Posts tagged ‘NYC’

February 28th, 2013

More of Quirky New York City

by Joanna Eng

I’ve fallen behind in documenting my local adventures, but here are some highlights from the past few months:

  • The Steinway & Sons piano factory tour was inspiring and educational, probably the best tour I’ve ever been on in my life. And it’s right in Astoria, Queens. This photo doesn’t do it justice, but it was the only room where photos were allowed because there were no workers.

Steinway piano factory tour

  • In Sleep No More, adventurous theatergoers put on creepy white masks and explore a five-floor building with dim lighting and scary/antique props, all the while chasing around actors who are performing mostly silent scenes in unpredictable locations. I honestly couldn’t piece together much of a plot, but I loved independently wandering the set for three hours.
  • Hangawi is a special dinner spot, an oasis of calm in the middle of the frantic area of Koreatown/Midtown East. Guests take off their shoes and sit on pillows, with their feet in recessed spaces below floor level. The menu is all vegetarian. I also like the less-fancy sister restaurant, Franchia, that’s nearby.
  • Riding the vintage holiday train was a perfect way to brighten a winter day. I love that it runs on the regular subway line, making regular stops, and surprising regular riders who had no idea this was a even a thing.

Vintage holiday train

  • There’s a hidden artsy elevator in an otherwise boring office building about a mile from my house, and I found it!
  • The Amazing Maize Maze at the Queens County Farm Museum made for a fun, rural outing in the city. I’m sure corn mazes are much larger and more challenging when they’re anywhere besides NYC, but this one does the trick for city dwellers.

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Posted in Destinations, Staycations, Travel Writing | No Comments »

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August 24th, 2012

Before I Leave New York . . .

by Joanna Eng

It’s not totally official, but I might be moving within a year or two. In my seven years here, I’ve been pretty good about exploring all five boroughs and taking advantage of the fact that you can do absolutely anything in NYC. (Marched with an LGBT group in a Chinese New Year parade? Check. Eaten Japanese/Italian fusion, a kimchi burrito, and a Thai soy hot dog? Check. Biked all five boroughs in a day? Check. Lived in a windowless closet for three months? Check. Made corn tortillas in the kitchen of a Mexican restaurant? Check. Scanned Martha Stewart’s ID card at a high-profile conference? Check.)

Running around the reservoir in Central Park. Photo by Ed Yourdon

Here’s what remains on my must-do list:

What’s on your to-explore list for NYC or wherever you live?

Posted in Staycations | 1 Comment »

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December 21st, 2011

Book Review: Zinester’s Guide to NYC

by Joanna Eng

Let me start by saying I’m not a zinester. I have never really read a zine beyond casually paging through one in a bookstore. Nonetheless, the idea of a “wholly analog” guide book with alternative picks appealed to me. So I checked out the Zinester’s Guide to NYC from the public library.

The guide is not a zine but an actual book, printed, bound, and distributed by an indie company. The primary author, Ayun Halliday, got some of her zine-making friends to contribute reviews and suggestions that appear in the book. The result is a collection of funny, weird, cheap, random, participatory, vegan, artsy, etc., things to do in all five boroughs.

Park(ing) Day photo by Barry Hoggard

I love the inclusion of tons of hands-on activities like pie bake-offs, story telling events, juggling classes, mix tape exchanges, guest bartending, turning a parking spot into a public park, and displaying your own art on street poles. I love the section on vegetarian restaurants. I love the handwritten list of songs, books, and movies about New York City that runs along the bottom of each page. I love the lists of places to find the best bathroom graffiti and old-school black-and-white photo booths. I love that the book not only mentions rats and other disgusting sights and smells, but expounds on these subjects—way to keep it real.

The book definitely has flaws. Beyond the typos and formatting inconsistencies that I spotted—who knows, maybe they were left in on purpose to make it more zinelike and immediate?—I wasn’t too impressed with the book’s coverage of Queens, my home borough. For instance, the list of bars in Queens only includes businesses in Astoria, the yuppiest neighborhood of all. The section on volunteer opportunities also seemed limited to me: there are plenty more nonprofits in the city that would appeal to readers, so why are these the only ones highlighted? I guess it’s more of a list of the places the author’s friends have volunteered. And I suppose that characterizes the spirit of the entire book, in a way.

All in all, I’d say the book is worth the low price ($9) for those with quirky tastes who are new to the city or planning a trip here for more than a few days. If you don’t have a group of artsy, adventurous friends to show you the ropes, this guide book is a good stand-in.

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December 17th, 2011

Restaurants That Treat Workers Well

by Joanna Eng

A lot of talk about ethical restaurant choices revolves around the food itself and whether it’s local, organic, seasonal, healthy, natural, humanely produced, and so on. Obviously, I’m interested in those foodie factors, but what about how the restaurant treats its employees? When dining out, it would be nice to know not just whether your steak is from a grass-fed cow, but whether your server and the rest of the staff are being paid fairly.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United) just released a Diners’ Guide (the first annual) to help people choose where to eat based on businesses’ track records with fairness towards employees and opportunities offered to employees. You can download the guide and other advocacy information here.

A standout in DC. Photo by Katie Campbell

The Diners’ Guide assesses a limited number of restaurants in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Washington, DC, and a few others spots, as well as plenty of national chains. Businesses range from cheap eats to fine dining, and the guide shows that most of those evaluated do not live up to ROC-United’s standards. There are some standouts, though, and it’s especially helpful to see which fast food chains offer paid sick days, adequate wages, and the like.

If you really want to support restaurant workers’ rights, perhaps a night out at COLORS is in order. It’s an eclectic restaurant founded and cooperatively owned by former workers of the Windows on the World—which was at the top of the World Trade Center—who survived 9/11 and went on to create the Restaurant Opportunities Center. It’s actually the social enterprise arm of ROC-United, and it has been on my to-eat list for years.

Others that earned top marks in New York City include Cowgirl, Craft, Crema, Good, La Palapa, Las Chicas Locas, Nectar, One If By Land, and the restaurants under Union Square Hospitality Group (Blue Smoke, Shake Shack, Union Square Cafe, etc.).

Posted in Eat Lightly | No Comments »

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December 5th, 2011

8 Gift Ideas for the NYC Adventurer

by Joanna Eng

For that New Yorker who doesn’t stop exploring, here are some gifts that might be their speed. (True, this is more or less a wish list for myself, but I thought it would be helpful to others too.)

Photo of the New Museum by Jeffrey Chung

Free Arts NYC membership: A $35 (minimum) donation to this local educational arts and mentoring nonprofit gets you an entire year of free access to the Bronx Museum, the Dia:Beacon, and the Museum for African Art, plus two-for-one deals at 16 more museums and other benefits. On the donation page, just select “Membership Card is a gift for” and put in the recipient’s name.

Brooklyn Brainery gift certificate: At this crowdsourced educational center, you can take inexpensive classes on practically any subject that people are willing to teach. Course titles have included “Abandoned New York City,” “How to Kill at Karaoke,” “Weird Spices,” “Beekeeping 101,” “Foreign Alphabets,” “Pizza History,” “How to Shop in Chinatown,” and “Fashion Anthropology through Shoes.” Gift certificates start at just $5.

Forgotten New York by Kevin Walsh: Even the most savvy New Yorker will learn something new from this guide book that points out obscure and quirky spots around the five boroughs. As one reviewer quipped, “There are no more nooks nor crannies in NYC left to find hidden gems. Kevin Walsh has found them all.” It’s $14.95 on Amazon.

AMC’s Best Day Hikes Near New York City by Daniel Case: This guide book details 50 day hikes accessible from NYC—many via public transportation. It would be a helpful reference on those weekend days when you just need to take a break from urban life but don’t have time for a full-fledged vacation. I have used the Berkshires book of the same series and would highly recommend it. You can get it for $11.67 on Amazon.

The Diner’s Deck: Packaged like a deck of playing cards, each set of 52 coupons lets you finally try out some of those restaurants you’ve been meaning to go to for years. Every card is a $10 gift certificate that can be used with a $30 purchase anytime during 2012. It’s $29.95 for a restaurant deck or $19.95 for the bar and lounge version. A good deal if you use more than a few of them throughout the year.

Smartbox Adventure Gift Card: Similar to the Diner’s Deck, this is a set of gift certificates for over 60 businesses in the New York area. Activities include horseback riding, rock climbing, biking, paintball, windsurfing, swimming, fencing, paragliding, surfing, skateboarding, and martial arts. It’s $58.65 at Barnes & Noble. Smartbox also sells gift card sets focused on restaurants, spas, B&Bs, and family fun.

Unlimited Ride MetroCard: For someone who doesn’t already get these automatically every month through their job, an unlimited card frees them up to explore the whole city via subway and bus for a whole week ($29) or month ($104) without having to pay. This pass makes for a good gift because the recipient can begin their free period of transport anytime they want, provided they do so before the expiration date—which is usually pretty far into the future.

Zipcar or Mint membership: Car sharing is a practical option for someone who wants to use a car occasionally, since not all of NYC is easily accessible by public transportation. Membership comes with perks like free gas, convenient pick-up spots, hybrid and other low-emissions vehicles, and lower rates than those of typical car rental companies. Mint only offers cars in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, while Zipcar is more widespread. Note that you’ll need access to the person’s driver’s license and other personal info to sign them up.

Any other ideas?

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November 18th, 2010

5 Ideas for Winter Staycations

by Joanna Eng

There are millions of things to do in New York, even in the cold weather. If you want to save jet fuel and money this winter, but you still hate the biting wind and dirty slush, here are some ideas:

1. Check out a museum that you’ve never been to. In New York, that shouldn’t be hard. You probably haven’t been to the Skyscraper Museum, the Ukrainian Museum, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Museum of Chinese in America, the City Reliquary, and the New York Transit Museum. Am I right?

2. Peruse an indoor market. Want to feel like you’re at an open-air market, minus the numb fingers? Head to the Brooklyn Flea (indoors on Sundays), Astoria Market, GreenFlea (has an indoor space), Limelight Marketplace, Essex Street Market, or Chelsea Market. Or catch one of the seasonal craft fairs like the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade, Bust Magazine Craftacular, Brooklyn Friends School’s Winter Festival, Eat Pie & Shop, or 3rd Ward Handmade Holiday Craft Fair.

3. Get your fill of warm beverages. Scour the city for hot chocolate, apple cider, mulled wine, and soup. Don’t miss the annual Hot Chocolate Festival at City Bakery, where there’s a different flavor every day for a whole month!

Photo by thegourmetro

4. Don’t even leave your apartment. OK, you might have to leave your apartment just once, for a big run to the library and the grocery store. Stock up on all those books you’ve been meaning to read and all the ingredients for those complex dishes you never had the time or patience for before. (Or if you’re like me, you can just invite your brother to stay with you for a few days so he can make you delicious things like pumpkin ravioli.) For seasonal recipes from local bloggers, see Not Eating Out in New York, Sustainable Pantry, and Big Girls Small Kitchen.

5. Get active. Maybe you actually don’t want to sit around all day, every day, and you’re up for a little adventure. Try an indoor rock climbing gym like Brooklyn Boulders, an indoor ice skating rink like City Ice Pavilion, or indoor batting cages at The Baseball Center.

Any other suggestions?

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November 11th, 2010

Ordinary Objects, Extraordinary Art

by Joanna Eng

Today marks the kick-off of two exciting public art projects.

Photo by aloha orangeneko

Canstruction

This is an annual competition in which teams of engineers and architects create sculptures out of (full) cans of food. Afterward, all of the cans will be donated to organizations that combat hunger. Last year, I loved some of the imaginative entries like a changing walk/don’t walk sign, a world map, and a giant slice of pumpkin pie.

In New York, it starts today at the World Financial Center, and the canned works of art are viewable to the public until Thanksgiving. (To see what’s happening in over 100 other cities, see the Canstruction website.) They just ask that you bring a can of food to donate while you’re checking out the exhibition.

I love this project because it’s a creative way to get professionals and the public involved in a nonprofit cause, the sculptures are impressive, and it’s just so much fun. I was happy to learn that artists will be judged on the nutritional value of their work. Last year I remember thinking that I know sardines and tuna are relatively good for you, but just because they’re convenient shapes for construction doesn’t mean that food pantries want to be overflowing with them.

In Plain Site

This project by ArtBridge opens today on 23rd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues) in Manhattan. Contemporary art pieces were selected to be hung in one of the most public spots imaginable: right on the streets of New York City. In a unique partnership, the pieces are pasted to the side of scaffolding used in construction. Scaffolding is such a common sight in the city—why not turn it into a fine art exhibit?

Posted in Art with Purpose | 2 Comments »

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