The New York Bar / A Tokyo Night Out

I have a new favorite restaurant in the world. On the 52nd floor of the Tokyo Park Hyatt Hotel in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo, is the New York Bar. I had ear-marked it as a must-do because it was featured in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, but knowing it would be pricey, had saved it for the very last night.

I rallied a few hostel-buddies I had befriended, we dolled ourselves up and we hopped the (very easily navigable) subway from our hostel in the Asakusa neighborhood. I was instantly smitten by the ambience: an (American?) jazz band was blowing the blues, the views were heartbreakingly gorgeous, and the menu, as chi-chi as it was, had me melting with excitement as I poured over the cocktail list.

I sampled two different bellinis, and a artisinal cheese selection that, at nearly 3000 yen was my most expensive meal in my two week stay. I certainly felt like the queen of luxury while I was there! The New York Bar was, without doubt, one of the best bar / restaurants I have ever dined at in my life.

**Note: If you choose to follow my recommendation and dine here yourself, beware of price! There is a per-person service charge in the evenings. This fee is worth it, though, because you get to experience the jazz band and views of Tokyo by night!

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Karaoke Time!

What visit to Japan is complete without a trip to the old Karaoke parlor? A little-known fact (well... to me) that I picked up some more Tokyo-savvy acquaintances is that all their subways stop running from midnight until 6am. That leaves the late-nighters options to either hail a cab... or party until 6am.

Since my hostel crew had no desire to do either, we took the subway back to our neighborhood, Asakusa, around 11pm and hit up the local Shidax. We spent two hours drinking beers, eating (a few opted to starve as oppose to shell out the dough at the New York Bar), and belting out Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All", and finishing the night with a little Sinatra "My Way". And yes, the music was in English! The videos on the other hand...

And my FAVORITE thing about the Shidax: themed floors! Although there was no evidence that the themes carried over in any way to the actual karoake rooms, each floor had a delightful nickname: Russian Dance Elegant, Remember the '70s, and my personal favorite: Prison HipHop in NY!

Chip Shop

Down off the F-line in Park Slope, Brooklyn (where I currently live) lurks a fantastic little English restaurant called The Chip Shop. When Paul arrived here back in August 2005, he searched Menupages for a place to get his Bangers & Mash on, and voila, a few blocks away was the real deal.



The
Chip Shop is a restaurant we frequent a lot: at least once every two weeks. Because this is the case, we usually mix up our menu choices, but since last night may very well be our last English meal (for a while) we went for our faves. This first pic is of a slice of fried pizza... Yes, frightening. Yes, you should probably avoid if you are on a diet. But yes, amazingly good.

And to the right are our staples. Paul got Fish & Chips, and I got "Vegetable Mac" which is a Shepherd's Pie, except instead of the beef, there's squash, zucchini, and mushrooms, and instead of potatoes, there's mac and cheese. It may sound complicated, but it is my favorite thing on the menu. The pizza slice seemed extra large, so Paul sadly decided to skip dessert (he usually gets a fried Mars Bar or a Fried Banana in Chocolate Sauce).

Yesterday, the Chip Shop also had a surprise for us. Half the restaurant was missing! Somehow they managed to close off the entire bar side, put up a new wall, and you'd never know the difference. Our waitress confessed it "was only busy on the weekends" - when we usually go - but oh well, the food is still "chuffing lovely".

I know there are English restaurants in Manhattan, but it's a 20-minute subway ride to Park Slope, and the food is eclectic and delicious, and there are also plenty of vegetarian and Indian touches on the menu. Chip Shop also imports plenty of beverages, from soft drinks (Ribena, Lilt) and ales (Monty Python's Holy Ale anyone?), so it is worth the trip. It's just so cozy and lovely, that it is pretty obvious why it is a local favorite.

Luzzo's Pizzeria

Last night, Paul and I ate at our favorite pizzeria in NYC (and possibly the world), Luzzo's Pizzeria.

About a year ago, while I was still living in Manhattan, Paul and I and my roommate, Brooke, were planning on grabbing lunch from Crooked Tree Creperie down on St. Mark's Place, but arrived to find it closed for renovations. We stared at the boarded up creperie as our stomachs growled, when a thunderstorm broke out. Crap! We dashed back up First Avenue towards my 14th Street apartment, but between the sheets of rain we saw a little glimmer of hope between 12th and 13th: was that an Italian place?

Since then, Luzzo's has become a fast favorite. As the staff let us know that first soggy day, they import fresh bufala mozzarella for their pizza from Italy (as well as a wine and beer selection). It is also only one of six coal-oven pizzerias in Manhattan, the other five of which I know nothing beyond their alleged existence.

Luzzo's is a sit-down restaurant, so it is not ideal for grabbing a slice, and they have 12- and 15-inch options depending on how many people want in on your pie. Additionally, it gets packed at dinner-time, so the best time to go is a little early. We were there before 6:00 last night, and had breathing space for the majority of our meal. And if you really hate pizza, they have pasta, salads, and other delicious Italian entrees. While living in Manhattan, they also provided a speedy delivery service, but alas, those days are behind me.

If you are in the Union Square area, Luzzo's is the perfect place to enjoy a wonderful meal.

Check out our dinner from last night:

Mmmm.. roasted peppers, onions, and bufala mozzarella. Paul says the sausage at Luzzo's is "just as good as the pepperoni", which is Paul-Speak for "little morsels of heaven".