The New York City Traveler

Not long ago, when I was poor and living in Queens, I learned a very important lesson: the quality of food is not always proportionate to the price.  I have such fond memories of ordering a $1 vat of my favorite wonton soup through a bulletproof glass window at my neighborhood Chinese joint on Ditmars Boulevard.  I have since left Queens but luckily Manhattan’s Chinatown is equally a budget gourmet’s delight, in stark contrast to the Village’s $62 Kobe beef burgers and $40 lobster rolls. 
Vanessa’s Dumpling House (nee Dumpling House) is a Chinatown favorite for good reason: 39 …read more

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River to River, a downtown festival that stretches from June to September with various events, is will underway.  Featuring world-class performing arts and free admission, the festival takes place in a variety of Downtown Manhattan public venues, from Chambers Street to the Battery on Manhattan’s southern tip, and includes Governors Island. 
There are a number of free events virtually everyday.  Highlights of the summer festival include:

Otis Clay and Ryan Shaw June 11  Free
Sonic Youth  July 4  Free
Folk Music Festival on Governors Island  July 26  Free
The Big River Project: The Music of Johnny Cash  July 26  Free
Seaport Music Festival  …read more

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I love dim sum… it’s like Chinese tapas.  Little bites of multiple dishes with served with Jasmine tea make for a great meal, anytime of the day.  I usually have dim sum on my trips to San Francisco, but I have heard so much about the popular Chinatown institution, Golden Unicorn, I just had to go see what all the buzz was about.
Walking down the crowded streets of East Broadway I quickly found the “Golden Unicorn” sign in the sea of Chinese characters.  As I entered the lobby of what appeared to be an office building I was …read more

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If you travel frequently between New York and Washington DC, you have a new transportation option.  Boltbus, a division of Greyhound Lines Inc., will begin operating Thursday, March 27, making daily trips between DC and Manhattan. 
The new Boltbus will run between Metro Center at 11th and G Street NW in DC and two stops in New York City — near Penn Station at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue and in south Manhattan at 6th Avenue and Canal Street.
Boltbus is using first-come-first-serve incentives to lure customers into purchasing tickets early.  The tickets are available online and fares start at only …read more

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I am always up for adventure in my life. Cliff diving in Mexico, swimming with sharks in Thailand, taking a shoddy ferry across a very turbulent Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco, and so many more questionable things that I shouldn’t share because my mother reads this site. Last week I decided to let my adventurous streak continue and forgo the Delta Shuttle and the high-speed Amtrak and instead hop the the well-known Chinatown bus from New York to Boston.
Fung Wah Transportation Inc. is the original Chinatown bus service. Founded in 1997, Fung Wah was …read more

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I love produce shopping in Chinatown.  You can find so many items that regular supermarkets don’t normally carry like yucca, Japanese eggplant, and starfruit.
Photo: personal collection 
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Chinese Lunar New Year is fast approaching and there is no better place (outside of Asia, of course) to celebrate the Year of the Rat!  New York City’s vibrant Asian population means there will be plenty of New Year’s celebrations to be enjoyed by all! 
Lunar New Year Flower Market | Sunday, Feb 3, 12-5pm and Monday, Feb 4, 2-8pm   Flowers are a symbol of good fortune in the New Year.  This flower market sells all of the traditional flowers of Chinese New Year such as chrysanthemums, orange blossoms, and narcissus.  Columbus Park on Mulberry Street (map).  Click here …read more

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