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Tags: Dive Bars / Bars / Drinking Travel / Beer / Beer Travel / → All Tags

New NYC Drinking Spot Takes Dive Bars to the Next Level

Remember back in the boom years, when you went out to drink and could spend good money on things like bottle service, private entertainment, and cover charges?

Well new NYC watering hole Superdive is the antithesis of all that—an over-the-top party spot for the recession era. The East Village tavern replaces bottle service with keg service—place an order in advance for a high-end beer like Chimay, or just ask them to roll a standard kegerator up to the table when you get there. If that’s not your style, you can jump behind the bar and mix up your own cocktails.

Everything else is pretty much DIY at this no-frills East Village bar—you can hook your own iPod up to the DJ station, or get a live show going by sitting down at the piano or grabbing any of the instruments just lying around, and while there are no private lounges, for ladies who don’t want to be bothered by pick-up artists, there is a secluded row tactfully named “the “f*ck off” seats.”

Related Stories:
· Superdive [Official Site]
· Dive Bar Travel: Boozing with Bourdain in NYC [Jaunted]
· San Fracisco Shuffleboard Bar [Jaunted]

[Photo: Superdive]

Tags: NYC BBQ / Restaurants / Food Travel / BBQ / Lower East Side / → All Tags

Texas Meets the Lower East Side

New York's dizzying pace of restaurant openings has slowed down a little in the past few months, but the one thing that hasn't stopped coming is all these BBQ places. Seriously, it seems like New York has gone from one BBQ joint to 40 in the past five years. Not that we're complaining.

The latest to hit the scene is Marfa, named for a small town in southwest Texas. Unlike many of the foodie-approved NYC BBQ joints that try to class-up the BBQ scene, Marfa is more concerned with reeling in as many as drunken LES hipsters as possible, and it does just that with Lone Star beer, "Marfaritas" (spicy thai chili + pink grapefruit + tequila), and "Marfa bites," small plates of fried fare like mini-corn dogs and macaroni and cheese spoons.

But despite the scene-iness, BBQ purists have plenty to get excited about here as well, from dry rub baby back ribs to "shells on" BBQ shrimp. Marfa might not feel like a genuine Texas eatery, but it tastes pretty damn close.

Related Stories:
· Marfa [Yelp!]
· Only New York Does BBQ Like This [Jaunted]
· Hipsters Need BBQ Too [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wade From Oklahoma]

Tags: Flight of the Conchords / Flight-of-the-Conchords-Map / TV Set Travel / → All Tags

Bret Invents a Vaccine for 'Pepileptic Dogs'; Wins The Girl

Women with missing epileptic dogs named Charlie you are in luck. Your knights in 80s animal t-shirts and denim blazers have arrived. Their name is Flight of the Conchords. You might be able to catch them at a Jazzercise class or at a benefit gig for "pepileptic dogs." If you're really lucky, they may fight over you at Cafe Cortadito in the East Village.

That's where Jemaine and Bret wooed the oddly-named Brahbrah (played by the very funny Kirsten Wiig), a woman with a (you guessed it) missing epileptic dog named Charlie.

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Tags: Active Travel / Winter Travel / Action Sports / Snowboarding / Shaun White / → All Tags

NYC Gets Down with Winter

It's widely known that New Yorkers do not deal particularly well with winter (hence the existence of Florida). So as the snow falls heavily this week, we're pretty impressed that New York is putting on not one, but two big events that embrace the cold. We're guessing last year's Union Square Session was a sort of success.

First up, this Thursday in East River Park is the Red Bull Snowscrapers event, a mini-X-Games competition that brings in 17 of the world's best snowboarders (read: Shaun White and 16 guys you've never heard of), along with live music from Anthrax and other Xtreme-approved bands.

Those who get inspired can head back to East River Park on Saturday for the Winterjam, a city-sponsored winter sports playground that includes a snowboard rail jam, an ice climbing wall and a 70-foot snow flume for sledding.

· Red Bull Snowscrapers [Official Site]
· Winterjam [Official Site]
· Winter Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [Red Bull]

Tags: New New York Restaurants / Vegetarian Restaurants / Restaurants / → All Tags

Dirt Candy

Vegetarians used to be some of the most insufferably self-righteous eaters around. Even if they weren’t preaching ethics and environmental footprints, they were still serving the blandest food going. Not so much anymore.

One of the most exciting restaurant trends of recent years has been the growth of exciting, creative vegetarian restaurants. Not fake-meat tofu dishes, but crazy, over-the-top, unhealthy concoctions that instead of being stand-ins for meat, actually make the vegetables themselves enticing.

A great new example is East Village hole-in-the-wall Dirt Candy, which goes by the motto "Anyone can cook a hamburger, but leave the vegetables to the professionals."

You can start with jalapeno hush puppies served with maple butter, move on to watermelon radish kimchi doughnuts, have asparagus saffron broth paella for a main and finish it off with hazelnut caramel popcorn pudding.

Everything on the menu can be made vegan by request, but even meatheads will leave with full bellies.

Related Stories:
· Dirt Candy [Official Site]
· New NYC Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: New New York Restaurants / Restaurants / Wine Bars / Videos / → All Tags

New NYC Restaurant: Terroir Wine Bar

The busy stretch of First Ave between 12th and 13th just got a bit mellower, with the opening of Terroir Wine Bar, from owners Paul Grieco and Marco Canora. (That's Paul introducing the place in the video.)

We hear it's a cozy spot with inviting exposed brick and beat-up floor tiles that are original to the bike shop that used to be in the space. Whip out your wallet for some of the pricier wines by the glass ($15-$20) or come for the happy hour deal: five wines for $5. Snack on cremini or fried sage wrapped around lamb sausage or bring friends and dig into the charcuterie plate ($21) of nine featured meats.

If you're not into crowds, wait a few weeks until the opening fuss dies down. By April, we're sure you'll be able to sidle up to the bar to unwind any night of the week.

Related Stories:
· Terroir Wine Bar [Official Site]
· Good News/Bad News: Terroir [Eater]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: New New York Restaurants / Restaurants / → All Tags

New NYC Restaurant: Back Forty

With seasonal and locally-sourced menus all the rage, today's the perfect day for Back Forty's debut in the East Village. You may have seen slow food movement proponent and owner Peter Hoffman careening around the Union Square Farmer's Market on his makeshift wheelbarrow bicycle. Watch him closely if you catch him, and you'll find him stocking up on ingredients for dishes like Maine-shrimp-and-bacon beignets, spiced nuts or grass-fed burgers.

Chef de cuisine Shanna Pacifico offers a casual atmosphere--complete with antique farm tools on the wall--and reasonably-priced main courses that are whole-heartedly satisfying and perfect after a long day of chores on the farm, er, life in the city. Don't miss the "Back Forty" cocktail: The mix of Tennessee whiskey, maple simple syrup and orange bitters is sure to satisfy the country boy in you.

Related Stories:
· Back Forty [StrongBuzz]
· New NYC Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: NY Mag]

Tags: Pizza / Restaurants / Pizza-In-New-York / → All Tags

Pizza in NYC: Two Boots

Finding Good Pizza in Manhattan Map

If you like your slices un-standard, and with loads of spicy sauce, then be sure to hit up Two Boots, famed NYC pizzeria/movie house/softball team home that serves some of the citys most inventive pies.

Try The Newman--after everyone's favorite Seinfeld chubster--and indulge in sopressata and sweet italian sausage on a white pie or The Larry Tate--the boss from Bewitched--with spinach, plum tomatos, and fresh garlic. Pies start at $9.95 and you'll enjoy the fun trinkets in the restaurant while you wait. Not to worry if you're not a downtowner, you can also head to other locations at Rockefeller Center or Grand Central.

Related Stories:
· Finding Good Pizza in Manhattan [Jaunted]
· Two Boots [Official Site]

[Photo: asner]

Tags: Food / Restaurants / Pizza / Pizza-in-New-York / → All Tags

Destination: Pizza Gruppo

Pizza in New York is tough stuff. The competition's fierce and everyone has their own opinions on what's good and where to go for what. If you're a thin crust, gourmet fan, check out Pizza Gruppo in the East Village.

You can go basic with marinara and fresh mozzarella/basil, or be adventurous and try one of their amazing signature pies. The "Shroom Town" is our favorite. Dripping in mushrooms of all kinds and sprinkled with truffle oil, it's simple to take down the whole pie in one sitting (although the $22 price tag makes it great for sharing). The "Fafandone" isn't bad either, with sweet Italian sausage and sun-dried tomatoes. Gruppo's a nice place for a weekday lunch, if you can swing it, and fun for dates as well. Delivery covers most of the neighborhood, but be warned and call ahead, because it can take a while to get those mushrooms just so.

[Photo: Slice]

Tags: WiFi / Free WiFi / Cafes / → All Tags

New York's Best Block for WiFi

Okay, it's more than one block, but just barely. From 12th to 14th Streets between Avenues A and B, a WiFi utopia has emerged, and all within a relatively short amount of time.

First, there was the B Cup Cafe (hours: 7:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.), the friendly storefront on 13th + B with coffee and free WiFi. Where B Cup fails is its crap food, because they carry the same oily, gunked-up muffins that the breakfast carts do. But it's still free WiFi, and the staff is nice. Next came Rapture Cafe & Books (hours: 8 a.m. - midnight), the très progressive hybrid peformance space/book store/cafe/WiFi heaven, on Avenue A between 12th + 13th.

And now, the dubiously christened Gramstand (hours: 7 a.m. - "quite late") on Avenue A between 13th + 14th. No, unfortunately it's not a coke bar with wireless internet. It's an outpost of the Irving Place tea bar, also named Gramstand, run by owners of an internet tea store. The Avenue A location has--you guessed it--free WiFi and serves loose leaf tea. And coffee too, thank god.

Tip: The best baked goods in WiFi-land are at Ciao For Now bakery on 12th between A + B. It doesn't have WiFi, but you'll want to grab a scone, muffin or quiche there and get a drink at your final destination.

Tags: WiFi / Free WiFi / New York City / Hippies / Restaurants / Food / Bookstores / Books / → All Tags

More WiFi For East Village at Rapture

Some place called Rapture Cafe & Books has been on a flyering campaign around the East Village recently. As we shuffled through the door this morning, clutching or first coffee of the day for dear life, we finally peeled one of their ads off our building's elevator and decided to investigate. Turns out we're intrigued and it's not just the 500th place on our block that wants to sell us General Tso's chicken.

Rapture opens tonight at 200 Avenue A, so we're assuming tomorrow will mark its first full day of operation. It bills its atmosphere as "literate" and decor as "Native American/Southwestern," so you can probably picture the vibe they're going for. Its cafe will serve food and drinks and its book section will sell only the most stimulating works.

Now here's the kicker: they've also got free wifi. We'll tentatively accept the "Get Smart" slogan on their handbills if that stuff works. We'll be dropping by tomorrow morning to see what, if anything, is up and running.

Tags: Restaurants / Food / Restaurant Reviews / → All Tags

Venezualan Food in the East Village: Caracas Arepa Bar

Looking for cheap eats in NYC and sick of pizza, falafel, and Chinese? Head to Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village. This bustling spot, started by two Venezualans, specializes in tasty arepas, little sandwich-like treats of cornflour-based shells filled with meats, cheeses, and veggies. Somehow they seem healthier for you, fill you up, and offer something new taste-wise every time.

We'd recommend the La del Gato, a perfect combo of Guayanese cheese, fried sweet plantains, and sliced avocado. Each day Caracas offers new special arepas and empanadas, as well as fresh squeezed juice combos (think papaya/guava...) And if you have a combo in mind that's not on the menu, they'll still probably whip it up for you.

Waiting for a tiny table at Caracas used to be an exercise in patience, but since expanding earlier this year, the bar offers lots more seating and even a take-away window one storefront over. They just got their beer & wine license, and now offer some great imports from Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico to wash it all down with. One of the best parts of the Bar? An arepa will only set you back about $5, so buy a couple and pretend you just cruised in off the beach in Venezuela for the perfect post-surf snack.

[Photo: ladycaterina]