Hey Trip, is the pastrami at Katz's deli any good? would you recommend it or should I steer clear?

TripEnglish:

Not to belabor the point, but:

Sold! See you there Trip!

I've managed to whip myself into a pastrami frenzy by participating on this thread! I'll be dining there tomorrow between appointments. 

I recently had family in town who hadn't been to Katz's (barely to NYC for that matter) and I wanted to bring them downtown to try it. Well getting a cab that could fit us all was turning into an ordeal and everyone was hungry so my wife said "well let's just go to Carnegie, it's the same thing" If I recall correctly I literally hissed "may as well go to effing McDonalds" So you could say I'm something of a Katz's enthusiast. 

If you want to check out the "real" (Anthony Bourdain's words ... not mine) food in NYC hop on a train and head to Astoria.  Home to two beer gardens, a plethora of greek restaurants and all around great authentic food scene.  Other than that Katz, Les Halles, Krif Dog/PDT all get nods from me as well.  There's a lot of other cool dining on Saint Marks and on restaurant row, though the latter has definitely lost a lot of its charm over the years.

If you're anything like me you'll want to check out at least some of the B&O shops in the area.  There's one in SoHo, one on the Upper West Side one on the Upper East Side, and my shop just north of Union Square on Broadway.

And finally ... Hate to burst your bubble but without spending a sick amount of money you're not going to get tickets to lady gaga.  Try stubhub.com or newyork.craigslist.org

Enjoy your trip!  The city has quite a bit to offer!

andy:

any advice on cabs from and to the airport (into jfk out newark, i think!), or just pick a yellow up at the airport ?

You'll see a taxi line at JFK.  To get to Newark you can just hail a cab on the street in the city.  But you'll have to pay a surcharge since they have to travel to New Jersey.

There are 4 B&O shops in Manhattan; the one on Greene Street would be my pick to visit.  I think they have the largest floor space.

You'll likely find Gaga tkts on Craigslist.

Seagram builsing and Citicorp Center for architecture??  Good grief, not when we have the Woolworth and Chrysler Buildings.  Not to mention Empire State Bldg.

I think a visit to Ground Zero is worthwhile.  Last I'd heard Freedom Tower stood at 65 stories.

For museums I'd recommend MoMA.  But it's hit or miss as to whether or not they'll have an B&O on display.  Friday evenings admission is free.

Take the kids to the Hollister store on Broadway at Houston.  I find it incredible even tho I'm way out of their target demographic.

Take the subway out to Borough Hall in Brooklyn, then walk the length of the Brooklyn Promenade overlooking Manhattan and from there walk to, and over the Brooklyn Bridge back into the city.  Incredible views.

The Staten Island Ferry will take you right past the Statue of Liberty.  And it's free.

Visit Central Park of course.  Strawberry Fields is located across the street from The Dakota (say hi to Yoko).  And Washington Square Park right here in Greenwich Village, along with Bleecker & Macdougal Streets, where little known artists such as Bob Dylan got their start.

The name of the restaurant in Central Park that someone alluded to is Tavern on the Green.  But it's currently closed, awaiting a makeover by Donald Trump.

Etc, etc.  Big city; lots to do.

mediabobny:

Seagram builsing and Citicorp Center for architecture??  Good grief, not when we have the Woolworth and Chrysler Buildings.

I guess I just assumed a Bang & Olufsen fan would have at least a passing interest in modernism (in the case of the Seagram building)...maybe I'm wrong...

According to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_America%27s_Favorite_Architecture_according_to_the_AIA the Woolworths and Chrysler buildings made the list but architects' favourites such as the Seagram did not.

I do notice that much B&O ends up in some very (to me) 'un-B&O' (i.e. traditional) interiors, which I always find curious. Modernism in objects seems widely accepted, but less so for houses.

Taste is indeed a complex and curious thing.

Now that I'm way off-topic...I'll stop!

No idea what's going on in my post above - cut and pasted from word. Ignore the fine print! Mods feel free to fix if you can. I tried and only made it worse!

TripEnglish:

Not to belabor the point, but:

Where's the first half?

Looks delicious!

futurist:

No idea what's going on in my post above - cut and pasted from word. Ignore the fine print! Mods feel free to fix if you can. I tried and only made it worse!

I fixed it Word is problematic in that it includes a lot of useless HTML markup when you paste something from it into a web form, and in this case you need to go into the HTML mode of the post editor to see it.

futurist:

I do notice that much B&O ends up in some very (to me) 'un-B&O' (i.e. traditional) interiors, which I always find curious. Modernism in objects seems widely accepted, but less so for houses.

I believe the issue is that while these ultramodern, sparsely furnished interiors look great in magazines and brochures, in practice few people are able to conduct their lives with just a sofa, some design chair unfit for sitting in, and a coffee table too precious to host your coffee mug.

futurist:

Now that I'm way off-topic...I'll stop!

Is it possible to go off-topic in a thread that is declared off-topic from the start?

tournedos:

futurist:

I do notice that much B&O ends up in some very (to me) 'un-B&O' (i.e. traditional) interiors, which I always find curious. Modernism in objects seems widely accepted, but less so for houses.

I believe the issue is that while these ultramodern, sparsely furnished interiors look great in magazines and brochures, in practice few people are able to conduct their lives with just a sofa, some design chair unfit for sitting in, and a coffee table too precious to host your coffee mug.

futurist:

Now that I'm way off-topic...I'll stop!

Personally I think it's sad that modernism is not so widely accepted in houses. I've been looking for a new apartment lately, and it's so hard to get one that hasn't got a traditional, or should I say old feeling. Even the ones that were built recently. That said the best modernist houses and furniture date probably from the 1920's till the 1960's. Mika, there are chairs that actually look nice and offer comfort as well. None of them come cheap, though.

mediabobny:

I think a visit to Ground Zero is worthwhile.  Last I'd heard Freedom Tower stood at 65 stories.

I agree that paying homage at Ground Zero is a must.

Visit the church opposite which was a sanctuary for those involved in the recovery operation.

Also from there head for the Hudson River nearby, and the memorial to the immigrants that came over from the Irish potato famine.

It is an amazing memorial ... a piece of Irish country side floating in the sky.