Best Brooklyn Restaurants: A Day of Pizza and Roast Beef

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Noah Lederman in New York, Or Bust | 5 Comments

Brooklyn, New York, is rediscovering its hey-day, today. Its first period of renaissance took place before the start of the Cold War, when a Brooklyn Dodgers team played on Ebbets Field, when the Parachute Jump operated, when the consequences of ingesting a Nathan’s hot dog was still unknown, when Soviets were not yet the enemy (and not yet the majority population in places like Brighton Beach). Ah, the good old days. But you can still get a taste of that borough by eating at the best Brooklyn restaurants that came onto the scene in the 1920s and ’30s. For this food tour, we’ll focus on South Brooklyn. Read more

Harriman Park Hike… With a Murderer

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Noah Lederman in New York, Or Bust | 4 Comments

There was a huge puddle of blood atop the dead leaves that covered the trail. I looked to the right to where a path was cutting across the trail. The splashes of crimson were bigger than footprints. I exhaled, not expecting the gruesome scene as we were hiking Harriman State Park in New York this past November. My breath formed an ephemeral cloud in the cold air. I looked at my friend Greg, an off-duty federal agent, who kept his gun in a small pouch on his chest. Greg studied the blood, too. I wondered how fast he’d be able to draw it, if necessary. How well could he aim and maneuver with a twenty-pound pack? I turned to the left, where a river rushed through Harriman Park. I reexamined the blood. Read more

Manhattan Cocktail Classic: A Return to the 1920s

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Noah Lederman in New York, Or Bust | Leave a comment

If, after reading The Great Gatsby, you envied the sort of affairs Jay Gatsby had hosted for his West Egg sybarites, then put this year’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic—a five-day cocktail festival spread across New York’s boroughs—on the calendar.

Last year’s Classic kicked off on a Friday with an opening night gala held at the New York Public Library. I had high expectations for this “slightly salty black tie affair.” Supposedly, three thousand attendees were going to drink 30,000 cocktails mixed up by 150 of the world’s best bartenders. At the very least, there would be something edgy and alluring about raising one’s voice and imbibing in this hallowed hall of books. (The last time I had entered the building, a guard made me toss a full Starbucks drink and I got shushed in the reading room.) At the very most, I was expecting lavish entertainment and elegant tipplers. But as I walked along the southern edge of Bryant Park, passing by the library’s delivery entrance, I saw paramedics wheeling out a woman who couldn’t quite balance her head. Read more

Chinatown in New York, A Food Tour: Flushing, Part Two

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Noah Lederman in New York, Or Bust | 6 Comments

Welcome back for Part II of the Best Chinatown in New York. In Part I, we learned about the best cuisine in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Now buckle down (or unbuckle) for the The Best Chinatown in New York: The Flushing Edition.

This is just a reminder: Rather than stuffing yourself at just one restaurant, treat Flushing’s Chinatown as if it were one big dim sum cart. If you are committing to this mission, here is your food tour of Flushing. Read more

Chinatown in New York, A Food Tour: Manhattan, Part One

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Noah Lederman in New York, Or Bust | 5 Comments

Chinatown in New York is busiest from Christmas to New Year’s (that is February’s Chinese New Year’s). It is a time when Midtown Manhattanites need a reprieve from the tourists blocking up the sidewalks. ‘Tis also the season for Jews to have their Christmas Chinese feasts. And of course, wherever the locals go, so too do the travelers.

Most people are familiar with Manhattan’s Chinatown, the biggest in North America. But one of the next largest Chinatowns is also in New York, in an area of Queens called Flushing. For these reasons, here is my two part series: Chinatown in New York: A Food Tour of Two Chinatowns. Read more