Overnight Drunk In Manhattan

It was only supposed to be for a night. This sunday I had booked a ticket to find my brother and his girlfriend in New York. One of my mates was also in town so we all decided to meet up. 24 hours later I'm drunk and unable to fall asleep in a very interesting hostel in Brooklyn with a job interview only hours away, uh oh.

Getting to New York was already going to be interesting. The weekend kicked off with my friends and I finding fedoras. After the purchasing of the fedoras we sang Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Ray Charles poorly in a parking lot. After a lovely birthday dinner and an epic late night conversation in a parking lot it was bed time at 4am.

Saturday was lovely. I saw my adorable Grandma and then got all dressed up for a 20's themed party at my good friend Adams. I made Sangria, danced when necessary and again went to bed at 4am. But at least my mates and I looked good.

Though I cannot say the same for 6am when I went to the bus terminal.

Regardless I spent the next 4 hours on the bus asleep and unresponsive, much like the Russian National Hockey team in the Olympics.

I got to NYC and it was good to be back. I met my brother and his girlfriend at STIX Mediterranean grill in the flatiron district (112 E. 23rd st). If you want a really good lunch that is cheap and tasty this is a great place to go. It also sports a really good coffee menu and their barista always does a great job. Afterwards we went to Lomography (if you are into old school photography check it out! 41 W8th St, off of 5 ave.) and SOHO.

That night we went to Eataly (200 5th Avenue, off of 23rd st), also in the flatiron district. If you are going to go here beware, you might have to wait an hour to eat. My lovely friend Steph from Australia met us there and we had to wait. Luckily after hunting like sharks for an open table in the Antipasto section we found one! After a bottle of wine, antipasti, and the girl next to us talking AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE we got to eat. My favorite section in Eataly is the Verdure (vegetables) section. The veggies are cooked so well and like any good Italian dish it leaves you full and feeling good. We got some gelato, espresso, and panna cotta for dessert (all of their desserts are great by the way) and went to my favorite hangout in all of Manhattan, 230 5th. 230 5th is an inconspicuous apartment building next to a 7-11 on 5th avenue between 27th and 28th street. You walk in through revolving doors and a man asks for your id. You follow a path of velvet rope and there is a golden elevator with a pinkish light emanating from it. Press floor 20 and voila! You are in a really hip lounge with my favorite photo booth in America and an amazing view of Manhattan, but that is not the best part. There is a set of stairs that you walk up and once you pass through the glass doors in front of you is something pretty amazing. 

The Empire State Building. It's an amazing sight whatever season it may be, but lucky for us there was still snow on the roof top to make the setting even more beautiful. Downstairs we got drinks and chatted and this is where it got out of hand.

Steph: Mike, want to hang out in NYC tomorrow?

Mike: (without even hesitating) Sure we can get real Pizza, go to the 9/11 memorial

Steph: We can go to a speak easy too!

Mike: Holy $@*$@($@$

Once Steph and I realized that Ray and his girlfriend were still there we stopped our ridiculous plotting and behaved like normal humans again. 

Kind of. 

Our next stop was a swanky jazz bar down the street called Jazz Standard (116 E 27th St). Unlike 230 5th it lacks a breathtaking view, but it's servers are amazing. In the middle of this beautiful wood finished bar that has so many types of drinks it has ladder to reach all of the pretty glass bottles, there is a stage with a big red backdrop and a shiny microphone. While we did miss the jazz session, the atmosphere, drinks, and service were top notch. This is a great place to relax and have a nice drink. 

The next morning I had to get down to Brooklyn. Steph said she had found a very cheap hostel and we agreed to meet there before our pizza odyssey. After getting off of the train and watching multiple people stack it on the icy sidewalks I made it to the hostel and I must say, it had a lot of personality. This hostel was just a house run by a couple of guys. if you aren't into germs, guys who wont get out of bed, or two adorable rabbits just doing there thing it's not the place for you but if you are on a budget and need a bed definitely check out NYC Hostel (140 15th st, brooklyn). 

From there it was off to one of the best places to get pizza in NYC: L & B Spumoni Gardens. 

If you want real pizza, go here. Take the N Train downtown and get off at the Avenue U stop. From there it is just an 8 minute walk to L & B Spumoni Gardens on 86th street. It's old school, off the beaten path, and damn tasty which is one of the best things to have. 

From there we went to a place that has always eluded me, the 9/11 memorial. If you have time, give it a visit. 

After this, you are going to need a pick me up. It is a very emotional place for anyone, so Steph and I decided to go to the speakeasy. I forget how she had heard of it but it sounded cool, it was a bar hidden in a hot dog stand. That sentence sounds dirty, but it's true. We had a great walk down 8th street which turned into St. Mark street and along the way there were some great restaurants. 

The hot dog stand is like something you would see out of a movie. There are arcade machines that dont work. There was a sad sack guy chatting to a very uninterested hot dog vendor. Inside there is a phone booth. Inside the phone booth are some rules regarding appearance and etiquette and obviously a phone. You spin the dial once and...

A nicely dressed lady comes out and tells you that you are early and they don't open until 6pm. So one hot dog later we get in and it's awesome. You know how I know? There is a bear with a cap. Also, it's another immaculate set up, very intimate, and the menu is intense. As you may or may not know I'm bad at alcohol. So when the amazing bartender asks if I have any questions I say no and read the indecipherable menu confused as to what is what. Steph gets the Manhattan because hey, we are in Manhattan. I decide on the Severine, named after the Bond Woman in Skyfall. The bartender crafts the drinks like Beyonce drops albums and our drinks appear before us perfectly made. These drinks by the way, are the strongest damn drinks on the planet and both Steph and I have the tolerance of an 8 year old. This place is a great getaway, if you seek adventure and drinks that will hit you so hard you think your name is Sven and you are from Finland find Crif Dogs, dial the phone and enjoy. We walked down the street as cool as possible.

As cool as possible for two lightweights. We stumbled into an amazing Mexican place, La Palapa on 77 St. Marks place. Again, it's another place with an amazing atmosphere, good service and great food. We shared a chorizo quesadilla, calamari, and taquitos de papa (potatoes) and they were great. We also shared a pitcher of Margarita. Our last stop was a place called Maria's Crisis located near Gay street. I'm not kidding, we passed a drag queen on the corner of Gay street. I heard about this bar in Sydney from a lovely older couple. They said a lot of broadway hopefuls work or frequent the place and that show tunes are sung constantly. I liked the place, but did not love it. While the piano player was magical and the setting was cool enough the prices were outrageous. 7 dollars for a beer? Steph was not pleased. On the flip side wine was only 5 dollars and the singing was cool. 

The way back to the hostel was fun and the place itself was chill. There was an eclectic cast staying there but it was cheap and easy. The next morning I got to see Manhattan get covered in a gentle snow and I was off to DC to get work in the same clothes I had been wearing for over to days and the best part is, I got the job.

In 36 hours we managed to enjoy:

The Flatiron District

Washington Square Park

SOHO

MSG

An up close view of the Empire State Building

A Jazz bar with no Jazz

Real Pizza

The World Trade Center

A Speakeasy

Broadway singing in a bar

Who knew seeing my brother could turn into such an amazing adventure! A big shout out to the lovely Steph Bryant, Ray, Joanna. See you next time when I go to the place I've always wanted to go:

San Francisco

Until next time