I don't think the neighborhood is necessarily "blighted," as the burger conoisseur so elegantly puts it in the NYT piece--but it does take some getting used to, if you're accustomed to drowning in multiple choices for every kind of cuisine, downtown. My thoughts:
1. There are two faaaaaaaanceeeeeeeeee coffee places across the street from where the 1 line starts running aboveground. Fancy real estate, it ain't. But the Manhattan School of Music students and the Columbia and Barnard students who don't live in dorms must keep them in business. (Latte: $3.75. This is a two-minute walk from 125th Street. Personally, I find it a little pricey.)
2. The day we moved in, Jakub went out to find something quick and easy for lunch, and stumbled on Kitchenette, around the corner, without knowing that it was very trendy. He came back with two chicken-and-avocado sandwiches, two sides, a drink, and an expression of horror: $35.
3. Fairway, that grocery paradise, is great, but too far to walk to, and too long of a bus ride, with a toddler (near-toddler?). But I'll go back on the weekends on my own to sample their cheese selection, which is insane. Great smoked fish selection, too. Friendly (if slow) deli counter. I turned down a sample of brisket, and the deli guy looked offended, so I tasted it, and it was incredible.
4. I would reserve the term "blighted" for the supermarket closest to us, which looks like its glory days were circa 1982. It's FreshDirect or a Fairway solo weekend trip; fortunately, Fairway delivers. (I can't dismiss the supermarket entirely, since they sell Pilsner Urquell, and we went through A LOT of that in the first week here, trying to help our tot adjust to a new place at bedtime.)
5. There's a very good cafe around another corner from us that does Middle Eastern sandwiches and platters; kosher, since it's a sixty-second walk from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Great babaganoush! (Sixty more seconds down the block is a deli that does, blessedly, a good bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich.) smileys/wink.gif
6. Once you get within a few blocks of Columbia, the choices really blossom--lots of good cafes and restaurants, if overrun (naturally) with students balancing their food on their laps and their laptops on tiny tables. Nussbaum and Wu is the place to go for bagels; Amir's (grilled spicy things) was lovely until we went in around 10:45 on Sunday, and they said--despite their door being wide open and their signs out--"We're not open yet." We came back at 10:55, and they said, "We're not open yet, but what would you like?" I have very little patience, so I stomped out, and now I don't think I can go back until 2014...
Otherwise...so far, so good. smileys/wink.gif Hope the start of fall finds you all well!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/nyregion/two-votes-for-the-caesar-salad.html?_r=0
1. There are two faaaaaaaanceeeeeeeeee coffee places across the street from where the 1 line starts running aboveground. Fancy real estate, it ain't. But the Manhattan School of Music students and the Columbia and Barnard students who don't live in dorms must keep them in business. (Latte: $3.75. This is a two-minute walk from 125th Street. Personally, I find it a little pricey.)
2. The day we moved in, Jakub went out to find something quick and easy for lunch, and stumbled on Kitchenette, around the corner, without knowing that it was very trendy. He came back with two chicken-and-avocado sandwiches, two sides, a drink, and an expression of horror: $35.
3. Fairway, that grocery paradise, is great, but too far to walk to, and too long of a bus ride, with a toddler (near-toddler?). But I'll go back on the weekends on my own to sample their cheese selection, which is insane. Great smoked fish selection, too. Friendly (if slow) deli counter. I turned down a sample of brisket, and the deli guy looked offended, so I tasted it, and it was incredible.
4. I would reserve the term "blighted" for the supermarket closest to us, which looks like its glory days were circa 1982. It's FreshDirect or a Fairway solo weekend trip; fortunately, Fairway delivers. (I can't dismiss the supermarket entirely, since they sell Pilsner Urquell, and we went through A LOT of that in the first week here, trying to help our tot adjust to a new place at bedtime.)
5. There's a very good cafe around another corner from us that does Middle Eastern sandwiches and platters; kosher, since it's a sixty-second walk from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Great babaganoush! (Sixty more seconds down the block is a deli that does, blessedly, a good bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich.) smileys/wink.gif
6. Once you get within a few blocks of Columbia, the choices really blossom--lots of good cafes and restaurants, if overrun (naturally) with students balancing their food on their laps and their laptops on tiny tables. Nussbaum and Wu is the place to go for bagels; Amir's (grilled spicy things) was lovely until we went in around 10:45 on Sunday, and they said--despite their door being wide open and their signs out--"We're not open yet." We came back at 10:55, and they said, "We're not open yet, but what would you like?" I have very little patience, so I stomped out, and now I don't think I can go back until 2014...
Otherwise...so far, so good. smileys/wink.gif Hope the start of fall finds you all well!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/nyregion/two-votes-for-the-caesar-salad.html?_r=0