Nightlife?

LOOK! IT'S THE REST OF MANHATTAN HANGING OUT AFTER DARK!

As a non Spanish speaking citizen of upper Manhattan, after dinner I am left wondering what to do with myself. Are there bars up here or anything to do for a 20 something non Spanish speaking guy?
I find myself having lots of movie nights and creating experimental martinis with friends. (The newest experient is a Ginger Apple Martini... strong but good.)

But other than what we provide ourselves with to do, I find that there is nothing else to do. It is really really boring up here after 9 pm.

The most unfortunate part about this entire situation is that it is too damn noisy in my neighborhood to go to sleep early if I choose to.

I end up heading down to Midtown or somewhere below that to hang out with friends and grab a drink. But like I have said before that leaves me in a bit of a pickle as to how I want to get home. Usually I do end up taking the 1 or the A running local all the way home. It is a pretty crappy ride all the way back up. But unless it is after 2 am you will usually have a good amount of company with you in the train car.

But really Inwood.. there is a lot of money to be spent if you would simply open a crappy little bar for us to spend it at. Maybe on the vacant corner-- a nice coffee house/cafe. Booze isn't totally necessary.

But if anyone knows where "it" is at in Inwood-- drop a comment. We'd all like to know..

Review: Japanese Outlet!

I used to live in Hartford Connecticut-- and when I lived there-- they had an amazing market called A Dong. Now, while A Dong had all things Japanese, as well as some chinese and korean imports it was also the size of the Fine Fare. If you cram that all down and take out the food aspects of the A Dong Groccer. You would end up with 'Japanese Outlet.'
Japanese Outlet is a cute little little store on Dyckman street, near where it intersects Sherman.
The store is exactly what it says it is-- a Japanese Outlet.
It is sort of a Japanese version of a dollar store. When i went there I was in search of things to make the new apartment homey, and since a lot of my color scheme is black and red- many of the accents from a japanese outlet would fit right in.
But when I got there I found that they mostly had little things-umbrellas, balloons, and almost all of them Japanese imports. I ended up getting; 6 Magnets, and chopsticks.
The staff is really helpful. They didnt have any magnets out when i went by, and i asked the lady behind the counter if she had any in stock. She smiled and went out the back door, and up a flight of stairs and came back with a big bag FULL of different magnets. I got a couple of magnets featuring wine bottles, as well as a frying pan, and a birthday cake-- they all stick to my fridge very well.
Anyway. It is what it is, a Japanese outlet/random stuff store.
I fly by there when ever i need something a little different than what the 99 cent store on Dyckman can give me. Cause honestly, a lot of the things at J.O. are better quality than a normal dollar store. They also have some cute tea pots and stuff like that as well as some specialty items that you would only find in a Japanese store- Especially cookware items.
It is a very unique establishment in this part of town.
So definatley stop by and peek in.

For what it is, its pretty great-- and they sell fresh cut flowers out front.
Worth the INK- Its the only place like it up here.
7 out of 10.

Not that I have been to a lot of japanese outlet stores, but I didn'd find what I thought i would there, which was some japanese art to decorate the new place with. Sort of dissapointed. But I have a feeling they have different items in stock all the time-- all the more reason to pop by and see what is new!

**
The shop is between Sherman and Nagel on Dyckman street. Pop on by.

The Best Place To Breathe In Manhattan

If you have not heard yet... Inwood is surrounded by parks.
It is so refreshing to get off the train and inhale. The air up here is just different. It isn't that thick, sugary, vomit-scented, times-square jello air. It isn't "the tide is obviously in and brought some used condoms up-stream" air. It is a clean scent that due to our elevation has somehow managed to keep all the 'New York' out of the breeze. So if you haven't yet-- just come up town, hang out at The New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tryon Park, have a glass of wine and BREATHE.