NYC : where to eat? music stores?

[Tjazz]

I'll be in NYC (theater district) 10/22-10/26.

Any suggestions for pizza?

Or your favorite restaurants?

(I can take the subway to get around)

Music stores? B)

Thanks

[PHILLYQ]

One good place for discs is J&R Music world on Park Row near City Hall. It is easily accessible by the 'R' or 'N' train to the City Hall stop. They have a good jazz section and some of the best prices I have found. They frequently have sales n catalog items, so I picked up Mingus Ah-Um last week for $6.99! Usually, new releases are also marked down a few bucks for the first week or two of release. I would not recommend Tower unless you are unconcerned about price- their selection is good, perhaps better than J&R, but their prices are stratospheric.If your taste runs more towards the unconventional, try the Downtown Music Gallery, located on the Bowery(I believe the address is 342, but I'm not certain). You will find lots of Blood Ulmer, Cecil Taylor, etc.

If you like thin crust pizza, go to John's on Bleecker Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. The #1 train will get you there, I believe the Sheridan Square stop. John's does not sell slices and they don't open until about 4:00 P.M. Their pizza is fantastic!

If you like Barbeque, Virgils is on West 44th(#152) and has great barbeque- thier Memphis Ribs are great!

Enjoy your visit!

[Guest akanalog]

i do not like downtown music gallery because the guy who owns the place plays the worst music!

i mean i guess it is a taste thing but he is always playing some obnoxious john zorn-ish stuff.

i guess people who go to the store dig it, but it doesn't seem like good background music for a store during the day where people come to relax and spend money.

i have realized that if he recommends an album to me i should avoid it because i think he has horrible taste in music. also it seems very cheesy to have a "downtown" music section. i don't know why-it just seems cheesy to me.

he does have a good selection and there isn't another place in town to pick up some bobby previtte or derek bailey and the like... so i guess he provides a good service. i know there are some good CDs in there....

tower records has really gone down hill. it is pretty disappointing now.

i would like to give a big thumbs up for j & r though. great selection and great prices generally. the only place in new york to find criss cross and steeplechase records.

some people like academy on 18th street and 5th avenue. it is only used CDs and sometimes has a bad selection though sometimes you find something unexpected and great, and it is filled with rude weird people who smell bad sometimes. it isn't a pleasant experience.

other music, which is on the same block as tower, sometimes has some ok stuff too. not a big selection of jazz, but respectable selection. good variety of music is available here.

joe's pizza is over by this john's which i have never heard of. it is on bleecker and 6th avenue. it is very good. can't really sit down in there, but there is a little park right there where you can sit. avoid pooping birds.

[7/4]

i do not like downtown music gallery because the guy who owns the place plays the worst music!

i mean i guess it is a taste thing but he is always playing some obnoxious john zorn-ish stuff.

i guess people who go to the store dig it, but it doesn't seem like good background music for a store during the day where people come to relax and spend money.

i have realized that if he recommends an album to me i should avoid it because i think he has horrible taste in music. also it seems very cheesy to have a "downtown" music section. i don't know why-it just seems cheesy to me.

he does have a good selection and there isn't another place in town to pick up some bobby previtte or derek bailey and the like... so i guess he provides a good service. i know there are some good CDs in there....

I'll have to pass this on to Bruce!

DMG is the only place in NYC carrying most of those discs!

Tower sucks!

J&R is cool if you don't mind going all the way downtown,

be sure to check the Virgin stores on Times Sq. & Union Sq. Well stocked.

[7/4]

some people like academy on 18th street and 5th avenue. it is only used CDs and sometimes has a bad selection though sometimes you find something unexpected and great, and it is filled with rude weird people who smell bad sometimes. it isn't a pleasant experience.

Hey, you're in NYC. Get used to it.

[Z-Man]

First - get out of the theater district. Then check out this website: Jazz New York

That will give you the lowdown on all the live music happening around town.

For restaurants, it all depends on how much you want to spend. For pizza, I'd recommend Lombardi's on Spring Street, just North of Little Italy (NoLita in real estate jargon). If you are bringing a significant female other, she will enjoy walking around that area and checking out the trendy shops. My favorite thing to do for lunch is to sit in the tavern area at Gramercy Tavern on 20th between Park and Broadway (quite pricey, but well worth it). For less expensive dining, check out some of the Eastern European places in the East Village - they can be a lot of fun. Vaselka is a good one. There are also several small used CD/LP emporiums in that area.

In you're into LP shopping - check out Academy's LP store on 10th and University Place - good selection, fair prices. IMHO, no visit to NYC would be complete without a trip to the aforementioned Downtown Music Gallery. It's certainly not for everybody, but you will definitely walk away with some new listening ideas.

[kulu se mama]

the last time my wife and i went we found a great restaurant in greenwich village.

Pesce Pasta Trattoria at bleecker st. this was one of the best dining out experiences we've ever had. the place was cozy, noisy, cramped, and romantic all at the same time. when we left it was well after ten and all of the bakerys in the area were still open. it was fantastic.

[kh1958]

Visiting a couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed going to the Jazz Record Center. It's mostly LPs, but I found a bunch of interesting Fresh Sound CD reissues. Also, while high priced, the Tower on Broadway near Lincoln Center has an excellent selection.

[Tjazz]

Thanks for the tips:

I'll be checking out the Louis Armstrong House and Carnegie Hall (Oct 25th - Emmylou Harris).

[jpmosu]

If you're in Times Square, walk (or ride the bus) up to NYCD on the Upper West Side. It's got a decent (not large--but high quality) selection of jazz.

If memory serves, it's near 80th and Amsterdam Ave.

john

[PHILLYQ]

NYCD is at 173 W.81st Street. They have used discs, so you may find something interesting. From the theater district you can take the 1,2, or 3 trains to 72nd St. and walk.

[Tjazz]

NYCD is at 173 W.81st Street. They have used discs, so you may find something interesting. From the theater district you can take the 1,2, or 3 trains to 72nd St. and walk.

Too late.

I went to the Amsterdam location and nothing was there, so I thought they went out of business. (I had referred to the phone book) I saw the empty store from across the street, so I didn't go to the door.

Found a nice restaurant - Popover Cafe.

Thanks anyway.

[Tjazz]

NYCD is at 173 W.81st Street. They have used discs, so you may find something interesting. From the theater district you can take the 1,2, or 3 trains to 72nd St. and walk.

Too late.

I went to the Amsterdam location and nothing was there, so I thought they went out of business. (I had referred to the phone book) I saw the empty store from across the street, so I didn't go to the door.

Found a nice restaurant - Popover Cafe.

Thanks anyway.

[Brandon Burke]

In you're into LP shopping - check out Academy's LP store on 10th and University Place - good selection, fair prices.

Yes. I always stop there when I visit. Nice folks too.....

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Any downtowners know whether 'Zete Peabody's Sugar Reef Cafe' on lower Second Ave. is still in business there or anywhere. That was the livest place to go for food and tunage from the lower hemisphere about ten years ago.

[AmirBagachelles]

If you pass by Downtown Music to get to ("no refunds") J&R, you will have made a grievous error. DTM is a NYC classic. Shopping and browsing does not get any better, and Bruce and Manny are very friendly people. If you don't like the music, then strike up a chat with either of them, they would probably want to know what they could put on to make you happy and relaxed.

Please, J&R is only necessary if the prices in your mall back home are too high.

Take the opportunity in NYC to visit a real music store - DTM, Other Music, Norman's, Kim's, the jazz dept. at Tower or even Virgin.

[Guest akanalog]

j & r is better than tower or virgin. it is cheaper and has arguably better selection. the only advantge to one over the other otherwise is that at virgin you can listen to CDs. virgin does not stock steeplechase or fresh sound new talent stuff at all and is the most expensive. tower's selection is sometimes not so good. i like j & r the best of those.

i think i have a grudge against the downtown music guy because though i have spent a lot of time and money there and go in often he still asks me to check my bag-well actually it used to be more of him saying "don't you want to put your bag down" or "your bag looks heavy, why don't you leave it over here" rather than being straight with me. i guess just recently they put up signs saying all bags must be checked but this always annoys me that he has dogged me in the past.

also i find him extremely unreliable when it comes to recommendations since he is a total geek to the annoying jphn zorn mathew shipp thing and will tell you any tzadik or thirsty ear title is great. as i said earlier, you can tell his taste by the generally abrasive unpleasant music emenating from the store speakers.

all that said, i do go in their like once a week since i work around the corner but when i make a purchase it is more of a 50/50 risk than a sureshot. you will find something interesting in there and i think i am warming to some of the tzadik releases.

normans and kims do not have very good selections. well actually at normans you might find something interesting and possibly out of print. i will once again give other music a thumbs up though the selection is small. it and tower, right across the street from each other, compliment each other well.

[7/4]

i think i have a grudge against the downtown music guy because though i have spent a lot of time and money there and go in often he still asks me to check my bag-well actually it used to be more of him saying "don't you want to put your bag down" or "your bag looks heavy, why don't you leave it over here" rather than being straight with me.  i guess just recently they put up signs saying all bags must be checked but this always annoys me that he has dogged me in the past.

also i find him extremely unreliable when it comes to recommendations since he is a total geek to the annoying jphn zorn mathew shipp thing and will tell you any tzadik or thirsty ear title is great.  as i said earlier, you can tell his taste by the generally abrasive unpleasant music emenating from the store speakers.

all that said, i do go in their like once a week since i work around the corner but when i make a purchase it is more of a 50/50 risk than a sureshot.  you will find something interesting in there and i think i am warming to some of the tzadik releases. 

normans and kims do not have very good selections.  well actually at normans you might find something interesting and possibly out of print.  i will once again give other music a thumbs up though the selection is small.  it and tower, right across the street from each other, compliment each other well.

But Manny's ass cleavage doesn't bother you? He can work at a store like that, brag about buying $300 Brian Eno rarities - but he can't be bothered to buy a belt to hold his fucking pants up.

AND the owner doesn't seem to be bothered about it!