I’m sure you have a case of the Mondays, especially after having one of the best weekends, weather-wise, that we have had in New York City in a while. Unfortunately, the forecast calls for a return to snowy days on Tuesday, so you better get out while you can. Here’s the Monday Nightlife Rundown: Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 100%
Taj (48 West 21st Street, New York)
Thursday, February 17, 2010: Can’t you smell the weekend? Most of you are starting your weekend tonight–whether you have to work tomorrow or not. If you fit into that category, there are plenty of late night parties and bars to get into tonight, including one heck of a party going on at Suzie Wongs. But I’ll start off with a familiar face from the early 2000’s. There weren’t a lot of funny people on the anti-rap MTV of my adolescence, but this guy below was one of the few MTV personalities that could keep my attention for more than five minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 81%
Negril Village
I remember hearing about El Nino all the time when I was younger, and back then, it seemed so “special” that I would have sworn it was a once in a lifetime event. Unfortunately, El Nino has struck again, including this latest snowfall that took sprinkled Manhattan with an inch of snow last night. Nevertheless, that little bit of snow is not going to affect anything going on in Tuesday’s Nightlife Rundown for February 16, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 72%
Monday’s aren’t so bad when you don’t have to go to work, huh? Hopefully, you’re taking advantage of it already. However, if you need some tips and ideas on where to go later on tonight, here are a couple of weekly Monday night events that should help cap what I hope has already been an entertaining three-day weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 79%
The snow may be coming down in Manhattan, but they don’t call this the city that never sleeps for nothing. Here is the Wednesday Rundown for February 10, 2010.
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Popularity: 51%
Interested in an afterwork spot that can reinsert the soul into your New York City lifestyle after 10 hours of work has sucked the energy right out of you? Well, try anyone of these establishments, as they are sure to comfort your afterwork quest for relaxation and a peaceful mind before you have to get up and go back to work all over again!
Tillman’s – 165 W. 26th Street, New York, NY
How can someone go to Tillman’s and not like it? It’s one of the best experiences in all of New York City, and there is no doubt that it’s a place where anyone can fit in. The music selection is on point, with both new and old musical choices from the hip-hop, R&B and soul genres. They even have the occasional live performance at Tillman’s. Of course, the weekend DJs (such as Qool Marv) add some true class to the joint, with an onslaught of Neo soul, Afro-beat and underground hip-hop. Tillman’s is also a great place to just chill. With swinging barriers that give each patron or party a since of privacy, it’s wise to come with a partner or a group of people if you’re interested in stirring up conversation. As for the food, it’s first rate—what you might call—gourmet soul food. In fact, “The Mack” (macaroni and cheese), which is made with sage, peas, mascarpone, bacon and bread crumbs, is reason enough to come to Tillman’s. Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 39%
During these difficult times, it can be hard to justify spending more money on a plate of food than you spend on your monthly subway fare, but often, high-price dining is just yet another costly byproduct of living in New York City.
So what can you do?
Revolt!
Fight back! Don’t pay the exorbitantly high prices for a plate of food you can down in 2 minutes. Go to the places in New York City where your money gets you more bite for your buck!
Here are a few places with recession-like prices, all of the time!
Croxley Ales – 28 Avenue B, New York, NY
Can you even imagine paying just 10-cents for every buffalo wing you eat? Well, every Monday and Wednesday, you can do just that by heading over to the Lower East Side for a good, cheap time at Croxley Ales. They have the best wing deal in town, given you choice of buffalo, barbeque, teriyaki and other delectable chicken wing flavors, all for the low-low price of 10-cents a piece. There is a drink minimum of $4, but with their world-class selection of international beers, it would be tough for any beer drinker to voluntarily drink anything less than $4 worth of suds. So head over to Croxley Ales this week and try out this amazing deal, and I’m sure you’ll be headed back time and time again. Maybe I’ll see you there!
Better Burger – 178 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
Who says eating cheap can’t be healthy? Well, even in this economy, it’s quite possible to get a delectable and healthy meal for a reasonable price—sort of. Call it the vegan of carnivorous dishes, but the “better burger” is made up free range beef, thus guaranteeing you some of the healthiest red meat available. On top of using grass-fed cows, Better Burger cooks their burgers on charcoal, fat-draining grills (ala George Foreman) to make sure your better burger is as free of fat as possible. To top it all off, your burger is served to you with romaine lettuce and tomatoes on a whole-wheat bun. All of this comes for just $5.99! Yes, it is that cheap, and it’s twice as good. For a little extra, you can get some of the tastiest fries you will have ever had, as they are sprinkled with olive oil and then baked to perfection.
Burrito Box – 885 9th Avenue, New York, NY
Looking for a healthier, cheaper alternative to Chipotle? Well, try Burrito Box, the gourmet, organic choice for Mexican food. Burrito Box has the best select meats, vegetables and beans. Their burrito choices include the Grilled Chicken, Grilled Steak, Chili Con Carne, BBQ Chicken and my favorite, Chicken Ranchero. You also have the option of having your burrito served in a whole-wheat or spinach tortilla. They have plenty of options for vegetarians, including burritos stuffed with spinach-Portobello, spinach tofu, vegan chili or mixed vegetables. And I would be remiss not to mention their offering of nachos, quesadillas and taco salads, all of which I have tried, all of which are unbelievably good, and all of which are listed for less than $7 bucks. Go ahead, you can thank me!
Popularity: 13%
Burgers! How can you not love them? They are the common man’s food alternative to steak and filet mignon, and sometimes, they’re even better than the real thing. Besides, unless you work for AIG, who can afford to cough up $35+ for a decent steak in Manhattan these days?
I didn’t think so.
So to help you out, here are some of New York’s best, and cheapest, burgers:
M2M – 2935 Broadway, New York, NY 10025
Yes, that’s right! Travel on up to the Upper West Side to get one of the best burgers in Manhattan. Columbia students already know about this diamond in the rough, but allow me to share it with New York City’s masses. I don’t know what they do, or how they do it, but somehow these seemingly amateur short-order cooks serve up one of the best burgers I have ever had in New York City. In a place where they’re selling Tropicana fruit punch and sushi, you can still go to the order station, ask for a cheeseburger deluxe, and be blown out of your mind as to just how tender and flavorful the burgers they make are. Not to mention, any deluxe burger order comes with fries, which just happen to be some of the most addicting fries I’ve ever had, despite the fact that I’m pretty sure they come straight out of wholesale bag. I usually go for the ultimate death nail of a burger, a double-patty with cheese and bacon. Sure, it doesn’t do much for my heart, but my stomach never complains.
Blue 9 – 92 3rd Avenue, New York, NY
Blue 9 doesn’t have the biggest burgers or the most tender burgers either. But what they do have is a piece of meat that is so full of flavor, oils and is prepared with a careful touch right up until they stuff it in the greasy bag they give it to you in. Their burgers are placed in a nice little bun, served with tomato and onions, and you have the option to turn it into a heat-producing firecracker or you can simply get the “Blue 9” burger, a double cheeseburger with more taste in a single bite than just about any other burger in Manhattan.
Shake Shack – Multiple Manhattan Locations
I wasn’t sold on the merits of the Shake Shack burger at first—that is until, of course, I tried it! With several Shake Shack locations now in Manhattan, you really have no excuse not to have tried this L.A.-style burger. Loaded with everything from lettuce, tomato, shake sauce and Portobello mushrooms, the Shake Stack burger is my favorite. Like Blue 9, they aren’t the biggest burgers in the world, but the Shake Stack burger is a double-stuffed. The fries here make the burger, and if you’re feeling extra risqué, you have the option of adding cheese to those fried potatoes. So the next time you see that giant line oozing out of the Shake Shack venue during lunch time, don’t question those patrons’ merits. Just grab a spot in line next to them!
Popularity: 15%
