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Filmmaker and photographer Thomas Brookins’ visual guide to Long Beach

Posted in Local tips, Long Beach, Long Island, Quiksilver Pro partner with tags , , , , on September 6, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

Filmmaker, photographer, Long Island local, and surfer Thomas Brookins recently snapped some pics of the awesome Long Beach community, and we wanted to share them with you.  Some we’ve incorporated into posts featuring our Quiksilver Pro NY partners, and others you can check out right here!

Long Beach perspective.

The Cabana

1024 W. Beech Street, Long Beach

516.889.1345

 

Quiksilver Pro NY partner unsOund

359 E. Park Avenue, Long Beach

516.889.1112

 

Get your groceries on at Waldbaum’s

85 E. Park Avenue, Long Beach

 

Much respect to the shark for representing (at Quiksilver Pro NY partner Whale’s Tale)

 

Just a few blocks from the beach and the contest (Quiksilver Pro NY partner LIRR)

 

Long Beach Surf 

70 W. Park Avenue, Long Beach

516.431.5431

 

For more of Thomas’s work, check out our Quiksilver Pro NY partners posts.

Local tips: Uber – a high-tech car service

Posted in Car services, Local tips with tags , on August 19, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

Sometimes when you’re ready to leave a noisy show/bar/restaurant/meeting/boring party, you wish there was a way to call a car service without actually having to, you know, call one.  Uber to the rescue!

(image via bubu)

This brand-new-to-New-York car service can be summoned from ANYWHERE via text or their iPhone/Android app.  Plus, if you’re lacking the cash, Uber just charges the credit card you keep on file with them.

Check ‘em out!

Drinking in Manhattan: old-school happy hours

Posted in Bars/nightlife, Local tips with tags , , , , , , , on August 12, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

NYCer’s love their happy hours – wait, have we mentioned that?  Pretty much every bar has a happy hour, and we would be here all day long if we listed every single one.  Here are some old-school, old NY favorites:

Corner Bistro: $2 mugs of McSorley’s and one of the best burgers in town.

331 W. 4th St. at Jane St. (West Village)

212.242.9502

 

Gowanus Yacht Club: $2 PBRs and hot dogs, all on an outdoor patio.

323 Smith St., Brooklyn (Carroll Gardens)

718.249.1321

 

Motor City Bar: 2-for-1 drinks, 4pm – 7pm.

127 Ludlow St. (Lower East Side)

212.358.1595

 

Niagra: $3 beer and well, 4pm – 8pm

112 Avenue A (East Village)

 

St. Jerome’s: $2 Buds and Bud Light, 6pm – 12am

155 Rivington St. (Lower East Side)

212.533.1810

 

Welcome to the Johnson’s: 4:30pm-9pm; $2 PBR, $3 Budweiser and Bud Light, $4 well and beer, $5 call liquor…and a pool table.

123 Rivington St. (East Village)

212.420.9911

 

 

 

Local tips: Drinking in NYC

Posted in Bars/nightlife, Local tips with tags , , , , , on August 12, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

No matter what your vibe, there’s a place in NYC that can match it.  Punk fan?  Check.  Heavy metal karaoke?  You bet.  Regular karaoke? That too.  Dancing until 6am?  Uh-huh.  Mellow spot for afternoon whisky drinking?  Yup.  Motorcycle garage that serves beer? Okay.  You get the picture.

Honestly, we don’t have many local tips for drinking in NYC.  You’re a pro – no, we didn’t mean it that way, ok? – so you know what to do. Here are a few that might come in handy:

  • Many places get either super crowded/really good (depending on your definition of “really good”) after midnight, since last call for alcohol often doesn’t happen until 4am.
  • Smoking in bars and restaurants is against the law in NYC, but there are still a few that will allow it very late at night.  You’ll know them by the lack of smokers standing outside the front door.
  • Drinks can be expensive at certain spots, to the tune of $7 for a beer or $15 for a cocktail.
  • NYCer’s love their happy hours – bars are usually packed after work.
And remember, everything in moderation, okay?  Just because you don’t have to drive home doesn’t mean you should be this guy:
(image via FAIL blog)

Local tips: Things you should know about the Quiksilver Pro NY

Posted in Local tips, Long Beach, Long Island with tags , , , , , on August 9, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

The city of Long Beach has a super thorough, comprehensive list of FAQ about the Quiksilver Pro NY on their website HERE.

If you stick to the rules of the beach and respect the locals, you should be fine.  But there are a few things we want to add, mostly about the Festival, which will be located adjacent to the boardwalk between Edwards and Long Beach Boulevards.  We know you can’t wait to get your fest on, and we totally don’t mind if you get weird…um, within reason?

Here are things NOT allowed in the Festival area (most of them no-brainers):

Knives and weapons

Fireworks or explosives

Illegal or illicit substances

Tents

Alcohol

Pets

Professional cameras and recording equipment (unless you’ve got your press credentials)

 

“Well, what CAN I bring?” you may ask.  These things ARE allowed:

Blankets, sheets, or towels

Soft-sided coolers

Two factory-sealed water bottles, up to 1L. each

Binoculars

Sunscreen

Non-professional recording equipment (point & shoot cameras, Flip video cameras, etc.)

 

Since the Quiksilver Pro NY and the Festival are free and open to public, it’s first come, first served.  So if you want to be at the front of the stage to sing along to “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and help Wayne Coyne crawl through the crowd in his plastic bubble, plan accordingly.

Local tips and culture: Long Island

Posted in Local tips, Long Beach, Long Island with tags , , , , , , , on August 4, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

Looking for a great gift for that special someone…or a nice book you can display on your coffee table to let your friends know that you do, indeed, have taste and appreciate art?  Look no further than Long Beach local Christina Tisi-Kramer’s self-published Visions of Long Beach, a full color, hardcover book with over 100 images of Long Beach, NY arranged chronologically through seasons, times of day, and events.

Cool fact: this is the only Long Beach color photography book in print.  Ever. But don’t buy it because it’s rare like that…buy it to support local artists, because it has beautiful images, and will remind you of your time spent here in Long Beach.  Which is going to be awesome.

Book and framed images can be purchase locally at Carleton & Dayne (252 E Park Ave, Long Beach, NY 11561, 516-889-9202) or online HERE.

Local tips and culture: Long Island

Posted in Local tips, Long Beach, Long Island with tags , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

We’ve got some awesome friends in Long Island, one of them being surfer and filmmaker Thomas Brookins.  If you haven’t had the chance to check out his films, you should.  His recent documentary about NYC’s surfing history, Shadows of the Same Sun, premiered in the NY Surf Film Festival in 2010,  eventually receiving global play and winning Brookins the award of Best Debut of a Director at the NY International Film Festival.

Thomas is working on his new film Fire & Water, which documents the lives of three amazing surfers and NYC firefighters. Featuring interviews with Rob Machado, Rochelle Ballard, Mikey Detemple and more, Fire & Water follows the men across the country in their quest to meet others like themselves.

Local tips: How to ride the subway

Posted in Local tips, Subway, Transportation with tags , , , , , on August 2, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

We have a love/hate relationship with the infamous NYC subway system. Love: that it runs 24 hours a day and can get us just about anywhere in the city. Hate: that subway lines are diverted or shut down every weekend for “repairs”. Love: you never have to worry about how much you’ve had to drink and how you’re going to get home. Hate: wasted kids who get sick on the train. Love:….well, we could go on.  You get the idea.

The subway (or “train”, as we like to call it) can be intimidating for first-timers. Here are some tips so you don’t wind up on the wrong side of the Rogues and have to pull a Swan when you’re just trying to get to Coney Island.

○      Find general, MTA-approved info including maps and fares HERE.

○      Call for travel info: 718-330-1234

○      Good iPhone Apps to have:

iTrans NYC Subway by iTrans, $3.99 (our recommendation)

NYC Subway 24-Hour KickMap by KICK Design, $2.99

New York Subway by Presselite, $0.99

NYC Subway Map by Gotham Wave Games, Free

○      You can take ANYTHING on the train, as long it fits through the door.  That includes your skateboard, surfboard, a gigantic cake, a potted plant, or cage full of chickens (not a Borat reference; we’ve actually seen this).

○      Etiquette:

■    Be considerate – walk to the right when going up and down the stairs that lead to the subway stations.

■     Please, whatever you do, don’t stop right at the top or bottom of the stairs.  Just keep moving and step aside when you can, unless you want a pissed-off Rogue all up in your face.

■    If you’re traveling with a large bag, keep it in your lap and don’t set it on the seat beside you (see: pissed-off Rogue).

■     When purchasing a subway card (called a MetroCard), if the machine won’t take your credit card – and it often happens – kicking it won’t help, and hopping the turn style will get you a ticket.  Keep a $10 bill (which will buy you 4 rides) with you just in case.

○      If you’re lost, ask someone for help.  New Yorkers get a bad rap.  We’re actually nice people and want to help you…as long as you don’t stop at the top or bottom of the stairs.

Local tips: How to eat in NYC

Posted in Brunch, Dinner, Food, Local tips, Lunch, Restaurants with tags , , , , , , on July 29, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

How to EAT IN NYC, you may ask?  Yes, of course, you know how to eat.  But food is taken very seriously here, and dining out is almost a competitive sport.  There are people who can tell you the origin of every single piece of pork and each artisanal ingredient in their farm-to-table meal, and will cut you to get a seat at the coolest new spot.  They call themselves foodies.  We call them insufferable.  Here are normal-people tips to make navigating some of the 24,000 (yes, 24,000) NYC restaurants a little easier.

  • Many restaurants in NYC don’t take reservations.  Why?  Most of the time it’s a space issue: a lot of great restaurants are also very tiny.  Sometimes spots will take them for parties of six people or more, so always call and ask.
  • Most restaurants won’t seat you if your entire party isn’t with you, so tell your chronically late friend that dinner’s actually at 7:50, not 8:00.
  • Some spots are cash only.  We try to note them in our guide, but it’s always good to check online regardless.
  • The average wait for a new restaurant is around an hour.  A lot of times you can check in, give them your mobile number, and then hit a bar next door for drinks until your table’s ready.  Don’t want to wait but still want to eat at, say, The Meatball Shop?  Try going around 6pm.
  • Speaking of the busiest dining times, they usually are:  8-10pm for dinner, 1-3pm for lunch/brunch.
  • NYC is a late city, so if you want a gourmet meal at 2am there’s always some place you can go.
  • Here’s a special tip for ordering at a deli, especially when it’s crowded: have your money ready and then step aside to put your change in your wallet so the next customer can pay.
  • Tipping – the average tip in NYC is 15-20%; 10% or less only if the service flat-out sucked.  Gratuity is rarely included in your bill, and if it is, it will be noted.

 

Local tips: How to hail a cab

Posted in Cabs, Local tips, Transportation with tags , , , , , on July 27, 2011 by quiksilverpronyguide

Hey, welcome to NYC!  Cabs are our lifeblood, but can seem intimidating to first-timers.  Never fear, after reading our Cab Hailing 101, you’ll be flagging ‘em down like a pro.

  • First things first: how do you know if a cab is on duty?  Take a look at the  rooftop – there’s a dashboard with the cab medallion and the words “off duty” to the right and left of the number.
    • If the number in the middle is lit up, the cab is empty.
    • If nothing is lit up, the cab’s full.
    • If the whole thing or just “off duty” is lit, the cab’s off duty.  On occasion an off duty cab may stop and ask you where you’re going, and if it’s on his way home, he’ll take you.  This is the only time it’s ok to tell the driver where you’re going before you get in the cab.

(image via projectwedding)

  • Be aggressive.  Stand slightly away from the curb with your arm extended. Whistling or yelling, “Taxi!” is only done on T.V.
  • Cab etiquette: it’s first come, first served, so try not to step in front of someone who’s been waiting longer than you.  But hey, if you like to play dirty, take your chances.
  • If you successfully hail a cab and the driver pulls over to ask where you’re going, don’t tell him (exception: see above).  Just smile, get in the cab, shut the door, and THEN tell him you’re going to Brooklyn.
  • Only four passengers are legally allowed in a cab.  If you have more, take two cabs or look for a mini-van.
  • The myth of NYC cabs taking a long route to rip off visitors is just that – a myth. Most cabbies are honest guys trying to make a decent living.
  • Payment – cabs are now required by law to take credit cards, and there is a credit card machine in each cab.
  • Additional surcharges – $1.00 between the hours of 5pm – 8pm, and $.50 after 8pm.
  • Tipping – If you’re paying with cash, rounding up a dollar or two is standard (if a fare is, say, $9.50, it’s nice to give the driver $11 or $12).  If you’re paying with a card, your options are 20%, 25%, or 30%.  20% is standard for an average trip; more if it’s long or an outer borough trip.
  • Whatever you do, try not to take a pedi-cab.

 

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