Welltravbrit's Ongoing NYC Jaunt
Nov 20th, 2015, 07:56 PM
#22
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Nice to meet you too Sue! We're looking forward to several of the upcoming programs on affordable housing in NY and landmark preservation at the Museum of the City of New York.
Today we spent a big chunk of the day planning Thanksgiving and traipsing round to relatives to borrow stuff - note to self it's a pain to cook for a large group in someone else's kitchen;( The Greenmarket at Union Square will be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week though I never find the NYC markets as good as the California ones this time of year, though there are lots of great apples and sun chokes right now!
Also just to say we made it to the Rubin a few days ago and very much enjoyed the visit. It's such a lovely small museum with a clear focus - the Himalayan region predominantly through India, China and Nepal. I found the floor explaining the major artistic elements in Himalayan art and religion very helpful. There's a beautiful room set up as an in home shrine would be, very atmospheric and quite impressive, it has a very ethnographic feel.
If you find yourself at the Rubin they have a decent cafe but I can also recommend the nearby Momoya. We stopped by for lunch and the place was packed. Very high quality, beautifully presented sushi for the price, particularly at lunchtime. They have two locations but we tried the one on 7th and 21st in Chelsea. Fyi The Rubin is on 16th at 7th Ave.
http://momoyanyc.com
Today we spent a big chunk of the day planning Thanksgiving and traipsing round to relatives to borrow stuff - note to self it's a pain to cook for a large group in someone else's kitchen;( The Greenmarket at Union Square will be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week though I never find the NYC markets as good as the California ones this time of year, though there are lots of great apples and sun chokes right now!
Also just to say we made it to the Rubin a few days ago and very much enjoyed the visit. It's such a lovely small museum with a clear focus - the Himalayan region predominantly through India, China and Nepal. I found the floor explaining the major artistic elements in Himalayan art and religion very helpful. There's a beautiful room set up as an in home shrine would be, very atmospheric and quite impressive, it has a very ethnographic feel.
If you find yourself at the Rubin they have a decent cafe but I can also recommend the nearby Momoya. We stopped by for lunch and the place was packed. Very high quality, beautifully presented sushi for the price, particularly at lunchtime. They have two locations but we tried the one on 7th and 21st in Chelsea. Fyi The Rubin is on 16th at 7th Ave.
http://momoyanyc.com
Nov 20th, 2015, 09:19 PM
#23
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enjoying your report welltravelled brit.friends who live in NY just saw A View for the Bridge-enjoyed seeing Nicola Walker from Spooks and Last Tango.
I always chase up any Pinter plays when in NY or London or at home.
Rubin is interesting isn't it-used to be a store -my friends remembered it from the 60s.
getting ready for my trip to NY in August-put Redfarm on list so far.
I always chase up any Pinter plays when in NY or London or at home.
Rubin is interesting isn't it-used to be a store -my friends remembered it from the 60s.
getting ready for my trip to NY in August-put Redfarm on list so far.
Nov 21st, 2015, 07:18 AM
#24
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Yes the conversion from Barney's 7th Ave and 17th Street to the Rubin was pretty amazing.
Northie, if you are coming in August be on the lookout for FringeNYC.org much closer to the time.
A Guide Named Sue
Northie, if you are coming in August be on the lookout for FringeNYC.org much closer to the time.
A Guide Named Sue
Nov 22nd, 2015, 06:20 AM
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Northie - I'm glad some of this might be useful for your trip and thanks for your previous suggestions. We recognized Nicola Walker but couldn't place her, until you mentioned the shows she has been in!
IMD- Perhaps they do, should we check on Black Friday?!!
----
This weekend was mostly about catching up with people but we did do an interesting walking tour on Saturday which I can recommend. We're big fans of street art or alternative walking tours that bring you to see neighborhoods you might not get to or to explore topics you know very little about. I was please to make it to The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space which I've intended to visit for a while.
http://www.morusnyc.org/category/tours/regular-tours/
It's a small, community run affair in Alphabet City (Lower East Side) with some simple display, but we were here for the walking tour of the community gardens and former squats that were found throughout this area. It was fascinating to see some of the "before" and "after" photographs and it really looked like the area was abandoned by the city during the crisis years of the 1970s when there were severe cut backs in social services.
By the 1980's squatters and others in the neighborhoods began planting community gardens on abandoned plots. In fact this area has far more small gardens than I've seen elsewhere in NY, though a number have been lost recently to development and the area has changed rapidly over the last 5+ years with growing gentrification. The gardens became spur for composting and recycling and a lot of bicycling activism came out of this area too.
We visited a former squat which is now a coop building with a beautiful roof top garden complete with composting. It was a lovely vibrant space with incredible views - so different from the generic roof gardens you see in the real estate photos.
Overall this was a great introduction to the area. I'd recommend their weekend tours Sat and Sun at 3pm to anyone with an interest in social history, urban planning or seeing a different perspective on New York.
IMD- Perhaps they do, should we check on Black Friday?!!
----
This weekend was mostly about catching up with people but we did do an interesting walking tour on Saturday which I can recommend. We're big fans of street art or alternative walking tours that bring you to see neighborhoods you might not get to or to explore topics you know very little about. I was please to make it to The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space which I've intended to visit for a while.
http://www.morusnyc.org/category/tours/regular-tours/
It's a small, community run affair in Alphabet City (Lower East Side) with some simple display, but we were here for the walking tour of the community gardens and former squats that were found throughout this area. It was fascinating to see some of the "before" and "after" photographs and it really looked like the area was abandoned by the city during the crisis years of the 1970s when there were severe cut backs in social services.
By the 1980's squatters and others in the neighborhoods began planting community gardens on abandoned plots. In fact this area has far more small gardens than I've seen elsewhere in NY, though a number have been lost recently to development and the area has changed rapidly over the last 5+ years with growing gentrification. The gardens became spur for composting and recycling and a lot of bicycling activism came out of this area too.
We visited a former squat which is now a coop building with a beautiful roof top garden complete with composting. It was a lovely vibrant space with incredible views - so different from the generic roof gardens you see in the real estate photos.
Overall this was a great introduction to the area. I'd recommend their weekend tours Sat and Sun at 3pm to anyone with an interest in social history, urban planning or seeing a different perspective on New York.
Nov 23rd, 2015, 08:48 PM
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HI Yestravel - we are indeed enjoying NY and I hope you are enjoying Paris. On Sunday we met up with Progol and had a lovely walk around Chelsea which we very much enjoyed.
Today I headed down to the Museum at Eldridge Street Synagogue in Chinatown for one of their hourly tours which are free on Mondays. The synagogue has been beautifully resorted and it's a pleasure to see the Moorish interior. Thanks to Maxima and others for the suggestions. Our tour was a little long and covered a lot of the history that we were already familiar with, but we noticed that some people seemed to be on self guided tours which might be worth checking out.
http://www.eldridgestreet.org
Afterwards we stopped for a bowl of noodles at a hole in the wall place across the street SHENG WANG. It was extremely basic but delicious and $7:50 bought a bowl of noodle dumpling soup and a separate plate of fried dumplings. I was surprised to find (after the fact) that it's a critic's choice in Time Out!
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/sheng-wang
Before heading home we walked up to RUSS AND DAUGHTERS to buy some of their deli foods including lox. Eating at their cafe remains on my list.
www.russanddaughters.com
This evening we went see CHARLES III which very much deserves the accolades. I have to say I'm very pleased with TDF which I joined as an out of town member. The tickets were under $50 in the orchestra, so no complaints from me. I can see that this doesn't work if you come in for a few days and want to see something particular -especially a popular musical. But with six weeks we have the time to wait and see what comes up with only a few days notice. So far availability looks pretty good for the things we'd like to see. I'll keep trying the lottery for things like The Humans.
We had intended to eat at DANJII before the show. I really like and would recommend this place which is a hip, well reviewed and delicious - Korean small plates venue on 52nd between 8th and 9th.
http://www.danjinyc.com
Unfortunately we were still full from the late lunch in Chinatown and instead opted to split a burger at Five Napkins after the show. Five Napkins is expensive but a big favorite of my three brothers -in- law. I have to sayI far preferred this burger to the one at the Spotted Pig and because we showed up late there was no line!
http://5napkinburger.com
The sun is still out but today was considerably colder and I was reminded how very much colder NY is than either California or London. I'm only hoping I won't have to buy a new coat! The next couple of days will be family and domesticity as I'm sure it will be for many of you. However I'm hoping to cram in some visits here and there and it's always fun to go to the Farmer's Market at Union Square.
Today I headed down to the Museum at Eldridge Street Synagogue in Chinatown for one of their hourly tours which are free on Mondays. The synagogue has been beautifully resorted and it's a pleasure to see the Moorish interior. Thanks to Maxima and others for the suggestions. Our tour was a little long and covered a lot of the history that we were already familiar with, but we noticed that some people seemed to be on self guided tours which might be worth checking out.
http://www.eldridgestreet.org
Afterwards we stopped for a bowl of noodles at a hole in the wall place across the street SHENG WANG. It was extremely basic but delicious and $7:50 bought a bowl of noodle dumpling soup and a separate plate of fried dumplings. I was surprised to find (after the fact) that it's a critic's choice in Time Out!
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/sheng-wang
Before heading home we walked up to RUSS AND DAUGHTERS to buy some of their deli foods including lox. Eating at their cafe remains on my list.
www.russanddaughters.com
This evening we went see CHARLES III which very much deserves the accolades. I have to say I'm very pleased with TDF which I joined as an out of town member. The tickets were under $50 in the orchestra, so no complaints from me. I can see that this doesn't work if you come in for a few days and want to see something particular -especially a popular musical. But with six weeks we have the time to wait and see what comes up with only a few days notice. So far availability looks pretty good for the things we'd like to see. I'll keep trying the lottery for things like The Humans.
We had intended to eat at DANJII before the show. I really like and would recommend this place which is a hip, well reviewed and delicious - Korean small plates venue on 52nd between 8th and 9th.
http://www.danjinyc.com
Unfortunately we were still full from the late lunch in Chinatown and instead opted to split a burger at Five Napkins after the show. Five Napkins is expensive but a big favorite of my three brothers -in- law. I have to sayI far preferred this burger to the one at the Spotted Pig and because we showed up late there was no line!
http://5napkinburger.com
The sun is still out but today was considerably colder and I was reminded how very much colder NY is than either California or London. I'm only hoping I won't have to buy a new coat! The next couple of days will be family and domesticity as I'm sure it will be for many of you. However I'm hoping to cram in some visits here and there and it's always fun to go to the Farmer's Market at Union Square.
Nov 24th, 2015, 01:19 PM
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I would agree the SP fries are indeed better, but I wasn't wowed as I'm not a great fan of the super skinny fry.
IMD - Thanks so much for the heads up on the East Village Cheese Shop, your description was spot on and it worked well for us. We headed over there this morning and stocked up on some stuff we needed for Thanksgiving- the prices were amazing, particularly for Manhattan! A great recommendation, thanks.
IMD - Thanks so much for the heads up on the East Village Cheese Shop, your description was spot on and it worked well for us. We headed over there this morning and stocked up on some stuff we needed for Thanksgiving- the prices were amazing, particularly for Manhattan! A great recommendation, thanks.
Nov 24th, 2015, 04:45 PM
#33
"and it's always fun to go to the Farmer's Market at Union Square."
...we were just there on Saturday before we left for home. We even ran into a couple of corgis (that were much better behaved than ours). We liked the Christmas booths at Union Square and at Bryant Park very much (of course, the Salted Caramel Martini at Bryant Park Grill helped). Enjoying your report. We love NYC!!
...we were just there on Saturday before we left for home. We even ran into a couple of corgis (that were much better behaved than ours). We liked the Christmas booths at Union Square and at Bryant Park very much (of course, the Salted Caramel Martini at Bryant Park Grill helped). Enjoying your report. We love NYC!!
Nov 25th, 2015, 08:06 PM
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Regarding The Humans...since this is a Roundabout production, subscribers can exchange tickets even on the day of the performance. This means that tickets may become available due to a subscriber's sudden unavailability for a date on which they had a ticket.. so keep a look out for that at the box office.
Nov 27th, 2015, 05:58 AM
#39
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Maxima-thanks for The Humans suggestion, it's very useful to know. I'm trying for tickets in the lottery daily, I love a long shot!
Tommarkot - glad you're following along.
Maitai- we had salted caramel gelato at Eatily recently, bit dubious about it as a martini - but then I'm not much of a martini drinker. However, I had to buy six martini glasses for the Thanksgiving crowd here yesterday! Thank goodness for the dollar store!
Tommarkot - glad you're following along.
Maitai- we had salted caramel gelato at Eatily recently, bit dubious about it as a martini - but then I'm not much of a martini drinker. However, I had to buy six martini glasses for the Thanksgiving crowd here yesterday! Thank goodness for the dollar store!
Nov 27th, 2015, 07:06 AM
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If you are interested in a different store, try Fish's Eddy. Even NY'ers shop there!
(Fish's Eddy is a small town in upstate NY. I do not think there is any connection to the owners just the whimsical name.)
http://www.fishseddy.com/
(Fish's Eddy is a small town in upstate NY. I do not think there is any connection to the owners just the whimsical name.)
http://www.fishseddy.com/
