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This is something new and fun for guests  who are having lunch in NYC.   The next time you have friends or guests in NYC, tell them to bring some paper plates, napkins, utensils, and a good knife that can cut cheese, bread and cured sausages (make sure they have a case for the knife and a backpack to put it in, and do remind them not to take it into any attractions). Tell them to visit the Farmer Market at Union Square (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) and buy themselves a picnic. There are places to eat in the park or walk to Madison Square Park (23rd & Broadway) and eat there. There are also tables set on 17th Street and Broadway for anyone to use.

I shop this market often and buy my lunch there at least twice a week, so I know what to buy.  Give your friends/guests the list below and  tell them your friend Eric gave you the inside scoop on what t get. Not each vendor is their each day, but they will do good with this list.

NYC Picnic Shopping List

Bread

Hot Bread Kitchen. All the bread is made up in Harlem. The bakers are all immigrant women making bread from where they are from. Authentic is the name of the game. My favs are the Ms’men (flaky and buttery), the Nan-E Qandi(round, fluffy interior, made with milk and honey), and the raisin-walnut. They have other styles, like whole grain loaves. You can also check out Our Daily Bread.

Cheese/cured meats

Millport Dairy. Run by the Amish. Good cheeses most Cheddar and Jack. All tasty. They also sells pickles and cured meats.

Lynnhaven Goats Milk Cheese. chevre logs, feta plain, herbed, with roasted peppers. They have them all.

Hudson Valley Duck Farm. Not just raw duck, they have duck salami, duck proscuitto and pate. They are the highlight of any picnic.

Cato Corner. Mostly cow cheese, they have semi strong, stronger and stinky. Cheeses are outstanding. They are cool about tasting before you buy.

Crunchy

Martin’s Hard Pretzel – You can buy as few as three and as much a big bag. Get the big bag so you have some for the ride home.

Mountain Sweet Berry – Mini potato chips made in several different flavors like brown butter or curry. They let you try before you buy.

Dessert

Terhune Orchards. Cookies, pients, fruit crisps. They are all good and not expensive

Baker’s Bounty. All sorts of baked treats changing with the season and some old standbys.

Of course since is a farmers market, there are loads of fruits and veggies.  Buy what you live as it is all good.  There are organic vendors for those who want that and they are clearly marked. There are also vegan and gluten free bakers.

Enjoy your day our in NYC and have a food adventure.  For more ideas for what to do in NYC, visit www.btsq.com

Below is a great day in NYC.  It tells you everything you need to do.

The Upper East Side of NYC, the gold coast, where the very rich, some famous some not all live. The tourism centerpiece of the Upper East Side is Museum Mile which is the stretch from 82nd to 105th Street on 5th Avenue. There you will find the Guggenheim, The Jewish Museum, Museo del Barrio, Neue Gallerie, Copper Hewitt National Design Museum, and others. You have streets of brownstones and mansions with Central Park as the border of it all.

I recently had the pleasure of spending an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with a walk through Central Park to get there and then time to walk Madison and Lexington Avenues afterwards. It was a nice day for me and my companions; it might make a nice day for your clients that have free time.

We started on the Westside by the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society. Both are great and you could visit either one before you venture to the Upper East Side. If you want to eat lunch, go to Café Storico at the Historical Society, it is very much the place to be. You will find more locals than tourists and a simple NYC menu offering satisfying Italian eats. You might decide to sip a beer or wine while you linger.

We walked through Central Park entering around 77th Street. Being that the Metropolitan Musuem of Art is on 83rd Street and 5th Avenue, the walk can be pretty direct, but a few detours are worth it. As we entered we went south so we could walk through the Ramble. The Ramble is like taking a walk through a woodland area, away form the city and its sounds. You hear birds and sticks break under your feet. If you begin to walk north in the Ramble you will stumble upon Belvedere Castle and Turtle Pond. The castle is usually open, so go to the top for some good views and photo ops. It is not very big, so the walk to the top is pretty easy. As you continue your walk east, look a bit north for an Egyptian obelisk. Called Cleopatra’s needle, it is really from Egypt and is 3500 years old. Check out the link to this map to help guide you:

http://www.centralparknyc.org/assets/pdfs/maps/cpc_central_park_map.pdf
The Met is open from 9:30a to 5:30p Tuesday – Thursday and Sunday and from 9:30a to 9:00p on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Monday. The Met is big, and it would take months to see everything on display (and they have even more in storage). There are some useful ways to get around the museum to make your visit more enjoyable. You can hop on one of the free museum tours for individuals, as we did. Our guide Martin was outstanding. He spoke loud, in layman’s terms and did not just explain the art, but helped us enjoy it.. I asked a lot of questions and he welcomed them. Another option is to get the audio tour for $7.00 and follow the director’s highlights tour through the museum. Finally if you want to go at it alone, grab a map and do as you please. We did go on our own to the American Wing (which recently reopened) and found it incredible. It is not just art, but American history. There are so many images of famous Americans you saw in text books as a youth and now they are staring right back at you. We had a great time.

But there is only so much of a museum anyone can take and my limit is between two and a half to three hours. So now it is time for food and/or drink. You will notice that on museum mile there are not many places to congregate. The only places are in the museums, and I know some secrets about those I want to keep to myself so they do not get too crowded. (Sorry, but us New Yorkers have to be a little protective). My advice isto walk over to Madison Avenue. Depending on the weather you might want to get a cup of hot chocolate at La Maison du Chocolat or Vosges Haut Chocolat, both close by on Madison and both with seating. Both also sell great chocolate, but the pastries and macaroons are La Maison du Chocolat are extra yummy. If you are looking for something with more kick, go to Bellmans Bar on 76th Street in the Carlyle Hotel. It is classy and not cheap, but you are on vacation so splurge (not many things on the Upper East Side are cheap, but the Metropolitan Museum is pay what you wish, so depending on your conscience you might save a bit). For some eats there are many restaurants on the side streets and some good diners on Madison. If you walk a few blocks east to Lexington there are two places I like to recommend for something original. One is the Pastrami Queen and the other is Farinella Italian Bakery. Both are outstanding.

Well that day will keep you busy.

Enjoy

Eric

People come to NYC (as well as other cities) for entertainment.  I love it for entertainment.  Broadway, off Broadway, Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, performance of all kinds in venues of all sizes.   You can find anything and some things in abundance.

But I also enjoy is street/platform performance (I HATE when people perform in a subway car.  I think it is an invasion of my personal space because we are all trapped).

Street/platform performance has to be something I like or different, as I had had enough the guys with the flutes from Peru (no disrespect)

There are some performers that have permits from the city to play at a specific date and time and there are others that set up shop away from the eyes of the police.  I like the Japanese rap guys in Union Square, or the banjo players on a few of the Brooklyn subway platforms (banjos have become very hip, along with an over abundance of facial hair and a lack of bathing, but that is another discussion), and my favorite ever when was a group of boys from Chicago would start playing their brass in front of Whole Foods on 14^th Street.  They were called the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble http://www.hypnoticbrassensemble.com/ and even though they played venues, they would pop out a few tunes at what seemed to be an impromptu location. Of course there is always see the lone sax or guitar player and for me they are always welcome.

All of these performers are part of the soundtrack to the city, along with sirens, horns, talking, cursing and footsteps. Come take a listen

Everyone has talked or will talk about communing with nature. Getting out into the woods, a quiet beach or the mountains and allowing them to envelop you so your thoughts are part of the surroundings. It could be laying on a deserted beach or skiing a double black diamond (I stick to the bunny hills myself). In either situation you want to be one with your current background.

I never hear anyone mentioning “commune with urban”. I never said it either, until about two weeks ago. I have recently started biking more around Manhattan and Brooklyn and I really enjoy it. There are peaceful times when I am pedaling on a quiet street in Carroll Gardens or the crazy times in Chinatown when I am riding with a dump truck in front of me, a cab behind me, and five cars blocking the bike lane so it is useless. But in all these situations, I become one with the city. On the Manhattan Bridge early in the morning I am bird gliding over the city and imagining what is going on down below, on each corner and behind every window. When on the streets competing with cars, buses, people, and hot dog carts, I am a rat dashing in and out seeing where I can steal space just for a instant only planning a few seconds ahead because you do not know what will be around the next turn. I am the tranquility and the lunacy. “I” no longer exist, I am part of the larger organism I live in.

I arrive at my destination and I step back into my life with a feeling of attachment to something greater.