Arthur Avenue is really the place to go if you want to eat along with a Botanical Gardens trip. We had a great meal at Roberto’s just before COVID, as well as good pizza by the slice at Full Moon and bureks at Tony and Tina’s. Plenty of other excellent pizza to be had on the strip as well. I always stop in to Calabria Pork store for salumi when I am in the neighborhood as well.
3 Likes
Yes. I have had no problem with the NYS Excelsior Pass nor the newer NYC app. Though my Excelsior Pass will expire in September - 6 months after my March vaccination. I don’t know what I’ll do after that.
The NYC pass should be ok for me. All it does is save a photo of your ID and your vaccine card.
If you do decide to visit I can offer some ideas. With all respect, most of the advice you have been provided is out of date and what we used to call “Bridge and Tunnel” 
(NYC respondents’ advice not included. 
)
2 Likes
Did you go? Very interested to hear about it. I went to bbf a few days after it opened, and THAT was something.
3 Likes
“…Though my Excelsior Pass will expire in September - 6 months after my March vaccination. I don’t know what I’ll do after that”
Mine was set to expire this month so I went back in and re-registered, using the same method as a new registration. Quick and easy. It now expires in March.
3 Likes
"… If you are here Tues 8/24 thru Thurs 8/26 and have any interest at all in tennis, the US Open Qualifiers will be happening and are totally free all day, with unlimited in and out privileges".
Well, you (shrinkrap) weren’t gonna be here that week anyway but, for anyone else who might’ve picked up on my above recommendation - nope. The USTA has made the Qual. week non accessible to spectators. For no obviously good reason, I might add, as the tournament starts the following Monday with no reductions in capacity nor any mask requirements. I’ll still be going though.
2 Likes
Thank you, Steve! Very helpful.
1 Like
Hi @SteveR ! Thanks for circling back - that had me all excited.
(Doubt there will be any other sensible changes in light of the Albany drama at the moment.)
1 Like
Not yet. Reservation is for next week. How was bbf? I have that on the list of places to try.
1 Like
Really good. I had three pairs of sushi bombs (uni, tuna/avocado and ikura) and the homemade cold udon - probably the best I’ve ever had. This and two mid-priced sakes set me back $80+, so I’m definitely not going to become a regular, much as I’d like to. There’s a lot more of the menu that interests me, and the staff and atmosphere are great.
3 Likes
Places should be honoring non-nyc proof - meaning the physical card or photo thereof, when you arrive.
Just call or email and let them know you’re from out of town (I mean - I’m local, but my vaccinations were done out of state - there are plenty of locals in that situation.)
3 Likes
Thank you. We are looking at new Hotels. Maybe Bryanf Park. I’m having flashbacks of curfews last year, and I wasn’t even there.
1 Like
If you choose the Bryant Park Hotel and are interested in upscale dining, you should consider going to Gabriel Kreuther, which is directly across the park from the hotel. We recently had a seriously delicious lunch (served only Thursdays and Fridays) in their lovely outdoor area. (We are not doing any indoor dining.) Dinner outdoors and indoors is served Monday - Saturday. Reservations are accepted for both areas.
5 Likes
Have you stayed at Bryant Park? I stayed there maybe 7-8 years ago. Nice location, but the room was a little too minimalist/Spartan for me. I guess I tend to lean towards historic hotels or retrofitted historic hotels when I stay in Manhattan. Haven’t been since 2019 - so my info based on my experiences is out of date. I have been choosing to stay near Murray Hill / Park Ave S or NoMad on my last 2 trips.
Stayed at the Redbury in Dec 2018 (loud heater/HVAC but otherwise nice experience) and a very quiet, bang-for-the- buck basic Marriott Residence Inn near NoMad in Aug 2019.
I think I’ll probably splurge a little more on my next visit.
1 Like
I don’t think so. Thank you!
Husband does the flights, excursions and hotels and I try to do the eats.
1 Like
The Bryant Park Hotel certainly has good service, and there’s a Whole Foods a block away, which is convenient.
I haven’t stayed at any Library Collection Hotels yet. They’ve always caught my eye. Sometimes they’re available at a similar rate to the Bryant Park . 
https://libraryhotelcollection.com/en/
I have stayed at the Algonquin several times- which has the benefit of having large -for- NYC old rooms, so some have 2 double beds, which can be hard to find. It is older, on a fairly ordinary block of W 44th St with a dozen other 3 and 4 star hotels. There is a cat who lives on the ground floor, so that might turn off people with cat allergies. I’ve always had a good experience staying there.
1 Like
Do you mean Governor stuff? Is there anything I should know?
Maybe he will be moving to Manhattan, around the same time you visit? 
1 Like
You mean to Rikers Island? grin
Is it too political to wonder what Sandra Lee is thinking?
A colleague of mine stopped at ONE15 Marina in Brooklyn on Tuesday night. Unable to find a restaurant to eat in walking distance without an Excelsior Pass so they ordered delivery pizza on the boat. They made it to New Baltimore last night, just south of Albany.
All the paperwork is set up for the US-Canada border crossing, but they couldn’t get in a restaurant. I wouldn’t have noticed. Restaurants still give me the heebie-jeebies.
1 Like
Its not an excelsior pass requirement. Just evidence of vaccination and that doesn’t start until next Monday and you can still eat outdoors even if you don’t have proof or are not vaccinated. I’m surprised your friend couldn’t find a spot to eat. Since the marina is in the park, there are a bunch of places close by. There’s even one that only has outdoor dining.
2 Likes
I’m only passing along what was reported. I don’t know how many places they checked. I do know they’d had a long day and are hand steering. They particularly wanted to stop in Brooklyn and ONE15 doesn’t have a fuel dock so they had pulled into Liberty Landing fuel which means twice across NY Harbor and dealing with the unfortunate Staten Island ferries.
