express or cash.
Walter’s Brooklyn – www.waltersbrooklyn.com
166 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Walter’s Brooklyn
Loved this, a locals’ place, perfect brunch menu, super friendly staff and some cool customers and cocktails. A must if you make it to leafy Fort Green Brooklyn.
The Edge is the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere located at 30 Hudson Yards. Not worth my $40 dollars. The promised thrill of a glass floor is a smallish pixelated triangle. There’s a ‘witchy’ wonderland, featuring 10-foot-tall floral-clad mannequins by floral show company, Fleurs de Villes from 4th–31st October.
But as you are in the area it’s worth seeing the super clean Hudson Yards and Chelsea Market, with the highlight being the free walkable Highline.
The Highline New York – a MUST DO!
Things for FREE in New York
Walking in New York is a must.
The East River Esplanade (6 am to 1 am) between 38th and East 61st Streets along the East River is part of NYC’s grand vision of a continuous waterfront open space around Manhattan. If you are up on the East Side by the United Nations the improved, river-hugging walkway is now open from 53rd to 61st Streets. There’s a lot of thought gone into this pocket of green space with native trees planted with a drainage system that captures rainwater before it drains to the river. The light coloured pavements reflect heat keeping the city cooler – patterns on the stones reference the surprisingly rich marine life in the river.
Avoid the scammers at the doors, it’s free to get on the Staten Island Ferry – there and back. The trip out is for the proximity the Statue of Liberty and the return for the views back to Manhattan. You have to get off the boat and can return on the next one, it might look crowded in the waiting hall but there’s plenty of room onboard. The 5 mile ride takes 25 minutes, there are 117 trips a day and is repeat, free.
On his first birthday, in 1921, Christopher Robin Milne received a teddy bear purchased from Harrods department store in London. Brought to the United States in 1947, the toys remained with Milne’s American publisher, E.P. Dutton, until 1987, when they were donated to the Library.
Script for the pre-Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947 by Tennesee Williams
Marvel at some extraordinary treasures from the 56 million in the library’s collection. There’s a ‘fair copy’ of the Declaration of Independence, Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends Teddy bears and many interesting writings and theatre sketches.
Free 45-minute tours of the Polonsky Exhibition take place Monday to Saturday at 12:30 and 3:30 PM.
Shopping? That’s another page entirely. Just to say go look at Trader Joe’s and Wholefood Market and see just how well NY does retail choice and presentation – makes Waitrose look like an out-of-date corner shop.
