I loved that place. But I loved Soba Koh even more.
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Name and address:
There use to be a Ben and Jack’s location across the street (next to the museum of sex, that’s how I know it’s there) so my routine use to be a great steak dinner, then after dinner drinks across the street at 230th 5th. This was one of the places in contention for my daughters 21st birthday - however when we showed up there one afternoon so she can view the venue, they wouldn’t let us up because she was under 21. I explained quite plainly that was the purpose of our visit, to book a 21st birthday party and I wouldn’t mind being accompanied by security while we viewed the venue. That was met with a hard “no”, so off to the Kimberly we were and that became the b-day venue. Stoopid.
CNBC - there isn’t much more to the story. I had an old VHS tape of it, but I don’t know what happened to it. Pretty much we were there as they were filming and my group and I were in the background. After a segment a producer came up and said they were going to do a sit down interview in the bar with a guest, would we mind standing with them and listening in on the conversation as background observers, we said sure.!! They did the segment and I was right behind the person being interviewed, I nodded in agreement, etc. etc. After that the same producer thanked us and asked what we were doing there, I explained I owned a steakhouse in NJ - brought my management to NY to the convention then to dinner etc. They said, that’s great, do you mind being a lead in for our next guest the CEO of Pizza Hut (or Domino’s) I said yeah sure. They sat us down and did a brief round table of my employee’s than interviewed me about the status of high end dining. This was circa 2008/2009 as we were in the grips of the “great of the recession” - so it was quite challenging times.
(funny side note: I use to have a private / personal stretched town car limousine, which I used in my day job and night job. I would pick up/drop off my VIP customers to the steakhouse via limo etc. My driver, whom I still use today sans limo, was sitting with us and they interviewed him too. lol)
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Thanks for the name and address and great story!
I’m going to have to work now, but I’m going to check in when I get a chance.
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I don’t keep up with New York restaurants as much as I used to. My brother lived in the city for 15 years and I made every effort to visit him as often as I could, mostly to eat and shop at the cool vintage shops (which probably no longer exist). Honmura An was one of my food stops. Bummer.
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A better alternative to the Circle Line would be to have oysters and cocktails on either the Grand Banks or Pilot. Very civilized way to spend an afternoon on a boat.
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I think I saw that on “Somebody Feed Phil” and he was with Al Rocker!
I’m also fond of their Governor’s Island place. I think it’s the same outfit.
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I saw that episode and I remember thinking this is horrible. Phil has ruined it, the secret is out and now it will be over run with tourists. Its actually been very nice since restaurants have reopened. You need to make a reservation and prepay $25 a person. Its not too crowded. Just a very pleasant way to spend the evening and watch the sun set. Can get pricey really quickly if you eat oysters with abandon though.
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I can help here. There is a lot of fluff. I’m not convinced about acupressure and I’m not sure how much of ginger (crystallized to candy to Ginger Ale) works and how much is placebo effect. The OTC stuff like Dramamine definitely works but with varying effectivity from person to person and various side effects; you need to start 24 hours ahead of exposure.
There are three approaches I can be confident work.
There is a medication not available for motion sickness in the US (here it is prescribed for morning sickness in pregnant women) but widely used in the ROTW including OTC in Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda, and Canada. I’m blocking on the name but can dredge it up if desired. Extremely effective.
The best thing you can do is get a conventional anti-nausea drug in suppository form. Apply shortly before exposure to motion. This works great, rapid take-up, and you can’t throw up a suppository.
Sex. I don’t know why. Endorphins? Somewhat anecdotal but definitely works. Not sure how you work that in on a Circle Line tour.
I’ll pitch in two.
Georges Rey on West 55th St. Very expensive. Extremely good.
Hi Class Pizza in Bellerose Queens. Outstanding New York pizza. My father used to bring five or six pies home, stopping on the way to LaGuardia, on business trips. You’ll have to take the subway to Queens Center and then the Q43 bus out Jericho Turnpike. The place has been there forever.
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When was the last time you went? West 55th isn’t far from me and I’ve never heard of Georges Rey. I was curious as to what it was. A quick google search had something in the 80s. But mostly what I saw were vintage menus and matchbooks.
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On The Hudson River (12th Avenue) is the Spanish Market and Eat Spain owned by José Andrés and Ferràn Adrià & Albert Adrià.
If it is still open … It has everything from products, wines to paellas … Fun ! If you like Spanish regional cuisine.
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So would that be a preventative or as needed? Nevermind. I am going to suggest we leave that alone.
I did a boat things in Porto, Portugal, and Chicago, US, and had no problems so I’m not thinking that’s the primary reason to decline. Not sure how the Circle Line “craft” compares with regard to motion sickness.
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It’s been a long time. I did a Google search and it seemed to still be there. If it is closed I’ll mourn. Special memories.
Hi-Class Pizza on the other hand is still there.
This is the area my wife and I stay in when we are in Manhattan. I can double down on @small_h 's recommendation for Wu’s Wonton King. I would also highly recommend Joe’s Shanghai for soup buns. This is the only place where the combination of pork and crab made sense to me. For banh mi go to Saigon on Broome Street; avoid the place on Grand Street. I also highly recommend Cheeky Sandwiches on Orchard Street and Great NY Noodletown on the Bowery. I have read that Cervo’s has a great lamb burger, but haven’t been there yet. Wah Fung on Chrystie Street is supposed to have the best roast meats, but it’s take-out only, so you’d have to eat it sitting in the park.
And, I believe, the place @Phoenikia mentioned, “Old Shanghai” at Mott and Bayard is actually called New Shanghai Deluxe.
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I’m so excited! Thank you.
Folks, please be sure to share any Covid related changes you are aware of. It seems to be shifting quickly now.
It is, and it’s great. It’s located in Hudson Yards, which is generally horrible. But Spanish Diner is one bright spot.
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Since you’ll be around Little Italy, we’ll add Di Palo’s for on he spot noshes or stuff to schlep home on the airplane.
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This review of Marie-Michele (Georges’ ex-wife’s restaurant) from 1987 refers to it in the past tense. It seems to be way long gone.
Yes! Best mozz!
Dude. It’s been a very long time from what I found and what small aitch has posted. I thought I was getting old but you’ve got a few years on me. You need to get back to NYC and get more current. I thought old school was Grenouille. You went pre-Columbian.
