Ableton Forum

What up everyone,

I am taking my wife to NYC this weekend for our 11th anniversary. We'll do lots of typical stuff, but I would love to hear from the Ableton crowd that lives in NYC on what you think are the must-do/see's while out there. I have been there plenty of times, but you could live there for 30 years and not see/do everything, so I am looking for input. Let me know if you have any recommendations on:

1-Broadway shows (Avenue Q? In The Heights?)
2-The best shopping districts for a young 30-something couple
3-Restaurants that may not be listed on the popular tourism sites
4-Nightlife-anyone on this forum performing or looking forward to hitting any specific clubs this weekend?

We're flying in Friday afternoon and leaving early Sunday morning. Thanks in advance for the help!

dRaff

I've been living here for a little over a year, so I'm VERY far from being an expert. However, I guess I can try and help a bit.

1. As far as broadway goes, I've been out of the loop most of this time cause I'm not a huge fan of musicals... but I've heard great things about In the Heights. Also heard good things about Wicked and All My Sons.

2. Hell, take your pick. Popular choices: I absolutely HATE chinatown. Every time I go there with some friend or relative who's visiting, I end up on the verge of having an anxiety attack. But it's a shopping experience that everyone needs to go through at least once or twice in their lifetime. Not too far from that, you have all of the SoHo shops. And further up you have all the 5th avenue shops (streets numbered from the 30's upward to around the 50's or so).

3. You got me there. Just so many options, and I have to admit I havent been going to many restaurants over the past year. I've just been eating at home, or simple stuff from small delis or shops nearby. Quick, on the move, kind of stuff. I do remember having gone to this nice restaurant around SoHo, a few months ago. Kind of small, but very intimate, and great food... pricey though. Can't remember what it was called. We just walked into it by coincidence and it just happened to be good. Wouldn't be surprised if you found a great spot this way, while you're walking around shopping and whatnot. There's also some decent restaurants around where I live, in Williamsburg, though quite a bit more informal. Nothing really fancy.

4. Also, take your pick. I usually keep myself updated through sites like Going.com, residentadvisor.net, and rhythmism.com. I'm sure there's others that I'm forgetting. I also sometimes check the sites for specific venues, to see their calendars. LOVE, Studio B, Webster Hall, etc. If you're into techno, there's this place in Williamsburg called Public Assembly. They throw a weekly party called Bunker every Friday and it's pretty decent. Way too many options really. I'm not sure of exactly what's going on this weekend, since I might be out of town so I haven't really checked. But no doubt you'll find something.

Sorry if I raised more questions than i answered. I'm still pretty much a NYC newbie.

Good luck and enjoy!

I think the MOMA is really worth the time - get there early - there will be a big line. The cafe inside is a cool place for lunch...there's a good Van Gogh exhibit there now. The permanent collection has so many famous 20th century paintings its like seeing an art book come to life...

check out the Adidas concept store in Soho - its pretty cool.

I agree on the China Town thing. Might as well be Rush & Division Streets in Chicago for how cliche touristy it is!

I definitely planned on hitting Soho, Greenwich Village, Lower East Side, and South St Seaport for some shopping.

I took the wife to the MOMA last time we were there in '05. LOVED it.

Adidas concept store??!? Can't wait to hit that.

Thanks for the feedback! Keep it coming, I have a whole weekend to plan!

1-Broadway shows (Avenue Q? In The Heights?)

I saw In The Heights before it hit Broadway. It's fantastic and definitely worth it. Seeing Latin music and hip-hop in a musical is fun, and it's also a big fat fuck you to stodgy Broadway. I dug it.

Avenue Q is funny too, but it's only really risque by old people standards. It's dirty and juvenile and fun. Also, there is puppet sex.

2-The best shopping districts for a young 30-something couple

If you've got the cash to drop, try Soho. It's a bloody fortune, but it's the very hip place to shop. The weather here is wonderful right now, so you guys will have a good time walking around the neighborhood.

If you're looking to just snag some good deals on clothes, try Century 21 right next to the World Trade Center.

3-Restaurants that may not be listed on the popular tourism sites

I wouldn't shop in Chinatown, personally. I don't really trust the merchandise there, except at Canal HiFi, which has been in business forever, and does business with my company.

But the eats in Chinatown are top notch IF you know where to look. Check out Wo Hop on Mott St. It's confusing because there are two - one that's above ground, and one that's in a basement. Go into the basement. Yes it looks sketchier. Yes it's dirtier. But the food is leagues better than the above ground Wo Hop. I have no idea if they're related to each other, but I know enough to go underground. It's fairly cheap too, by Manhattan standards.

Roberto Passon on 50th is a real treat too, if you like Italian food. It's fine dining, but you don't need to dress up or anything crazy. The portions are kind of small, but the bread and appetizers are good and you'll leave full. Good wine list too, according to my ex girlfriend (I don't drink)

4-Nightlife-anyone on this forum performing or looking forward to hitting any specific clubs this weekend?

There's always something going on in Brooklyn. There seems to be Ableton shit happening there every other month. Try Williamsburg (the Bedford Ave. stop on the L Train)

Check out the MET and the MOMA. The Guggenheim is good too, if you like more contemporary stuff. Central Park is a must too. It's a really interesting example of man and nature existing in beautiful synthesis.

Where are you staying when you are here (address or part of town)?

I work in Chinatown, AVOID.

Have you done the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Also a must see. Avoid the New Museum. It is teh suck.

Yeah one thing about Chinatown - be ready to shoulder through a metric fuckload of people. I mean a metric FUCKLOAD. If you've never been to New York, it's going to be a pain in the ass. If you've never been to a major city, you might want to avoid it so your head doesn't explode.

THanks again for the replies! Funny, I actually worked on The Apprentice a few years back and spent 5 weeks as a test team member working in Manhattan. The only difference between our team and the real cast (aside from not being on TV) is that the loft in Trump Tower wasn't finished so we had to get our own accommodations. I stayed with a friend of a friend who lived in Williamsburg, so I am probably about as familiar with it as any non-New Yorker could be. There was a GREAT pizza place right off the Bedford stop, and also a great salad/pastry place across the street. This was in '05, and Williamsburg was supposedly just coming into its own, so I am guessing it is quite a bit more happening now.

We may head back over there to check it out Saturday night.

Any other input? You have no idea how helpful this is coming from real people and not a tourism site!

Thanks again.

If you're into the yuppie bar thing, swing by the West Village, around 6th Ave. It's always bustling on weekends, and there are also a lot of sex shops on 6th Ave in the single digit streets if you and your wife are looking to get naughty.

I don't know if you're into strip clubs, but there's still quite a few in the city.

If your wife is looking for something a bit more chilled the fuck out than Soho to do shopping, there are a lot of expensive boutiques in Hoboken, which is reachable via the PATH Train. The PATH is not connected to the normal NYC subway. To get there, you have to take the PATH train from 33rd, 23rd, 14th, 9th, or Christopher St. to the Hoboken station. Then just walk over to Washington St. and check out the stores. A lot of good restaurants too. Sushi Lounge, Bangkok City, Amanda's (way up on 10th St. or so), and Elysian Cafe spring to mind. You can also take a walk along the waterfront for some sweet views of the city.

If you don't mind going far afield, and want some really good Asian food, check out Flushing, Queens. The Chinatown there is more spread out, so it's not as jampacked and fucking crazy as Manhattan's Chinatown, but it's actually larger and (maybe?) more populous. Good eats and lots of Asian-oriented shopping.

Midtown is kind of boring, imho. It's very touristy and there isn't a lot to do that's affordable. Same thing for Times Square. Again, if you're into crazy ass shopping, the neighborhood in the 50s and 60s in Midtown are good for that stuff. There's also the Apple Store in Columbus Square.

Another fun thing to do, if it's nice weather, is to walk across the bridges together. It's kind of loud because of the cars and trains going by, but the view is stellar. Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges are all good.

Also, you might want to try the DUMBO area of Brooklyn (DUMBO stands for "Down Under Manhattan Bridge") which you can get to via the F train (get off at the York St. stop). Lots of artist stuff happening over there. It's very gentrified, but there's a DUMBO Festival every year around this time where all the artists open their studios up to the general public and you can see some really nifty stuff.

The Lower East Side's lost most of its grit, but in turn has become much safer for tourists and visitors. Tompkins Square Park, once the home to a giant tent city full of the homeless, has been fenced up and is now a peaceful, walkable park for yuppies and their dogs. Quirkier, more off-beat shopping can be found here, along with some more affordable restaurants. There are still projects along the water on the East Side, so keep that in mind. I haven't heard about any real dangerous violence coming out of there in a while though.

In Little Italy, I ate at Da Nico's forever ago, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. But I was a kid, so who knows?

Washington Square Park is under construction for the duration, so don't waste your time. This really sucks, because in the evenings, musicians would come out, and there would be singalongs and dancealongs and it was great. I'm very bitter about this. They wanted to move the damn fountain so it was in line with the arch, but no real New Yorker gave a shit, to be honest.

Since you're going to be out during the school year, you might want to check out the theatres at Columbia, NYU and other colleges in the area and you might catch a real gem on the cheap. You won't get student ticket prices, but it's a damn sight better than Broadway. If you're into theatre, I recommend playbill.com and theatremania.com to see what's up.

For nightlife, Club Planet is a good place to start, but it's a lot of flash and not a whole lot of substance. If you just want to wander around and take your chances, give the Meatpacking District on the west end of 14th St. a try. It's very slick, chic, and in vogue. The Apartment is a fun club. Wherever you go in that area, dress well.

There's also the Continental in the East Village (http://www.yelp.com/biz/continental-new-york-2) 5 shots. 10 dollars. You get the idea. You wanna get fucking tanked on the cheap? Here's the place to go. Get your shots, then head over to the Meatpacking District where getting a beer requires a credit check.

For a unique twist, check out the Beauty Bar on 14th St. It's a bar and occasionally a dance club (when the back is open) set in an old 50s style beauty salon. It's often packed, usually with people in their 20s and 30s.

Hope that helps.

Hey there! I've been living in NY for a few years, here are some thoughts:

1) Shows:

Blue Man Group - they've been around forever, but they're still pretty fresh and fun. Their original theater is the one near Astor Place. Book ahead.

Fuerza Bruta, new production from De La Guarda, showing on Union Square, very impressive and fun.

2) Shopping:

East Village - between 2nd Ave and Ave B, between 14th and Houston, lots of interesting funky shops. In particular Turntable Lab on 7th between 1st and A, and Giant Robot on 9th between 1st and A.

Lower East Side - south of Houston and EAST of Broadway, especially Mott, Mulberry and Elizabeth St. Check out the Young Designer's Market on Mulberry, just south of Houston.

SoHo is kind of retail hell, but the new Nike concept store on Mercer is very interesting.

3) Food:

So much...

Best Vietnamese sandwich is Saigon Bakery, in the back of the jewelry store at 138 Mott St. (near corner of Grand). Order #1 sandwich, should keep you going all day.

Roast pork sandwich at Porchetta, on 7th between 1st and A has become an overnight hit.

Pylos, also on 7th between 1st and A, excellent Greek.

Caccio e Pepe, on 2nd Ave between 12th and 11th, great Italian, not like the typical red-sauce stuff. Their sister restaurant, Caccio e Vino, further down 2nd Ave. near 4th st has great Sicilian food.

There is a row of Indian restaurants on 6th St between 1st and 2nd Ave, of these the big one on the south corner of 6th and 1st Ave is the best, esp when they feature game dishes.

4) Nightlife

Santos Party House on Lafayette is new and has a rep for interesting music (not just hip-hop).

Monkeytown and Galapagos in Williamsburg are interesting, alternative performance spaces. The Bunker party held in the back of Galapagos is cool, and has hosted some really interesting artists (Vladislav Delay, Matthew Dear, etc)

Club Love, near NYU and the West Village, has an interesting lineup. Check out the furry chillout room. Monolake plays there when they're in NYC.

The Warper party, Byte party and such are interesting (Google for info). Warper has strong ties to the Ableton community. Also share.dj is fun, an open-mike night for electronic music and visuals. For really interesting stuff, try to track down Rubulad or the Easy Lover Loft (sorry, can't give more info, you'll have to be resourceful).

If you're into goth stuff too, there's Necromantic at the Knitting Factory, Sintheteque in Astoria, and the industrial / goth night at the Pyramid Club on Saturdays. There's also an 80s party upstairs at the Pyramid, so there's that too.

If it's not too cold outside check out the Circle Line boat tour. See Manhattan from the water.

http://www.circleline42.com/

Also, walk over the Brooklyn bridge, from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Take the A train to High Street in Brooklyn. Also, while Brooklyn, right by the bridge, on Old Fulton Street check out Grimaldi's pizza.

http://www.grimaldis.com/brooklyn.htm

When it's time to leave, fuggettaboutit...

If you do take that other person's advice and take the PATH to Hoboken, don't eat at Bankok City. Not so good. If you take your wife to New Jersey, eat at Zaphra's. Amazing Cuban food. Bring a bottle of wine.

Go to Williamsburg and check out Main Drag Music. There are usually a few interesting synths to play with.

Hidden Driveways wrote:If you do take that other person's advice and take the PATH to Hoboken, don't eat at Bankok City. Not so good. If you take your wife to New Jersey, eat at Zaphra's. Amazing Cuban food. Bring a bottle of wine.

Go to Williamsburg and check out Main Drag Music. There are usually a few interesting synths to play with.

Also, if you do go to Hoboken, there's Sparrow's on Washington St. to pick up said bottle of wine.

J