NYC- The Big Easy NYC
By editor | August 12, 2008
1768 2nd Ave @ 92nd Street
You know you miss it, no matter how hard you try to deny it, those college days of beer pong competitions, and shooters still call to you. Well deny yourself no more, let The Big Easy NYC be your refuge. As you walk in the front door the smell of stale beer hits you, as you trek a little further you realize your shoes are sticking to the floor. Party music plays as contestants hit the beer pong tables (5 total), and shots start to circulate. . Its everything you would expect from the name, a ruckus crowed, gorgeous bartenders and shot girls, and of course (here comes the best part) cheap drinks.
The Big Easy boasts a Power Hour every night from 11pm till midnight, with $2 drafts and mixed drinks, as well as happy hour deals, nightly specials, and theme parties. In only two trips to this establishment I’ve managed to collect some very entertaining stories, (one involving body shots and lesbians, the other comedians and shot girls … ) and I would be willing to bet your first experience will be no different.
Classy its not, but my god is this place fun.
Topics: Bar/Pub, NYC, New York, Review | No Comments »
TLS Goes Mobile
By matt | July 29, 2008
It is my pleasure to announce that TheLocalSpots can now be viewed on your web enabled mobile devices. Whether you have an iphone, blackberry, or crappy windows smart phone like me, you can check out our site. So next time your in the middle of nowhere, with no internet and no fun in site, check out our mobile site, it may just save your life …
*disclaimer, TheLocalSpots.com is not intended or even useful as a life saving device, infact its not a device, its a website, a pretty sweet website if I do say so myself.
Topics: TLS News | No Comments »
NYC- Porcaous
By editor | July 27, 2008
by Matt
360 Park av. South at 26th street, NY, NY
http://www.porcaous.com/
Here at TheLocalSpots we are all about getting the most for your money, finding the best deals, and helping people to conserve their hard earned cash. But every once in a while you need to go out and splurge on a good meal, and go that extra mile. Some times it’s a special occasion like an anniversary, or a birthday, and sometimes its to impress a very important client. What ever the reason, Porcaous is an excellent choice. A steak house in the Brazilian tradition, Porcaous is a meat lovers dream. Everything from flank steak, sirloin, beef ribs, and filet are brought to your table round after round. Each selection is hand carved from the rotisserie right in front of you. My personal favorite was the filet injected with cheese, you read that right, they actually inject cheese into the filet, then slow cook it on a rotisserie and carve it at your table. The best part is, the food just keeps on coming until you inevitably say uncle.
Of course all this is complimented with a vast salad bar, and a spirit selection that is choice. I would recommend the Caipirinha, a mixed drink traditionally made from cachaca, lime and sugar. And I quote “Caipirinha is basically Brazilian moon shine, don’t have to many”, I had one and was a little tipsy when I returned to the office. I’d like to thank my good friend Eduardo for introducing me to Porcaous, and to the Caipirinha, surely two things I will never forget.
Topics: Food/Bar, NYC, New York | No Comments »
Brookfield- Down The Hatch
By editor | July 24, 2008
Down the Hatch is the perfect summer bar. Located on beautiful Candlewood Lake in Brookfield CT, I have been frequenting this bar for years. During the day and early evening they are an upscale restaurant with delicious seafood and picturesque outdoor seating overlooking the lake. At night The Hatch turns into a great lakeside party. For you boaters you can pull right up to the dock, hop out and grab a cocktail. For us with more traditional transportation be advised that parking is notoriously difficult here, be prepared to park some distance away or sit in your car waiting for spots to open up.
There are multiple bars on multiple levels built into a hillside. You can have a relaxing drink inside, be right on the water or anywhere in between. Nightly specials are offered and their is live music on weekends. Down the Hatch is the perfect place for a cool after work corona on the water or late night waterfront partying.
Topics: Brookfield, Connecticut, Food/Bar, Review | No Comments »
Underrated City of the Month- Cleveland
By editor | July 17, 2008
I remember the dread I felt when I got the e-mail from my boss saying I was being sent to Cleveland. Images of smokestacks and gray skies, burnt out industrial zones and second rates baseball teams floated through my mind. Like many folk, I believed Ohio (where I had never actually been at the time) was nothing but a boring fly over state and Cleveland was the epitome of everything I thought about Ohio. I was soon to be proven so very wrong.
The Forest City is now of my favorite places in the world. Cleveland has much to offer both visitors and residents, it was recently honored by The Economist as America’s most livable city (along with its neighbor Pittsburgh). Cleveland has it all, nightlife, music, food, theatre, great sports and even beaches. Lets explore some of the great things C-Town has to offer.
Cleveland has nightlife that can please anyone. Two of the most popular nightlife neighborhoods are The Flats and The Warehouse District. The Flats is a neighborhood located on the banks of the Cuyahoga river. It had its heyday as the nightlife epicenter of the city in the early 90’s but is still a great place to go out. It has a dense concentration of bars which make club and bar hopping an easy activity here. The gem of the Flats is Shooters, one of the oldest bars in the area is a great place for a cocktails on the water. The Flats is also home to some of Cleveland’s highest quality gentleman’s clubs, including Larry Flynts Hustler Club.
The Warehouse district is Cleveland’s more recent nightlife hotspot. While the area is home to many diverse bars, shop and eateries it is known mostly for its night clubs. If you are looking for a trendy, hip scene and a place to dance the warehouse district will meet your needs. The area is also home to some great comedy clubs for those looking for a night out sans booze.
No discussion of Cleveland would be complete without mentioning the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This I.M Pei designed building is a site to be seen and its pyramids are as breathtaking as Pei’s more famous design at The Louvre. The Rock hall offers an amazing history of the genre, one of a kind memorabilia and of course the Hall of Fame itself located on the buildings third floor, where you can check out all of the current inductees. A rotating exposition also makes each trip unique. On my first trip they were doing a tribute to The Who’s Tommy, featuring original pages of Pete Towshend’s scribbled lyrics and a round the clock showing of the film, absolutely fantastic.
As usual I will offer some personal recommendations: no trip to cleveland is complete without a trip to The Great Lakes Brewing Company. Cleveland is also know for it’s corn beef sandwiches so stop in any one of the corner diners for one. Be sure to also try the pizza at Geraci’s (2266 Warrensville Center Rd) as for where to stay I always recommend the Travelodge in Lakewood (11837 Edgewater Drive) its, cheap (60 bucks a night), clean and you get a free breakfast and gratis copy of the Plain Dealer
The creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are Cleveland natives and legend has it they modeled Superman’s idyllic home city of Metropolis after Cleveland. Spend a day here and you can see why, Cleveland may not get respect but it is truly a fantastic city.
Topics: Article, Cleveland, Ohio | No Comments »
TLS News- The Resources Page
By editor | July 15, 2008
The TLS staff is excited to introduce a new section to the site. Our resources page is now up and running. You can find it on our main tab at the top of the page. Here you will find links to some of our favorite things…websites, travel services, products and anything else that we personally endorse as a great resource. The TLS staff takes our endorsements very seriously and we are committed to populating this section with only the highest quality products. We start it out by highlighting the very company that allows TLS to exist. We are also committed to keeping our advertising to this section of the site, so if you like something, click the link or make a purchase and you can help us out. Keep checking back for further updates. -The TLS team
Topics: TLS News | No Comments »
Athens- Buddha Bar
By editor | July 13, 2008
by Matt K
Address: 431 E. Broad St. Athens, GA 30605
Appeal: Try sake in many different forms
Tips: Try a Sake bomb, Sake-tini or Fortune Cookie
You can get sake served to you in several different forms at Buddha Bar. Be ready for an interactive experience of pounding and yelling if you take on the sake bomb, or if you seek a more relaxed style of a sake drink, see how a sake-tini (Kahlua, sake, Bailey’s and half-and-half) suits you. If sake is not your style, there are multiple beers on tap (Hoegaarden, Sweetwater and Woodchuck) as well as an array of other drinks to quench your thirst while you watch the Dawgs on the projection screen TV.
Topics: Athens, Bar/Pub, Review | No Comments »
Philly- McMenamin’s Tavern
By editor | July 11, 2008
by jeff
8229 Germantown Ave
McMenamin’s is one of the few bars in Philadelphia’s upscale Chestnut Hill neighborhood and its certainly the best one. The bar has an enormous beer selection which constantly introduces new brands each week and can basically guarantee to have something you have never tried before. McMenamins is the kind of place that lends itself to going in the off hours. Stop by for afternoon or after work drinks and you will have a blast. The bartenders are friendly and love to give samples of the new beers until you find something you like. Perfect for a relaxing afternoon. Stop by on a Friday night and you will find the bar is not big enough to handle its large clientele. In situations like that you can head down the street to the Angelsea Pub, slightly lower quality bar but more manageable on a busy weekend night.
Food is also offered. Wings and steamers are slightly above average bar fare.
Topics: Bar/Pub, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Review | No Comments »
Top ten things thats wont happen to you on the road
By editor | July 11, 2008
By Charlie
All of us poor young business travelers have certain expectation about what will happen when our job sends us on the road. We have grannd visions of sitting next to beatiufl woman in the first class section of a plane, dreams of meeting with high powered executives around the nation. we see ourselves as the cowboy, rolling from town to town having adventures, we think that life on the road is going to be some journey of self discovery, but alas it never turns out that way, and in that vein I offer you my “Top 10 things that wont happen during your business travels”
10) You wont ever upgraded upgraded to first class. Its a myth, you know who gets upgraded to first class? People who pay for it.
9)You will not discover a delicous roadside restaraunt with great food that nobody knows about. I have eaten in many road side restraunts, they are dirty and the food is always questionable, if it was gonna be discovbered it would have been already.
8 States that you think will be boring will not suprise you and be cool. Evidence: Idaho.
7) For everyone one fun place your work sends you there will five horrible places. Evidence: My travel schedule March 06- Chicago…followed by Carbondale IL, Charleston IL, Hillsdale MI, Ada OH and Greenville PA.
6)Waffle House will never keep being good. You have it once and your seduced by its greasy large portions but just wait, give it two or three trips and they will inevitably do something to scare you off forever, for me it was getting the chili homefries.
5)Non chain budget motels will not be quaint or rustic, they will be staffed by one creepy guy and have water damaged rooms, trust me.
4)Mapquest will never, ever, ever, I cant stress this enough, ever, give you accurate or expeditious directions to anyplace.
3)You will not find tacky yet delightful roadside attractions. The worlds largest ball of string, the ceramic cat mususeum, the house of made out of beer cans, you dont just see these on the road, you have to go out of your way to see them,which destroys the appeal.
2) No matter what it is you said you will never do alone, you will do alone after enough time on the road. Go to a bar, a nice restraunt, a movie, you will go alone and you will like it.
1) The number one thing that everyone thinks will happen but never will… under no circumstances will you meet a lonely, beatuiful business woman at a hotel bar and have a seedy one night stand with her. I have went to many hotel bars looking for those and you know what I always find there, people like me.
Topics: Article | No Comments »
The Waffle House
By editor | July 9, 2008
By Jeff
location: everywhere
There are certain first you will always remember, first dates, first cars, first apartments but for me there will always be a special first…my first trip to the Waffle House. I was in Lancaster, PA doing consulting work at Franklin and Marshall College when I stumbled upon this golden oasis, a rare find being that most Waffle Houses reside below the Mason-Dixon line.
I was in love, Waffle house hits the trifecta for me with three great traits. First, I love breakfast and Waffle house is the finest there is. My preference since that fateful first trip has been Sausage egg and cheese on Texas Toast with mayo and a triple order of hashbrowns:scattered, smothered and covered (thats with cheese and onions for those in the know). The folksy short order cook lingo just adds to the charm of the house.
Secondly Waffle House is open 24 hours. I love 24 hour establishments. All night restaurants, along with after hours bars and midnight train rides are what lead to the kind of stories that are always worth telling the next day, all night spots are the stuff of Tom Waits songs and Bukowski poems and the Waffle House fits rights in.
Finally the Waffle House House has great prices. I challenge anyone to order a meal there that breaks twelve dollars, it cant be done. However there are two caveats to keep in mind. 1) If you are in Indiana keep in mind that due to licensing issues Waffle Houses are called Waffle Steak. 2) Never, ever, no matter how good it seems, should you order the hashbrowns “topped”, which means covered in chili…words can’t describe how awful and sickening this menu item is.
The Waffle House is a wonderful, uniquely american establishment. From the down home menu, the chatty waitresses to the greasy delicious food it makes for a delightful, uniquely american tradition.
Topics: Bar/Pub, Food/Bar | 1 Comment »
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