New York: Pick Your Spots
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When I first moved to New York three years ago, my first goal, before landing a job or anything like that, was to find my “spots.”There are many spots to be found, such as a bar, cafe, or park. But some spots are very specific to New York, places that simNew York: Pick Your Spots
When I first moved to New York three years ago, my first goal, before landing a job or anything like that, was to find my “spots.”There are many spots to be found, such as a bar, cafe, or park. But some spots are very specific to New York, places that simply don’t exist in the same form or at the same level of quality anywhere else, such as, delis, pizza joints, and bagel bakeries.Whenever friends come to visit, it’s an excuse for me to share each of the favorite spots I’ve collected since moving here and adopting New York as home. With me as their guide, whether they know it or not, our days will be built around food and public parks.Here I sketch two such days — one centered on Central Park, the other on Prospect Park — with recommendations to nearby museums, bars, and restaurants, many of which were recommended to me by native or lifelong New Yorkers.Central Park New York is so vast it can be tough to know where to start. I like to start with breakfast. It would be criminal to leave New York without eating a bagel. For some of the best bagels, and to fuel up for a venture into Central Park, Zabar’s is the first pit stop. Zabar’s has been a landmark New York dining establishment since it opened in1934 on the Upper West Side. The iconic and durable orange bags with Zabar’s printed in western saloon-style type font can be seen all over New York and crop up with increased frequency as one nears the flagship location at the corner of 80th and Broadway. Zabar’s is best known for its bakery and smoked fish; logically the Nova Salmon bagel is the thing to get. Generous cuts of salmon and a generous layer of cream cheese are squeezed between the halves of either a plain or everything bagel, with an olive tucked into the dimple of the bagel to top it off.That said, it is difficult to choose just one item and I strongly advise against doing so. A few other favorites include the sticky bun, the crumb cake, the rugelach, and the wide assortment of bagels.The Upper West Side, unlike much of Manhattan, has managed to fend off the tentacles of developers and remains one of New York’s most charming neighborhoods. Walk among the aged brownstones toward the edge of Central Park. Just shy of the park you’ll find two noteworthy museums: The Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society. The Museum of Natural History is full of dioramas, exhibits, and videos focused on the natural sciences. The New York Historical Society recently opened a family-friendly exhibit on Harry Potter and the history of magic and a moving exhibit on Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow.For an afternoon treat and the best cookie in New York, stop by Levain Bakery before or after venturing into Central Park. The owners first concocted these baked behemoths while they trained for an Iron Man Triathlon in a quest for the perfect cookie and recovery reward. The cookies come in four flavors and, thanks to their monumental size, allow a full spectrum of texture from the fully baked outer shell to the doughy, melt away interior. One can be fatal. Get two.Walk it all off through Central Park’s winding paths; the park, like much of the Northeast, is at its best in the fall when the leaves have turned and the city is no longer a jungle of summer heat. There are countless fountains, statues, and ponds to be found; many benches for sitting and people-watching and enjoying your baked goods.On the other side of the park, on the Upper East Side, is another pair of notable museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of the City of New York. The Met isencyclopedic. It has anything and everything and is so heavily trafficked — as many as 7 million annual visitors — that the hotdog vendor outside is willing to pay around half a million for the prized location. The Met is about a quarter mile long on a side, and it’s actually an accumulation of about 20 buildings, meaning there are miles of corridors inside, leading to some of its 2 million pieces. It’s impossible to see more than a handful of wings, so choose wisely before your eyes and feet begin to fatigue. My favorites are the Egyptian and American wings.The Museum of the City of New York is a must for even native New Yorkers. It is a key to the city that unlocks its many doors into history, culture, and design. It currently has exhibits featuring photographs by Stanley Kubrick, subversive women from the Victorian period, and a history of activism in New York.Walk south through Central Park toward the towering skyline of Midtown for the Museum of Modern Art. Currently on view is an exhibit of Charles White, a Chicago-born painter and child of the Great Migration whose powerful portraits of black men and women were, in his own words, “images of dignity.” Nearby is Jimmy’s, an old boxing bar and local favorite where you can still, somehow, get $3 bottles of beer. For something ritzier go to the Russian Tea Room where the bears dance among plush crimson seating and the wide selection of vodka martinis run for $25 a drink.Prospect Park If staying near the Park Avenue Armory, it would be easy to hop on the Q train and ride into Brooklyn, enjoying the aboveground passage over the East River that affords a minute-long view of the skyline that sometimes causes even lifelong New Yorkers to look up from their phones. Get off at the Prospect Park stop to explore the titular park nearby.Upon completing Central Park, the landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted turned his attention to Prospect Park. The park was designed to have three sections, an open meadow on the north end, a wooded area in the middle, and a lake in the south. A road winds around the circumference of the park, clocking in at just over three miles. Runners and cyclists sweat through their laps at all hours of the day.At the top of Prospect Park, beyond the meadow where friends and families picnic in the summertime, lie several cultural institutions and public monuments. The Brooklyn PublicLibrary, an expanse of gray lightened by an impressive entrance framed by two high columns decorated with a constellation of golden figures. Nestled in a circling swarm of car traffic is Grand Army Plaza, home to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ arch and a fountain surrounded by cobblestone and swarms of traffic. Walk down Eastern Parkway to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, much of which will be out of commission as winter approaches, but the bonsai trees indoors are well worth a visit. Right next to the gardens is the Brooklyn Museum. Currently on view are a pair of politically oriented exhibits including “Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection” (read my review for Blouin Artinfo here) and, most recently, “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” featuring Black artists working between 1963-’83. From the Civil Rights Movement to the rise of the Black Panthers, this was a particularly fraught period in US history and race relations. Brooklyn Museum is also home to “The Dinner Party,” 1974-’79 a monumental installation by Judy Chicago, and perfect companion to “Half the Picture.”Head to the nearby Prospect Heights and Crown Heights neighborhoods for plenty of interesting options for drinking and dining. One of my favorites is Sharlene’s, a long, dim shotgun bar home to many writers and artists sharing late-night musings. For the beer connoisseur, there are several breweries in Brooklyn like Other Half, Three’s, Greenpoint, and, of course, Brooklyn Brewing, but to get a taste of just about any beer your heart might desire, Covenhoven has it all in one place. It’s expansive beer list offers pours that range from a 4-ounce tasting to a regulation-size pint.For those with thirst and a sweet tooth, Butter & Scotch serves desserts alongside cocktails. Enjoy cake with wine, pie with whiskey, and ice cream sundaes, which are best enjoyed on their own. Meme’s Diner is one of Brooklyn’s hottest new restaurants and imaginatively reinvents lowbrow home-style dishes like meatloaf. Historically, many generations of people from the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean have lived in these neighborhoods; The Islands is a longtime neighborhood joint serving up excellent jerk chicken and goat curry.http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder: Louise Blouin p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px 'Times New Roman'} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 11.0px} Read more