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New York City 2021 – Part 8

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Last day in New York City for this trip!

As NJ and I called this, this was was a Jon (Ellenbogen) recommendation day.

Started the day by heading to the first Jewish deli I’ve been to in New York called Katz’s in the Lower East Side (definitely a long line, but it moves fast and it is worth it):

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/11/28/katzs/

I would not (as I think stated in a previous post, live in the Lower East Side (kind of dirty, wide streets and not new).

Afterwards, took the subway to Hudson Yard to check out the Vessel and the shops near by. Although I’ve been to that area before, they really upped the Christmas light game there (both inside the mall and outside Vessel).

From Vessel, we walked to the Chelsea neighborhood to check out an immersive exhibit by Artechouse called Machine Hallucination. Using AI, for some of the scenes, they were able to take images from social media of New York and create immersive transitions. Thought that was really cool. Also, if you want to drink, they have a bar at the top of the experience (where you can still view the whole thing). Definitely a key setup. Lastly, they did sell art NFTs at one point, but they were all sold out.

In terms of the Chelsea area, (around 15st between 11 and 9) is regentrified, and seems to be pretty lively. If considering getting a new construction place in Hudson Yard, since Chelsea area is super close Hudson Yard, one should consider that neighborhood (but I don’t think I would get an actual place in Chelsea).

After visiting Artechouse, we headed to West Village (decided Uber was best) to check out the pizza place Jon had recommended, which was called John’s of Bleecker street:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/11/28/johns-of-bleecker-street/

Between Greenwich and West Village is like Hayes valley. Lots of places to eat, and older houses. Great area for eating / dating, but too old for me to live there (think of John’s of Bleecker)

After, we headed back up near our hotel to check out a lounge called The William (we had to wait about 1.5 hours since we didn’t have a reservation, it fortunately Park Avenue Tavern was 2 minutes away):

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/11/28/the-william/

After, headed to Quantum Brooklyn (obviously in Brooklyn) to check out Aly and Fila. Then ended the night by going back to Brooklyn Navy Yard to do round 2 of Eric Prydz.

New York City 2021 – Part 7

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7th day in. New York City!

First thing this day was to switch hotels to the Grand Hyatt, which is beside Grand Central station. The hotel definitely reminded me of a Vegas hotel (big lobby, room was big, beds super comfortable). However, it did not have any amenities (like a hot tub, pool, or even a bar!). But it’s location is great (near the subway system). So a bit of mixed feelings about the hotel.

After switching hotels, we grabbed brunch near the hotel at a place called Pershing Square, which was across Grand Central’s entrance:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/11/26/pershing-square/

We then made our way to the World Trade Center in the Financial district. We checked out the pool / waterfall memorial. Unfortunately tickets to the memorial museum were sold out. Did check out the Westfield mall under the World Trade Center (which I didn’t do before). Also ate at Eately in 4 World Trade Center:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2021/11/26/eataly/

In terms of living in the financial district, I would consider it, but need to walk around more (I do like how it’s clean, and pretty new. Not sure if there is new construction or not).

After, we took the subway to the Flat Iron district and checked out the museum of sex. Interesting experience (haha, only posting PG pics below). There are two parts to it. The first part was like a regular museum (and is further divided into 3 parts. Only the first out of 3 I found interesting, which was about different devices. The second part was about Sex Violence, and the last was about sex in media). The second part was called super fun land, and was very interactive with games (ie a version of whack a mole, the claw game, and ended of with a bar). There was also a slide (that lead to the bar). I would not recommend going down the slide (too tight). I would say that museum is good for a date (maybe 4th date?).

In terms of living in the Flat Iron district, I thought the streets were not well lit, and it’s pretty dirty (and saw a sketchy group there). Will not consider that area.

To end the night, checked out the West End for a pregame, then went to Brooklyn Ship yard to catch Eric Prydz (round 1). The West End is pretty nice (clean, new construction, and is close to Amsterdam street). Definitely would consider property there. In terms of Upper West Side, it’s mainly town houses I heard (but I think some people include West end as part of the upper west side).