NYC:Nerd Tour

[RonK]

I am going to NYC in mid-june to visit a friend for a long weekend. I will be staying in Brooklyn but certainly plan on making it into downtown.

Any nerdly things to vist/do? I know that superhero store is somewhere. Check

Museums. Check.

I am not planning on going to see any major shows....but good off-off-broadway is fine.

Thoughts & suggestions?


Also I need a place that serves English High Tea (ala The Drake)...anyone?

[Hendo]

There's a store called "Evolution" that Telfer hipped me to.

don't eat first.

[stetsko]

If you dig penguins, the penguins at the Central Park Zoo are totally worth the price of admission. Even my non-penguin-digging friend had to admit their coolness.

K.

[RonK]

Awesome.

I dig Penguins.

And I dig Evolution.....uh Hendo can you explain more (in a PM if need be)

More things 'off the beaten path' please & thank you!

[speedymarie]

Evolution is awesome. (http://www.evolutionnyc.com/) just has a lot of really weird stuff, includingtaxidermy animals, skeletons (real and amazing replicas), fossils, giant butterflies (dead), even raccoon penis bones.

When I was there with Telfer last summer, they had these signs that were used in a refugee clinic somewhere in Africa, with drawings of people with different types of diarrahea. Apparently different types of diarrahea can indicate different diseases, and so people were supposed to point to the kind they had, to help the doctors diagnose them.

There's just lots of bizarre stuff. It's down in Greenwich Villiage.

There's also a restaurant near Evolution called Peanut Butter & Co. that makes their own natural peanut butter, and you can get all kinds of awesome peanut butter sandwiches - http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/

Also in the area is a super-good sausage store called Mandler's http://www.mandlers.com/index.php. I think we ate there at least twice. They have a mustard bar with all different kinds of mustard.

The Strand is also in that area - a HUGE book store. They claim to have 18 miles of books. http://www.strandbooks.com/app/www/p/home/ - I was lost in there for hours. Across the street is a comic book store called Forbidden Planet. It was huge.

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply has odd hours, so call to make sure they're going to be open. http://www.superherosupplies.com/ - Since you're staying in Brooklyn - try walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. it's amazingly awesome.

This entry in the DSTW NYC blog has details about all the stuff we did - http://www.dontspitthewater.com/nyblog/2006/08/playing_tourist.html

[bagnall]

you should see my friend marisa's play!
it was in the first look series at steppenwolf last summer, and now it's going to be off-broadway late may thru june.

http://www.2st.com/seasonShow.php?show=2 (http://<a href=)

[RonK]

Excellent speedy....I mean to hit every one of those places.

And Mz.Bagnall....I may see that show as well. Huzzah for storefront theaters.

[Bowman]

And I quote from the "Star Wars Episode III NYLine Survival Guide."

Love Saves the Day (http://www.yelp.com/biz/W9SlTScMToztFnjxYk26bA) - 7th Street & 2nd Avenue, NW Corner. The first and most important stop on this list! It is absolutely the coolest store with all sorts of old toys - everything from "Star Wars" and G.I. Joe (not just the '80s action figures, mind you, but the '50s and '60s 12-inchers too) to the Smurfs, "Nightmare Before Christmas," and more! They also have vintage clothes and other fun things. Definitely worth your time. Take the N/R train to the 8th Street Station and then walk east along St. Marks Place to 2nd Avenue. Turn right, and one block south you'll find it!

Speaking of St. Marks Place, while you're visiting, you might want to poke your head into St. Marks Comics (new and used), Kim's Video (new and used DVDs from around the world), and Multimedia 1.0 (where you might just be able to pick up any vintage game from that old Atari "Empire Strikes Back" cartridge with the AT-ATs to those awesome handheld arcade versions of Donkey Kong and PacMan).

Check out Toy Tokyo (http://www.toytokyo.com/) - 121 2nd Ave., second floor. Make sure not to blow all your cash at Love Saves the Day, because there's more "Star Wars" fun to be had here! It's a very cool place that has all sorts of American toys and Japanese imports. Elijah Wood has said how much he loves Toy Tokyo, and if you can't take the word of Frodo himself, what sort of geek are you?

Planning to dress up as your favorite "Star Wars" character? You'll find everything you need at Halloween Adventure (http://www.newyorkcostumes.com/) - 104 4th Ave., between 11th & 12th Streets. Take the N/R train to the 14th Street/Union Square Station and then walk down Broadway two blocks until you see its Broadway entrance.

Love Saves the Day has cool vintage toys, and Toy Tokyo has awesome imports, but what if you just need the latest domestic toys and comics? then it's time to hit Forbidden Planet (http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/store/Home.htm) - 840 Broadway at 13th Street. Take the N/R train to the 14th Street/Union Square Station and then walk down Broadway one block.

(Of the places noted above, I really liked Toy Tokyo and Forbidden Planet.)

[schaefe]

Nerd. Nerd. NERD!

[RonK]

Crap....I'm gonna have to bring an empty suitcase to carry stuff back in.:(

[kenziecondon]

you better walk the bridge.

also...here is my nerdiest nyc fun time cheapie trip..

http://www.nywatertaxi.com/

takes you around the southern half of manhattan (get on at pier 63 on 23rd street)...cheap..gorgeous..the weather should be great. well worth it.

[speedymarie]

you better walk the bridge.

also...here is my nerdiest nyc fun time cheapie trip..

http://www.nywatertaxi.com/

takes you around the southern half of manhattan (get on at pier 63 on 23rd street)...cheap..gorgeous..the weather should be great. well worth it.
Oh, yes, so true!

I did a tour that leaves from the same pier as the boat to the Statue of Liberty, but it goes around Manhattan and then up the river, and goes under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges - really beautiful.

[steve laz]

If you want, its really easy to get tix for David Letterman. When I visited NYC few years back, I went to the website and filled out a request. I never heard anything back so I thought I didn't get picked. Then, I was called by their production staff the morning I flew into NY; I was on the train from Long Island into Penn st. I was suppose to answer a "trivia" question about the show; the answer was Rupert, the owner of "hello Deli". Even though it only lasts about two hours from the moment you walk into the Ed Sullivan theater to they finish taping, not counting the extra hour standing in line because it's first come, first served; it was lots of fun.
If you are into history, take the train to Battery park and take the ferry to Ellis island; you can also take the same ferry to Stanton island. Stanton island to NY is like Berywn to Chicago. When my NY friends asked what I did for that day of sightseeing and I told them I went to Stanton island, they in unison asked, "why?"
I love NY, its just like Chicago; only bigger.
Oh, and try not to get lost in the subways. It took me a full day to figure out their system.

[speedymarie]

If you want, its really easy to get tix for David Letterman.
That reminded me - you can also get tickets for Colbert Report or Daily Show, if you're going to be there on a Monday-Thursday. I did a taping of the Daily Show, and it was really fun.

[Gass]

There's a store called "Evolution" that Telfer hipped me to.

don't eat first.

http://www.evolutionnyc.com/

[RonK]

Excellent & awesome ideas one & all. Thanks so much for helping flesh out my interary. :)

[kenziecondon]

I stopped and stared into the window at Evolution when I was walking home last night.

There was a shrunken head, a lizard skeleton (??), a fetus skeleton, and more quartz than I ever hope to see again. It was creepy...and fun. Fun!

The shrunken head had really long hair and his poor lips and eyes were tied shut.

[Admin]

Make sure you stop in on Chubby Plumpkin, the owner of The Diptheria Ale House. He's the chubbiest plumpkin you've ever seen!