New York, New York
I love New York, and especially, New York in the spring. I was last here in February 06 where the temperature easily dropped below zero during the day and went further down to “unbearable” in the evening. But springtime is just lovely – 20 degrees and the sun shining till about 8pm. I especially appreciated the city that never sleeps, coming off of a week in the city that always seems to be sleeping. I wanted to shout for joy that I was being jostled constantly in Times Square at midnight and that I had to walk 10 blocks back to the hotel because taxis were busy shuttling the seemingly endless hordes of people out and about.
Ah life! I wanted to wrap myself in the chaos that was downtown Manhattan and just feel the energy I was sorely missing from Cinci. My last-minute transit to NY didn’t pay off too well from a foodie standpoint as I couldn’t even make reservations at Per Se or Jean Georges (2 of the top 20 best restaurants in the world), which have a full-month waiting list. But with fantastic restaurants in every block, I quickly numbed the pain with a random stop at Moda (the Flatotel, 135 West 52nd Street). Great value for money (wild mushroom soup for $4.50!) and the canard was absolute heaven. Make friends with the Filipino restaurant manager and get a 20% discount. Whoever said being Filipino never had any advantages?
Also worth mentioning are “Lupa” in Greenwich Village (170 Thomson St.) and “Peking Duck House” (28 Mott St.) in Chinatown (where else?). This is my second trip to PKD and I must say, the prix fixe dinner set ($35.50) is amazing value (you can tell this is quite important to me, as a good meal in the Big Apple does not go below $30). Not only do you get soup plus a plate of 4 different appetizers, you also get 2 huge peking duck pitas and another main course of your choice (lobster or grand marnier prawns recommended) with fried rice PLUS a plate of fresh fruit for dessert. The peking duck here has been called “the world’s best” by many traveler guidebooks and receives special mention in the Michelin guide. True, it is definitely not oily and the skin is crispy-licious. I am getting hungry again just thinking about it. Drool…
And I must not forget the wonderful French brasserie, “Marseille” (630 9th avenue at 44th St.), which is the perfect after-Broadway show stop, for both drinks or a late dinner. They have a resident sommelier on hand to recommend wine, which is great for a wine-idiot like me. But do not get fooled into trying the French Malbec (Argentina’s or Chile’s is sooo much better) – there is a reason why the grape is a rarity in France.
Of course, NY wouldn’t be NY without watching a play on Broadway. And watch I did. First up was Monty Python’s Spamalot, which was such a laugh trip. The scene with the French guard was sheer genius – how else to explain the line… “I fart in your general direction!” I wish I had caught it last year when David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria were still in the cast. Still, not a bad way to spend the evening. Try to get seat D101 and you will thank me for the experience. If there is time for just one show and comedy is your thing, “Avenue Q” is definitely the way to go. Watched it last year and got stomach cramps from laughing the whole time.
I didn’t plan for it but just happened to pass by the premiere of “Legally Blond,” the musical. It’s gotten some good early reviews and the show is pretty packed. Mental note to self: make sure to catch this next time I’m back in town. That and “Curtains.”
Good thing I was able to make time for “Rent.” I watched this for the first time in Manila about 10 years ago and immediately went home to rip the CD. Till now, I can sing the major songs by heart (and so can my sisters after I kept playing the CD non-stop for months). But nothing really prepares you for the powerhouse original. Must must MUST watch, again and again if possible. The best songs, wonderful acting and a second act that left me an emotional wreck. Bring Kleenex.
Some tips to score cheap tickets: check out the internet for sites like broadwaybox.com (thanks Ezer! Great site, discounts on a lot of shows, $1 convenience fee) and theatermania.com (Limited shows but has discounts where other sites don’t, annoyingly charges a $7 convenience fee to purchase online) which provide discounts of up to 30-40% off the regular box office price (usually about $110) simply by purchasing online or showing a print-out of the page at the ticket counter (which I do to prevent incurring the convenience fee of reserving seats online). You can also go to the Marriot Marquis for discounted tickets – this I haven’t tried as the queue can get pretty long apparently, but good place to go if you’re desperate. Another thing I want to try the next time I’m in NY and not too desperate to watch a show, is join the lottery for $20 tickets for the 2 front rows. This is quite a risky strategy if you absolutely have to watch the show on particular dates (by nature, a lottery is purely by chance) and could be time consuming, since you have to make it to the theater at 530 to participate for the 8pm showing. But the Chinese in me cannot resist the lure of $20 front row tickets. The last way is to avail of the student discount (if you are) or simply to book front row seats at the mezzanine level (~$40), which is still a really good deal as the theaters all tend to be quite small and cozy.
Since I’ve been here a couple of times before, I didn’t feel the need to do the whole tourist thing over again. I’ve ticked the box for the Empire State Building, Wall Street, Ground Zero, the American Museum of Natural History, the Met, MOMA, Chelsea, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and the Staten Island Ferry (great way to see Lady Liberty from afar for free). And yet, there are a couple of new things to discover each time. This trip, it was the NY Public Library…
Can I just say “WOW!” If our libraries back home looked like this, maybe more people would hang out there than in coffeeshops. Hm… not a bad idea.
… Grand Central Terminal
After seeing this in the movies so many times, it felt like home. Haha.
… Top of the Rock (for better unobstructed views of New York than that of the Empire State) at Rockefeller Plaza
… an unexpected NY Auxiliary Police parade in memory of some slain officers complete with an Irish band
… scary cross-dressing transvestite with melons for boobs and a dressed-up poodle that would put Nigi to shame
… the Statue of Liberty
Make sure to book the tickets to go up Lady Liberty’s skirt online and at least 48 hours before, as tickets are not sold on the island. And bring a jacket as the ferry ride can get near downright freezing. Tie up long hair unless you’re prepared for split ends caused by the heavy winds.
… Ellis Island
This was a nice discovery, a free stop between NYC and Liberty Island. The museum on the island was very interesting and gave huge insight into the difficult life of the early immigrants.
Even though my great-great-grandparents didn’t go to America, it still made me appreciate the hardship they must have gone through, sailing to a foreign land and facing a people who not only looked different and spoke a strange language, but also looked down on you.
Too bad I didn’t have time to wander the island, as the last ferry leaves for NYC at 5pm. Plan this better than I did.
… re-discovering the Museum of Modern Art, with the free audio guides. You can purchase a joint ticket combined with the Top of the Rock for $30, and you don’t have to do them both on the same day. This is a lovely way to while the afternoon away. Monet, Van Gogh,
Picasso, Matisse, Pollack,
Megritte, Gaugain, Cezanne and Dali are just a few of the notable contributors mostly on the 5th floor. I breezed through the 4th floor, where some of the paintings there seem more like a case of the emperor’s new clothes.
The 6th floor exhibit area is also worth a visit. The last time I was here, I was lucky enough to catch an exhibit of Edward Munch’s paintings. This time, they were preparing for a Romanian artist’s exhibit (I can’t remember the name) – I caught a preview of his very insightful cartoons and couldn’t stop giggling.
After all that walking around, make sure to drop by the Terrace at the 5th floor. Nice place to relax and, say it with me now, great value for money, which is surprising for a resto inside a museum (hello Met?!). The prix fixe 3 course lunch set is incredibly filling for only $25. Or skip the meal and just go for the sundae. That’ll be enough to get you full too. I’ve heard the detached MOMA restaurant is also good but for $95, I needed more incentive and better reviews.
I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of my future weekends in NY...
posted by moan @ 9:23 AM
2 Comments:
Oooh....inggit. :-) Ang dami mo namang ginawa for a stopover!
hahaha... yeah, long weekend tambay. shet, i miss it already. you bet madalas kitang guguluhin dyan! :-)
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