Talk Elections

For the first time. I got accepted into a sort of political education thingy which ends with a trip to Washington and New York. It'll be in November.

I'm kind of excited, since I haven't been to the US before. Any tips for what to do in those cities?

See if you can get a tour of some abandoned subway stations or something... ya know... something completely different.

NYC and DC? No, nothing to do in either of those cities.



:P


Stop in Philly! Other foreign Forumites have done so.

I don't know how structured your trip is, but if you get a chance, try to see something other than New York and DC. Nothing wrong with those two cities, but there's so much more out there. Gotta experience Palin's "real" America :P

Hookers.

Wow, great tips there. :P

I count two people trying to get me killed and two people just hating on the cities. ;)

I mean, going to Congress and stuff like that will be part of the trip but I was hoping for tips on great places...restaurants or bars or something.

God help you :P

eat fried alligator at Natori in the East Village:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/natori-new-york-2

Good restaurants and bars are going to be something only the locals know.  Anybody can tell you all about the good museums, and to see a Broadway show if you get a chance, but for actual local information, you're gonna need to PM Lief or Eraserhead or whoever. It's been my experience that anything that has been featured on the Food Network etc. is a crowded tourist dump.

Yeah, I get that and was thus mostly expecting the locals to chime in. :P

I also reasoned that people who had been to New York might still have ideas about cool stuff to do. I mean, I can give tips on bars, clubs etc in cities like Düsseldorf and Berlin even though I've only been there a couple of times.

I just realized that all the New York posters are my sworn enemies (Eraserhead, Lief, Tweed) so I'm unlikely to get much help. :(

Ah, well. At least I got to attention whore about going to the States, that's always something.

Jeffersonville, Vermont. Specifically the ice cream parlour.

I know New York very well but I don't know what scene you're in to.

If I go to Maryland or NYU, I might be a local by then, enough to give you some tips; for now all I can say is that DC has fantastic burgers, from the n = 2 burger joints I ate at.  (I suppose that makes sense given that Five Guys started there.)

I'm into the kind of scene where the word scene would never be used without ironically mocking someone else. ;)

I like nice pubs with good beer. I like good steak. And I like alternative places with weird stuff. The kind of places you'd find in Berlin for example.

Does that help? ;)

Chinatown Express

You coming to DC?  You, me, face-to-face RISK.

Seriously, we'll go drinking if you want.

Do you know what days will you be in DC and where will you be staying? Let's meet up.

Lunar maybe?

I'm a bit hesitant to make recommendations 11 months out,  a lot can change.  How long will you be in New York for and do you know where you will be staying yet?  

I went out in Manhattan on Saturday night for the first time in a while, I forgot how easy it is to drop several hundred dollars.

Meh, what a waste of time and money.  But you'll enjoy it.

Now, this are the kind of reactions I wanted. ;)

I just got accepted into the thingy which allows me to do this (hence the thread) so I don't know much about the details of the trip yet. I will be coming to DC though, so it'd be cool to meet you guys.

Patrick: see above, i.e. I don't know much of the details yet. I'll probably come back with a new thread in October or something when I know more. ;)

Opebo: I'm hardly paying for the trip so I don't view it as much of a waste. :D

I was hoping opebo would go on some rant about how awful it is that you are bothering to visit The Bad Place.

Who's paying for it?

I'm not really opposed to people who are appropriate to the US going there, BRTD.  I think Gustaf really belongs there.

LOL.  That is a rather clever segue into your kicking Gustaf in the nuts once again, which these days seems to be one of your favorite pastimes. Of course "bad people" belong in the "bad place!" :P

I think calling it clever is rather generous. It was exceedingly obvious even from the first post that he was going for that. :P

There is an organization that brainwashes people for the political right. They have a course of sorts which I applied for. I got accepted and part of it is a trip to the US. I pay a fee for the course, so it's not entirely free, but pretty much.

You obviously need the "the course" Gustaf, since your econ score is "only" 0.9, which makes you considerably more a "moderate hero" than even yours truly.  That is not good.

Oh, if you would like, I can PM you with my most cosmopolitan Big Apple cousin's email address, and you two can chat about how to get the most out of that most wonderful Disneyland for adults. But don't listen to anything she says about politics - she has a great big red liberal NY avatar tattoed on her butt! But listen to her about everything else. I just adore her. :)

Being a moderate hero is inherently bad.

I probably need a bit of brainwashing, yes.

Thank you for the offer, if you're willing to do that I'll gladly accept. :)

You should visit the top of a tall building (since you don't really have those in Sweden), sample as many American microbrews, and sleep with as many people as possible.

I look down on your tall buildings and American "beer" is something to be ridiculed. Won't mind your women though. ;)

I thought "the religious" didn't do sex without a license. I'm shocked!  :P

Haha, I seem to have received a very strange prude reputation on here that is thoroughly undeserved. I'm sure you're old enough to remember the concept of Swedish sin. ;)

That, and a trip to DC would not be complete until you sample Ben's Chili Bowl (http://www.benschilibowl.com/ordereze/default.aspx).  It's right across the street from the Green Line U-Street metro station entrance.  You will see it in plain sight as soon as you come up the escalator. 

A tip: if you are only going to be in D.C for a few days, don't try to blitz every historical thing in the town.  Between the Mall and the monuments, the museums, Capitol Hill and the White House, not to mention all of the good local stuff you seem so keen on, you need at least a week.

This is coming from a guy who tried to see the entire city in two and a half days.  Damn budget! >:(

Yes,, and I have always admired it. :) By the way, when in DC be sure to visit the Presidential portraits gallery. I really enjoyed it, and I am sure that you would too, since you are familiar with all of these critters. As almost always, those of Lincoln are the most transfixing. He may be the most transfixing man in history from my little provincial perspective. He's the closest thing to empirical evidence of the metaphysical that I am come across so far.

I'll have you know I'd love a tour of the many abandoned subway stations and entire subway tubes under the streets of NYC.  It's a fascinating part of Urban history which few American cities have.

For places to eat... try Butter (it's formal.. wear something nice).. and get the seared New York Strip steak with roasted root vegetables and crispy bone marrow.  

In fact, I'd try for any famous steakhouse and get a New York Strip... or a Porterhouse.

It sounds cliche, and it won't quite be a midwestern steakhouse... but if you come to America, you have to get a good steak.  Trust me... there is no comparison in Europe (believe me.. I tried.)

In fact, I think you will come away with a completely different perception of "American" food if you do it right.  You should also find a good deli and get a pastrami on rye, a giant dill pickle, and a bagel.

Then you should go get a big huge bowl of spaghetti with meatballs and mail it in a food-save pouch to Keystone Phil.

^^^^^ I'll second this.

My first trip to DC many, many years ago was this pre packaged trip for kids at my school. Being rushed from one site to another just ruins the whole experience.

I do know that if you want to tour the White House be prepared to spend a half day waiting in line unless you have a relationship with someone that is capable of bringing you to the front of it. Depending on your time limitations it may not be worth it if you can't pull off a connection like that.

I don't know if the FBI is still doing tours, but I've heard that is pretty cool.

Williamsburg is pretty cool as well. Its a little out of the way, but the town is very pretty. The history there is interesting, but that isn't the sole reason. Just enjoying the food, beer, etc. in the old colonial town is a good way to spend an afternoon to evening.

Also, from experience taking a small plane ride over the Hamptons is pretty amazing.

And don't show up in Hell's Kitchen right at dinner time with no reservations you'll have trouble finding a decent restaurant anywhere that wont have you waiting a pretty damn long time.

That's about all I've got. I haven't been to either city that many times.

You have to try smaller, less known breweries than the ones everyone thinks of when saying "American beer". Budweiser, Miller, etc. are obviously a waste of hops....but believe me, as a half-German, American microbrews, and even a few larger outfits (e.g. Samuel Adams) are quite good. Might I suggest IPAs from a few microbreweries. I absolutely love them.

German beer on average, obviously, is a good deal better. There's nothing near as bad as Budweiser and co., but there's also not a lot quite unique as what I mentioned above :)

Agreed, and German beer is still the best in the world IMO. And lets be honest the best microbrews(in the US) are in the Midwest(which Gustaf isn't going to be) and that includes Illinois. I was only moderately impressed with what there was brewed in New York and so I mostly spent my time there ordering imports from other places.

Also, I never understood the recent IPA craze. I'll really drink anything, but deliberately ordering a beer known for its bitterness never really appealed to me.


On a different note, my German friend has told me that in Europe they have Bananaweizen(can't get that here). I love wheat beers and there is a banana bread beer that is making the rounds in the US today(that is pretty good, but a little to much desert for me to have more than a couple), but I think Banana wheat would be awesome. I would be curious if Gustaf has ever had that before, and if so what his thoughts are on it.

I have had Bananaweizen in Germany last time I was there. I'm also a big fan of wheat beer. It wasn't quite my cup of tea, but perfectly drinkable. Unlike this strawberry beer I once had. Now, that was disgusting.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the tips. In terms of official sightseeing I think there will be a program to mindlessly follow, but if I can squeeze in a free day or two I'll keep those suggestions in mind. I was mostly going for tips on what to do in the evenings and such and am glad for the ones I have now received. :)

Lunar's always available, indeed.

Hey now.  Good to see you on the board, Lunar.   

Gustaf, suggestions will be forthcoming in October 2012 :)

Sworn enemies? News to me!

But anyway, if you want the best pizza ever, go here:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/23787/restaurant/New-York/The-Bronx/Captain-Pizzeria-and-Restaurant-Bronx

Of course it may not feasible if you are just going to do the usual Manhattan bull sh*t.

I thought Lunar had grown too cool for his former Atlas friends. ;) I'll pester you as well then in that case.

Eraserhead: as much of sworn enemies as one can be on a message board. ;) People who state their dislike for me sort of automatically end up in that category. But thanks for the pizza tip, I'll hopefully have time to check that out. Since we do share a lot of music taste, do you have any tips in that arena?

I guess this goes to prove that Lunar consistently 'lurks'

or occasionally does a search for who's mentioned his name in the last 50 days, who knows?

Of course. I commented about you recently in fact. :)

This won't be exactly as revelatory but your best bets for cool record shops and decent bands will probably be in Greenwich Village and Willamsburg.