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I am just going to say it upfront. Don't use the Chinatown buses if you don't want to put your life at risk. The ride is downright scary. I recently took the bus from Baltimore to New York...
I am just going to say it upfront. Don't use the Chinatown buses if you don't want to put your life at risk. The ride is downright scary. I recently took the bus from Baltimore to New York thinking that any bus that is about 10 bucks cheaper than greyhound can't be anything other than a good thing. I was dead wrong. First of all, the entire bus, including the undercarriage, wreaked of the toilet and just being on the thing for three+ hours made me about sick. I could have dealt with smell but never before, save a few late night cab rides with a cab driver who is on the back end of a double shift, have I consider half way through the ride to ask the driver to pull over because I was litterally afraid for my life. The driver drove the bus like a small sports car, flooring it and then slamming on the breaks just moments before he would have slammed into the back of an 18 wheeler. And it wasn't just once or twice that this happened. Literally, this wreckless endangerment occured for the entire longevity of the trip. On a less noteworthy, though still important point, if you do still consider to ignore my heedance, the driver was also not the kindest person and when i tried talking to him at the beginning and end of the trip about my ticket, he became annoyed that I couldn't communicate with him despite the fact that he spoke maybe three words of english.
I am not just some angry customer trying to get revenge on an innocent company or some competitor secretely trying to get you to use my service. When I told a friend of my misadventure, he told me he had heard the same thing from numerous people who also said they would never again venture onto one of these buses and he also mentioned that the City of New York itself warns against using the service as they deem it unsafe and are also looking into it for its connections to organized crime. Do yourself a favor and pay a reputable bus company 10 bucks more each way to ensure safe passage.
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Carmine's is a great place to take a group, especially one that doesn't want to spend a ridiculous amount per person and don't mind sharing. Their family style portions are huge and make for an...
Carmine's is a great place to take a group, especially one that doesn't want to spend a ridiculous amount per person and don't mind sharing. Their family style portions are huge and make for an interesting evening of tasting different italian foods. All their pasta is very good, not excellent but very good, and their appetizers and salads are hard to stop eating. Instead of menu's at hand, you select of one of many billboard sized menu's on the wall. The only negative things is the noise but for a fun casual dining experience, this is an excellent restaurant to go to and it usually isn't too hard to find a table though it was in the past.
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I worked most of the summer a few blocks away from this place and on days where I felt like good, healthy food for maybe a bit more than i'd usually spend, i went here. They never disappointed. ...
I worked most of the summer a few blocks away from this place and on days where I felt like good, healthy food for maybe a bit more than i'd usually spend, i went here. They never disappointed. Great sandwiches, great salads, and things you would usually never think of getting for a quick lunch to go. They don't have the most expansive variety of drinks but there are enough other places to go looking that you can easily dart in and out and then search for a drink. I'd imagine that if i lived in the area, this would also be a great place to go to pick up a few quick hoerderves for a party. Like i said in the title, however, it is a little expensive and you probably wouldn't want to go here for your every day groceries. Check it out for yourself.
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The place has had too many names in the past few years but the same staff has worked there the entire time and the majority of them know what they are talking about. I don't do much there besides...
The place has had too many names in the past few years but the same staff has worked there the entire time and the majority of them know what they are talking about. I don't do much there besides have film developed but they have a small camera sales department and sell a good deal of photo frames. Most of my experiences have been good. They have a longer turn around time than your one hour photo place (no surprise) but the quality is noticeably better. I don't personally like that they crop your photos to size for you but that is only a concern if you are getting prints. I don't like how they blow up Black and White negatives to print, I have gotten back some with very ugly hints of green in them that I refused to pay for. The main factor is the price. They are better than the random consumer quality developing shop so they charge more. I'd recommend purchasing the 15 dollar 1 year membership which gives you 10% off on all film purchases and developments if you intend on becoming a regular.
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What's the point of this place? I have probably seen two good films being played here in the past ten years and even then you have to deal with the place itself. The ugly stepsister of 68th street...
What's the point of this place? I have probably seen two good films being played here in the past ten years and even then you have to deal with the place itself. The ugly stepsister of 68th street Sony theater, the 84th street loews is given only what is too bad to grace other movie screens. With a giant marquee lighting up the street, you would hope to find a better selection of films, especially in an area of the city where people care about such a thing, but alas. It is amazing they keep the theater running, since the price of rent is so expensive in that area and they are on prime ground but I guess they make do. Even when there is that one film you might want to go see there, the theater conditions are deplorable. Mildewed theaters, broken down seats, and sticky seats await you inside and the theaters are usually poorly ventilated. The most definately underpaid staff is also not bending backwards to make sure you are treated curtiously either. My best advice would be to avoid this theater all together, go see films at the theaters in the 60s or venture further downtown. Lets see them pull the theater and maybe put something a little more useful in that space. If only they would consider an smaller venue movie house, but probably not.
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I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this unassuming joint in the West 70s is the best regular pizza place in manhattan. It is not comparable to some of the classic New York Pizza...
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this unassuming joint in the West 70s is the best regular pizza place in manhattan. It is not comparable to some of the classic New York Pizza places, but for a quick and cheap 2 dollar slice with plenty of cheese and grease, it is number one. While you can get a bowl of pasta or lasagna, stick to the basics. The plain pie, especially when it is straight out of the oven and not overcooked, is the cheesiest and the dough they use is top quality for this kind of a place. They are also friendly people and a good number of comedians come into the place as they have started to publicize through photographs on their wall; There is a well known stand up comedy club around the corner. Go in and watch the cars fly up broadway or order one in, either way, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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Situated in an area of the upper west side that sorely lacks a good large grocery store, Broadway Farm gets away with overpricing its entire stock way too much. Not to say that it doesn't have a...
Situated in an area of the upper west side that sorely lacks a good large grocery store, Broadway Farm gets away with overpricing its entire stock way too much. Not to say that it doesn't have a good selection, but unless I am desperate and don't have the time to travel elsewhere, I try and avoid it. Another annoyance is that lack of respect they give their customers. I have gone in there for years now and still the night manager makes it his duty to order his workers to follow me through the store while pretending to do some menial task, the whole affair is not at all discreet and I am not the only one to have noticed it. A few years ago they moved location from where Victoria Secrets now stands and this has allowed them to offer a greater variety of product. If you can afford it, go in and get what you need but otherwise, stay away and most of all try not to look suspicious or they might have you searched at the door.
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I can't say too much about this place because you just need to go there for yourself if you haven't already. Zabars is a throw back to a slightly different time before whole foods and fresh direct....
I can't say too much about this place because you just need to go there for yourself if you haven't already. Zabars is a throw back to a slightly different time before whole foods and fresh direct. It is sort of like the biggest small brooklyn mom and pop immigrant grocery stoe in the world, if that makes any sense. With saw dust on the ground and recognizeable voices over the storewide intercom, after a few visits you will soon realize you aren't just in any old international food place. From their great selection of cheeses, to the coffee beans, to the Zabar's cafe which has a great selection of cheap sandwiches and the best pain au chocolate this side of the atlantic, you will come away with what you needed or something you never knew you could need but now want everyday. You can't go wrong here.
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Like my Title says, mimicking the rather annoying tv and radio commercials, B and H really is the place to go in New York for photo and video equipment. With a wide selection and hard to beat...
Like my Title says, mimicking the rather annoying tv and radio commercials, B and H really is the place to go in New York for photo and video equipment. With a wide selection and hard to beat prices, 34th and 9th avenue is your one stop shop for what you need. The place resembles santa's workshop with an ironic hesidic twist (only in NY) with a complex arrangement of conveyor belts and elevators for transfering merchandise as well as a station to station method of paying for and recieving goods. Nevertheless, all of this that overwhelms your eye actually does make things move a lot faster and you can be in and out in a matter of minutes if you know what you want. There sales team has its ups and downs depending on who you get and who you are. If you know what you are talking about, you can get first rate service. The only problems I have encountered there asking questions is when I or someone i was with didn't know so much about the piece of equipment we were looking at and then some of the sales people can be a little pushy and snooty. Most of the time I have gotten exactly what I needed, and I have used them for most of my equipment. Nevertheless, my last two transactions required me to go back because I wasn't given the right item and another time, i was sold a returned item that was in less than new condition. I wouldn't worry though. They take things back and give you want you wanted. Also, they have a free parking garage for up to an hour if you are needing to bring your car and don't want to spend 25 bucks on parking in midtown.
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Though I don't smoke, my body (mostly my mind) has taken quite a beating as a result of my lifelong addiction to this relatively inexpensive chinese restaurant. While I can comment on the other...
Though I don't smoke, my body (mostly my mind) has taken quite a beating as a result of my lifelong addiction to this relatively inexpensive chinese restaurant. While I can comment on the other Ollies restaurants around the city, 116th and bway and 68th and bway to name a few, my focus for this review is on the ollies on 84th street and broadway. While Chinese restaurants have a rep for loud waitresses who sometimes have a hard time taking your order, Ollies takes the cake. The people who take orders over the phone are efficient to say the least but they also make the soup Nazi from Seinfeld look like more like that football player's mother feeding entire nfl team cambell's soup on tv. While most who dare call them frequently have the transaction down to a science, it is inevitable that they will every so often not hear or understand a question or part of an order and then start screaming into the phone as if you are holding them up for something more important. Nevertheless, I'd recommend this option as opposed to entering the place itself. No matter how crowded or empty Ollies is, the wait staff will impatiently await your order and then bus your plates away as if they were expecting 10 busloads of tourists at any moment. The only irony is that they disappear just when you want to pay the bill. While this sounds like some major conspiracy theory, it happens every time. The food is better than your average chinese-american cuisine and they have started expanding their menu a bit more and also cart around dim sum all day. Their lunch menus are cheap and filling and delivery time is supersonic. Proceed but with caution and great patience. A true New York experience.
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