As a Brit who’s also enjoyed a beer or two in Ireland, I’d like to think I know a real pub when I see one. A lot of bars here in New York claim to be Irish but I’ve never seen any half as authentic as McSorley’s – the city’s first Irish tavern. This East …
Read MoreCategory / Bars
October 18, 2013
…raised a glass to Cider Week
Fridays usually mean a bevvy or five – but this week there was an excuse: The start of Cider Week 2013. The 10-day festival features talks, tastings and classes at around 50 different pubs, bars and markets across the city – and tonight was the kickoff event: The night market at Union Square. Ryan and …
Read MoreSeptember 4, 2013
…drank wine from a tap
Tonight I headed to City Winery in Tribeca to watch a country band called Yarn perform. And as an extra treat, the bar was serving something I’d never had before: Wine on tap. City Winery, which has a long sweeping bar and neat wooden tables, is a slick-looking place, which seems a little at odds …
Read MoreAugust 24, 2013
…drank at an ice bar
Rather than the usual Friday beers, tonight I opted for a new experience: Drinking vodka at an ice bar. I’ve heard of this sort of thing before and thought it sounded cool (yes, pun intended). So when I learned there was an ice cage at Mehanata, a Bulgarian bar in the Lower East Side, I decided …
Read MoreAugust 16, 2013
…drank cocktails in Montauk
Sorry for the delay on the blog posts this weekend – I’ve been on a Girls’ Trip. On Friday after work, Rachel, Meghan and I jumped on a train to the quintessential New York City vacation destination: Montauk. While I’ve never been before, I’ve been hearing about the Hamptons and nearby Montauk ever since I moved …
Read MoreAugust 7, 2013
…won a Bocce ball match
Ryan and I have battled each other in a fair few activities in recent weeks (with me losing, mostly), but last night we combined our powers and took the Bocce ball world by storm. We headed to Floyd in Brooklyn Heights and added our names to a waiting list for its only court. I’d never …
Read MoreJuly 30, 2013
…ate a pretzel
Every day when I leave work, I’m greeted by this: Usually I walk right past without even noticing the food carts, but a few days ago I took another look and realised that I’ve never had a pretzel. Even though it’s originally a European food, for some reason I connect it with New York; perhaps …
Read MoreJuly 29, 2013
…invented a cocktail
Now I don’t know if you’ve realised over the course of this blog, but I do like the occasional bevvy. So why not learn how to make them for myself? Tonight I went to Sanctuary T in Soho for a mixology class. The bar/restaurant is known for its lengthy tea menu and now they’ve branched …
Read MoreJuly 25, 2013
…went to a Russian speakeasy
Speakeasies may be hard to find, but secrecy is exactly what they thrive on. Thankfully tonight I tracked down one of SoHo’s hidden gems – a Russian vodka bar. I’ve been to a few speakeasies since I’ve been here, but none have given me quite the same surprise as when Helen and I walked into …
Read MoreJuly 23, 2013
…went to a jazz club
Tonight Ryan and I headed to Smalls, a tiny basement jazz club in the West Village. Shamefully, this is the first jazz club I’ve been to since moving to the city. The place was intimate – low lighting, rows of chairs pushed right up to the stage and a charming, shabby bar that made it hard …
Read MoreJuly 22, 2013
…played drag bingo
I have been a bingo fan for years. When I was at St Andrews, us girls would get dressed up and head to a bingo hall on the outskirts of Dundee for a night of laughing, losing and lashing on wine from plastic glasses. If you check out this review, you will see just how …
Read MoreJuly 19, 2013
…rapped in Koreatown
Tonight Rachel, Louise, Ollie and I headed to Koreatown to sing karaoke with some NBC folks we met at the bowling league. We went to Gagopa Karaoke – where I actually went out on my first ever night in the city when I moved here. I’ve done karaoke a fair few times and I usually stick to my …
Read MoreJuly 7, 2013
…bowled at a retro alley
A few weeks ago, I took part in a bowling league with my colleagues at Frames in Midtown. I did very, very badly and wanted to see if I fared any better by approaching the sport in a new way. And as it turns out, I would have been better in the 1970s. Ryan and I …
Read MoreJune 26, 2013
…drank a Manhattan overlooking Manhattan
I have a pretty sore head this morning, but last night I think I went to a leaving party for my news editor, Danny. We all headed to the Jimmy, a gorgeous rooftop bar above The James New York hotel in SoHo. As well as serving up copious amounts of alcohol and teeny tiny snacks, …
Read MoreMay 16, 2013
…went to Hooters
I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building, hollered at a baseball game and eaten my bodyweight in nachos while watching the Super Bowl. But there’s one American tradition that I’d avoided until tonight: Hooters. Elektra and I decided to pay a visit after walking past the chain’s New York spot in Midtown West last …
Read MoreApril 25, 2013
…lost $1 on a game of ‘two-up’
On Tuesday, I celebrated my homeland with St George’s Day, and today I joined Elektra to recognise hers – Australia. April 25th is Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day, a day of remembrance for the countries’ troops. I met Elektra at The Australian in Midtown West for a bottle of Aussie beer and a game of ‘two-up’, a …
Read MoreApril 24, 2013
…went to a Vice party
Tonight I headed to the Lower East Side for a Vice party, which they threw to celebrate their new MMA section. My friend River works there, so I joined him, Noah and Taylor for some beers and dancing. This is Vice, so I was pretty petrified – mostly that I’d be too old and too uncool. I …
Read MoreApril 15, 2013
…paid my respects to Boston at a Red Sox bar
Today has been a tough one. The Boston bombings are horrifying. They’ve shaken me like I’ve not been shaken while working on a story before. As I watched the tragedy unfold, I grew fearful for my friends running the marathon. And at work, I had the job of scrolling through graphic image after graphic image in our picture system, swiftly …
Read MoreMarch 5, 2013
…went to a listening party
Hear hear, who knows what a listening party is? Well, tonight I found out. You sit in a bar, drink far too many cocktails and celebrate new music. In this case – Dylan’s. Okay, okay, so this ‘new thing’ feels like I’m cheating a little bit. But I’d never been to a listening party before. Dylan (under the guise of Swampboots) is …
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2013
…overcame my fear of cheese by tackling fondue
Admitting that you’re a vegetarian with a fear of cheese is awkward enough. Admitting that you’re a 27-year-old vegetarian with a fear of melted cheese because it reminds you of snot is even worse. But this aversion to squeaky, chewy, greasy cheese that leaves a taste lasting hours is getting more out of hand the …
Read MoreJanuary 28, 2013
…tried a new tipple at Arlene’s Grocery
As I made my way to watch some music at Arlene’s Grocery in the Lower East Side, I thought about what new drink I could try. I had visions of a blog post entitled ‘…drank a Manhattan in Manhattan’. But as it turns out, there’s not really that sort of selection in the basement of …
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