December 31, 2008

• It’s up to me, New York, New York

  With all but one of the major holidays now behind us, I figured I should quickly pound out a post about the trip to New York before I get into all the introspective end of year posts.

  So for those of you who were not in the know, I was in New York for the week before Christmas for the purpose of interviewing with residency programs. I initially arrived thinking New York Residencies would be only slightly beneath Chicago on my rank list come march.

  However, with the exception of one or two programs, on the whole, New York did not impress me. Oh as a city, it is fantastic to live in-provided you are in Manhattan. Once you hit queens, brooklyn, or the bronx New York is not as exciting and you are still 30-50 minutes away by train from where everything is happening. And if I am going to be living in NYC, i want to be where everything is going on.

  Also, I learned that ancillary support teams in NY hospitals are somewhat, shall we say, less than stellar. Or as the joke goes:

  What is the difference between a New York Nurse and a bullet?

  1. A bullet only kills one person at a time
  2. a bullet can draw blood
  3. A bullet can be fired

  I heard variations of this at all but one of the 5 hospitals I interviewed at….needless to say, when compared to midwest and west coast programs, New Yorks main advantages are the higher pay rate (countered by the higher cost of living) and the subsidized housing plus living in the city (provided the hospital i match at is in the city)

  But enough about that…having done all the usual touristy stuff on previous NY trips, what free time I had this trip was about meeting up with old friends in the city and going on a food hunt. The weirdest but tastiest find was at a mexican restaurant called TOLOACHE on the upper west side at 50th and 8th
   
  Yes, Grasshopper tacos. Totally worth it…served with jalapeno guacamole and lime, this came out perfectly crunchy and seasoned and I would totally go back for more.
  
  Everything you see above you cost $10. Everything consists of a roast chicken, fried rice and salad with dipping sauce for the chicken. Of course the unique thing about this restaurant is that this cuban/peruvian food is entirely run by chinese people. The owner had a latin restaurant in China that he has to leave behind due to the communist regime. He fled to Cuba…which didnt work out given that they became communist shortly after his arrival…so he moved a little bit further to New York, and has been doing his magic on the upper west side at amsterdam near 86th ever since. Sorry i missed the name of the place, but I was rushing to catch a showing of Young Frankenstein on broadway. If you’re interested, just ask UCLAri, who discovered the place and took me there like the good friend he is.
  
  Now I dont eat beef because I dont like the taste, but one of the occasional exceptions I have made in the past has been for Nathan’s Hot Dogs. The picture above however is taken at Crif Dogs in the village on St Marks and 1st avenue. This place is known all over new york and that is because they offer bacon wrapped, deep fried hot dogs whose taste is second to none. This is their breakfast dog with a fried egg. In one week, I ate here about 4 times sampling each of their various crif dogs. Go here. quickly.

  Hidden inside Crif Dogs is PDT (please dont tell), a speakeasy martini bar that can only be reached via the phone booth in the corner of Crif Dogs, whose wall swings open to admit you to the bar. Be warned, they are entry by reservation only, the line doesnt open til 3pm and you only have a table for 90 minutes before they boot you…so its a good place to start, but not to stay.
  
  Just down the street on St Marks are two more restaurants, Setagaya (not pictured) a traditional Japanese cash only ramen house that offers huge portions at relatively fair prices. Slightly closer to 3rd ave on st marks however is a Japanese restaurant called Kenka (written in Kanji only) but identifiable by the large testicled tanuki on one side, and the make your own cotton candy machine on the other. The food they offer is so so, but beers are 1.50 a bottle or 8 dollars a pitcher which has about 6 glasses worth. Great for fellow ER doc ward, Internal doc Susanna, and neurosurgeon Ted and myself to kick back after a long day, especially when you dont want to dress up in New York Chic to get into a bar charging 14 bucks for cocktails.

  Then it was off to take a few pics of the big apple with its winter frosting
  
  like the windows at Macy’s
  
  An honest to goodness BANK VAULT! (i secretly want to particpate in an oceans eleven style heist)
  
  And of course the tree at Rockefeller center
  
  When the time finally came to leave, I had only one thing left I HAD to do while i was in New York…and that was meet up with the lovely Keena and Rosie to go see ROCK OF AGES
  
  The gist of this show was a story told using the music and lyrics of all the big boys of 80′s glam rock-styx, asia, reo speedwagon, JOURNEY, bon jovi, and all the other songs I sing in bars when drunk. Oh did I mention it was an 80′s drinking musical, with beer girls wandering up and down the aisles? tix are only 40 bucks from TKTS, so if you are in New York, see it while you can…unless you dont like 80′s music, in which case you should probably stop reading my site, as we will not get along in real life

  After that, I flew back home, having my peanut butter confiscated, and prepared for the annual xmukkah party and New Years bash…til next time folks.

  • 12:00 am
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