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If you've read my review of Joshua Tree then you're still in the Murray Hill area of Manhattan (east 30s). While you're there, if you want a place to relax after the Joshua Tree madhouse, Head up to...
If you've read my review of Joshua Tree then you're still in the Murray Hill area of Manhattan (east 30s). While you're there, if you want a place to relax after the Joshua Tree madhouse, Head up to the corner to 3rd and Long. It's a sports bar which is not common for that area. It's more open and roomier inside compared to the sardine can you just left. The drinks may be just a bit cheaper, but given the neighborhood - not by much.
The biggest difference you'll notice is the dress. This place is for the jeans crowd that still wants to hang out in an area laden with doormen manned apartment buildings. If you're not into dives (as much of a dive as Murray Hill can have) then you won't like this place. It's not a stop after being at Joshua Tree, usually a separate occasion. Go here for beer, "J Tree" for mixed drinks.
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Alright, the first stop on my bar tour of NYC is in Murrary Hill on 33rd and 3rd. Right in the middle of the Block is Joshua Tree. This place is a favorite amongst the late 20s, early 30s...
Alright, the first stop on my bar tour of NYC is in Murrary Hill on 33rd and 3rd. Right in the middle of the Block is Joshua Tree. This place is a favorite amongst the late 20s, early 30s professional crowd, most of whome you'll find straggling in around 8-9pm during the week (especially thursday) still in suits and ties after leaving lower manhattan and the financial district.
This is a post happy hour, yuppy haven. Most people in this place has money and likes to show it. Expect groups of predatory guys out here all on "the hunt."
The prices are commensurate with the area whic is just a dollar over average or so. The place will be packed early and will clear out early as well. Not an allnighter, but a definitive stop on the bar crawl. The music is typically identified with by the 80s baby. If you were 4 years old when the Muppet show was at its peak, you'll sing every lyric to the songs, although probably in your head because this isn't the place you want to belt out old school tunes. It features a long bar with roughly a 4 foot wide standing space so it doesn't take much to fill the front half. The back half has a smaller bar that's usually unmanned until the place really fills up but has tables. Good luck getting a seat there unles you've been there since LUNCH.
Stop in, check it out and move along to places with more to offer.
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Diamond Phil's is a jewelry store (if you couldn't tell) in Morris Plains off Route 10. It's not a big shop which I think is a good thing in the Jewelry Business. Phil's is not based on quantity...
Diamond Phil's is a jewelry store (if you couldn't tell) in Morris Plains off Route 10. It's not a big shop which I think is a good thing in the Jewelry Business. Phil's is not based on quantity sales like chains. You'll get the personal attention you need.
In addition to the on display items, he's got plenty of catalogs and can make specialty items for you as well. Watch batteries can be replaced plus cleanings. It's full service.
He's been in business the better part of 15 years and has become a staple in the local community. I've bouthg plenty of items for myself and loved ones over all the years.
Phil is the owner and he's there every day so you'll definitely see him. I've been in there so much as a customer that he's become a personal friend. You tell him Jason sent you there, if you go. In the event, he's not sure which Jason (he may know more than one), make sure you tell him the one from the neighborhood that's in the Air Force now. Oh, tell him we'll go out for a beer on my next visit too... Thanks. ;)
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I still have no idea how this place got it's name but it stands out in a crowd. This is such a small place on a side street in Dover that It's easily missed, but be sure you don't.
The place has...
I still have no idea how this place got it's name but it stands out in a crowd. This is such a small place on a side street in Dover that It's easily missed, but be sure you don't.
The place has several things going for it. First, being a small place in the area that it's in, the prices are good. full dinner for 2 including a drink before, a salad and a cheap bottle fo wind and maybe a dessert or 2 will run $80 on the HIGHEST side. Probably more like $60-$65. Next, Go there 2 or 3 times and the staff will know you. The cuisine is Italian/American mix with Pasta, Chicken, Fish, Beef and a few other types like I believe there's a couple of Veal dishes as well. The good is EXCELLENT. The wine list isn't bad either. The front half of the restaurant sports a quiet bar along with some tables and the back half is all dining. They have expanded into and doubled their size over the years.
Certain nights bring live music but nothing outrageous. Quiet background music that is entertaining but you don't have to scream to the person next to you to be heard. There are several TVs going at once usually with sports games.
Now here is the best part about the place (for beer drinkers anyway). They have a "beer around the world club." IT's a list of 101 beers for so many countries - USA, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, England, VietNam, and so on. It's $3 to sign up and roughly $4 per beer (some of the bigger more exotic ones are $8 but those are few and far between). You get a card that gets initialed every time you drink a beer and as you go along, you get certain things. 25 beers gets you a Laughion Lion t-shirt, 50 gets you a lunch for 2 ($25), 75 is a Laughin Lion polo shirt and at 101 you get a $50 dinner for 2 and your name on their "Wall of Foam" (I'm there). You get to try a variety of beers. Some are great, some are terrible but go with a few people and try them all. It's new and different and it's in a great place with great good.
My only reservation is the neighborhood isn't the greatest but it's really not bad either and all that the Lion offers more than makes up for that one shortcoming.
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I'm sure any New Yorker who goes to shows has been here but I couldn't help myself to review it... The Bowery Ballroom. I know people who have mixed feelings about it, but I love the place. It's...
I'm sure any New Yorker who goes to shows has been here but I couldn't help myself to review it... The Bowery Ballroom. I know people who have mixed feelings about it, but I love the place. It's located on the corner of The Bowery and Delancey Street so it's prime location via subway and close to Brooklyn (Williamsburg Bridge is like 5 streets due east down Delancey).
When you walk in you immediately go downstairs into a basement bar that's a decent size and perfect for mixing and mingling pre-show. The dim lighting, underground look (hey, you are in a basement) kinda give it a cave feel. Then you go back up some stairs to the main ballroom with the stage. Not quit street level though. It's all general admission; no assigned seating so you can wander and continue to mix and mingle like you did at the bar. Should you get tired from walking around there is something of a mezzanine that goes up on both sides with seating, although it's very limited. It's like a half lounge and there is a bar up there as well so no need to leave the show to get a drink.
It's a small and intimate venue, don't expect to see the Rolling Stones there. I have been there mostly to see They Might Be Giants, who some of you may or may not know of. It's such a small place that I've actually gotten to talk to the Johns (both the members of They Might Be Giants are names John) after the show as if they were just other patrons.
If you're not going to a mega, blockbuster type show and it's a smaller, more personal band, then check to see if they're playing at the Bowery Ballroom. If it's TMBG playing, then I'll probably see you there.
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Beer lovers listen up! The Heartland Brewery has several locations throughout the city. I've only been to the one in Union Square though.
They carry about 8 of their own microbrewed varieties...
Beer lovers listen up! The Heartland Brewery has several locations throughout the city. I've only been to the one in Union Square though.
They carry about 8 of their own microbrewed varieties plus several seasonal or temporary kinds (right now is the Smiling Pumpkin Ale). You can get a sampler platter with, I think, 6 ounce glasses, one of each type to see what fits you best.
I wouldn't recommend eating there for the sole purpose of leaving more room for beer. If you insist on eating then definitely, 100% go for the sliders.
They also have strange concotions with beer and hard liquor like their newet realease call the Berry Champagne - "...red reaspberry puree, a touch of ginger, some pomegranate oil, and special Belgian yeast that creates a dry effervescent finish, this is beer with a sweet crisp taste..."'
Up for something new? go to Heartland...
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Ok all you Bar and Grill type people. If you're into a dimly lit, bar type atmosphere with some of the best grilled food around... Billy's Red Room in Whippany is it.
Billy and his wife, Madeline...
Ok all you Bar and Grill type people. If you're into a dimly lit, bar type atmosphere with some of the best grilled food around... Billy's Red Room in Whippany is it.
Billy and his wife, Madeline are always there, except when Billy is out fishing, which he'll bring back his catches and give out samples to customers, especially regulars. They're always friendly and will remember you, your kids, your friends that they've seen you there with and give you a recognizing smile, handshake, or a hug. In some cases, they'll even sit with you for a while and just chat. You can't mistake Billy with the same brimmed hat on every time.
The entire place is fishing/nautical themed with a fish tank at the front, fishing nets, rope, anchors, pictures and anything else associated with marine life strung up around the place.
It's dimly lit with a deep red paint job keeping it seemingly quiet and true to it's name - Red room.
At each table waiting for you are styrofoam plates and on top a bucket of pickles and peppers. Make sure to munch on them; they are delicious.
For appetizers I recommend a couple of things: I've never had it but I've been told the Pasta e Faggioli is some of the best around and I can personally attest that the Potato Soup is the best I've EVER had. I've heard good things about the French Onion soup as well. Be sure to get an order of their garlic bread with the melted Mozzarella cheese on it.
For your dinner, it all works whether you go for a burger, cheesesteak (that's not fake slices but real chunks of steak) or anything else. Don't expect filet mignon, it's a bar and grill so get the burger, the ribs and eat with your hands. If your hands are too dirty to shake with Billy, he'll probably just sit next to you and put his arm around your shoulder anyway - WHILE you eat.
It's like the place is their living room and you're all guests at their house that they've known for 100 years. It's got a decent size bar in the middle to sit down and have a drink if you have to wait for a table as well.
I've been going there for years and when it comes to a real pub type of place... I wouldn't go anywhere else.
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You want Italian food and you're in New York City... that narrows it down to about... I don't know... a million choices. I'll narrow it down to ONE for you.
Vincent's is on Mott St in the heart...
You want Italian food and you're in New York City... that narrows it down to about... I don't know... a million choices. I'll narrow it down to ONE for you.
Vincent's is on Mott St in the heart of Little Italy and surrounded by all the Italian-American culture you can stand. It's just north of Canal street and around the corner from Mulberry, which is the place to be during the San Gennaro feast. You'll walk right in with hardly a wait if it's not during that feast, of course. But you'll go there again and again for the sauce; which, incidentally, you can buy in the jar as well.
Ok, it's not the fanciest place on the planet, nor the most expensive and maybe not even the best, but it's definitely a place that cannot be overlooked.
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I recently told you all about Peter Luger Steakhouse and that everyone needs to go there to experience a great steak experience in NY. Here's another: Morton's. Originally Morton's of Chicago, it is...
I recently told you all about Peter Luger Steakhouse and that everyone needs to go there to experience a great steak experience in NY. Here's another: Morton's. Originally Morton's of Chicago, it is now a semi-chain but don't be fooled by that. It's not like it's an Outback. It's still up there in the New York Steakhouse rankings with Luger and places like Sparks, Smith and Wollensky, Keen's, etc.
Morton's offers a unique experience, not so much in the dining the way a place like Plataforma does, but in the ordering. You can get a menu if you like, but there's no need. Your waiter will bring over a large cart and one it... are raw steaks! You can see the difference between a Porterhouse, Ribeye and Filet Mignon, etc. The waiter will explain the difference in the cuts as far as flavor, tenderness, the best degree of cooking and so on. But for you seafood lovers there are also live lobsters nearby. With the steaks you use these "samples" to pick your cut, but he lobsters are different. You get to pick your actual lobster.
So you're just finished looking through your choices and ordering and you'll be asked - Will you be having dessert with us this evening? The first time I was there, I thought "Does this guy realize which table he's at? I just ordered my entree." Come to find out the reason is because they have the best dessert on the planet there. You may have seen these molten lava chocolate cakes at the Ruby Tuesday and Chili's type places. Well Morton's has one of their own. The reason they ask if you want dessert up front is because while you're eating your meal, they're actually baking this cake fresh. So it arrives still warm, incredibly moist with a good size dollup of vanilla ice cream in the crater on top. If that's not enough to make you go get one now, here's the surprise, when you cut into it, melted chocolate spills out the side. If memory serves, it was Godiva but don't quote me on that part.
Aside from all the fun of choosing your lobster and seeing raw steaks table side, the food is also very good. A good steak is a good steak and you can get them in a good many places around the city, but the ordering process is real different. Definitely changes things up from the normal routine of a steakhouse.
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...is not in Manhattan; it's in Brooklyn. Right over the Williamsburg Bridge. You already know what I'm going to say... it's Peter Luger's.
This is not your fancy, trendy, upscale type of place....
...is not in Manhattan; it's in Brooklyn. Right over the Williamsburg Bridge. You already know what I'm going to say... it's Peter Luger's.
This is not your fancy, trendy, upscale type of place. It resembles a local pub more than the most trusted name in steak. The service isn't particularly wonderful - the waiters are surly at best. Bring a group of people and a fair bit of cash, as they don't take credit cards.
I'm partial to the Bacon strips at first, and my father (a long time Luger's patron) goes for the lamb chops with the same tireless review that they are so tender they almost melt in your mouth.
Asking for a menu is unnecessary. Order by the number in your party (e.g. Steak for 4) and wait with bated breath for the best steak you'll ever have.
You can also get their house brand steak sauce at several supermarkets in the area - you'll never use A-1 again. Just don't ask surrounding steakhouses if they have Luger's sauce for their steak. The don't think it's as funny.
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