The NYC Nomad

I’m off the grid for a whole week while hiking Macchu Picchu and won’t pick up the posting until I get back.  I still owe a long post from my incredible week in Greenpoint and a few days on the Upper West Side.

In the meantime, and if this is your first time here, start with the about section, maybe check out some testimonials, and email me at thenycnomad@gmail.com to host!

I linked to some of my favorite posts like moving on Sundays, keys, almost getting knocked the f%&! out and all the places I’ve stayed in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

And if you want to read the whole blog from the beginning you can click here for the posts in chronological order. 

Stayed

With Lena and Lily, new friends who I met at Seder through the sister of former host Issac’s girlfriend Lesley.  They wrote this testimonial way back in July after I stayed with them and yes, I am getting further down the six degrees of separation.

Quarters were tight on my first night, but staying with Lena and Lily was so much fun.  They are like sisters with the occasional back and forth to go with it.  I met some of their friends (two of whom are starting a very cool Jerky company in Brooklyn) and had a little bit of time to explore the neighborhood.

I had an abbreviated week in Carroll Gardens and really want to go back.  Lily and Lena promised me a few more nights to make it a week, and they also promised me a testimonial in the form of a song!

Here’s a couple of photos of us hanging out before my move to Greenpoint.

Lena, Pepper and I

Lily, Lena’s shoes, and I

Haircut

At Lana’s Barber Shop.  I wrote up this yelp review here.  Great spot and Lana knows the neighborhood, particularly when it comes to food.  She pointed me to a couple of the places below.

Ate

Prime Meats

I took Lily and Lena here to dine like Europeans.  We didn’t sit down until about 11:15pm but they have great cocktails and the food was excellent.  It’s a classy, old world kind of place.  We had oysters, smoked trout and soft pretzels — all of which I would recommend.

Pizza

I did a taste test between Vinny’s Grandma slice and South Brooklyn’s Pizza. Vinny’s wins.  I love the fresh tomato sauce on top and the mozzarella underneath.

Eton Dumplings

If I lived here, I think I’d go at least once a week.  And I rarely go to the same place twice.  Cheap and fresh dumplings with 4 different types of sauces.

Farmacy

So I didn’t eat here (nor do they serve food), but I had an egg cream which really isn’t a particularly good description considering it contains neither eggs or cream. Still, it’s quite good and Brooklyn is where it all started for this drink containing soda water, syrup (vanilla, in my case) and milk.  Farmacy did an incredible job with the details of the interior of the space.  I think it has been on the food network.

What did I miss?

Email me at thenycnomad@gmail.com if you want to host!

I received Lena’s email Sunday - “there is a chance I will be going nighttime fishing tomorrow night so I might not be here when you arrive.  Also there’s a slight chance my boyfriend may be here tomorrow night with his dog so it may be a little lively in here but I’m sure we’ll all have a blast as long as you’re cool with 2 dogs.”  

I had already spent one extra night in South Williamsburg and thought to myself, where the hell is she going fishing?  That was besides the point, though.  The real question was whether it made sense for me to go over there that night, and if it made sense to go at all since I was leaving for Boston that Friday (it was Monday). I thought Cory and Rob would be amenable to having me for another few days if necessary.

It has been rare that I have spent more than a consecutive week at a place and I think it makes the project harder when I do.  You start to get comfortable.  With that in mind, and a slight bit of apprehension, I told Lena I was coming and set off for the M train from South Williamsburg to connect to the F train in Manhattan which would take me to Carroll Gardens.  It was much easier than I expected, particularly because Lily and Lena live very close to the subway and on the first floor (always a bonus).  I shimmied through the first of two sets of doors, pressed the buzzer, and Lena was soon there to greet me.  The fishing expedition (which turned out to be out of Red Hook for a photography project) had been cancelled due to weather.

Lena had warned me the place was small.  And it was when considering the amount of people that were there that night.  Full count was 2 dogs, 2 girls, and 2 guys.  We moved the bed, put a bike against a window and I wedged my aerobed in.  Then I went and grabbed some fall-like beers and we hung out for a bit talking before going to bed.  For a night, it was one big happy family. Someone once told me they loved New York because it pushes people together.  I guess I’m taking that to the extreme, but I think its true and it was certainly true in Carroll Gardens that Monday night.

More to come from my shortened (but really fun!) week in Carroll Gardens soon…

A great testimonial from a few weeks back about my week in Hell’s Kitchen at “Studio 57”

I had the pleasure of already knowing Ed from the year that we both attended college at Tufts in the suburbs of Boston. He was a freshman my senior year and we probably went over 5 years without seeing each other before reconnecting at a mutual friend’s wedding this past Summer. Midway through the obligatory wedding dance routine (it was either the Electric Slide or the Hustle), we engaged in the usual cliche “catching up” conversation (where do you live, what do you do, and how have you been).

The progression of our exchange careened into a mountain of a road block when Ed explained that he’s still in NYC but has been “couch surfing” for the past 5 months. Typically, I would have listened and waited for my turn to share my story before “hugging it out” and returning to the bar for a refill. However, the genesis and the evolution of the NYC Nomad was something so foreign and enticing to someone like myself who relies on the stability and formulaic structure of the typical Wall St. work week that I immediately wanted to get involved.

Six weeks later, Ed is scheduled for his week with me (which also happened to be the first week of my meager attempt at complete sobriety). Ed showed up at my apartment on a Sunday carrying less belongings than I used to pack for Winter Break from college. This was excellent as I live in a studio so it was a relief that he didn’t have suitcases opened in all four corners of the living room (which happens to also moonlight as the dining area and bedroom). That evening we caught up some more in between stealing glances at the NFL game du jour. I doubt that Ed was prepared for my “school night” routine but he adapted wonderfully. As I prepared for my 10pm self- imposed curfew, Ed managed to inflate an AeroBed and make himself comfortable. Two “goodnights” later I was well into my snoring symphony and Ed was a complete trooper and never once complained or expressed that the noises I made while asleep sounded like “a dying animal” as others had.

In the morning I turned off my 6am alarm ASAP to allow Ed to fall back asleep as I prepared to begin my work week. 12 hours passed before we would again meet at the apartment. Ed was beginning to feel a bit under the weather so we shared stories about our day and he bought dinner for Monday Night Football… awesome.

I had forewarned Ed that I spend several hours per week at the gym after work and by Tuesday Ed was feeling a bit better and joined me for a workout. I failed the provide too many details of my workout but Ed surprised me and kept up throughout the 2 hour  bench, squat, dip, curl, and shrug-a-thon. With the endorphins flowing, Ed again treated me to dinner and we dined at yet another new burger place on 9th avenue. 

As the week went on, Ed proved to the perfect house guest (something that I only heard of but never encountered due to my borderline OCD- tendencies). He treated me to dinner every night and not once pressured me to stumble off the wagon. Our nights on the couch during the week consisted primarily of us swapping stories (mostly about women and old college friends), watching my favorite TV shows (he didn’t even complain when I turned on America’s Next Top Model), and counting down until sleeping late on the weekend. We got along so well it was almost like he became my roommate. 

When the weekend finally arrived we biked around town and I showed him a local’s view of Harlem (the area where I grew up and my parents still reside). After a serious day of biking around the city, we were itching for a night on the town and Ed joined me at an old friend’s birthday party on the LES. I managed to maintain my sobriety by sipping a few non- alcoholic beverages at the bar and Ed worked the room like he had known my high school friends as long as I had. 

Sunday soon arrived and Ed was up and packing up what little stuff he had brought with him. Overall, he was a phenomenal house guest mainly because not once did my usual routine have to be amended to accommodate for his brief visit. Did I already mentioned that he also treated me to dinner every night in return? Bravo Mr. Casabian!