Friday, December 10, 2010

NYC Suggestions

I just put together an email of nyc suggestions for an acquaintance, and I'm posting it here so that I can share this link with people when they ask for advice.


A great path for a walk from downtown heading uptown would be to walk up through soho on west broadway or Thompson street to Washington Square Park, through the arch and up 5th ave. Make a left on 9th or 10th street (9th street has incredible xmas decorations) and head into the west village (cross 7th ave to bleecker or west 4th st and head uptown). That will get you towards the meat packing district where you can walk on the highline (if it isn’t too cold) into Chelsea.

If you are thinking of going to the top of the Empire State Building, you might consider going to the top of Rockefeller Center instead, it is less crowded, has the same view, and you can look at the Empire state building from Rockefeller center.

Avoid buying gifts/tourist stuff in Times square, you can buy all the same stuff in south Soho, near Canal St/Chinatown for less than half the price.

The big museums are all great, but any one of them is too much for one day. We love some of the smaller museums that you can see in an hour or two – the Frick for paintings, the Cooper-Hewitt for design, and the Morgan Library for antiquities (and the most beautiful room in NYC).

Take a walk through Chinatown/little Italy, but don’t eat at any of the touristy restaurants, they all taste like Olive Garden or worse. Instead, stop in one of the small sandwich shops or Italian delis and get sandwiches or head north of little Italy into Nolita and eat there.

Walk across the Brooklyn bridge unless it is windy and/or raining. Go to Grimaldi’s for pizza. The line moves quickly and it is worth the wait. (This is honestly the one touristy suggestion that is consistently correct in my mind.)

The restaurants on the old part of Stone St in the Financial District are all decent, Ulysses is my favorite and has a good brunch. The restaurants at the sea port are all terrible.

Below are a few of the places I mentioned and more than you need, but I had them all on hand. I would suggest trying to make some reservations ahead of time as these places are all pretty popular. The Blue Ribbon restaurants only take reservations for parties of 6 or more. If you want to do more research, nymag.com is a great place to start.

Hope you guys have a great time. It was nice meeting you in Vegas. Feel free to email if you have any questions or need any more suggestions.

Dan

Blue Ribbon/Blue Ribbon Bakery – Lunch/Dinner - One is in Soho, the other is in the West Village. Great gourmet comfort food and my favorite brunch in the city.

http://www.blueribbonrestaurants.com/rests_brass_man_main.htm

http://www.blueribbonrestaurants.com/rests_bakery_main.htm

Balthazar (Soho), Pastis (Meat Packing, you’ve been), and Minetta Tavern (West Village)– These Keith McNally restaurants are three of our favorites. Balthazar is a Bistro and is quite the scene, the menu is similar to Pastis, good for lunch or dinner. Minetta Tavern is the hottest reservation at town and is more low key than Balthazar and the menu features some incredible cuts of meat. The bone in strip steak is one of the best I’ve ever had.

http://www.balthazarny.com/

http://www.pastisny.com/

http://www.minettatavernny.com/

If you go to Balthazar or if you are in the neighborhood, Pravda is Keith McNally’s Russian Vodka bar with excellent drinks and a great atmosphere– Balthazar followed by Pravda is one of our favorite dates:

http://www.pravdany.com/home.php

Po – dinner - Po is Alex’s favorite Italian restaurant in nyc. It is a hole in the wall in the West Village and it was one of Mario Batali’s first restaurants (though he is no longer involved). Their fresh pastas are amazing and the white bean bruschetta is perfect.

http://www.porestaurant.com/

Pearl Oyster Bar – lunch/dinner - Down the street from Po is Pearl Oyster Bar which is a New England clam shack transplanted to the west village. We frequent the restaurant (had dinner there last night). Their lobster roll and fried oysters are as good, if not better, than any I’ve had in Maine.

http://www.pearloysterbar.com/

Blue Hill – dinner - If you are planning on a fancy meal for your date this would be an excellent choice. Alex and I spent our last 5 Valentine’s Days here and our anniversary. The chef, Dan Barber, runs a farm outside of the city which is the source for most of the meat and produce served at the restaurant. This was also the Obama’s choice for their NYC date.

http://www.bluehillfarm.com/food/blue-hill-new-york

Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café (you’ve been) – fancy lunch/dinner - Both Danny Meyer restaurants, both great date spots, Gramercy Tavern wins on food, but it can be hard to get a reservation, Union Square Café is not a bad alternative. We love them both and Union Square Café is a frequent request from Alex’s father when he visits.

http://www.gramercytavern.com/

http://www.unionsquarecafe.com/

Aurora – Lunch/Dinner – Casual, inexpensive Italian restaurant in south soho. We go there fairly regularly and can always get a table and have a good, reasonably priced meal.

http://www.auroraristorante.com/sohohome.html

Jeffrey’s Grocery/Joseph Leonard – These places are around the corner from where we live and are wonderful neighborhood spots with incredible food and atmosphere. Jeffrey’s is particularly great for lunch.

http://jeffreysgrocery.com/

http://www.josephleonard.com/

Other places of interest:

Katz’s Deli – the most famous nyc deli, amazing pastrami/corned beef. Don’t be intimidated by the lines, just jump right in or sit down and get waiter service.

http://www.katzdeli.com/

Shake Shack – great burgers in Madison Square Park

The Corner Bistro – one of the best burgers in nyc in a classic saloon setting

Les Halles – Meat heavy bistro, made famous by Anthony Bourdain, one location is on John street in the financial district.

Bleecker Street Pizza – my favorite slice in the city, though some people prefer Joe’s around the corner – Joe’s is at Bleecker and 6th ave, Bleecker street pizza is at Bleecker and 7th ave, John’s, a classic nyc whole pie pizzeria is in between.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Frame and Parts Arrive


All the ebay orders, the awesome Surly Pacer frame, and a bunch of Velo Orange parts are all collected in a box in my living room. Here are some pics:


Japanese newspaper packing for the frame shipped from Rivendell - nice that they re-use all of the packing materials from their Japanese parts suppliers. Also, thanks to the guys at Rivendell for doing me a favor shipping the (non-Rivendell) frame to me.


Trousers checking out the cool vintage Shimano 600 Arabesque front dérailleur.


Dr. Chocolate is very skeptical of all of this business.

Inspiration

I've been doing a ton of web research lately. It all started when I first read about Rivendell bikes and what they are all about and I realized that I was already enjoying that type of riding and my current felt racing bike really wasn't fitting the type of riding I've been enjoying. The felt is like a Lamborghini: fast, awesome looking, kind of uncomfortable, and impractical. The new bike is going to be more like a BMW: not as fast, still awesome looking, comfortable, and practical.




My research into Randonneur bike led me to some images of Japanese made Grand Bois bikes seen above that are my inspiration for this new build. I love the sky blue frame with silver components and leather touches. I also like the white tires which look cool and won't scuff the walls in my apartment like the black tires do now.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

FIRE IT UP AGAIN

I'm building a bike. I want to document it. I can't think of a better place to do it.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Tuesday Link List: Comedy Edition

Do I smell a new tradition? Maybe.

1. Overheard websites. Always entertaining. Frequently Updated

Overheard in New York

Overheard in the Office


Overheard in College

2. Paper Street. The web archive of a comic from UVA's Cavalier Daily News Paper. Click on the "daily strips" link. Never updated, so savor them like a fine wine.

Paper Street Industries

(Thanks John)

3. Home Star Runner. Needs no introduction.

Home Star Runner


4. Is this video as funny as everybody thinks? Or has Will Ferrell brainwashed everybody. I can't decide. I guess a drunken, cursing, threatening two year old is pretty good. If you go to this site watch "The Landlord" if you haven't already seen it. If you have an opinion about it, leave it in the comments, I'm curious what people think.

Funny or Die

5. The East Village Idiot. I was just introduced to this Blog today. I can't decide if I love it or hate it, but here it is.

The East Village Idiot

The New Best Cookbook Ever




My wonderful mother gave me this cookbook for Christmas. It is amazing. If I was going to have one cookbook, it would be this one. The editors of Cooks Illustrated have compiled 1000+ recipes taste tested by America's Test Kitchen. The recipes are great, the illustrated techniques and detailed instructions are wonderful for even the most amateur of chefs.

Most recently, I made the Spaghetti alla Carabonara from the cookbook. It was by far the best carabonara I have ever had. Alex agrees. It taught me new techniques and explains the madness behind their methods.

This book will make you a better cook. I guarantee it. Seriously. If you buy it, use it, and don't like it, I'll buy it from you.