Favorite Bars

In the winter it's always a good idea to find a cozy bar where the music will be, hopefully, not too loud and there will be a place to sit. In the summer you really don't want to be indoors...

Domaine*** [wine] (50-04 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City)
Why: cozy, great wines and food
Fresh Salt*** (146 Beekman St., near Front St.)
Why: small, cozy and tasty appetizers
Jimmy's # 43 (43 East 7th St., East Village)
Why: basement bar with great food
Karma (51 First Ave., near 3rd St.)
Why: for the hooka aficcionados
O'Flaherty's*** (334 West 46th St.)
Why: cozy Irish pub with fireplaces, sofas and stools, and bookshelves
Oyster Bar (Grand Central Terminal)
Why: a NY classic with affordable seafood
P.J. Clarke's (915 Third Ave. at 55th St.)
Why: 125-years old, a classic NY bar
Puck Fair*** (298 Lafayette St., Nolita)
Why: rustic feel, great list of beers
The Dove*** [wine] (228 Thompson St., Greenwich Village)
Why: bar and lounge, very pleasant
Tom & Jerry's 288 Bar*** (288 Elizabeth St. at Houston St.)
Why: spacious and fun

In the summer, because they have outdoor seating:

Croxley Ales (28 Avenue B, near 3rd St.)
The Park (118 Tenth Ave., bet. 17th and 18th Sts., Chelsea)
Ulysses (95 Pearl St., Financial District)

***Absolute favorites.

(Photo: Happy Hour at Ulysses)

Lower East Side (LES)

The Lower East Side is the neighborhood that has been flourishing with new bars and restaurants, where the young and hip (and not so young and hip) go for night time entertainment. Of course there's also Williamsburg in Brooklyn, which is a little farther East, across the river.

The LES still holds the look of an older, more "authentic" New York, only we don't know for how long. (And of course this is the view of a photographer in search for more interesting sites than your usual big-city, standardized, modern architecture).

The LES is where mostly Jewish immigrants have settled and it goes roughly East from the Bowery to the East River Park and North from Houston Street to South at Canal Street. Amongst the trendy bars and restaurants you will find synagogues and Jewish food vendors, and the Tenement Museum, which can only be seen by guided tour.

The LES is home to the traditional Katz Delicatessen (200 East Houston St. at Ludlow St.). Remember the line "I'll have what she's having!" in the movie "When Harry Met Sally"?

While I have been to a few places in the LES, my number one destination there is The Living Room (154 Ludlow St., bet. Stanton and Rivington).

The Living Room is a bar that usually has free live-music acts every hour on Fridays and Saturday nights. All you pay for is, at least, one drink for every act and, hopefully, feel grateful about the experience and contribute to the red bucket that is passed around after each act. This is one of my favorite activities after dinner on a Saturday night. It's guaranteed fun for the music-curious types. It goes from folk-rock to occasional theatrical acts. (Norah Jones played there in the beginning of her career). Fabulous!

For harder-core music, you can hop to Arlene's Grocery (95 Stanton St.), which is also fun, depending on your mood.

If you're in the mood to dance to some 1980s music, La Caverna (122 Rivington St.) is your place. Literally a cave, the underground club is worth checking, if only for its decor.

A few restaurants that I have been to and recommend (there's a whole lot more to explore):

'inoteca (98 Rivington St.) [Tapas]

1492 Food (60 Clinton St.) [Tapas]
Epicerie (170 Orchard St.) [French comfort food]

Falai (68 Clinton St.) [Fantastic Italian]

Frankie's 17 Spuntino (17 Clinton St.) [super-cozy Italian]

Regate Bistro (198 Orchard St.) [French]
Schiller's (131 Rivington St.) [Continental food]

(Photo: The Living Room, Aldo Perez)

Events (Parades, Sports, etc.)

New York City has a parade for every nationality, cause or celebratory fact. Watch out because every now and then the streets will be closed and you will not be able to cross from West to East or vice versa. Then the thing to do is to relax and enjoy it!

While it would be impossible to list them all here due to flexible dates and because it is not the point of this blog, I will list a few recurring events to watch for. I've been to all of them more than once:

March

St. Patrick's Day Parade (Fifth Ave.)

April/May

Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

June

The Mermaid Parade in Coney Island

The Gay Parade (Fifth Ave.)

August/September

The US Open Tennis (Flushing Meadows)

September

Brazilian Day on 46th Street (Midtown)

October

PhotoPlus Expo (Jacob Javitz Center)

The Halloween Parade (WestVillage)

November

The NYC Marathon (Finish line in Central Park)

Thanksgiving Day Parade

(Photo: The Mermaid Parade in Coney Island)

Bookstores (Beyond Barnes & Noble)

Barnes & Noble and Borders are all over the place. They're are fun and cool and have almost everything you're looking for from books and magazines to CDs, DVDs and coffee. I enjoy them, but also enjoy smaller bookstores that focus, well, mostly on books.

Here's a list of some worth checking. I always go in if I'm in the neighborhood:

Strand Books (828 Broadway at 12th St.) [discounted books, general interest, and art books]
Shakespeare & Co. (716 Broadway, north of 4th St.) [general interest]
McNally Jackson Books (52 Prince St.) [general interest]
Printed Matter (195 Tenth Ave.) [art books in every shape or form]
192 Books (192 Tenth Ave. at 21st St.) [general interest]
St. Mark's Bookshop (31 Third Ave., near 9th St.) [general interest, sociology, philosophy, art, etc.]
Posman Books (Grand Central Terminal) [general interest]
Rizolli's (31 West 57th St., bet. 5th and 6th Aves.) [Italian books]
Librairie de France/Liberia Hispanica (610 5th Ave., Rockefeller Center) [French and Spanish books]
Urban Center Books (457 Madison, bet. 50th and 51st Sts.) [urban matters and architecture]

Tapas

You don't have to go to Spain to have incredible Spanish tapas (small plates)! Tapas bars are very popular in New York these days. Not exactly cheap, but a cool alternative for "a happy hour with wine", "a light meal", "wine tasting", "a full meal".

I guess you can make a lot of it, it all depends on your mood.

My absolute favorite is Mercat, which is actually classified as a wine bar, but has the most incredible padrones (fried green peppers) and chorizo.

Here's a list of recommended tapas places:

Mercat*** (45 Bond Street, East Village)
Bar Carrera (146 West Houston St., SoHO)
Bar Jamon*** (125 East 17th Street, near Union Square)
Bar Stuzzichini (928 Broadway, Flatiron District)
Boqueria (53 West 19th Street, Flatiron District)
Boqueria (171 Spring Street, SoHO)
Gottino*** [Italian tapas] (52 Greenwich Ave., West Village)
'inoteca (98 Rivington St., Lower East Side)
1492 Food (60 Clinton St., Lower East Side)
Perbacco*** [Italian tapas] (234 East 4th Street, Ave. A and B)
Tia Pol (205 Tenth Ave., bet. 22nd and 23rd Sts., Chelsea)
El Quinto Pino (401 West 24th St., Chelsea)

***Fabulous food