Brooklyn Content-
Check Ohmyrockness.com, BrooklynVegan.com for show listings.
Brooklyn Based-lots of articles and walking tours
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Dumbo, Brooklyn (Down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)
Powerhouse Arena-Daily Book parties-37 Main St Brooklyn, NY 11201
(212) 604-9074
Bushwick, Brooklyn
This is where a lot of the really cool stuff happens these days.
Check BushwickBK.com for one offs and more.
Bushwick venues-
Carmelo’s-1544 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237-Five dollar beer and shot joint with occasion free shows.
Looking Glass-Coffeeshop, wine and beer joint with bands and odd performances-1087 Broadway
Elsewhere-One giant room, one small room. Strange communal unisex bathrooms. Cheap coffee or tea in the “loft” (location of shared communal bathrooms) Good booking.
Market Hotel- Not the best sound, okay booking of major touring punk bands. Sells out quickly, can be hot. Coolest thing is the subway goes by outside the window while the bands are on. 1140 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn
The Broadway-1272 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211-Decent booking. Good bar food.
Our Wicked Lady – 153 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206-Bar with occasional live music, sometimes on the great roof deck
Bars-
The Anchored Inn – 57 Waterbury St, Brooklyn, NY 11206 (718) 576-3297-Pool table and food that serves late night.
Birdys-1215 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221 (646) 555-1212
Happyfun Hideaway-1211 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221 (917) 999-8282
Downtown Brooklyn-
Eats-
Juniors Cheesecake-386 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11201-Old timey giant deli restaurant where they serve pickles and cole slaw on the table.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Baby’s All Right-bar, eatery, and music venue in Williamsburg Brooklyn 146 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (718) 599-5800 Fantasic sound and good booking in the hipster and garage realm. Annoy habit of quickly transitioning after punk shows to shitty djs playing top 40 garbage.
Brooklyn Bowl-Hipster Bowling alley with occasional music acts.
The Commodore- 366 Metropolitan Ave, New York, NY 11211, bar with some great DJ nights (soul, punk) and GREAT chicken sandwiches and burgers. Pay at the bar and its brought to your table.
Williamsburg Hall of Music-66 North Sixth-major venue for major acts
Brooklyn Brewery -79 N 11th St , Brooklyn (718) 486-7422. Microbrewery with performances and such.
The Gutter–200 N 14th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (718) 387-3585-live music only thursday to saturday and a vintage transported bowling alley. The better, cheaper place to bowl.
Union Pool-484 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 -awkward dance space upfront. Cross through a courtyard with a taco truck for some of the best booking out there. Free summer patio shows.
Food-
Peter Luger Steak House-178 Broadway at: Between Bedford and Driggs Avenues. Brooklyn-tel: (718) 387-7400. J, M, Z at Marcy Ave. Williamsburg. Said to be the best steakhouse in the world, mainly due to their meat buying, but the people who say this are wrong.. However they have a great burger available only for lunch is one of the best burgers in the city. Reservations a must. Right near Baby’s All Right, one of the best venues in NYC.
Blue Collar-160 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (347) 725-3837-Tiny Delicious burger shop. Chili sucks so stay with the plain fries.
Fedoroff’s Roast Pork -makes a rendition of the best sandwich from philly, the roast pork broccoli raab sandwich.- 178 N 10th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (347) 384-2222
Oasis- 168 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (718) 218-7607-The best falafel. Splurge for the Hummus on the sandwich. Best Falafel in NYC
Rosa’s Pizza-374 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211-Amazing pizza and also sausage rolls, pepperoni pinwheels and grandma slices.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Bars and Clubs-
A Bar – 597 Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY -Bar with djs that is popular with the cool crowd.
St Vitus-1120 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222 Hard to get to mostly metal venue that is not cheap but sometimes has free shows.
Warsaw -HUGE venue at the Polish National home. The best thing about this venue is they have inexpensive polish food that is great you can buy at every show. 261 Driggs Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222 (718) 387-0505
Eats-
Frankel’s Delicatessen & Appetizing – 631 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222-Newcomer smoked fish joint and deli.
Pyza -118 Nassau Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222 Cheap Polish Restaurant.- Closes 8PM
(718) 349-8829
Long Island City, Queens
Performing Arts Space-P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
22-25 Jackson Ave , Long Island City-Funky artspace. Subway-E, F at 23rd St.-Ely Ave.; 7 at 45 Rd.-Court House Sq.; G at Court Sq. Sister to Moma, and moma admission comes with free ps1 admission
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Venues
Union Hall-702 Union Street,Brooklyn, NY 11215Not to be confused with Union Pool, this spot has bocce for the yuppies and lots of mopey indie rock
Littlefield NYC. 622 degraw st · brooklyn, new york
Ridgewood, Queens
Bars-
Bootleg Bar -1438 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237 (347) 715-6307 Great DJs
The Keep-205 Cypress Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385-bar with djs and crazy decor, some of which is for sale.
Milo’s Yard-564 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385-bar with occasional DJs and Chicago Style Hot Dog
Venues-
The Footlight-465 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385 (718) 673-8211
TV Eye-New Circa 2020 venue from the great Jonahan Toubin-
1647 Weirfield St 11385
Trans-Pecos-9-15 Wyckoff Ave , Queens, New York 11385 (718) 386-3718
Sheepshead Bay
Eats-
Jimmy’s Famous Heros -Address: 1786 Sheepshead Bay Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 648-8001-Tiny take out shop with a good italian or spicy italian sub. Sadly they have no pepper relish though. Great bread on the italian.
Randazzo’s Clam Bar-in Sheepshead Bay for over 75 years. Located right across from the bay-2017 Emmons Avenue-Brooklyn
Roll N Roaster – 2901 Emmons Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11235 (718) 769-6000-Roast beef sandwiches, fresh lemonade and lots more. Ask for Horseradish Sauce. A MUST!
Gravesend, Brooklyn
Brennan & Carr-3432 Nostrand Ave (between Avenue V & Gravesend Neck Rd) Brooklyn, NY 11229-Dipped in au just Roast beef sandwiches, decades old. Great! Theres also a roast beef topped burger which you want to get a side cup of au jus. Perfection
Gowanus, Brooklyn (near park slope)
Venues-
The Bell House-Giant warehousey multi use venue-www.thebellhouseny.com, 149 7th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215, (718) 643-6510
Lucky 13 Saloon-644 Sackett St, Brooklyn, NY 11217 Unusual bar with Metal bands, burlesque shows, and on the bar go gos.
The Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club -Shuffleboard courts and this big bar with food trucks & occasional live music.514 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (347) 223-4410
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Dumbo, Brooklyn (Down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)
Bushwick, Brooklyn
This is where a lot of the really cool stuff happens.
Check
Art Spaces-
3rd Ward-multibuilding arts space with lots of performances and classes plus art events and more.
Bushwick venues
Don Pedros-Probably the best booking out there for Punk and Garage, period.
Goodbye Blue Monday-Coffeeshop, wine and beer joint with bands and odd performances-1087 Broadway
Party Xpo-929 Broadway. Spitting distance from beauty bar. Lots of amazing shows. Many times folks hop back and forth to beauty bar for real booze and bathrooms.
Williamsburg/Greenpoint Brooklyn
Brooklyn Bowl-Hipster Bowling alley with occasional music acts.
Williamsburg Hall of Music-66 North Sixth-major venue for major acts
Brooklyn Brewery -79 N 11th St , Brooklyn (718) 486-7422. Microbrewery with performances and such.
Union Pool-484 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 -awkward dance space upfront. Cross through a courtyard with a taco truck for some of the best booking out there. Calendar only on myspace.
Peter Luger Steak House-178 Broadway at: Between Bedford and Driggs Avenues.Brooklyn-tel: (718) 387-7400. J, M, Z at Marcy Ave. Williamsburg. Said to be the best steakhouse in the world, mainly due to their meat buying, this place is always packed and the waiters have attitude. Honestly the only thing we like about the place is the lunch only burger.
Long Island City, Queens
Performing Arts Space-
P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
22-25 Jackson Ave , Long Island City-Funky artspace. Subway-E, F at 23rd St.-Ely Ave.; 7 at 45 Rd.-Court House Sq.; G at Court Sq. Sister to Moma, and moma admission comes with free ps1 admission
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Mama Tried- 787 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232-bar with outdoor performance space with suprisingly good shows and a tiny menu of good things under the BQE in Park Slope
Littlefield-635 Sackett St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Gowanus, Brooklyn (near park slope)
Venues-
Union Hall-702 Union Street,Brooklyn, NY 11215-Not to be confused with Union Pool, this spot has bocce for the yuppies and lots of mopey indie rock but nowadays is mostly podcast tapings.
Panorama at the Queens Museum of Art
Queens, NY
Check out Forgotten NY’s article on the Remnants of the 1964 Worlds Fair.
Flushing, Queens is home to a Chinatown that is said to be better than Manhattans and also has very authentic Thai food as well.
Serious Eats articles about where to Eat.
Real Cheap Eats Queens
Astoria, Queens
Eats-
Petey’s Burger-Mini chain of awesome burgers, fries and onion rings, including a version of animal style fries with sauce and sauteed onions.-3017 30th Ave, Astoria, NY 11102
(718) 267-6300
Burger Club-Too many burger options, good onion rings and other apps, including an unusual Mozzarella cheese stick made with fresh Mozz on a bed of…Ham. 32-02 30th Ave, Astoria, NY 11102- (718) 777-7788
Flushing, Queens
Musuems-
See the panorama, above
Louis Armstrong House-The Louis Armstrong House was the home of Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille Wilson from 1943 until his death in 1971. Lucille gave ownership of it to the city of New York in order to create a museum focused on her husband. 34-56 107th St, Flushing, NY 11368 Monday Closed (718) 478-8274
Eats-
Spicy & Tasty-Sichuan Restaurant that is one of the best restaurants in the area. 39-07 Prince St, Flushing, NY 11354 (718) 359-1601
Max and Mina’s Ice Cream-7126 Main Street Flushing, NY 11367-(718) 793-8629-Hard to get to without a car, this place was made famous for having strange ice cream flavors like Ketchup. Theres lots of non gross flavors too.
X’ian Famous Foods-41-28 Main Street Bsmt #36, Flushing, NY 11354-“western” Chinese food with locations in Manhattan and newer “Upscale” Restaurant B’iang. They make hand pulled noodles topped with stewed meats like Cumin Lamb Noodles. Amazing!
Long Island City, Queens
Museums-
Queens Museum of Art-Home to the Fantastic Panorama pictured above and near many relics of the Worlds Fair
Staten Island, NY
The Bronx, NY
Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is a Little Italy that is superior to Manhattans..
City Island, Bronx, NY
JOHNNY’S famous REEF RESTAURANT-2 City Island Avenue Bronx, NY 10464 (718) 885-2086-Casual clam shack type restaurant
New Rochelle, NY
New Roc City-Entertainment complex with Movie theaters, skating rinks, video game rooms and a space shot freefall type ride.
Cortland Manor, NY
Popeyes Pub-Bar in a historic building with love bands, usually punk and metal-
2056 East Main Street Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567-2622 – (914) 737-9325
Farmingdale, NY
Amusement ParkAdventureland-2245 Route 110, Farmingdale, (516) 694-6868- Small family park.Live Music-
The downtown-190 main street , Farmingdale Long island-accessable from NYC via LIRR.Fire Island
For info on Fire Island Clubs and events go to
Mr. Ladybug.Garrison, NY
Food-
The Bird & Bottle Inn 1123 Old Albany Post Road Garrison, NY 10524 (800) 782-6837. Nice dinners served in this 18th Century House. They have rooms which are pricey, but really not because they include a credit for dinner.Hillburn, NY
Food-
Mount Fuji-Route 17 North, Hillburn, New York-845-357-4270-Hibachi style japanese steakhouse in a giant pagoda, with a tiki bar.Hudson, NY
Live Music
The Hudson River Theater, 521 Warren Street. Hudson, NY-Odd collection of shows here, like Marshall Crenshaw or Graham Parker, then things like Monade, a Stereolab side project.
Huntington, NY
Eats-
Ithaca, NY
Ithacas alternative weekly is the Ithaca Times.
Lake George, NY-Lake George is a resort area in Upstate NY. You can take a train to Albany from Penn Station and take a cab to Lake George Village for about $90 rt. While in the Neighborhood, you can also drive up to Lake Champlain and take a ferry to Burlington, VT.
Eats-
The Boardwalk- 2 Lower Amherst St, Lake George, NY 12845-518-668-5324-Burgers
Shoreline-518-668-2875
The Sagamore Club Grille-800-358-3585-pricey restaurant in 115+ year old hotel in Bolton Landing, 10 miles from Lake George.
Bars-
King Neptunes Pub-1 Kurosaka Ln, Lake George, NY, United States, New York-518-668-2017-Bar with live music. (“temporarily closed in 2023)
Amusement Park-
Great Escape Fun Park-Route 9, , Lake George, (518) 792-3500 -excellent park with amazing Comet rollercoaster.
Kingston, NY
Venues-
Tubby’s– 586 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401
Long Island, NY
Record Stores-
Music Den, 4950 Nesconset Hwy, Port Jefferson Station, NY
Vinyl Solution, 33 N. Main St., Port Chester, NY 10573
Walter’s -937 Palmer Ave. Mamaroneck, NY-Hot dog shack in a Pagoda. Must try. They serve their hot dogs split on grilled buns.
First National Franks, 3147 Rte. 112 Medford, NY 11772 631-696-1900, giant dogs on giant buns, plus burgers and fries. Giant dog on the sign
The unusual-
The Montague Bookmill is a used bookstore housed in an 1842 gristmill, and has some occasional events as well.
