Appalachian Trail Express

Seeing as how this is the best city ever, it should come as no surprise that outdoorsy New Yorkers can hop a quick, inexpensive train from the quintessential American train station to the quintessential American hiking path. On weekends, the Metro-North will take you from Grand Central to the Appalachian Trail in under two hours, for just $13. When you get off the train, you'll find yourself standing directly on the fabled footpath, free to trek as far as you see fit: across bogs, through forests, past lakes and along the edges of farms. You'll likely encounter fellow travelers, some of whom will readily boast through scruffy beards that they've walked here from Massachusetts. You won't get that far if you want to make the last train back to Manhattan, but pack some evening attire in your backpack, and meet friends afterwards at the swanky Campbell Apartment in Grand Central to brag about where you've been. They don't need to know you only hiked for 45 minutes and stopped twice to munch on takeout you brought from the city. Click here for more info.

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Landmarks • East Midtown

Jeffrey Right

Finding a good wine shop is harder than it looks in Manhattan. Luckily, I had the NFT iPhone app with me the other day when I needed to find some booze in East Midtown (yeah, not my usual hangout, but the mom-in-law is in town). After checking out some random places I saw on the street that we're ridiculously overpriced, I pulled out the iPhone and searched the Shopping category.  One liquor store stood out from the crowd with the blurb, "Jeffrey will treat you right. No Midtown attitude." You know it's a good sign when there's a friendly guy hanging out playing Michael Jackson (RIP). Then I start looking at the prices--at least 25% cheaper than the surrounding places. Finally, I chat with Jeffrey who has been running the store for 33 years. He shares some stories about the old days when ladies with white gloves from Beekman Place would come in to shop. Those old timers from the neighborhood may be long gone, but thankfully Jeffrey is still going strong.

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Liquor Stores • East Midtown

Swedish Welfare Lunch

Okay, so Craig just reviewed Aquavit in March, but he did the brunch, so I'll do lunch, and we'll let Trump do the dinner radar (he's a big NFT fan, really). And lest you think we're all making bank here at NFT, I was taken there by some supercool folks at an ad agency; we're reciprocating with street cart Chinatown food today. But seriously, the restaurant itself is a little "greatest hits" of Scandinavian furniture design, the service is what a real restaurant reviewer would call "impeccable," and the breads, amuses, appetizers and main courses are all "flawless." I would go for the power lunch version of the "smorgasbord" (pictured), which is 9 little goody bits of herring and salmon arranged perfectly on a plate. I'd also recommend that someone else pays. Food ALWAYS tastes better that way.

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Restaurants • East Midtown

Vantastic

Food trucks feed our most impulsive cravings, and Dessert Truck is the ultimate pusherman. Parked on a chain-food infested corner of Third Avenue and Saint Marks, the truck sells irresistible highbrow desserts packed in travel-ready tinfoil cups for $5 a pop. Most popular is the chocolate bread pudding--a kind of fudge brownie take on the classic recipe--topped with vanilla or lightly-flavored bacon anglaise. Creme brulee is caramelized to order, and slow-baked apples with puff pastry tastes like pie in a cup, improved only by a scoop of vanilla ice cream. During daytime hours, Dessert Truck rolls uptown to Lexington and 55th street, peddling to all the jonesing dayjobbers. Check their website for frequent menu updates and occasional closings due to inclement weather.

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Shopping • East Midtown

Top 10 New York

Going to the Oyster Bar is simply one of the top experiences in New York. As much as is vanishing in our fair city, so much remains--and the Oyster Bar is near the top of the list. Simply deciding where to sit is the first of many tough choices--the dining room? The front bar? The actual “oyster bar”? The low-slung white counters? The Saloon? (Answer: either the white counters or the Saloon, which many people don’t even know exists, it’s that well-hidden in the back corner). And once you’re actually sitting there, what do you get? The menu can be overwhelming; it’s simply best to eat as many oysters from among the many selections as you can, then get an order of whatever your favorite fish/shellfish is. If the prospect of eating a dozen raw oysters makes your stomach turn, then please, don’t go to the Oyster Bar and take up space—leave us be and go sample this fine eatery’s fabulous wood-grill selections. The rest of us to will decide between west coast vs. east coast, creamy vs. briny, and sweet vs. salty. Ah, the joys of life.

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Restaurants • East Midtown

Swedish Brunch

What's that you say? There's a deep recession going on? I guess I didn't notice because I was too busy stuffing my face with herring, salmon, and meatballs from the outstanding $48 smorgasbord every Sunday afternoon at Aquavit. They call it "brunch" but that's just wrong. This isn't just some overpriced French toast and a couple of weak mimosas. This is an all out celebration of Swedish food with 8 kinds of herring (apple curry, vodka lime, sour cream dill) 4 kinds of salmon (with gorgeous sauces like lemon mayoand espresso mustard), 5 kinds of cold cuts and cheese (salami, ham, roast beef), 6 kinds of salads (egg and dill, baby shrimp, potato, caper, and onion), 4 kinds of hot entrees (meatballs with ligonberry, roast elk, grilled lamb), and so many tasty desserts I finally lost count. If you break it down by the bite (over thirty different tastes in one sitting!), it's actually a fabulous deal. A beer or bloody mary is included, but you might as well splurge for a couple of shots of house made coriander and dill aquavit to wash down that boat load of herring. As the Swedes say, "Jette bra!"

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Restaurants • East Midtown

Tears For Fears

I say, Simon, a wretched shame our olde institution's been run amok by dirty urchins larking through the hotel floors, frolicking past the golden chandeliers! These riffraff storm our fabled gates, bypass the wood-and-mirrored elevators and make right for the medicinal-smelling servant stairwell! What if they discover our dilapidated hiding nooks, the tears in carpet, the things that time forgot? How mindlessly they disregard our storied history--our strange double hyphen masquerading as an equals sign, our mayonnaise-based salad, the fact that we came into existence as the result of a family feud. What's up with that, Simon? How I long for the past! When did we fall so low? When we let the American Psychoanalytic Association hold their meetings in the Empire Room or when the Bronx High School of Science was given free reign o'er the premises for the duration of their promenade? To think! Our private luxury, ripped to shreds by rough-mannered plebeians! Upon my word! My wistful heart aches.

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Hotels , Landmarks • East Midtown

Lavish Inter-Class Repast

This is where I go when I have more than four and a half dollars in quarters in my pocket and more than five minutes to spare in Grand Central (OK, that's only been the case once, but I wanted to celebrate the occasion by blowing said cash). The food beats the old, brown-lettuce salads that are available elsewhere in the terminal, though of course you'll be paying out of your ass for it. There is a decent view of, of all things, the Michael Jordan Steak House (OKed by the best basketball player in history), so you can stare across the way, look down at your nicely cooked salmon, and be pissed about not having gotten a prime rib. Further, I found the following review by a diner on a restaurant blog: Being in Grand Central can be nice and it can be weird. Some homeless guys looking like they want to steal your dinner can be strange. If all else fails, it's always entertaining to soak in the grandeur of one of the greatest public spaces in the world. And watch the bourgeois grow uncomfortable, eating among the intimidating stares of hungry class warriors.

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Restaurants • East Midtown

Not Even a Swede Can Resist a Norwegian Smorgasbord

Glug, gløgg, gloog: Non-Norwegians like me never can quite pronounce the name of this mulled, sometimes alcoholic wintertime drink. That didn't stop me from knocking back a couple of hot ones at the three-day Christmas fair, which lands at the Norwegian Seamen's Church in mid-November. Why so early? Maybe it's a Scandinavian thing. After navigating through the crafts-and-rummage main level—one corner was lined with Scandinavian packaged foods and a lesser number of baked items—I found myself in a trim basement cafeteria, contemplating open-faced sandwiches bedecked with shrimp, salmon, herring, pork, cheese, and some cryptic Norse "hamburger." For dessert: waffles and jam. Did you miss it? No matter, on Wednesdays, from September till May, the church serves up a $17 all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet. Just sail on in!

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Landmarks • East Midtown

Opia

If Victoria Beckham, aka “Posh Spice,” were in New York and wanted to watch David play in a match for England, Opia would be her kind of place. Typically this is an upscale restaurant and lounge overlooking 57th Street, where one could recline in one of their plush seats and feel rather posh themselves while enjoying a drink or dinner. Come June, however, Opia is breaking out of the mold and rolling out the red carpet with a launch party on Saturday, June 3rd. Taking place prior to the actual start of the World Cup, they will celebrate the spirit of the games with a cosmopolitan and decadent fete that will take up nearly the entire space. A veritable circus of performers will be on hand to add some spice, from dancers to drummers to DJ’s mixing up music aimed to appeal to Opia’s motley crew. The revelry will all take place against the backdrop of three large screens placed conveniently throughout the space, playing World Cup highlights and goals from past series. And once the games kick off, the celebration continues as the restaurant opens early especially to host live viewing of the matches, while offering a special prix fixe version of their Mediterranean menu. With service like this, it would be enough to make even Ms. Beckham crack a smile.

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Restaurants • East Midtown