New York city trip

[kiwiman911]

I will be in NYC from the 4 to the 7 sept. I would like to know if there are any good smoking lounges ,I will be bringing my cigars.

If any body has any good suggestions of things to do, feel free to say so

thanks

Erik

[Overproof]

If you looking for a food experience I would suggest Momofuku - KO. Me and the MRS had the set 12 course dinner meal paired with the wines. Expensive but very fun!

http://www.momofuku.com/new-york-city/

Enjoy NYC, I cant wait to get back over!

[ramon_cojones]

So many good places to eat too many to list.

There are quite a few lounges but I don't recall hopefully an nyc member can chime in.

[kidmac]

Cigar inn is an old favorite! And i like Merchants as well very old school dim lit small bar and they most night have good live jazz also no cutting fee. And im not much of a jazz fan. Have fun!!! I allways do!

[Ophidion]

Merchants is a great lounge but it does get loud on the weekends if that's a problem. Otherwise it's a great atmosphere with good people watching. May even catch a celeb or two of that sort of thing interests you.

[Overproof]

Katz's!!! holy **** that brisket was incredible

[coblos]

Some nice street art on the walls in South Bronx.

[Vetteman]

Cigars are expensive and do you really want to sit in a bar for 3 hours while on vacay in NYC? I would suggest just smoking a stick or two while walking all over Manhattan.

Just don't try smoking in a park

[bobsled]

Cigar Inn. VERY cool place, can get loud but what place in NYC doesn't at 1AM?? BYO beverages, decent humidor. Bar across the street and liquor store nearby. Sticks aren't cheap but they have a great Tatuaje, very large ring gauge but its a must if you go. It's custom for the store I think.

[Orion21]

The ban in NYC has been temporarily lifted due to the Parks Department not providing ANY public period for objections etc. So even if you see No Smoking signs in Central Park and other places just ignore them and light up! Enjoying a cigar in Central Park is one of the more memorable experiences a cigar smoker can have. If anyone bothers you inform them the ban was lifted because the fascist ideologues against smoking unilaterally passed the ban and it was recently lifted. Then ask them if they would like to join you and learn the real pleasures of living a life free of fear and filled with more enjoyment and less judgement

[mk05]

Macanudo lounge - two big clean rooms semi modern

Grand habana room - apparently very nice. Good food.

Carnegie - "mahogany and leather bound books." May appear stuffy ("old boys club") for some

[maverickdrinker]

Cool places to smoke: Casa del la concha, cigar inn (Cigar Aficionado humidor is there), Davidoffs (on madison or in the time warner centre)

Cool places to eat (if money is no object): Per Se in the Time Warner centre. Owned by Thomas Keller. It is one of the best meals I have ever eaten.

Moto, WD4, Tao, Beuaty and Essex are all good places as well.

Have a great time.

A

[kiwiman911]

thanks for all the info guys and keep it coming

[thechenman]

Hop over the East River, just on the other side of in Brooklyn is a "Steaksperience" on par with Brazoseagle's @ Peter Lugers. Recommend you either go during lunch, or book a reservation well in advance as tables are hard to come by. If you like lots of wine with your steak, the best spot for you would be Sparks Steakhouse...biggest and bet priced wine list among the various Steakhouses. If you want tons of artery clogging meat and lots of eye candy...dinner at the Brazilian Steakhouse Churasscaria Plataforma is a must.

Momofuku is a fantastic experience...actually any of his restaurants are, even his ramen noodle shop. You need to book through his website though and tables are tough to come by. Sticking with the Asian theme a few other places to check out is dim sum at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown. This restaurant occupies three floors, but show up early...before 10am if you don't want to wait in line an hour or more to eat. For the famous Shaghainese Soup Dumplings...go to Joe's Shanghai. There are three locations with the one in Flushing, Queens not far from Citifield (Home of the NY Mets) being the best, but the one in Chinatown is good also. Avoid the Midtown Manhattan location. For Chinese fine dining...check out Mr. Ks on Lexington...it's only a block away from Barclay Rex.

Babbo for Italian food is another favorite of mine. Another great Italian place that flies under a lot of radars is Scalinatella. Also...if you are into Italian food...you should check out Eataly across from Madison Square Park. Fantastic Italian Marketplace with some good dining. There is also a Mario Batali restaurant on the roof called Birreria that always has Dogfish Head on tap.

For sushi with a modern flare I would recommend Koi in the Bryant Park Hotel...if you prefer a quieter (read boring) environment with just plain good sushi, I would recommend Nippon on the Upper East Side (they have two locations in the E. 50s - go with the one between Third & Lexington). I ran into several U.S. Open tennis players dining there last week. The owner's wife was a big time tennis player back in Japan back in her day. I've also run into Mayor Bloomberg here as well as many Japanese diplomats. It caters mostly to the Japanese crowd...but that's a good thing. If you want Japanese, but not just sushi, I'd recommend Jukai by the Queensboro Bridge. Fantastic cuisine. It's a small basement level restaurant, but you will not be disappointed. They have a location in Japan as well that opened in 1968 and is still in operation.

As far as places to smoke...the guys have it pretty well covered in terms of cigar lounges...Cigar Inn, Carnegie Club, De La Concha, Merchants, Davidoff (On Madison @ 53rd St.), Barclay Rex (On Lexington @ 51st St.), Wall St. Humidor, etc. Other nice spots if you are properly attired are Club Macanudo, Lexingtion Bark & books and Hudson Bar & Books. If you want to enjoy a smoke outdoors while enjoying a drink, you might want to check out Brass Monkey, or either Perfect Pint location. There is also rooftop bar/lounge smoking at the Gramercy Park Hotel, Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel and of course Rick's Cabaret or Larry Flynt's Hustler Club.

If you like visiting bars...there are several that are worth visiting that are not your standard fare. McSorley's would be one of them if you want to see a place that hasn't been dusted in decades. Jeremy's Ale House at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge (Manhattan Side is great). In my 20s (when the Fulton Fish Market was still in operation downtown) after going out all night and deciding to head into the office instead of going home, we'd often grab a beer with the fisherman who just brought their overnight hauls in. They serve beer in giant 32 oz. styrofoam cups here, and the calamari here is fantastic.

Typically when I go out for a drink with my wife or a few friends, I prefer to hit places that are a bit more eclectic. My wife loves cocktails, so we often will stop into Little Branch after dinner in the city. There's no sign for this place, and it's underground. At night go to the corner of 7th Ave. and Leroy Street. You'll see a metal door, sometimes with a guy standing outside. Approach him then go down the stairs into the bar. This place is cash only, but the cocktails are some of the best you'll ever have. Another spot with great cocktails is Death & Co. on East Sixth Street. Between 1st Ave. and Avenue A you will see a store front with wooden panels instead of glass windows. If you don't see a bouncer outside, look for the words Death & Co. imprinted on the sidewalk. That's where the entrance is. A bouncer will be there. If you are early enough you can just go in, if not, give him your cellphone number and he will text you when you can get into the bar. You can grab a drink somewhere nearby or some food while you wait to get the text.

I'm a fan of restaurants in the East Village and will often go to PDT (Please Don't Tell) for drinks with friends afterwards. You have to have a reservation to get into this bar as it is small...real small, so book in advance. To get there head into the restaurant Crif's Kitchen on St. Marks Place. You will see an old fashioned phone booth in the restaurant...step in, pick up the phone and press the buzzer. Someone will pick up, give them your reservation and the wall of the phone booth will open up letting you in.

There are plenty of other places as well that I haven't mentioned, but I'm sure you get the idea...there are ton's of places to enjoy a good cigar in NYC, and certainly no shortage of fine dining and drinking.

[Blackham]

I've only been to Wall Street Humidor for a smoke, and strong recommend it, see my review at the Places to Smoke forum.

Try Sik Gaek in Queens for the raw octopus experience

Fried burger at Korzo Haus

[thechenman]

Oops...forgot to mention that for a burger experience...try Shake Shack. I recommend the location in Madison Square Park. Others may recommend Corner Bistro or the 21 Club, but from a price to quality ratio...you can't beat Shake Shack IMHO...at least not in NYC.

[Orion21]

X2 for Shake Shack...damn good. the East Coast version of In & Out, but the fries are better at the shack. If you want something a little low key head up to the West Village and try Cafe Cluny. It's one of my favorite's and won't break the bank. Cheers and enjoy!

[nikesupremedunk]

The ban in NYC has been temporarily lifted due to the Parks Department not providing ANY public period for objections etc. So even if you see No Smoking signs in Central Park and other places just ignore them and light up! Enjoying a cigar in Central Park is one of the more memorable experiences a cigar smoker can have. If anyone bothers you inform them the ban was lifted because the fascist ideologues against smoking unilaterally passed the ban and it was recently lifted. Then ask them if they would like to join you and learn the real pleasures of living a life free of fear and filled with more enjoyment and less judgement

Any truth to this? I just googled it and it says it's still in effect...

[ramon_cojones]

I will probably be in nyc for several days starting this weekend.

[kiwiman911]

Thank you all for the great info and advice. My GF and I will surely have a great time in a great city

@Thechenman thank you for all the insight on the cool stuff in your city

erik

[TM-US]

To add there's another place that I like- circa tabac. Downtown, in soho by the holland tunnel. Really laid back place, you'll need to bring your own cigars, but the rum selection is very good. Peter Lugers is the best steakhouse- highly recommended, gotta bring cash.

[ramon_cojones]

^thanks for that, always could use places to smoke (not to hijack thread)

lol @ $34 for monte 2 and $28 for coros, maybe I should take some smokes and slang them haha

place looks cool tho

[ramon_cojones]

circa tabac was cool

[Dimmers]

In the middle of our 10 day stopover in NY as well and loving it. Have taken advantage of a few of the suggestions above thanks crew :thumbsup: