blogchelsea

Getting Out On the Hudson

It's going to be a beautiful weekend, why not try kayaking?

Kleinfeld Bridal Re-Opens Today

Relocating from Brooklyn to Chelsea, the giant bridal emporium will open today at 110 West 20th Street. The store will continue to offer an array of designer wedding gowns, veils and other nuptial essentials, by appointment only.

Bye Bye Flea Market

The flea market is fleeing after this weekend to make space for a new residential building. So now when you need some used shoes, computer parts or tamales it's off to Hell's Kitchen with you.

Trapped in a $4,400 Chelsea Apartment

This tale of a family stuck in a rental after selling their place, from Motoko Rich in the Times, is probably the best sign of an impending bubble burst so far...

For the Boalses, who had owned their previous apartment for just three years, the best option was a $950,000 unit that had gone unrenovated for 30 years. But since it was only slightly larger than the apartment they had just sold - and would require a mortgage nearly twice as large as their previous one - the couple decided to rent.

Trading up "is becoming harder and harder, even for people who are technically wealthy."

Sidewalk SUVs

Whoa, that's a whole lotta baby carrying capacity...

Beef and Guns

On a visit to Las Vegas years ago a bunch of us went to a rifle range to shoot machine guns, just because it's a very Las Vegas thing to do. I'm generally pro-gun control -- especially for New York City -- but at a range it was a unique experience to understand what an M16's 750 rounds per minute feels like in your hands. Who knew you could get a little of that experience right here in Chelsea?

It's been a tough week. NASDAQ's down, systolic pressure's up. What you need is a nice pedicure, a hug, and some cranberry tummy-tingler herbal tea, right?

Wrong.

What you need is an hour and a half of semi-automatic, muscle-wrenching, ear-splitting, acetone-tasting gunfire, room to yell, and enough ammo to turn your target into confetti. Immediately followed by rare red meat. Who knew you could shoot in Manhattan (legally)? Once again, Site59 has you hooked up. We've got you booked into the West Side Rifle Range (no permit needed), and arranged a post-shoot meal at Frank's, the Meat-Packing District's old-school ode to beef. Today, you are a man.

Beef and Guns is $98 per person + tax.

The F&B Lobster Roll

For some reason my post about Bongo's lobster roll has been the most popular on this blog. And out of fairness it should be stated that their's is not the most expensive ($19) you'll ever eat, should you care to spend upwards of a Jackson elsewhere.

But I take a Gordon Ramsay attitude towards restaurant prices: if traffic is slow and the food is expensive, cut the prices, get people in the door, and make money on volume (while finding lower-cost ways to maintain quality). If the lobster roll is still on these menus at these prices, maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe they can keep the salad around for longer than other fish and they don't mind not serving them often. But I'd rather see Bongo sell twice as many lobster rolls at $13 and bring more customers in the door. 24th and 9th ain't exactly a hoppin' part of town.

Until then, I can get a regular fix at F&B (23rd near 8th) with their new Shrimp and Lobster roll for $4.61 incl tax. Yes yes, I know, it's half shrimp, but you can eat two for under $10, and they're yummy (this pic doesn't do it justice). And you can stand and eat fries with roumulade and pretend you're in Northern Europe.

Cheap Relief From the Heat

If you're mainly home at night and need to cool your apartment, I can recommend this $40 window fan from P.C. Richard on 23rd St. By using two fans, it brings in the cool night air from outside while pushing out the warm apartment air. I only have one window air conditioner in my living room, so this was a great addition to the bedroom. It's actually made my 5th Fl walkup sleepytime a little chilly, and sleeping is now perfect under just a top sheet. Zzzzzzzzzz...