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New York Day 16 – Lower East Side
Mary Poppins Comes to the Lower East Side for one night only.
I’ve discovered the app HopStop. This is amazing in NYC for someone like myself who gets lost turning around. The only problem is that it tells you at the end of a subway stop to go in a compass direction which is an immediate fail for someone like me. Luckily on day 16 the friend who called me to do coat check called me as I got out of Canal Street and asked what way the traffic was going and told me it was the wrong way and to turn around, This was repeated on Day 17 too. Day 18 someone showed me that there was a compass on the iphone. Life is complete.
Day 16 was a Saturday and I was out in Soho wandering around with a friend trying out various vessels of white wine in various bars, which is always going to create a more than drunk night. You never know which way it will go but becoming utterly wasted is always a certainity. I get a call from my friend who has the direction of a magnet asking me to do coat check in his bar. I was drunk so it seemed like a fab idea.
I didn’t really want to do coat check but I had blabbed on about how i would do any job the week before if someone asked me just to try it once and of course when you brag it comes back and hits you in the face. So off I went. A thirty something in a twenty somethi ng lower eastside bar. It was like a drunk Mary Poppins had come to town. ‘Oh do have a fabulous time tonight’ I crowed in a posher than normal voice as I tried to contain my OCD with arranging the tickets as they came back. I thought people would be really rude to me but they weren’t and it was fun until the hangover kicked in at 3am The rail behind me, of course, fell down.
One particular individual eyed me up suspiciously and said ‘What’s going on here?
What do you mean ? I relplied . ‘Your’re far too cute to be running coat check’ I went up to his face and said ‘ you are right – I am too cute to be doing coat check. I’m filling in for a friend.‘What do you do when you are not running coat check?’ he enquired.
‘Run An Empire’. I deadpan replied.
Thank you Pinot Grigio you served me well.
New York, New York Days 7 to 10
Spring in New York
So after resting up in Florida and moving onto New York I turned up still exhausted. Who on earth escapes from a city like London to come to a city like New York to rest? Lucky for me that I have a couple of very good friends in New York and I was looking forward to spending some quality time. I didn’t have an apartment arranged until Day 11 so I stayed with a good friend until then on the Upper West Side.
The Upper West Side is probably my favourite area of New York to be situated in. It’s residential but has a lot going on with cafe’s, supermarkets and of course banks. You can’t not look up and see a bank so no need to worry about that for a second in Manhattan. Banks that have the biggest waste of space known to man. I entered through the door and then turned to left and walked what felt like a mile to some cash machines. There was nothing in that empty space apart from my thoughts. I could have moved into that space and it would have been bigger than an average studio apartment in Manhattan.
Although I was staying in an apartment that had a married couple and two small children it ended up being a pleasant experience. The little girl aged three could rationalize like a thirty-three year old so that proved challenging at six in the morning when the life, universe and everything needed to be discussed. Even trying to convince her when she put the light on that maybe we needed more sleep time I was met with ‘ No it’s daytime and in the day time we get up and are awake.’ By day eleven, the conversation was flowing with
‘Morning’
‘ Morning’
‘Sleep well?’
‘ Yeah.’
‘ It’s awake time? ‘
‘Yeah.’
End of any argument.
The second child who I stayed with is an anomaly to all babies. At five months old I’ve never seen such a happy chilled out little chubster. I was told that if you get the timing of the milk wrong by the minute you will certainly hear about it but honestly I was present in the room whilst the baba was changed and bathed over half hour and I didn’t even realize that had happened. His mother’s nightmares are that she forgets him somewhere because he can be so quiet. She is not wrong.
A place to walk
So the first few days I was in family land. Eating home cooked food and chilling out. Watching rubbish TV and going to bed early to rise early. Central Park has become a place to go walking. I didn’t realize that from Broadway you can walk a few blocks one way and come to Riverside and walk by the Hudson and go the other way and you are in Central Park within ten minutes. And Central Park is huge. A sudden haven in the concrete jungle. I already have a favourite place to walk around which is the Jackie O Reservoir.
Day 9 the Sunday I ventured out to a place in the Lower East Side called Fat Buddha. And one thing I love about New York bars is that if you sit up at the bar and you are friendly enough the drinks start coming for free. Yes you heard it free. You don’t know this is happening until the end but when would that ever happen in London? The place where alcohol is measured by a thimble, here they may as well be holding you down and pouring it down your throat and for a borderline British alcoholic and most definitely a lush this was Manna. The next morning of Monday (day 10) waking up at half six to work was most certainly not.
The Crown and Goose
This is a great pub in Camden, hidden away from the mayhem. It gets packed and it’s only let down is that sometimes there is not enough staff on. Other than that it’s a great pub with a dark brooding atmosphere. The food here is excellent with offers of lamb kofte burger to a wonderful vege bean stew. I’d recommend booking even on a Monday as you never know when the local crowd is going to take it over. One of my favourites for North London.
A Maze ing
Maze is one of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants. It’s on Grosvenor Square, near to Oxford Circus. It’s very easy to find and get to.
Although I can fault the snooty woman at the check in who deemed it fine to think I enjoyed standing in front of her for kicks and seemed confused that I might have a reservation, I cannot fault the rest of the service. Our Head Waiter had more than a touch of Tom Cruise about him and gave us service with a crazy eyed smile that said, ‘I only want to serve you, you are the most fun’; he had me at hello. Everyone working in there was friendly and helpful and you could tell got on really well which made the atmosphere really fun and somewhat cheeky.
I can’t fault the food, or the price. Gastro Pubs are charging outrageous prices for main courses these days and this place on average was £12.50 for a plate. The plates are there to share and you can have as many or as little as you want. We had six between two, which was plenty and I can’t fault one of them. If you are a vegetarian who doesn’t eat fish though give it a miss. I am talking, crispy veal sweetbread, scallops, pork belly.
Did I mention the wine list is on an ipad? Ridiculous. It made me love the place as much as the sommelier’s red spectacles which I did love. They made his face and the strangest thing is that he looked a bit like Heston. Perhaps the employees all moonlight as famous doubles? Drinks and wines are not a bargain but they have to make money somehow people. This is not your local dirty boozer.
So if you like food then go. It’s not a snooty place to go and the food is worth every penny. So many people think places in London have to be expensive in town but they are competition for your local try hard pub serving what is a Marks and Sparks meal at triple the price. This is good food.
Good for girly catch-ups, dates, sitting on your own and staring at the staff pretending you have a date. Casual smart and trendy but not up it’s own arse which is down to the people working there. Food cost me about £60 for two people. You can call direct or book last minute on Opentable a live reservation service. For a good night out I’m giving it five stars. Lets start this blog with a bang people.
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