Englishman in New York.... needs bar advice

[Piarco]

I thought I'd prevail on the NYC based (NYC familiar) members of MR to suggest me some good non-touristy things to do in NYC in mid-May. I'll be there for 6 nights (before I head off to another state, but I ain't say which one!) so could do with some suggestions on bars, restaurants etc.

I was last in New York in '99, and over 5 nights had found a half decent juice bar in Chelsea . I want to avoid the typical tourist places in Time Square, and go to a bar were that are going to be some New Yorkers. Preferably single and stunning women, but my female mate who is coming with me won't be swayed by my arguement "But there are lot of fit women there can I go, huh, can I??". I will be on my own for 2/3 nights as she's visiting her brother, so how weird is it for a lone guy to go out for a drink in these places?

So with her in mind (and I know this is a stereotype, but its true) - shopping.

Any good stores, outlets etc? Nothing to OTT though!

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

 

[BakedBeans]

I thought I'd prevail on the NYC based (NYC familiar) members of MR to suggest me some good non-touristy things to do in NYC in mid-May. I'll be there for 6 nights (before I head off to another state, but I ain't say which one!) so could do with some suggestions on bars, restaurants etc.

I was last in New York in '99, and over 5 nights had found a half decent juice bar in Chelsea . I want to avoid the typical tourist places in Time Square, and go to a bar were that are going to be some New Yorkers. Preferably single and stunning women, but my female mate who is coming with me won't be swayed by my arguement "But there are lot of fit women there can I go, huh, can I??". I will be on my own for 2/3 nights as she's visiting her brother, so how weird is it for a lone guy to go out for a drink in these places?

So with her in mind (and I know this is a stereotyple, but its true) - shopping.

Any good stores, outlets etc? Nothing to OTT though!

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

AKA: Where can i get laid in NYC

 

[MacFan782040]

Walk along 5th Ave and you're sure to find great shopping. And hey, that new Apple store opens in May, maybe you'll catch the grand opening. Have fun, go catch a show, and mingle with the ladies sitting aroudn you. Have fun

 

[freeny]

Will give suggestions in an hour or two....
Just woke up.

Living here in nyc for 18 years now.

 

[Piarco]

AKA: Where can i get laid in NYC

The thought never entered my head!
Its honestly more to get away from going to a bar and speaking to fellow tourists from the UK. I went to a couple around Times Square last time I was there and the bars were dire. Really, really dire. I'm hugely into my bar life (too old for clubs now at 30) and like a nice bar, good ambience, good tunes (and not too loud dammit! I want to hear my friends speak!! told you I'm getting old..). So a proper NYC Manhattan Bar experience is what I'm after...

And somewhere to watch the Champions League Final would be good. Guess I'll ask Evoluzione about that....

 

[freeny]

Okay, for starters, stay away from Times Square.
You pretty much dont need to go above Central Park.

Spring in Manhattan is fantastic so you are coming at a good time.

Im 36 so I know where you are comming from. Also this post will obviously be my own personal opinions, so I am interested to see what others also say.

Cant help with your Champions League but I do see alot of bars advertising this so it wont be that difficult to find.

Here a some links to descriptions of Manhattan neighborhoods to help you along the way-
http://www.liveinnyc.com/html/nycmap.html
http://www.liveinnyc.net/neighborhoods.asp#MidtownEast

I quit the "club" scene years ago so your on your own if you want to go that rout seeing that Im totally out of the loop.

Restaurants- The best restaurant neighborhood in my opinion (there are many) is the Union Square/Gramercy Park area (my neighborhood). Youll get the best variety (ethnic) as well as quality and price. Not too expensive and yet not all that cheap either. My favorite restaurant would be City Crab (Park & 19th) Fantastic seafood, good price with a bohemian atmosphere. Also if you had to pick one neighborhood for your entire stay ie shopping, food, bars etc. this would be it.

Bars- Not all up on my bar scene either but its pretty safe to say there is a good bar on almost every courner. Ill let some other (younger) MR members cover this one too. In a nutshell try the Lower East Side, East Village/Grenwich Village for the hip 20-30yo crowd. You may also find some bars with good live music. If your looking for snobbish hot chicks hang around SOHO and Tribeca (home of the Apple store). You may have some luck with the accent. also be prepared to spend a few bucks on your drinks there.

Midtown (includes Times Square) is the ultimate tourist trap and aside from a few rareities (Virgils BBQ for one) you should expect nothing less.

The financial district will have very little for you and if you had to skip it you wouldnt be missing much. Unless you plan on stopping by the WTC site.

I will update and add as time permits so check back.....

 

[Piarco]

Fantastic Freeny! All sounds up my street (although I'll give the snobbish ladies a miss - much prefer a crowd as relatively laid back as I am!). City Crab sounds great - for some reason the best seafood I've every had has been in the States, so I'll definitely be going there...

 

[freeny]

(City Crab)-
Being originally from Maryland, I suggest the Maryland Crab Cakes or if you are not shy and understand the project that eating crabs from the shell involves, get the Steamed Blue Crabs. Otherwise I have never had a bad meal at any time so explore the menu. You can expect to spend between $20-$50 US Dollars for your dinner (including drinks).

 

[Piarco]

$20-50? Bargin! Thats only around £12-30 which goes from cheap to standard price over here. I was going to have the Maryland crab cakes at some point... I worked in Delaware for a year at uni, and we'd pop over to Maryland periodically, which always meant crab cakes. Haven't had one to compete over here!

 

[freeny]

$20-50? Bargin! Thats only around £12-30 which goes from cheap to standard price over here. I was going to have the Maryland crab cakes at some point... I worked in Delaware for a year at uni, and we'd pop over to Maryland periodically, which always meant crab cakes. Haven't had one to compete over here!

City Crab has been the only place I have found outside of Md that does it right. I was always curious to where they got their recipe from. After asking, it turns out the owner is also from Maryland. You wont be disapointed. The cakes are at least 95% meat and weigh around a third-half pound each (you get 2 for dinner) about $25 US dollars.

 

[2nyRiggz]

AKA: Where can i get laid in NYC

Many places for this....many places for everything in NYC. There is a nice bar type place on 125th in manhattan if you like...can't remember the name so forget it


Bless

 

[evoluzione]

will you be in NYC for the FA Cup final too? if so, the 11th St Bar is where you'll want to be. click on the LFCNY link in my signature. (i'm the webmaster for the NY supporter's club)

 

[CanadaRAM]

Just don't walk around singing "I'm an alien -- I'm a legal alien"

 

[iGav]

Bars- Not all up on my bar scene either but its pretty safe to say there is a good bar on almost every courner.

It's strange, but I found NYC to have a derth of (decent) bars in comparison to London... I really struggled to find them oustide of Greenwich That's not to say it doesn't have them though, people I know rave about the place.

My personal choice, I spent a lot of time in the bar in the main concourse of Grand Central Station... I love the hustle and bustle of people coming and going, and it's sickeningly stylish... amazing barman too.

 

[freeny]

It's strange, but I found NYC to have a derth of (decent) bars in comparison to London... I really struggled to find them oustide of Greenwich That's not to say it doesn't have them though, people I know rave about the place.

My personal choice, I spent a lot of time in the bar in the main concourse of Grand Central Station... I love the hustle and bustle of people coming and going, and it's sickeningly stylish... amazing barman too.

People in both NYC and London have different opinions of a good bar. Of course people within both locations are looking for an array of different atmospheres. I dont want to generalize but Americans tend to look for a bar that has a party atmosphere and Brits tend to look for a social gathering. If you are from England and are coming to NYC looking for the British atmosphere you can certainly find it. I can say you wont find it in Grand Central Station.

There a thousands of cool nooks and cranies in NYC as Im sure there are in London, you just have to search them out. they are usually off the beaten path.

It really really helps to know someone who lives in the city to get the full experience. Unfortunately I have a three year old and I quit the bar scene years ago

You cant go wrong in the East Village. Very bohemian. Lots of artists, musicians and crazy people. Go to Union Square/Grammercy area if you want it a little cleaner but still young and hip. For gods sake, stay out of Midtown!!

 

[iGav]

People in both NYC and London have different opinions of a good bar. Of course people within both locations are looking for an array of different atmospheres. I dont want to generalize but Americans tend to look for a bar that has a party atmosphere and Brits tend to look for a social gathering. If you are from England and are coming to NYC looking for the British atmosphere you can certainly find it. I can say you wont find it in Grand Central Station.

I did notice there wasn't a shortage of sports bars that's for sure.

I like my bars sophisticated, I certainly wasn't looking for a bar with a British atmosphere (if there's such a thing, heh) and definitely not a 'Pub'.

What I loved about the bar in Grand Central Station is that it's in an incredble location, truly beautiful... we have NOTHING like that in London, not even approaching it, and the barman was just... spot on.

Believe me... Euston doesn't quite cut it after you've sunk a few slinky's in Grand Central

There a thousands of cool nooks and cranies in NYC as Im sure there are in London, you just have to search them out. they are usually off the beaten path.

I believe it. Don't get me wrong... I'm not putting NYC down in anyway shape or form, it's an incredible city and one that I hope I'll get to live in for a year sometime in the future.

I just expected there to be the same sheer volume of bars that you get in London, and I was... not disappointed as such, more surprised that that wasn't the case.

That's not to say that you can't find great bars there though. Nor is it implying that everything in London is better.

 

[Silencio]

Just don't walk around singing "I'm an alien -- I'm a legal alien"

I was waiting for that shoe to drop.

As in London, the thing to do is pick up an issue or two of Time Out. They extensively cover bars and restaurants, so it should be pretty straightforward to pick out a few places that sound like your, uh, cup of tea...

Or just hit the web site: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/

Have fun!

 

[beatzfreak]

I'll ask some of my Manhattan friends where they go.
During the week, I think they hang out at restaurant bars, and on the weekends, they usually come out to the Brooklyn bars to escape the madness.

Most of the bars in the E. Village tend to have DJs, which seem to attract the girls, but it is loud and crowded.

Don't think this what you're looking for, but when I go into the village, my friends always meet up at a place called the Sunburnt Cow Ave. C bet. 8th and 9th. They have really good food, Aussie style, they serve until 11pm. So we eat and then hang out, check the vibe, maybe go to some other spots and come back. There is a DJ after 11, but there's also a back area thats kind of outside where it's pretty quiet.

Like I said, I'll do some asking around.

One thing to keep in mind, you may have more luck with the ladies if you have your lady friend with you.

 

[Piarco]

will you be in NYC for the FA Cup final too? if so, the 11th St Bar is where you'll want to be. click on the LFCNY link in my signature. (i'm the webmaster for the NY supporter's club)

I thought I was, but because of the world cup its a good week earlier than normal, so I'll still be in London when it happens. Shame - it would have been great to watch it with a bunch of American Red Scousers!

Just don't walk around singing "I'm an alien -- I'm a legal alien"

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I'll ask some of my Manhattan friends where they go.
During the week, I think they hang out at restaurant bars, and on the weekends, they usually come out to the Brooklyn bars to escape the madness.

Most of the bars in the E. Village tend to have DJs, which seem to attract the girls, but it is loud and crowded.

Don't think this what you're looking for, but when I go into the village, my friends always meet up at a place called the Sunburnt Cow Ave. C bet. 8th and 9th. They have really good food, Aussie style, they serve until 11pm. So we eat and then hang out, check the vibe, maybe go to some other spots and come back. There is a DJ after 11, but there's also a back area thats kind of outside where it's pretty quiet.

Like I said, I'll do some asking around.

One thing to keep in mind, you may have more luck with the ladies if you have your lady friend with you.

I'm not going there to hook up... honest!
Sounds like the Sunburnt Cow could be worth a visit - I just hope teh food is better than the Walkabouts idea of Aussie food.... worst.food.evar.