I am a big fan of Anthony Bourdain and this is inspired by his latest show, The Layover. The show is about what to do in a city if you have 24 to 48 hours to kill there. I work a regular job and I won't get to take a long trip this summer, but the Bourdain show inspired me to take a couple of long weekends. With that in mind I decided to put something together for someone looking to to do a long weekend in New York. And New York is ideal for this. You can pack enough into 3 or 4 days that would fill a week or two someplace else and it won't leave you feeling completely used up like a weekend partying In Vegas or New Orleans.
This sheet has the mid-range traveler in mind and is centered around Downtown Manhattan.
One caveat - I'm not a club person. My nightlife options are bars and lounges. If you're into clubs, you'll want to supplement this with additional info.
Pipelining:
It's a good place to start. I've done internet dating in a few different cities and New York was by far the place I've had the most success. There's a lot less attention whoring from NY chicks. Most of them seem like they're actually online to find a guy. It's been a while for me, but last I checked OKCupid topped POF in New York. I don't have experience with the pay sites, but they tend more towards girls looking for long term situations. Go online, start hitting girls up, drop some knowledge about the city, so they think of you as a legitimately interested in seeing New York as opposed to just looking for a quick bang.
How to get there:
New York has three airports. JFK and LaGuardia in Queens and Newark in... well, Newark. If you're on a budget, there's public transportation options for all three. JFK and Newark have little trains that will take you to bigger trains. Most people think there's no public transportation to and from LaGuardia, but, in fact, there is the M60 bus that will take you into uptown Manhattan where you can hop on whatever express subway line is closest to your hotel. All the airports also have some kind of express bus service and, of course, you can always just hop in line, grab a cab and enjoy the views on the way into the city.
If you're coming by train or bus, you'll be arriving into Midtown. Stick to the subways during the day as the traffic can be killer.
Where to stay:
I've only stayed in a NY hotel once, so others are welcome to chime in with suggestions. I've thrown a few suggestions down below. And there are plenty of private apartments for rent. In terms of both, the options are limitless. I took a look on AirBnB and found single rooms in an apartment starting at $70 and whole apartments starting at $150. At the lower end you're not looking at anything luxurious. Remember people in NY pay a big premium to live in certain areas. With hotels, my one tip is avoid the low-to-mid-range hotel chains. You can spend $200 bucks to stay in a Best Western or you can spend $240 and stay in something way more stylish. The upgrade is worth it.
Andaz Wall St. - The Financial District used to be all offices, but once companies started upgrading to better digs they converted a lot of the buildings to residential. It's still relatively dead at night, but you may appreciate the less hectic environment and it's a short cab ride to and from the downtown nightlife. The Andaz is pretty stylish and the rooms have nice modern interiors.
The Millenium Hilton - Another good FiDi option. Some of the rooms look right down on Ground Zero. It's also right up the block from Century 21, which is a kind of discount department store that carries legit brands. It attracts a good deal of bargain hunting tourists, of the European kind, not the Midwest variety.
Hotel East Houston - This one is right in the middle of where you'll go out downtown. On Houston st, with the East Village to the north and the Lower East Side to the south.
The Bowery House - This is an interesting option of the budget variety. The Bowery used to be skid row and had all these flop houses. They've taken one and turned it into a fancy hostel. Around $70 will get you a small private room with a shared bathroom. The bathrooms are decked out in Italian marble and it's supposed to attract the beautiful people, but I have no personal experience.
If you're straight ballin' and money is no object try one of these spots, where dropping the name alone might get a chick back with you:
The Soho Grand
The Mercer Hotel
Where to go during the day:
Union Square: This is the obvious day gaming place. It is where a lot of PUAs do their New York day game and shoot their videos. It's a target rich environment. On Saturdays, there is a farmer's market, so if you're staying someplace with a kitchen it's a good place to go get something worth cooking. If you're rolling with or macking on a psuedo-intellectual chick, tell her that you want to go to The Strand, which is a big independent book store a block south.
SoHo: The few block south of Houston st from Lafayette to W. Broadway is where you'll find all of the good downtown shopping. And that, of course, means that you'll find women. Check out Uniqlo, which is one of my favorite clothing spots right now. It's like a Japanese H&M, but with more of a J Crew than a Euro vibe. Real good place to get some affordable basic components for your wardrobe.
Central Park: I spent a good portion of my teenage years in and around Central Park. To me it's one of the greatest things about New York City. A good place for day game or just to chill on a nice day is Sheep Meadow. It's got very much an urban beach vibe and you'll find groups of people hanging out as well as a decent amount of girls solo or in pairs.
The Outer Boroughs:
This sheet is oriented towards a weekend mostly spent in Downtown Manhattan, but a day trip out of the city might be a pleasant excursion, especially if you want to take a girl on a mini-adventure. My reccomendations:
Bohemian Hall Beer Garden, Astoria, Queens - This is a pretty dope beer garden out in Astoria. Beer gardens have become pretty trendy and there's a bunch of smaller ones in the city, but this one is a decent size. Take the N or Q trains out to Astoria Blvd.
SriPraPhai Thai Restaurant - My friend who lived in Bangkok for five years said this was the most authentic Thai food he's had outside of Thailand. Take the 7 train out to Queens and bring cash, cause they don't take cards.
Fette Sau - I pretty much hate Williamsburg. It's hipster central, but I guess it's amusing to stroll through on your way to some of the best BBQ in the city. They also serve growlers of some pretty good beer. Try the BBQ pork belly.
Staten Island Ferry - It's a free cruise and they sell beer. Very good little mini adventure.
Where to go out at night:
These are the neighborhoods to check out downtown. I've named a couple of spots in each, but it's New York, so there's plenty more.
East Village - Mostly about divey bars and a good place to start a night off cheaply. There's a couple of places with bars upstairs and dance floors downstairs like Niagara (7th and A), which used to be one of my favorite spots (saw Roosh there once) or One and One (1st and 1st).
Lower East Side - It's been quite a few years since the LES has been at all edgy, but that's the way it is these days. Still plenty of decent places to hang out. The Dark Room (165 Ludlow) is a chill spot to listen to a DJ and Shiller's Liquor Bar (131 Rivington) is a good place for a cocktail. bOb Bar (235 Eldridge) has been around for a minute and is good place to dance.
Greenwich Village - I would avoid most of Greenwich Village. The area around McDougal and Bleeker street is full of college-type bars and gets pretty sloppy. On Houston though, there is a spot called Madame X that has a chill lounge vibe. It's not great for pickup, but a cool place to bring a girl and chill in the back on couches in a dimly lit room. On Lafyette and Bowery, there's B Bar, which used to be somewhat trendy in the 90s and still may take itself a bit seriously, but can be a good time. Next door to that is a pub called Swift, if you dig pubs.
And this is New York, so of course this is far from exhaustive. I welcome any more information from those who know the city.
This sheet has the mid-range traveler in mind and is centered around Downtown Manhattan.
One caveat - I'm not a club person. My nightlife options are bars and lounges. If you're into clubs, you'll want to supplement this with additional info.
Pipelining:
It's a good place to start. I've done internet dating in a few different cities and New York was by far the place I've had the most success. There's a lot less attention whoring from NY chicks. Most of them seem like they're actually online to find a guy. It's been a while for me, but last I checked OKCupid topped POF in New York. I don't have experience with the pay sites, but they tend more towards girls looking for long term situations. Go online, start hitting girls up, drop some knowledge about the city, so they think of you as a legitimately interested in seeing New York as opposed to just looking for a quick bang.
How to get there:
New York has three airports. JFK and LaGuardia in Queens and Newark in... well, Newark. If you're on a budget, there's public transportation options for all three. JFK and Newark have little trains that will take you to bigger trains. Most people think there's no public transportation to and from LaGuardia, but, in fact, there is the M60 bus that will take you into uptown Manhattan where you can hop on whatever express subway line is closest to your hotel. All the airports also have some kind of express bus service and, of course, you can always just hop in line, grab a cab and enjoy the views on the way into the city.
If you're coming by train or bus, you'll be arriving into Midtown. Stick to the subways during the day as the traffic can be killer.
Where to stay:
I've only stayed in a NY hotel once, so others are welcome to chime in with suggestions. I've thrown a few suggestions down below. And there are plenty of private apartments for rent. In terms of both, the options are limitless. I took a look on AirBnB and found single rooms in an apartment starting at $70 and whole apartments starting at $150. At the lower end you're not looking at anything luxurious. Remember people in NY pay a big premium to live in certain areas. With hotels, my one tip is avoid the low-to-mid-range hotel chains. You can spend $200 bucks to stay in a Best Western or you can spend $240 and stay in something way more stylish. The upgrade is worth it.
Andaz Wall St. - The Financial District used to be all offices, but once companies started upgrading to better digs they converted a lot of the buildings to residential. It's still relatively dead at night, but you may appreciate the less hectic environment and it's a short cab ride to and from the downtown nightlife. The Andaz is pretty stylish and the rooms have nice modern interiors.
The Millenium Hilton - Another good FiDi option. Some of the rooms look right down on Ground Zero. It's also right up the block from Century 21, which is a kind of discount department store that carries legit brands. It attracts a good deal of bargain hunting tourists, of the European kind, not the Midwest variety.
Hotel East Houston - This one is right in the middle of where you'll go out downtown. On Houston st, with the East Village to the north and the Lower East Side to the south.
The Bowery House - This is an interesting option of the budget variety. The Bowery used to be skid row and had all these flop houses. They've taken one and turned it into a fancy hostel. Around $70 will get you a small private room with a shared bathroom. The bathrooms are decked out in Italian marble and it's supposed to attract the beautiful people, but I have no personal experience.
If you're straight ballin' and money is no object try one of these spots, where dropping the name alone might get a chick back with you:
The Soho Grand
The Mercer Hotel
Where to go during the day:
Union Square: This is the obvious day gaming place. It is where a lot of PUAs do their New York day game and shoot their videos. It's a target rich environment. On Saturdays, there is a farmer's market, so if you're staying someplace with a kitchen it's a good place to go get something worth cooking. If you're rolling with or macking on a psuedo-intellectual chick, tell her that you want to go to The Strand, which is a big independent book store a block south.
SoHo: The few block south of Houston st from Lafayette to W. Broadway is where you'll find all of the good downtown shopping. And that, of course, means that you'll find women. Check out Uniqlo, which is one of my favorite clothing spots right now. It's like a Japanese H&M, but with more of a J Crew than a Euro vibe. Real good place to get some affordable basic components for your wardrobe.
Central Park: I spent a good portion of my teenage years in and around Central Park. To me it's one of the greatest things about New York City. A good place for day game or just to chill on a nice day is Sheep Meadow. It's got very much an urban beach vibe and you'll find groups of people hanging out as well as a decent amount of girls solo or in pairs.
The Outer Boroughs:
This sheet is oriented towards a weekend mostly spent in Downtown Manhattan, but a day trip out of the city might be a pleasant excursion, especially if you want to take a girl on a mini-adventure. My reccomendations:
Bohemian Hall Beer Garden, Astoria, Queens - This is a pretty dope beer garden out in Astoria. Beer gardens have become pretty trendy and there's a bunch of smaller ones in the city, but this one is a decent size. Take the N or Q trains out to Astoria Blvd.
SriPraPhai Thai Restaurant - My friend who lived in Bangkok for five years said this was the most authentic Thai food he's had outside of Thailand. Take the 7 train out to Queens and bring cash, cause they don't take cards.
Fette Sau - I pretty much hate Williamsburg. It's hipster central, but I guess it's amusing to stroll through on your way to some of the best BBQ in the city. They also serve growlers of some pretty good beer. Try the BBQ pork belly.
Staten Island Ferry - It's a free cruise and they sell beer. Very good little mini adventure.
Where to go out at night:
These are the neighborhoods to check out downtown. I've named a couple of spots in each, but it's New York, so there's plenty more.
East Village - Mostly about divey bars and a good place to start a night off cheaply. There's a couple of places with bars upstairs and dance floors downstairs like Niagara (7th and A), which used to be one of my favorite spots (saw Roosh there once) or One and One (1st and 1st).
Lower East Side - It's been quite a few years since the LES has been at all edgy, but that's the way it is these days. Still plenty of decent places to hang out. The Dark Room (165 Ludlow) is a chill spot to listen to a DJ and Shiller's Liquor Bar (131 Rivington) is a good place for a cocktail. bOb Bar (235 Eldridge) has been around for a minute and is good place to dance.
Greenwich Village - I would avoid most of Greenwich Village. The area around McDougal and Bleeker street is full of college-type bars and gets pretty sloppy. On Houston though, there is a spot called Madame X that has a chill lounge vibe. It's not great for pickup, but a cool place to bring a girl and chill in the back on couches in a dimly lit room. On Lafyette and Bowery, there's B Bar, which used to be somewhat trendy in the 90s and still may take itself a bit seriously, but can be a good time. Next door to that is a pub called Swift, if you dig pubs.
And this is New York, so of course this is far from exhaustive. I welcome any more information from those who know the city.
