I went to Mission Chinese in Chinatown with the girlfriend and everything we had was fantastic. Particularly the Kung Pao pastrami, and Phil Collins. The latter is a specialty drink of theirs that's like a pan-asian white russian. Only ingredients i remember are gin and coconut milk, but it was like an alcoholic dessert.



We got there a few minutes after they opened and it was already packed, which may have accounted for the crazy long wait for the entrees. We got my entree after about 40 minutes, then another 40-45 minutes later got my GF's, but we were splitting them anyways so it wasn't a big deal. The hipster molestacheo'ed bartender could dial down the "look how little I care" act, though. After a half hour between dishes, I ask about the second entree and he say "Relax, it's coming." Okie dokie, dickbag.

Couldn't be more wrong. Parts of Brooklyn are as good as anywhere in the city. Great place to go out, socialize, shop, etc.

That's pretty much the viewpoint of Brooklyn enthusiasts. Each to his own. Brooklyn is much more interesting than it was 20 years ago, for whatever that's worth.

My main objection is to the rents and apartment prices. The housing value is not there at all any more.

It sure as hell isn't where I live in Staten Island, either. Real estate market blows. Homes stagnating in value.

I was in NYC this past week on vacation. Here's just a few of the places I went that I liked. I'll start with Norma's in the Le Parker Meridien Hotel for breakfast. The crunchy french toast was amazing and my girlfriend enjoyed the eggs benedict with smoked salmon and caviar. The orange juice seemed a little pricey at $9 with no champagne, but it was worth it. Then of course there's Katz Deli. Everybody already knows about Katz, but I live in Los Angeles near Langer's and with plenty of other delis around, and Katz has the best pastrami I've ever tasted. Went to Gallagher's just for an old fashioned at the bar (meat room was cool to see, and I'd like to go for a full meal), and it was the best old fashioned I've ever had. Better than at Seven Grand, my favorite place to get them in L.A. Quite stiff. The bartender said he made them a double. I wish I had these three places to go to all the time in L.A.

Also went to Le Relais De Venise L'Entrecote for some steak, fries and wine. Which is all they have. The fries were crisp and just how I like them. Steak didn't blow me away, but I like this place. Also went to P.J. Clarke's on the Hudson. The burger wasn't prepared as well as when I went to the original, but this location has a ton of space and sitting outdoors with a view of the Statue of Liberty creates a great setting. My girlfriend loved the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3, and I enjoyed the challah french toast with bacon. And of course Junior's for cheesecake. My favorite is the raspberry swirl.

Stapleton tho (maybe?)

Great post. Entirely possible that this area begins to heat up as the hipster demographic begins to trickle in, plus it's reasonably affordable as of right now, and the world's biggest wheel is forthcoming. Also, believe it or not, there are a number of very nice restaurants in the area.

Going next weekend. Gonna have to read this thread. Only thing I want to make sure to do is hit the Comedy Cellar.

ha awesome post. was browsing this thread for BBQ joints and came across this and see this event is on this weekend. stoked!

going to NYC for the first time for 3 nights/4 days. Looking to have a good time, preferably on the cheap. Hitting the MOMA for a party, yankees, comedy cellar, some bier garden, and the rest to be determined!

Hit Carroll Place tonight (Bleecker near Sullivan). Excellent food, nice drink menu, quick service.

Went to an interesting new place in Hell's Kitchen, called Mocu Mocu. It's a Japanese restaurant/cafe where they sell some japanese food you don't see very often. They had obanyaki (filled doughy pancake sweet treat) and okonomiyaki (veggie-fried-pancake with meat). Both were fairly good, although they didn't blow me away.

They also have takoyaki (fried dough balls with octopus inside), which I'm a huge fan of. Haven't tried their takoyaki yet, as I went in the first week and the takoyaki machine wasn't up and running yet. Anyways, this place has some things I haven't seen very often around NYC, might be worth checking it out.

Sup guys...I work by Union square and was looking for a quick exit out of NYC to NJ. Driving to a wedding in DC and plan to leave work by 3pm and would like to avoid as much traffic as possible...any suggestions?

Thanks gents

From there, is there even an answer besides Holland Tunnel?

Everything else I'd suggest would be taking Amtrak, flying, or taking a bus (all cheap-ish options that are really only suitable if you're in DC proper, but not at all related to driving yourself).

What day are you leaving? If it's a Friday, you definitely do not want to be driving south thru NJ (nor north on Sunday) in the summer. Bite the bullet and take a train. Rent a car in DC if you need to.

Yeah, it would be a Friday afternoon...was thinking of the turnpike south but maybe I'll look into a train option

train is easily the most civilized option. it's not cheap but assuming your wedding is close-ish to the DC station it's really easy and comfortable.

Definitely take the train, especially if you're staying anywhere downtown or in Alexandria (which has its own stop on some trains).

If you're renting a car, I would advise renting in NJ. I would often take the train to NJ in order to escape traffic and high rental car costs, and then have Enterprise pick me up at the train station.

I live in Staten Island , do you think I would save time by parking somewhere in jersey city / Hoboken in the am and hoping on the path into work and getting out of the city that way.. I'll be out by 230pm, so I would think I would get a jump on traffic

You would be wrong re:getting a jump on traffic. Everyone leaves early on Friday. Tpk and pkwy are both going to be a parking lot. Pkwy will be worse, but not by a ton, since tpk to ACE is a viable way to get from nyc to atlantic city/south nj shore. Plus you have PA traffic coming in off PA tpk.

Not to mention Delaware is always a 10-mile disaster. It will probably take you 5-6 hours to do your 3.5 hr drive.

Train is so much better if you can swing it. 3:00 on a Friday, kick back with a beer, arrive in DC. Plus this way you beat dc parking, which will cover half your train ticket.

Thanks for the advice, I'm obviously naive to think the drive wouldn't be that bad if I left the city by three .. The wedding isn't until Saturday .. Going to either just leave 7am Saturday morning from Staten Island or catch a train out of penn, depending on what the gf wants to do

Saturday AM not a walk in the park either, just allow a couple hours of lead time.

Traffic gods were with me yesterday.. Against better judgement, I came home to Staten Island packed and left at 5:15pm.... Flew!! Turnpike was smooth sailing along with everything else....door to door 3:15 mins ....now I just have to worry about Sunday traffic !

Wow. That's either serious rungood, or traffic patterns have changed a lot since I moved to Vegas a little over a year ago. And man, if you missed DC traffic too...

Awesome for you though!

What type of pizza? Lombardi's is a good brickoven sit down option.

If you want to grab a quick slice try Joe's (Union Square) Bleeker Street Pizza on 7th Avenue, or Ben's Pizza in the West Village on MacDougal street.

You can also go to Brooklyn and get some great options (Di Fara/Totonno's) or Joe and Pat's in Staten Island.

very underrated, but the fresh vodka pie at pomadoros on mulberry and spring , is super top notch , make sure you get it by the pie

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/0e...th-crazy-broad

For both the lolz and the pizza recs. It's not exhaustive, but it will do the job for your friend.