An Englishman in New York...

[MFAFF]

Just had an interesting little task set before me... my son (17) and 4,000 other UK Scouts arrive in New York tomorrow am on their way to the World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia next week.

He has an afternoon on Manhattan on Saturday. There is a plan to go to the 9/11 Memorial and then they have a couple of hours free before they need to find a place have supper as a 'Patrol' so 8 London teenagers on southern Manhattan. Budget is $22 per kid. Now my knowledge of NYC is 20 years old and so much will have changed since then so trying to give him a tip as to where to take his Patrol for supper is probably out of date.

I recall that when I went up the Twin Towers we then wandered across via Wall Street etc to Pier 15/16/Fulton Fish Market area on the East River to the wharf areas and the food offer there. Is it still a decent place?

Or is a better to wander northwards towards Tribeca or Soho to find a very local place.. hopefully not a chain.. or McDs. Most to the little local restaurants I remember were up on the Eat side, Mid town and with a slightly bigger budget...They will be pretty knackered and hungry.. yet adrenaline fuelled... they're already bouncing off the walls now... and we have 0300 start time tomorrow am.

Any suggestions appreciated....Thanks

[ramonesfreak]

Used to live in soho and can’t think of anywhere you would wanna bring them except maybe Ben’s Pizza but if it’s pizza your looking for there are far better places for that like Joe’s pizza or John’s pizza (about 100 feet from each other) in the village off bleeker.

$22 isn’t a whole lot. Can’t even really get a sandwich and drink at Katz’ deli for that anymore

Maybe try any of the Patsy’s locations (there’s a bunch of them) since it has great pizza but also other stuff in case some one wants something other than pizza. But again...$22 might be an issue

There should still be a patsys on lower 5th just a block or so north of Washington square park. I think that’s the closest to where you’ll be
That’s going to be a very sweaty walk

[TimT]

Not sure how daring their tastes are, but since they are downtown, for $22 you can eat really well in Chinatown....or cross Canal St and check out Little Italy, if they order carefully they could get a nice meal..

Lombardis Pizza makes and amazing pie.. Another thing they could or should do is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.. Grimaldis Pizza near the base of the bridge rocks...but let them know on a weekend afternoon in the summer there will be a wait...


To get a real selection of pretty awesome food in one place...they could go to Smorgasburg a food truck/farmers market event in East River Park... Though better access to that would be if the walk across the Williamsburg Br... or Uber it.. The amount of visual stimulation is a bit overwhelming..

And not sure if the Yelp app is popular in Europe, but in NYC its really helpful for finding places to eat... Have him download it...

Hell he should even experience a dirty water dog from a corner vendor. with mustard and Kraut, or onions...

[ramonesfreak]

It’s gonna be 103 up where i am. Isn’t it gonna be deathly hot in the city tomorrow? Does this $22 budget include for transportation too? Seriously, too much walking is actually gonna be dangerous and miserable

Lombardi’s is close to where you are. 10 minute walk. I also say go there. Johns on bleeker is better 😜 but too far to walk in that heat.

[ramonesfreak]

If you do go to Lombardi’s do some research so you can give them a lesson on nyc pizza history. There’s no more important lesson for a Boy Scout! I have my pizza merit badge btw

Check out That Pizza Show on YouTube or other videos to learn quick

[red-beard]

Hot dog cart?

[Jims5543]

Just an FYI - there is a heatwave in process.

http://hp2.wright-weather.com/icons/us_heat.gif


And +100 for NYC Pizza.

Just make sure to find one of the top places and DO NOT go to the Spiderman one (Joes Pizza) there is always a line.

[TimT]

Hot dog cart?

Hellz yea...Luv me a good DWD.. If a guy is moving a few hundred Hebrew Nationals a day.. chance are its pretty good eats..

And its part of the "NYC" experience... or a Shwarma cart "Chicken or lamb over rice! white sauce hot sauce!!"

Heck if they are going to walk through Chinatown
get a Char Sui Bao at any of the bakeries...$1-2

The spectrum of things you can experience in NYC is mind boggling... from street food to the best restaurants in the world..

11 Madison... though that might not be doable on $22

[pwd72s]

I was in NYC for the 1957 Jamboree...a side trip. One very fond memory was seeing Whitey Ford pitch. Since it was for the Boy Scouts, I'm sure some bargain bleacher seats were arranged. Any chance the Yankees have a home game then? If so, call the Yankee offices...ask for a courtesy... all they can do is say no, right?

[brainz01]

John's Pizza on Bleeker. You're going to get seated in groups of 4 at a time. A large should feed 2 young men, or maybe 2 larges for 3 growing lads.

[Alan A]

Staten Island ferry. Stay outside on the right side, stay on to come back.
Best view of liberty without lines and significant outlay.
Walk over to the seaport. Grab food there.
Walk through Chinatown afterwards. Or grab dim sum. There’s a place with a giant escalator on Elizabeth - jing fong iirc that’s fun for tourists.

[TimT]

Staten Island ferry. Stay outside on the right side, stay on to come back.
Best view of liberty without lines and significant outlay

Yes... Should have been mentioned earlier, seems like this is in the NYC tourism 101 guide.. it is a good ride..

[Brian 162]

Like Tim T said, you can't go wrong with a dirty water dog (DWD). I would try Shake Shack, single cheeseburger and shake will cover their budget.
There are lots of options for cheap pizza slices.

[MFAFF]

Wow thank you... fantastic.
All noted, especially the heat... its raining cats and dogs here right now 0230 in London... so hard to imagine an NYC heatwave. Will let them know to have water with them.

Yelp will be on the phone.

I'm thinking a DWD is good option, Shake shack or Lombardi's pizza sounds about right too. Wish they had time for a ballgame... I think that's on the program fo Washington DC after Jamboree.

Sadly won't be with them... parents are not welcome! Seriously.. these guys have been working together for two years to go... and have a great team of Leaders for the entire trip... having parens around would really mess things up.

[ian c2]

Parents allways mess things up at that age ...

[Alan A]

If they are down by Washington square park, since someone else mentioned it, falafel at Mahmoun’s is another must do. Cheap hole in the wall on MacDougal. Half way down block on east side. I mean really cheap. But good.

And it’s hot and humid as hell today and tomorrow. You won’t believe it until you step outside.
Since they are on a budget, buy water from a CVS or Duane Reade or Walgreens. Or a supermarket. There are a few in the city. Cheaper than a food vendor and you’ll be sucking it down like crazy.