Post #592693 by dcman on Tue, Jun 7, 2011 11:59 AM

Having lived on both the East and West Coast (upstate NY and the Bay Area) and then moving back East again, I think your best bet isn't to compare the 2. I often say it is like trying to compare apples to auto parts, the two areas are simply too unlike one another to make reasonable comparisons. You aren't going to find the same tiki on the East coast that you'll find on the West coast.

NYC is a great town, but there isn't a lot of tiki there. That said, it has a lot of things you can't find in the Bay Area. Manhattan has fabulous history, just like Fort Mason or sections of Union Square have fabulous history. The Williamsburg Area of Brooklyn is vibrant and growing, just like certain areas North Beach. You'll love NYC, but try to think of it as moving to a different country. You have to figure out the local mores and how the town works. It works differently, very differently, but that doesn't mean it's bad. On a side note, Williamsburg seems to be the place to be these days, and there are apartments and condos by the boatload popping up. From what I've been told, it used to be primarily an Eastern European working class neighborhood that attracted the age 25-45 crowd because of the cheap rents and services. Hipsters and entrepreneurs seem to like it there and it isn't overloaded with so many folks the neighborhood has lost its character despite growing a great deal. Tons of great restaurants. You can be in the Manhattan in under 10 minutes if you live near the subway.

When I visit New York, some of my favorite things to do are visit one of the many events they have in Bryant Park, I love the "Little India" neighborhood on Lexington Avenue, the myriad of museums, and I hope someday to hit Lincoln Center and their Midsummer Night's Swing events. Recently, we've been investigating Brooklyn more and we always hit a good Jewish deli. Katz's is iconic and the Carnegie Deli is a lot of fun, but you can get a cheaper and less crowded meal at Sarge's.

There is some older tiki across the bridge in New Jersey. You can always hit Chan's Dragon Inn (right off the George Washington Bridge) and Lee's Hawaiian Islander (very close to the Lincoln Tunnel). These are versions of the old Chinese restaurants going tiki once upon a time, we're not talking classy Trader Vic's or the Tonga Room, but I really like Lee's and Sneakyjack on TC swears by Chan's.

If you're comfortable making the trek to Portland from the Bay Area, you're more than willing to make shorter treks to Boston and other areas with tiki scenes. In and around Boston there is actually a fair amount of interest in tiki if you look for it. A large number of tikiphiles hang their hat in that area.

I love both areas and travel between the two from time to time, and don't favor one to another because I don't compare one to another. Do yourself a favor, go to NYC and go with an open mind.

dcman

[ Edited by: dcman 2011-06-07 12:04 ]

[ Edited by: dcman 2011-06-07 12:13 ]