I created this blog to help my fellow New Yorkers that live on a budget truly enjoy all that NY has to offer. From concerts, to travel, restaurants & bars, contests, Broadway and off Broadway shows...I hope to help others live the life in NY while doing it on a budget. In addition, I also have a passion for music, charity & fundraising. I will post reviews, videos, topics for discussion and links for discounts. Enjoy!!
My wonderful friend Andrew took me to Crispo (240 West 14th Street) for my birthday. We had a fantastic meal of pasta (Trofie al Prosciutto) and the steak for him. I'll tell you, when you've got great service, you never want to leave. We just ordered glass after glass of wine and Andrew had an after dinner drink to boot. I can't wait to go back!!
My #broadwaybuddy and I went to see Harvey starring Jim Parsons (Elwood P. Dowd), Jessica Hecht (Veta Louise Simmons), Charles Kimbrough (William R. Chumley, M.D) and Carol Kane (Betty Chumley). What a delightful show!! It was lighthearted, funny, witty and made for Jim Parsons. I walked out smiling ear to ear.
If you're looking to get discount tickets for RTC's shows, use this site (HIPTIX) if you're between the ages of 18-35.
My #broadwaybuddy and I thought it would be fun to get dressed up and attend the Drama Desk Awards at The Town Hall on Sunday, June 3rd. The show was co-hosted by Brooke Shields and Brian d'Arcy James. The show was a lot of fun mainly because we saw a ton of our favorite singers, dancers and actors. Here's a list of some of the people we stood just feet from:
Bernadette Peters
Norm Lewis
Kevin Spacey
Judith Light (winner Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Other Desert Cities)
James Corden (winner Outstanding Actor in a Play, One Man, Two Guvnors)
Audra McDonald (winner Outstanding Actress in a Musical, The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess)
Alan Menken (winner Outstanding Music, Newsies)
Judy Kaye (winner Featured Actress and Actor in a Musical, Nice Work If You Can Get It)
Tracie Bennett (winner and best speech Outstanding Actress in a Play. End of the Rainbow)
Michael Cerveris
Linda Lavin
Marin Mazzie
Molly Ranson
John Larroquette
Martha Plimpton
Maybe one year we'll actually make it to the Tony Awards!!
marX (208 E 58th Street bw 2nd & 3rd) is by far my favorite happy hour spot in Midtown East. The drink specials are amazing and the food delicious. Plus, you can't beat the company of the staff at this place. My friend hosted her birthday dinner here and a lot of people from the area visit for lunch & dinner. The decor is contemporary, the music chill and the smiles endless. You'll thank me once you try the parmesan white truffle fries and basically anything else on their menu. Come check it out!!
Jill (#broadwaybuddy) and I could not resist seeing Once for the second time in less than three months. We loved it even more and we shed just as many tears listening to the beautiful score from this show. Even my friends who are not theater fans were touched by the music and the story. I can't recommend it enough!!
Take a look at the performance from the Tony Awards:
On May 10th, my #broadwaybuddy and I went to see Gentleman Prefer Blondes with Megan Hilty (Lorelei Lee). Wow...what a production!! I had never seen Megan perform live until I saw this show and she knocked the entire audience right out of their seats with that voice, her acting chops and her uncanny resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. This role was meant for her!! The entire cast did a fantastic job and I'm so happy that we got these last minute tickets.
My childhood best friend Erin and I went Disney World for Cinco de Mayo. Good Lord did we have a good time!! I was able to get us a free room by signing up for a timeshare presentation via Wyndham Resorts. The hotel was beautiful!! Our room, bathroom, the grounds, the pools and the people were all top notch. The only negative was the length of the presentation. What should've been a few hours literally last 5 hours. It was so long that we missed our dinner reservation and I was borderline tearing up but in the end, it was worth it. I highly recommend the resort!! There was free transportation to & from the parks and you were able to buy your park passes in the hotel lobby. Erin and I went to Deep Blu (restaurant in the hotel) for dinner. Amazing food!! Later in the evening we went to Jelly Rolls (at Disney's Boardwalk Resort) until closing. I had been there several times and knew it was a guaranteed good time. On Cinco de Mayo we went to Bongos Cuban Cafe for drinks and Paradiso 57 for dinner. On Sunday we went to Epcot and drank our way through the countries. Of course this doesn't compare to the Food & Wine Festival but it was still a ton of fun. Needless to say, we weren't feeling too hot on Monday. Disney can be done on a budget...even as 34 years olds, we managed to find happy hour specials, park discounts and bargained for cab rides. I've been to Disney over 30 times and I'll never get sick of it.
My #broadwaybuddy (Jill) and I went to see A Streetcar Named Desire starring Blair Underwood (Stanley), Nicole Ari Parker (Blanche), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Stella) and Wood Harris (Mitch) on April 19th. I had read the book, watched the movies but this was my first time seeing the staged version. Overall, I was a fan of this show. The set design was stunning and the costumes on par. Blair and Nicole were great leading roles and I rather enjoyed Wood as well. If you read my previous posting on the musical Evita, you'll see my comment about inappropriate behavior. Again, audience members were screaming, shouting and even praising the Lord anytime Blair removed his shirt or showed any bit of skin. It's just not the time & place for such behavior. Whether a black or white cast, the show was worth seeing!!
Three of my colleagues took me to this little Jazz eatery called Tomi Jazz (239 E 53rd Street). It's a true hidden gem and I bet that they'll be mad that I'm blogging about it. I had never had a bowl of noodles like this. From the veggies, to the broth and the meat...simply delicious. They have a great happy hour that goes from 5:30-7:30 PM every night and wonderful jazz music. Check it out if you're in the neighborhood.
A small group of us (Jill, Destiny, Brett, Kerri & Kristen) went to see Evita in April. I enjoyed this show especially since it had three very talented leads: Ricky Martin, Michael Cerveris and Elena Roger. What I have to say is most annoying is the women screaming for Ricky Martin at the worst times. He's a consummate professional so you couldn't see the frustration on his face but I'm sure he was annoyed. There's a time & a place for screaming!! Either way, I didn't let that bother me and rather enjoyed all the songs & dances in this show. A highlight for me was Rachel Potter (Mistress). She had the tiniest part but her song & voice resonated with me all night.
For discounts, try these sites: bit.ly/AmnKyX or bit.ly/QxCUu9.
Me, my #broadwaybuddy and our friend Brett went to see Carrie which was performed at MCC Theater - The Lucille Lortel Theatre. To our dismay, we really liked it!! When you get a chance to see Marin Mazzie in anything, you usually don't pass it up. We knew that if she signed on to do this show, she must believe in it and she was right, it was good. Molly Ranson (Carrie) did a great job in her role. You felt sad for her, your routed for her and you were a little scared of her. Overall, this show reminded me that not every good show is near 42nd St. Unfortunately, not enough people agreed with us and the show closed two weeks ahead of it's scheduled closing.
How can you say no to a $15 AYCD brunch? I mean, you still have to pay for your food which was super reasonable but $15 in fantastic!! About 12 of us went to Osteria Cotta (513 Columbus Avenue) for brunch on a Sunday. While the wait was long and the service a little chaotic at times, we highly enjoyed our food. We sat upstairs in a nice little nook. While this was Sunday brunch, perhaps the best thing to do was bring out a pitcher for the amount of alcohol we each drank and this would've saved them from having to run up & down the stairs at least 5 dozen times. For $15 for an AYCD brunch and good food, we'll be back.
This show is good for date night, it's good for parents & teenagers, it's good for the seniors crowd and it's ideal for lovers of music and people who just love the idea of love. I know my words might sound a bit twisted, but there's no other way to express how much I think every Broadway fan must see this show!! Just listen for yourself:
My #broadwaybuddy (Jill) and I went to see Other Desert Cities with Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, Judith Light, Rachel Griffiths and Justin Kirk. After seeing this play and Clybourne Park, I would've chosen Other Desert Cities to win the Tony Award for Best Play. The acting, story, set and costumes were top notch. Stockard & Stacy played off of each other wonderfully. Judith Light plays an amazing alcoholic...totally believable. We were front row so it was like we were on stage with them. We used LincTix for these tickets. I highly recommend this site for anyone between the ages of 21 to 35!!!
People kept telling me to go see War Horse but I had no idea what I was in store for. WOW is all I can say! This show was tremendous and deserved every single award that it earned (5 Tony Awards including Best Play) as well as handful of other awards. For those of us on a budget, there is no bad seat in the house so do not be afraid to get seats all the way up to. I cried (just a little), I laughed, I smiled and I was simply mesmerized by this theatrical masterpiece. It's by far one of the best performances I have ever seen. It only runs through January 6th so please do yourself a favor and go see it!! For discount tickets, try these sites:
bit.ly/htAVD5 or bit.ly/QUYWZV. GO GO GO!!!
Jill and I went to see The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess the day after Valentine's Day. 20 minutes before the start of the show, we realized the theatre was half empty because Audra McDonald canceled her performance. This was incredibly disappointing as we were looking forward to seeing her perform this role. Her understudy did a tremendous job in her shoes and in the end we were happy we didn't exchange our tickets. Norm Lewis was fantastic!! What a powerful voice and manly demeanor. David Alan Grier was a terrific supporting character. The cast was rich & soulful in both song and dance. If you're looking for discount offers try these sites: bit.ly/sCvdNd or bit.ly/U5IQ2z. The shows closes on September 23rd so HURRY!!!
Take a look at this video to see the cast in action at the 2012 Tony Awards:
The first play of February was Seminar. My #broadwaybuddy (Jill) and I were able to score a great deal using our Audience Rewards points. In fact, we were literally in the third row. I have always wanted to see Alan Rickman perform and the man did not disappoint. There's something wildly sexy about him. Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe were great supporting characters. I'm a big fan of Hamish from watching him in The New Adventure's of Old Christine. Hettienne Park was a surprise as I had never seen anything she was in. Jerry O'Connell was good but typical...just like his movie roles. Overall, good show!
My boss and I went to Gemma (335 Bowery) on January 31st. We were literally 2 of 8 people around 7 however by the time we left, the place was packed. The food was great and it's totally a great spot for celebrity sightings. I'm not one to make a scene but we were super excited when we realized Dermont Mulroney was sitting across from up. He's just as good looking in person!! Back to the meal. We shared cheeses (parmigiano reggiano, pecorino and asiago), crostinis (chicken liver puree, truffle scented mushrooms & fig and gorgonzola), olives and some veggie sides. Everything was delicious and our waiter could not have been more helpful with all of our questions on portions. I can not wait to go back!!
Went to Wilfie & Nell (228 West 4th Street) for a birthday party in late January. This place is a super cozy joint with lots of good eats & plenty to drink. You can eat late night so that's always a plus in my book. The crowd was a mixture of hipster and people above 30. Just my kind of spot!! The benches were super comfortable and there were even hooks for your coats. It's a bit difficult to walk in when it's crowded but the bouncer will let you in as soon as he has room. Thankfully, there's no attitude at the door!!
A small group of us went to see Kelly Clarkson on January 21st. My friend Jill is a MEGA fan. When I say MEGA, I mean she loves the girl. It's a healthy love...not an obsession. I've always been a big fan of Kelly's but I think Jill would pass out if she got to meet her face to face. Kelly is super talented and totally met our expectations. Her voice is still top notch and her record sales aren't too shabby for being the first American Idol. I look forward to her next NYC visit.
I am so happy that I was able to see the Manhattan Theatre Club's staging of Wit. On January 19th, I went to see Wit with Jill & Bob. What a play!! If you know anyone affected by cancer, this play will break you to the core. This was evident by all the tears in the audience. Cynthia Nixon performed this role with raw emotion and 100% commitment. It's a show that will resonate in my mind forever!
This was my first time at Teqa (443 Third Avenue) and it won't be my last. The bites are lite and quite delicious. My two friends and I shared the guacamole and two of us had the short rib tacos while the other had the carne asada tacos. We all agreed that everything was delicious!! After three margaritas each, we thought we'd have a much stronger buzz but maybe it was all those chips. The restaurant had very loud music that night but since the DJ was fantastic, we didn't mind. My only complaint is that I left with a sore throat from shouting to my friends. For some reason, I always pay mind to the bathrooms in restaurants. I feel that they should be fully stocked and almost "hotel like" to appeal to guest. This bathroom did not disappoint!! The bar is fully stocked with tons of tequila and this Thursday was quite lively with it's patrons. I will be back for sure!!
In early December, Jill and I went to see Lysistrata Jones. It has since closed but I still felt the need to write a little blurb. If you liked High School Musical or any of those types of movies, this was the show for you. I laughed, I smiled and I tapped my foot to some of the songs. I was happy to see ex One Life to Live alum Jason Tam playing the role of Xander. Lindsay Nicole Chambers (Robin) was freakin hysterical as was Alex Wyse (Cinesias). We recognized Ato Blankson-Wood (Tyllis) from Hair so that made us happy. Overall, this show won't be in my top 30 but I have no regrets seeing it.
Pierre Loti (300 E. 52nd Street) is a nice little wine bar that my friend and I discovered one night while walking down 2nd Avenue. I have been back several times and it keeps getting better. Each time I go, I like to try something new whether that be a wine or a food. The staff is super accommodating and will let you try any wine that you like. This is a great spot for a romantic date or after work drinks with a small group of friends. It's slightly on the small side so make sure you get there early.
Me, Jill & Bob went to see My Sinatra after scoring a fabulous deal on Living Social. Our tickets were about $30 which is half off the original price. Cary Hoffman did a fantastic job singing the songs (at least 15) of his idol while telling his own personal story of growing up in NY and idolizing the famous crooner. The production was underneath a comedy club in a very dark room but I likened it to a jazz club where some of the best talents are hidden...Cary is one of them. His voice, his humor and his love for Sinatra makes this show a must-see for Sinatra fans. I believe this production has moved to Sofia's Downstairs Theatre so go check it out.
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (237 W 42nd Street) hosted Musicians on Call's last fundraiser featuring the band Chicago. What a great night!!! From ticket sales, an auction for Bruce Springsteen's signed guitar and silent auctions...we raised tons of money for this fantastic charity.
The Ainsworth (122 W 26th Street) in Chelsea was nice enough to let the YPC of Musicians on Call host a happy hour at their restaurant/bar. Friendly service, a great menu and tons of drinks were just a few highlights of this spot. Looking forward to going back!!
On a Friday night, a large group of us went to Forty Four Cocktail Lounge (44 West 44th Street) inside the Royalton Hotel. For a hotel lounge, the prices were super reasonable. The hotel itself was very nice inside, there was a beautiful fireplace, great lighting, lots of fresh flowers and even the couches were nice. My only complaint was that our waitress was super unfriendly. I can't wait to go back!!
The people at STIR NYC (1363 1st Avenue) were nice enough to let me use my expired Groupon on a Thursday night. My friend and I took the bus up to this UES lounge and had a really good time. The music was pumping, the food was really good and the drinks hit the spot. We shared a large plate of guacamole & hummus and were very pleased. There were plenty of wines to choose from so we were happy and will be back for sure!!
Jill and I went to see Venus in Fur starring Hugh Dancy and Nina Arianda. This play was hot & steamy, sexy, a tease but most of all really really good. I think the entire room was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what Vanda (Nina's character) was going to do next. From screaming to slapping to undressing we never knew what her next move was going to be. I highly recommend this show!!
From Playbill.com - Here's how producers characterize Venus in Fur: "Vanda (Arianda) is a preternaturally talented young actress determined to land the lead in Thomas' (Dancy) new play based on the classic erotic novel, 'Venus in Fur.' Her emotionally-charged audition for the gifted but demanding playwright/director becomes an electrifying game of cat and mouse, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex."
Uva Wine Bar (1486 2nd Ave bw 77th & 78th) has been our restaurant of choice for several girls' nights. The food is delicious, the restaurant is rustic & romantic and the menu has plenty of options. In fact, they even offer "Meatball Mondays" which is a big hit with our group. There is a $32 pre-fixe meatball special which includes an appetizer, an entree, dessert & a glass of house wine. For some, that may be a lot of meatballs but with a group, it's good for sharing. I can't wait to go back again!!
Marche du Sud is one of my favorite neighborhood gems. The food is tasty and the ambiance is great! They offer an outdoor heated patio as well as happy hour cocktails from 4-6PM. Not only do they serve dinner, but there's a great market & bakery that's open all day serving fresh crossiants, muffins, tarts, meats & cheeses and baskets. Without a doubt, Marche du Sud has the best thin crust French pizza in town. It's a must have!! Bon Appetit!!
Lindsey Buckingham from my favorite band Fleetwood Mac was at Town Hall in NY on September 27th. What an unreal show!! From Fleetwood Mac songs to his own hits, Jill and I loved this show. He jammed through at least 15 songs and played his heart out. His guitar playing was top notch!! Enjoy the attached video titled "Big Love".
Through the streets of Little Italy lies the Feast of San Gennaro. The last time I had attended this festival, I was in my teens. It's packed with families, teenagers and people who can deal with crowds. I'm not one of those people so my friend and I opted to get cocktails from two different restaurants which allowed us to get off the streets. We had some pricy glasses of wine at Umberto's Clam House (132 Mulbery St) then ended the night at ChaCha's (113 Mulberry St). ChaCha's is where we'd go after high school dances and prom because they never carded us. All these years, the place still looks the same. We ate our way through the festival and went home. Let's just say, I don't need to go back for a few years.
