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Riva M.
Hometown:
North Hollywood, CA, 91605
Insider GuruFirst Reviews: 136
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Fao Schwarz
This is the place of all places to be a kid again..... and if you are a kid you have gone to paradise.... You are greeted at the front door by toy soldiers walking in front of the store, or by charaters from an one of the toy lines that they carry..... It is a place of amazement.... What ever kind of toy you are into, it is there.... The sales staff caters to you...... They have special collectors editions made up for their store from Barbies to Hot Wheels to Clifford the Dog..... You name it, they have it, even solid gold Corgis..... I forget how many floors there are, I think it is 3 or 4 and there are different ways of getting to places inside of the store.... They even have a CANDY FACTORY where you can get all kinds of goodies.... Setting a kid free inside of the store would be like setting me free inside of a jewelry store and being able to try everything and cuddle up with diamonds while walking down a pathway of rubies.... If it just such a feel good kinda place even for adults..... I hear that they have slumber parties there, but have not heard any of the details...... If you saw the movie BIG when Tom Hanks was jumping on the BIG PIANO, you can get that there too.... ( The piano, not Tom..... Christmas time there it is like a zoo, wall to wall parents while the kids are off playing...... Whenever I make it to the bity I go there, I am a Barbie Collector and there are all kinds of things that they carry there that you cannot find anyplace else.... It is a unique store in the way that they have what every other store carries, but they take it many levels down the road to excellence..
PROS: Name the toy they have it and then some
CONS: You pay for the excellence
Nathan's Famous
There is something about the aviance, aroma, crowds, noise, smell, stench, and multitude of languages spoken at Nathan's Hot Dogs at Coney Island that can never be replicated in a Grocery Store Deli Section..... All the different varieties from sauerkraut to chili and the aroma of the onions just intensify the flavor or lack of of the Hot Dogs.... It is worth the trip to get one... It is an experience in itself..... Subway takes you right close by to it.... It is part of being a New Yorker or even a tourist to say that you have had a Nathan's Hot Dog at Coney Island and a Devil Dog from the grocery store... (Devil Dogs are like hostess products, it is shapped like a hot dog bun but made out of chocolate cake and the best creme filling you have ever had in your life in the middle.....)
PROS: One of Life's less expensive experiences
CONS: lots, but not worth mentioning
Barney's Madison Avenue
Everything you can imagine is here at Barney's...... Every major Designer is located here, All kinds of events with the designers happen here where you can get all kinds of things personalized and styled by them.... Excellent Tailoring, Personal Shoppers, you can even have your pet taken care of while you shop..... You see who's who of the Jet Set here.... Prices are outrageous, sizes are mostly small and only the rich can really afford it.... It is fun to go in and act like you belong, but the sales staff can be rather rude if you do not look the part./.. I put down 5 star because that is what it is, but they do not cater to us 3 starers or below.......
PROS: Great if you are rich
CONS: Bad if your are not rich....
Macys
If any of you have seen the episode of Will and Grace, the time that there is the Big Sale at a Dept. Store and they run for their lives and pull at the mdse, well, that is the way that Macy's by the Garment District is when there is a sale.... I believe that the first Sat. of each month if I remember correctly, everything in the Garment District is on sale and people stand on corners getting you to come it..... With Macy's you can get an outfit that was origianlly $200, marked down to $129., then you get an additional 50% off which brings it to $65. and if you have a coupon you get an additional 50% off of that price.... It is amazing.... It is what they consider last years styles, WHO CARES..... it makes this years wardrobe for me!!!!!
PROS: BARGAINS GALORE
CONS: CROWDED
Sbarro
We have Sbarro's here in Los Angeles and I was real hesitent about getting it when I was in New York Years ago.... We were atop of the Twin Towers I believe and my daughter said she wanted some... Well... We got a piece and it was DELICOUS.. I was amazed..... Better then any other pizza I had yet in NY.... Two days later we went to the one on Broadway, they had a salad bar with everything Italian in it, Catalone that was unbelieveable.... Everything was delicous and the place was immaculate..... The pizza is so big that 2 people can split 1 piece if they are not totally starving..... I know eat there pizze here in L.A. in the malls and am amazed at how good it is when all I thought it ever could be was fast good pizza which it is not...
PROS: DELICOUS, DELICOUS, DELICOUS
CONS:
Jekyll & Hyde Club New York
We have eaten here a number of times... Not for the food as much as for the Show that goes on while you eat..... They are all kinds of magic acts, scenes from the movie acted live, spooky people walking around, everything to keep kids and company from out of town entertained for hours without having to spend a fortune..... They have a good variety on their menu, not too pricey, and the food is decent..... They do not take reservations so sometimes in the busy part of the year there might be a 1 - 2 hour wait in line.... But there is all kinds of entertainment to keep the little kiddies busy, who knows, they might even become the main course.... hahahahahahahahaha
PROS: Fun for kids....
CONS: Sometimes a long wait in line........
Circle In The Square Theatre School
I have seen the Rocky Horror Show here many times, actaully when ever I am in the City I go here..... The theater is small and quaint which is what is needed for the play..... This is one of the few theaters on Broadway that will let you RUSH the Theater and get those $80 tickets for $20. the day of the performance..... I beleive that you get there at 11am and they sell the tickets at noon..... A great price for an excellent evenening of entertainment..... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...
PROS: Getting $80. Broadway Tickets for $20.
CONS: None....
Carnegie Deli
We were starving one night and decided to go there for a good old fashioned Hot Pastrami on Rye.... I hate to say it but the Deli has gone a little Art Neveau in style...... Everyone who who was anyone was there as far as the circles of friends in NY Society..... The place was packed, we waiting in line for 2 hours.... It was not what I had remembered from years prior to going back.... The prices sky rocketed, you were cramped into there with no room to move, the food was so so, not as good as I have had in a Hot Pastrami Sandwich, especially when they brought it to me with maynaise... Now to me that is NASTY.... Mustard is the only thing that belongs on the sandwich.... It is tru it was on the side, buth the thought of it was horrible to me being brought up on jewish foods.... It is worth the experience to go there if you are a tourist, but to go there as a regular eatery I do not suggest it....
PROS: Food is decent, too loud and crowded for my taste
CONS: Not the same as it was years ago
Dangerfields
I started going to Dangerfield's (named after the great Rodney) years ago..... The reason I started to go there was because I would take my daughter who was underage then and her friends ... They did not really have an age limit that they enforced so we started going there when she was just 14 which was kewl..... The comedians were always funny, the language might not have been what my daughter needed to hear at her age or the content, but she took it in stride and we always had a good time..... If you bought something to eat and drink there was no cover charge which is nice.... I have not been there since Rodney has passed away, but I am sure it is just as good and funny....
PROS: Fun place to go too that is not too expensive
CONS:
Tad's Steak House
After going to a show on Broadway, ALL of the eateries are so packed, even TAD'S, but it is like a cafeteria Steak House so you go throug the line fast and get your order fast.... The steaks are not the best quality meat in the world, but they are good and the portions are enormous...... When ever I am in the city and I am hungry and do not know what I want to eat I wind up at Tad's it is like OLD RELIABLE...... They have many locations throughout the city that you can go too and be happy with.....
PROS: Old Reliable, good food, good variety
CONS: