NYE in NYC

[Varmint]

Fairway.  Broadway and 74th.

I'm sorry, Mr. North Cackalacky. Do you have jurisdiction here?

(thanks)

I have tourist jurisdiction. Plus, I know that you'll be quite impressed with Fairway's offerings.

[Suzanne F]

Fairway.  Broadway and 74th.

I'm sorry, Mr. North Cackalacky. Do you have jurisdiction here?

(thanks)

I have tourist jurisdiction. Plus, I know that you'll be quite impressed with Fairway's offerings.

Indeed he will. Or else he's not the man we take him for.

[elyse]

. . . be honorary BC members (is that okay, elyse?).

This of course has been a dream of mine for quite some time.

Well, there's some debate on where and when the next Burger Culb will be. Want to throw one together? picaman and KirkL will be out of town, I think, and I don't want to have one that they'll feel badly about missing. I'll ax.We can do Parker Meridian again...?

St. John The Divine is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. And the(Hungarian?) Cafe is across the sr=treet from it. Do we still like that place? Riverside Church is closeby too. I think it's far more spectacular than St. John's.

You can get groceries at Zabar's (cheses, bagels, lox and other icky fish goo) or Barney Greengrass and bring it back home.

[elyse]

I am perfectly willing to sponsor a bagel-off.

PARTY AT DAVE'S! I'll bring pie and pao de queijo....

You serious?

[bloviatrix]

Just remember...Barney Greengrass is closed on mondays.

[Dave the Cook]

Fairway.  Broadway and 74th.

I'm sorry, Mr. North Cackalacky. Do you have jurisdiction here?

(thanks)

I have tourist jurisdiction. Plus, I know that you'll be quite impressed with Fairway's offerings.

Indeed he will. Or else he's not the man we take him for.

Thanks guys, but I'm not sure anything could beat the Raleigh branch of Whole Foods.

[Dave the Cook]

Well, there's some debate on where and when the next Burger Culb will be.  Want to throw one together?  picaman and KirkL will be out of town, I think, and I don't want to have one that they'll feel badly about missing.  I'll ax.We can do Parker Meridian again...?

I'm not sure the rest of the party is willing to commit to the exacting scientific standards of the BC, so an official meeting is probably out of the question anyway. But maybe a non-voting, audit-type meeting, at one of the contending spots? My legion might be persuaded.

St. John The Divine is the largest gothic cathedral in the world.  And the(Hungarian?) Cafe is across the sr=treet from it.  Do we still like that place?  Riverside Church is closeby too.  I think it's far more spectacular than St. John's.

Largest? I didn't know that. I'm not sure where churches rank among the sightseeing imperatives of the group, which comprises lapsed Catholics, lackadaisical Quakers and heathens. Certainly we're impressed by spectacular architecture, though.

You can get groceries at Zabar's (cheses, bagels, lox and other icky fish goo) or Barney Greengrass and bring it back home.

Lox good. Fish goo bad (someday I'll tell you about my introduction to rotten herring).

While we're on the subject (sort of), what are the liquor laws, especially as concerns wine and beer? State stores/never on Sunday like Pennsylvania? Grocery stores 24/7 like Texas? Drive-thrus like California?

[Dave the Cook]

I am perfectly willing to sponsor a bagel-off.

PARTY AT DAVE'S! I'll bring pie and pao de queijo....

You serious?

I figured we could just do it on the corner of 81st and Broadway. I once participated in a Po' Boy contest like that (ruined a new pair of white Adidas shoes, too -- Ugelisch's roast beef).

[Pan]

Technically, of course, St. John the Divine is merely neo-Gothic. It's big, but I liked it better before they decided to finish construction. If you've seen any real Gothic church in Europe, St. John the Divine is just a big hulking building. The St. Thomas Church on 5 Av. and 53 St. is a little gem, though. I think the rest of the nicer churches in New York are mostly old Federal-style buildings and such-like from the 18th and early 19th centuries - St. Paul's Chapel, etc.

When are you folks going to be in New York?

[bloviatrix]

While we're on the subject (sort of), what are the liquor laws, especially as concerns wine and beer? State stores/never on Sunday like Pennsylvania? Grocery stores 24/7 like Texas? Drive-thrus like California?

Wine can only be sold in wine/liquor stores. They can be open on sunday, provided they close on another day of the week. Stores open at 10 am and close either at 9 or 10 pm. Beer is sold in supermarkets, bodegas, etc. I don't know if there are time limits on beer sales.

Last call for bars is 4 am.

If you're interested in trying out the wines of NY state, there are two stores - one on Broadway, btw 92nd and 93rd and one in SoHo (Grand and Wooster(?)) called Vintage NY. They're definitely open on sunday, as they're considered extensions of the winery tasting rooms. The one on the UWS has a bar in the back where you can try different flights.

[Suzanne F]

But no sales of any alcohol, anywhere, between closing time Saturday night/Sunday morning (4:00am) and noon on Sunday.

Vintage New York in Soho is at Broome and Wooster, directly across the street from Broadway Panhandler, where I buy my cast iron.

[herbacidal]

Fairway.  Broadway and 74th.

I'm sorry, Mr. North Cackalacky. Do you have jurisdiction here?

(thanks)

tangent:

when and how exactly did cackalacky come to be synonomous with carolina?

is it a southern term i am unfamiliar with?

[Varmint]

It's just something we call it. Not all of us, but a few. A choice few. And I do, so I must be choice. K?

[picaman]

And The Cloisters! How can they not go to The Cloisters?!?!?!? And as long as they're that far up, they can check out the burgers at Piper's Kilt and be honorary BC members (is that okay, elyse?).

The Cloisters is a great idea, and even in winter the views of the Hudson, the George Washington Bridge, and the cliffs of NJ are spectacular.

To get there, take the A train to 190th Street, exit station by elevator, and walk north along Margaret Corbin Drive for approximately ten minutes; to avoid walking, transfer to the M4 bus and ride one stop north. The Cloisters is the last stop on the M4 bus.

Piper's Kilt would be a good idea, especially for the weekend brunch + all you can drink deal (take the A to the last stop--207th St.; it's just north of 207th on Broadway) but El Malecon at 175th and Broadway (the 175th St. stop on the A train) might be even better.

Here's a link to a piece I posted about El Malecon

And in Manhattan, has anyone mentioned eating at Grand Sichuan (50th St. and 9th Ave.)? Short walk from midtown, theatres, Radio City/Rock Center, etc., and absolutely awesome inexpensive Chinese.

Jamie

[picaman]

One more quick idea:

A visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

combined with a stop by Gus's Pickles at 85/87 Orchard Street.

Jamie

[bloviatrix]

One more quick idea:

A visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

combined with a stop by Gus's Pickles at 85/87 Orchard Street.

Jamie

While on the LES, also visit Il Laboratorio del Gelato (so what if it's freezing outside, it's good stuff) - at 95 Orchard, Economy Candy at 108 Rivington - very inexpensive candy store - lots of stuff in bulk. Good halvah, and Kossar's Bialy's at 267 Grand street.

Are there any other food places I'm forgetting?

[bloviatrix]

For LES, take the F train to Delancy-Essex Street.

You can also walk up to Houston (pronounced how-ston) to Russ & Daughters for appetizing and Katz's for pastrami.

[Suzanne F]

AND then down First Avenue/Allen Street a few blocks to Congee Village just below Delancey, or to Fried Dumplings on the other side of Allen for -- what else? -- fried dumplings, the perfect snack at 5 for $1. Yes, you read that right.

[Varmint]

You can also walk up to Houston (pronounced how-ston) to Russ & Daughters for appetizing and Katz's for pastrami.

Don't worry -- go ahead and mispronounce it as frequently as you can -- the ability to get a room full of people to turn their heads and scream "HOW-ston" at you in unison is a lot of fun. I know!

[rozrapp]

Are there any other food places I'm forgetting?

Yonah Schimmel's, a little further beyond the Russes*, for delicious knishes.

(*That's what everyone called Russ & Daughters when I was growing up on the LES in the middle of the last century. )

[SethG]

Dave, I'm sure you'll want to see more of New York than the Upper West Side. If the weather is decent one morning, you should take the 2/3 train downtown to Times Square, and switch there to the N/R, taking it downtown to City Hall. Get off the train, cross City Hall Park, and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is fun for the whole family, and provides a great harbor view. Once on the other side in Brooklyn (4th largest city in America!), get yourself to Old Fulton Street and to Patsy Grimaldi's pizza. This is one of a rival pair of Patsy's; the other Patsy's got to keep the name and franchise itself. This Patsy's may not be the very best brick oven pizza in NYC, but it's a fine example. There's also a good ice cream shop right down by the water, but I don't know if they're open for New Years.

Then you can walk back, or take the subway back to Manhattan, or if you still want to walk you can head up the hill to Brooklyn Heights and go to the Promanade (or Esplanade) and take in another, possibly the most, stunning view of the harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and downtown Manhattan.

If you're interested, Dave, I can give you more detailed directions to any and all of the above.

[Dave the Cook]

You can also walk up to Houston (pronounced how-ston) to Russ & Daughters for appetizing and Katz's for pastrami.

Don't worry -- go ahead and mispronounce it as frequently as you can -- the ability to get a room full of people to turn their heads and scream "HOW-ston" at you in unison is a lot of fun. I know!

This happens in Atlanta all the time, as we also have a Hou(How)ston Street. And we had great fun going the other way when we lived in Houston, Texas.

As a fan of Calvin Trillin for many years, I am not about to miss a chance at Russ & Daughters.

[maggiethecat]

As a fan of Calvin Trillin for many years, I am not about to miss a chance at Russ & Daughters.

All right. I'm jealous. As a fan of Bud, are you going to hit Chinatown in a big way too?

[Dave the Cook]

One more quick idea:

A visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

combined with a stop by Gus's Pickles at 85/87 Orchard Street.

Jamie

An absolutely fascinating site, picaman. Thank you.

[Dave the Cook]

As a fan of Calvin Trillin for many years, I am not about to miss a chance at Russ & Daughters.

All right. I'm jealous. As a fan of Bud, are you going to hit Chinatown in a big way too?

You bet. That chicken better watch out.