50 Things You Must Experience While Living in New York City
So, recently I’ve been tasked with a very exciting challenge. I must narrow down the thousands of things that New Yorkers experience in this city. To the Fifty best. In no particular order, here are my Fifty:
1. Have “The Dennis” sandwich from Parisi Bakery on 198 Mott St.
http://www.parisibakery.com/
2. Check out the amazing street art in 5 Pointz, Queens.
http://5ptz.com/
3. Get absolutely lost in Central Park until you find yourself at Belvedere Castle.
4. Get 8 dumplings at Prosperity on Eldridge in Chinatown. It’ll set you back $2. If you prefer boiled dumplings, walk a bit further down Eldridge to Fu Zhou. And if you’re feeling fancy, find Joe’s Shanghai for some soup dumplings instead. Your move.
5. Got the dumplings? Good. Now pick them up and take the 10 minute walk to the center of the Manhattan Bridge. There won’t be a place to sit, but you’ll improvise with a view like this:
6. Nice and full from the dumplings? Enjoy the view from the Manhattan Bridge? Good. Now walk to the other side of the Bridge. You’ll find yourself in Brooklyn. Walk to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and enjoy an astonishing view of Manhattan.
7. No trip to Brooklyn is complete without a visit to Williamsburg – hipster mecca. Its innovative bar scene and smaller feel make it totally worth it. Check out Radegast Hall & Biergarten on 3rd Street & Berry. Have a beer and some brats. Then make your way to Hotel Delmano for an amazing cocktail, and maybe some oysters. Finish off the night with Maison Premiere and your Brooklyn experience is nearly complete.
8. Nitehawk Cinema. Once you’re ready to come back to Brooklyn, this is the spot. It’s a cute little theater that plays the smash hits of today, as well as regular retro screenings. Oh, and they serve booze. They bring it right to your seat.
Nitehawk Cinema
9. Visit a Manhattan speakeasy. There are many great options, such as Please Don’t Tell and Dropoff Service. But, my personal favorite is Apotheke. They feature live ’20s jazz 4 days a week, and it really takes “Speakeasy” to another level. You need a password to get in, and that’s if you can even find it hidden among the grunge of Chinatown. Fear not, they’re the red door on 9 Doyers Street.
10. Visit Rockefeller Center, Radio City and go to the Top of the Rock. They’re all right next to each other. It might sound touristy, but you’ll forget that as soon as you’re at the top of that beautiful building. Instead of waiting in line to get atop the Empire State Building, go to the top of Rockefeller Plaza. The view is absolutely incredible (especially at sunset), and it even beats the Empire State, because you can actually SEE the ESB from the Rock.