Munch on Mozzarella on Madison in Manhattan

by Tom Johansmeyer on

One of the frustrations of Madison Avenue in midtown is that there isn’t much to eat. You have to dash down a side street to get a quick bite, which leaves you craning your neck at every intersection to see if it’s worth taking a few steps off your path for a chance to fill your stomach with something you want. After a while, you just give up and walk into the first restaurant you see after your will has been decimated.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

The next time your trudging up Madison from one luxury retailer to the next (and there are many, so many), duck into the Atrium at the IBM building on the corner of E. 56th Street, and skip street food in favor of mozzarella. Obika, a mozzarella bar, is made for cheese fiends, with a wide range of alternatives, not to mention meat tastings and pastas that you can add to your meal if, for some strange reason, mozzarella isn’t enough.

When you order, cautions the New York Daily News, don’t let appearances deceive you:

There were three mozzes atop a bed of spinach on the tasting plate. It didn’t look like a lot, sitting there, but wound up being more than enough for the two of us. We agreed, though, that had the cheeses-and us-been joined by a little wine, we probably would have mopped up every dairy-oozing morsel.

If you are addicted to cheese, you can carry the theme straight through dessert, with a ricotta mousse, topped with pine nuts and honey. I can tell you that the taste is unbeatable – and that the dish is incredibly heavy. As small as it looks, share it.

The drawbacks are present but not sufficient to ruin the experience. Writes the Daily News of Obika‘s atrium location:

The ceilings are high and the atmosphere nil. The bathrooms are down an escalator, around the corner from some Trumpean joint or other. And, worst of all worsts-and I can only assume that this is due to its location-Obika doesn’t have a liquor license. Their location in Kuwait City does, but not Manhattan. Cheese without wine? That’s just wrong.

The location’s ideal, though, when you’re hauling full shopping bags to your next credit card-melting store and need a break for a taste of attainable luxury.

Five ways to make bus travel bearable

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I’ve been spending a lot of time on buses lately – and not the kind that trace an east-west route across Manhattan. For the trips I’ve been taking, it’s been the best way to go, but rolling by bus is still far from exciting. From having to smoke outside with the homeless people in front of Port Authority to being stuck next to or in front of a loud cell phone talker, it’s hard to find a less appealing way to travel. Some bus lines are better than others, and I’ve been fairly impressed by the one I’m taking these days. Nonetheless, it’s still a drag.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to make your bus ride much easier.

There are obvious tactics, from music to reading materials, but anyone who travels (or has merely waited in a long line somewhere) can figure them out. Instead of the basics, which you should be able to figure out on your own, let’s take a look at five tricks that only come from painful experience.1. Get in line (or on the bus) early
This may seem obvious, but the reasons come with some subtlety. You want to claim your space as soon as possible. Wait too long, and you could wind up having to set next to someone who is already on board. Step onto the bus early, and you’ll be putting someone else in that position. The odds of having your own seat for the ride increase profoundly.

2. Look undesirable
As people get on, especially when there are no empty pairs left, they have to make some tough choices on where to sit. Your goal is to make them pass you without even considering an invasion of your personal space. Eat some smelly food, wear torn or dirty clothing or cough and sneeze. This will help you win the opportunity to stretch out later.

3. Spread out
If there are multiple stops before your destination, more passengers may get on. This only happens when you’re headed toward the “big place,” though. When I leave New York, for example, I don’t worry about losing space to passengers who get on later – the net flow is outward. Yet, when I’m headed back home, it’s hard to rest easy until we’ve left the last stop before the city. To further discourage people from sitting next to me, which is harder than in (2) above, I tend to spread out a bit, pluck away at my laptop and generally make it look time-consuming and annoying to clear space for another passenger. Nobody wants to wait in the aisle, especially for someone who is not really interested in helping.

4. Enlist your friends
While you don’t want to be among the degenerates who talk on the phone during the entire bus trip, you will need to be entertained. Texts, communication via BlackBerry Messenger and even traditional email will amuse you without annoying those around you. Make sure you have a few people on board to help you out, case someone gets bored or busy … or just doesn’t care about your plight.

5. Engage the world
I think the number of tweets I send while riding the bus skyrockets relative to my already elevated volume. If you aren’t a Twitter addict already, become one if you’re going to be spending a lot of time on a bus. It’s quiet, and it will keep you busy. Follow the right people, and it will also keep you laughing. To start, may I suggest @Gadling?

[tweetphoto via @tjohansmeyer]

Wi-fi, cell coverage coming to New York City subways

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Do you ever feel the urge to live-tweet your ride on the F train? A jones to push iPhone photos to Posterous? Well, you’ll have the chance soon. Whether you just want to chronicle your subway rides for the rest of the world or feel the need to stay connected at all times, New York City is going help you out. Wi-fi access and mobile service are set to come to the subway system, according to Mashable.

This development is three years in the making, and now that some cash has been unearthed to make this project possible, New York will finally attain the standard set by Singapore, Berlin and Tokyo.

The effort, which was scheduled to take 10 years from 2007, will start with stations near Union Square in the next two years, with the remaining 271 platforms coming in the four to follow. While some of the tunnels will have access, most of the connectivity will be available on mezzanines and platforms.

This means that the bodegas at the tops of the stairs will need to add another item to their shelves, of course: ear plugs.

[photo by @mjassal]

Swimming pools coming to Park Avenue in NYC

by Sean McLachlan on

Ever want to swim in a dumpster on Park Avenue? Now’s your chance.

Summers in New York City can be sweltering. “Hot town, summer in the city” and all that. So the New York city government has teamed up with Vamos Architects and Marco-Sea, producer of converted dumpsters, to offer swimming on one of the city’s grandest avenues. After the dumpster pools proved so popular in Brooklyn last year, they’ve made a comeback. Perhaps this is the start of a new tradition?

The pools will be open the first three Saturdays of August on Park Avenue between 40th and 41st St. Park Avenue will be closed to traffic, so you can swim in peace. The sponsors are reassuring the public that the dumpsters are clean, but having swum in enough public pools in New York, I can’t guarantee the water will be 100% urine free.

Photo courtesy Macro-Sea and Vamos Architects.

Starwood to open seven hotels in NYC this year

by Melanie Nayer on

New York City is getting a few new addresses.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts announced its plans to open seven more hotels in New York City, upping the hotel’s portfolio by 50 percent in the Big Apple. Starwood currently operates 12 hotels in New York City across six of its nine brands, and expects to have 18 properties open in the city by year’s end, including the local debut of the Aloft and Element brands.

From Starwood:

“While nearly 80% of our future hotel pipeline is outside of the United States, we have more hotels in New York City than any city in the world and we will open more hotels right here in our backyard than anywhere else, which speaks to New York’s enduring stature as the most global gateway city in the world,” says Starwood CEO Frits van Paasschen.

Coming soon: Aloft hotels in Harlem and Brooklyn and Starwood’s first Element hotel in Times Square.

In addition to the new brands, Starwood’s Sheraton hotels is making a splash in the big city. Of the seven hotels opening, Sheraton will debut two New York hotels including the Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel the Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel. Starwood’s most popular brand, the W, continues to operate four hotels in NYC including its landmark W New York and W New York-Times Square.