The Standard Hotel introduces their staff … on YouTube

by Annie Scott on


Now this we have not seen before. The Standard Hotel New York, a new André Balazs hotel, has created the above video to introduce their staff.

This is clearly a well-done appeal to a younger, hipper generation. The mod-style, ironically-named Standard Hotels, with their upside-down logos, really are pretty cool. The one in New York offers gorgeous accommodations (with “insane” views) in the Meatpacking District on Washington Street between West 12th and West 13th Streets. The hotel is in previews right now, and has declared itself “Openish.” Because some parts of the hotel are still under construction, rooms are available for $195 – $495 per night, but those prices are expected to rise when the hotel is officially open.

Does the YouTube video make us want to stay there? Frankly, it makes us want to work there. But we already have a job. So, yeah.

Undiscovered New York: Unique NYC shopping

by Jeremy Kressmann on

New Yorkers, you might be surprised to discover, like to shop. Whether it’s for sky-high stilettos or a jar of saffron, a copy of Candide or specialty cameras, you can be sure that if it can be purchased they probably sell it somewhere in New York City’s Five Boroughs.

Under normal circumstances New York is a city where conspicuous consumption rules and money is no object. But as many Americans can attest, the current economic climate has hit retailers and consumers hard, and everyone is cutting back and feeling the pinch. Yet all the bad news has had a curiously positive effect on the New York retailing scene. For all the talk of excess, New York remains a surprisingly affordable and remarkably diverse place to shop if you know where to look. A place where consumers value quality, craftsmanship and creativity and a good bargain above all else.

So instead of dwelling on New York’s gilded streets of consumption like SoHo and Fifth Avenue, we’d like to take you inside some of the city’s quirkier and more interesting retail establishments. Looking to “shop like a local” and pick some highly original New York bargains along the way? Welcome inside Undiscovered New York’s guide to unique city shopping…
The types of goods sold in New York are literally endless. To pretend to create any kind of comprehensive list would be both fruitless and foolish. Instead, we’re going to be listing of some of our favorite retailers from across the city in gender-neutral categories such as books, travel, music and food. Men’s and women’s clothing could make an entire post of its own and won’t be covered here – if you’re looking for more fashion info, definitely check out New York Magazine.

Travel Stores: As befitting a travel blog, it’s only fair we mention a few New York retailers who specialize in travel accessories and products. Our favorites include:

  • Kiosk (95 Spring Street, Manhattan) – The globally-savvy owners of New York’s Kiosk have carved out an interesting retail niche. Rather than concentrate one specific type of product, they’ve unearthed a variety of small inexpensive curiosities from around the world, ranging from the practical to the whimsical. The collection of items, which includes everything from Finnish bottle openers to pitting spoons from California, is highly diverse and constantly changing.
  • Flight 001 (Multiple Locations) – Flight 001 is a retailer that specializes in a highly curated collection of great travel products, spanning the gamut from travel luggage and guidebooks to packing aids and pill bottles. New York happens to be blessed with three of the chain’s seven U.S. stores, two which can be found in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan. Stop by and pick up some carry-on bags, a travel wallet and some shampoo sheets for your next trip.

Books: Reading comes as naturally to New Yorkers as breathing. As a global center of the publishing industry and home to a highly literate citizenry, this is a city that takes its books seriously, whether it’s the latest Dean Koontz paperback or a store that sells antique books from the 19th Century.

  • The Strand (828 Broadway, Manhattan) – Boasting its status as the “Home of 18 Miles of New, Used, Rare and Out of Print Books,” The Strand Bookstore is the undisputed champion of bookselling in New York. Be prepared to walk in and get lost in aisle after aisle of books covering every possible subject matter. The prices are pretty good too, frequently below retail.
  • St. Mark’s Bookshop (31 Third Ave, Manhattan) – what St. Mark’s bookshop lacks in size compared to The Strand, it more than makes up for in its meticulous collection of quirky and eclectic book offerings, including everything from progressive political manifestos to international magazines and large-size art books.
  • powerHouse Books (37 Main St, Brooklyn) – half art gallery, half bookstore, the cavernous retail space for DUMBO-based book retailer powerHouse never fails to delight. The store has a particularly good collection of coffee table-size photography books.

Food: New Yorkers seem to have a nose for sniffing out the most diverse and delicious food from around the world, and the city’s specialty food retailers are no exception. Here’s a few of our favorites:

  • Despaña (408 Broome St, Manhattan) – if you’ve ever visited Spain, you know how crave-worthy the food can be. That’s why Spanish-specialty store Despaña has become a New York foodie’s best-kept secret. The store’s deli country can slice up specialty Spanish meats like Jamon Serrano and regional canned delicacies like white beans and clams.
  • Sahadi’s (187 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn) – if Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue is the cultural epicenter of the city’s Middle Eastern food scene, Sahadi’s is most certainly its bullseye. The gourmet grocer stocks all manner of specialty olive oils, nuts and imported delicacies from far flung locales like Turkey and Lebanon.

Music: Similar to their zeal for the written word, New Yorkers are avid consumers of music. The city offers an awe-inspiring diversity of music shops, whether you’re hoping to go digging through crates of used vinyl or just pick up the latest CD by that teen-pop sensation.

  • Other Music (15 E. 4th St, Manhattan) – nobody has their finger on the beat of New York’s fickle music consumers better than Other Music. Their highly-knowledgeable staff is great at picking out those hidden gems and introducing you to new genres and up-and-coming artists. In addition to new music, the store also stocks vinyl, used CD’s and sells tickets to many of the city’s best upcoming concerts.
  • Halcyon (57 Pearl St, Brooklyn) – New York DJ’s, vinyl-lovers and beat junkies head to Halycon to get the latest and greatest sounds destined for the dance floors and turntables of New York. In addition to being one of the best places in the city to get your hands on electronic music, Halcyon also stocks a nice collection of books, clothing, artwork and quirky toys.
  • A-1 Records (439 E. 6th St, Manhattan) – frequently described as a “crate-digger’s paradise,” A-1 Records upholds the legacy of a once-thriving music scene in New York’s East Village. If you’re looking for more obscure finds, this is a great place to look. Vinyl only.

Wow, that’s a lot of stores! As you’re beginning to see, New York is home to some of the country’s best independent retailers, specializing in everything from Lebanese olive oils to vintage books. But maybe there’s an independent New York store that we didn’t cover? Feel free to leave a comment below and tell us your favorites.

Jauntsetter – Travel deals for New Yorkers

by Annie Scott on

New York, New York. You wanna be a part of it … but sometimes you need to get the heck out of it.

Good news! There’s a website called Jauntsetter that has travel deals specifically for New Yorkers. They know we’re too busy to find them ourselves, and that if no one hands us a deal we might just not go anywhere. I mean, we can get any food you can imagine, and there’s always some part of the city to explore. We can convince ourselves that this is all we need.

But it’s not! New York City is not the whole world, and those of us with the means to see the world should do it! It’s important to the international perception of America, important to our appreciation of our own country, and to each and every one of our personal growth. The more America knows about the rest of the world, the stronger America is in so many ways.

So, if you live in New York, check out the weekly updates on Jauntsetter.com. This week, for example, they have great international deals, as well as $200 flights to LA and New Orleans and great Sundance accomodations. Our pick of this week? San Juan, Puerto Rico for just $189!

Bookmarked. Thanks, Brian O’Neal, for the tip!

Smoke and eat in New York – at the same time

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There are two types of attraction in New York. The surface stuff – like a visit to the Empire State Building and a walk through Times Square – show up in just about every guidebook you can imagine. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find the array of experiences that appeal to both locals and visitors, the destinations and events that often escape notice. The cigar dinners at tobacconist De La Concha fall into the latter category. If you’re a cigar smoker and you find yourself in Manhattan when one of these experiences is being held, make time for the quintessential New York smoking experience.

De La Concha is among the oldest cigar shops in the city, and it is probably the most famous. On any day, you’ll find a broad spectrum of characters, from the regulars, who don’t let a day pass without viewing the world trough the floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall front window, to the first-timers from out of town to the occasional celebrity who stops by for a fix. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani and former presidential candidate Al Sharpton (stop laughing) come by occasionally, and TV and movie stars not only pick up cigars for the road but occasionally sit down to relax … just like the rest of us.

The store’s general manager, Ron Melendi, decided last year to extend the store’s reach. What started as one cigar dinner, to experiment with a new idea, has grown into a quarterly affair, in which he features a specific cigar brand and sometimes a unique, unusual or relatively unknown liquor. Past cigars have included the Davidoff Millennium line, Ashton Virgin Sun Grown series and the creations of Don Pepin Garcia, who rolls De La Concha’s house cigar, the Grand Reserve.

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Meals and the bar (both included in the ticket price) are supplied by De La Concha’s neighbor, restaurant Rue 57. Each course is carted down the 6th Avenue sidewalk with deliberate precision, almost as if every step is scripted by the army of waiters that supports the effort. Tables are brought into the store specifically for the dinners, with two-tops scattered across the store, and the lounge’s three fixed tables converted to boardroom seating. For a change, one can smoke a cigar before, during or after eating with impunity.

The events vary in price. A dinner with a full menu will generally cost between $100 and $150, with rarer or more expensive cigars pushing the ticket to the higher end of the range. For those on a budget, De La Concha‘s “cut and light” events skip the meal and offer a few hors d’ouevres and a limited open bar to accompany the featured tobacco. Usually priced at around $40, the cut and light experiences are much more accessible.

Of course, there is no limit at the upper end. In December, De La Concha hosted a dinner for pipe smokers, in partnership with Dunhill. This was the first Dunhill pipe dinner held. Ever. Anywhere in the world. So, the ticket was a bit pricey at $195 … but a bargain when you add up what it covers. The usual Rue 57 dinner and bar was enhanced by a Dunhill pipe and a unique pipe stand (in the shape of a hand) that is unavailable for purchase.

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“We try to make our dinners unique,” Melendi says. The Dunhill pipe dinner’s statue and pipe are at the extreme end, but many dinners have included cigars that either had not been released yet or generally are not allowed to be given away at cigar dinners. “Few stores have been able to hold dinners the way we have,” he continues, “and the fact that we’re the busiest store in the city gives us a bit more leverage to go the extra mile for our guests.”

It was this spirit at work in October, when Melendi held an event at the city’s Grand Havana Room, Manhattan’s exclusive private cigar club. The luxury event, which cost a princely $450 to attend, was catered by the Grand Havana Room, included upscale God of Fire cigars and benefited the Dominican Republic‘s Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. The centerpiece was the auctioning of a bronze Prometheus statue created by artist Julio Aguilera and supported by his patron, Nik Renieris, CEO of coffee equipment manufacturer Soltazza.

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Without a doubt, New York’s cigar culture is vibrant.

As you can see, Melendi sees the need to keep the concept fresh, and this was most evident at the November cigar dinner. Without telling any of his guests, Melendi announced with a smile that the guest of honor, Pepin, was donating five boxes of cigars to the charitable organization Cigars for Soldiers, which sends sticks to military personnel serving overseas. David Wells of NYC Cigar attending the dinner on a whim, quietly agreed to donate five boxes, as well. All in, our troops will benefit from close to 7,500 minutes of uninterrupted bliss, despite the turmoil around them in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, you never know what you’ll find at a De La Concha cigar dinner. The cigars change, and the causes vary. But, the environment stays the same. Step into Manhattan’s cigar oasis, and light up the cigar of your choice (mine happens to be the store’s Grand Reserve). Dig into a steak frites at the dinners, or sit back in the lounge with an espresso in the middle of the day. Forget about smoking bans for a while. “Just join us, and enjoy the good life,” Melendi suggests.

Undiscovered New York – Exploring Koreatown

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Like many other large cities, you might already know that New York has a large and continuously growing Chinatown. Yet in a city that is home to more than 100 distinct immigrant groups, it’s also home to a surprisingly diverse assortment of residents from homes across the Asian continent. One strip of authentic Asian culture that tends to get overshadowed by Chinatown is Koreatown, its lesser-known neighbor on 32nd Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue.

Also known by its nickname “K-Town,” this densely-populated block packs in a huge range of entertainment and culinary options, enough in fact to make a full evening out of it. Sandwiched inside the upper floors of surprisingly drab commercial office buildings are hidden Korean Barbecue joints, raucous BYOB Karaoke dens, swanky lounges and rooftop bars with stunning views of the Empire State Building. It’s a city in and of itself, and a strip that’s particularly ripe for exploration.

Want to learn more about where to go and what to see to make the most of your trip? Step inside Undiscovered New York’s guide to Koreatown.
Bon Chon Chicken
Think you’ve had some great fried chicken before? You haven’t lived until you try the spicy and soy-garlic style Korean fried chicken at Bon Chon. This swanky spot offers a range of Korean bar-food favorites including the aforementioned chicken, Latin American-style sweet corn, sushi and rosemary french fries. It’s a Korean smorgasbord in the best possible sense – trust me, the combination of food sounds odd, but it works. And when you take that first bite of chicken you’ll be making plans for your next trip back.

Karaoke Dens
Koreatown is not just about eating – it’s just as much a street that’s made for entertainment. And when we’re talking about evening plans in Koreatown, that typically means Karaoke. As you walk down 32nd street you’ll find any number of signboards advertising karaoke bars on the floors within. Just find any place that looks interesting and walk on in. Those with a severe case of stage fright shouldn’t despair – almost all karaoke spots in Koreatown let you rent private rooms so you can belt out that off-key rendition of Barry Manilow without fear of embarassment. A karaoke session typically includes a private room, a variety of bar snacks and server to bring you drinks. One of the better known spots on 32nd Street is iBop, well known for its “bring your own alcohol” policies.

Korean Barbecue
As you might expect on a street specializing in the food and culture of Korea, there’s a plentiful assortment of Korean Barbecue restaurants. A meal typically consists of an assortment of plentiful grilled meats, prepared on an in-table grill as well as an array of small dishes like the ubiquitous kimchi and other pickled vegetables. Though there’s a number good Korean Barbecue spots on 32nd Street, our favorite is actually Kum Gang Sang, if for no other reason than the insane fake-rock grotto complete with grand piano wedged in the corner of the restaurant. Another good choice is Seoul Garden, a restaurant located in an unassuming corner of the second floor of an office building.

Million Dollar Views
One of the more interesting characteristics of Koreatown is its proximity to one of New York City’s most iconic buildings, the Empire State Building. Want to get a bird’s-eye of this amazing structure? Shhhh….you’ve got to keep it a secret though. Koreatown visitors in the know head to the rooftop patio at the La Quinta Inn, called Mé Bar, where they can drink in million dollar views along with a beverage of choice. Its perhaps the perfect way to end an evening in one of New York’s lesser known but fantastic neighborhoods.