Manhattan Digest

All you need to know about Manhattan culture and so much more...

penn station

Where are the Best Pizza Slices in New York City?

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New York City is synonymous with its Pizza, just like Peanut Butter is like that with Jelly and now Sarah Palin’s nutjob craziness is aligned with Donald’s Trump’s endless clown car insanity.  That being said, it is hard to really choose where to go to get the best pizza slices in the city.  There are so many to choose from and chances are, you won’t be let down as this is the best place in the world for that kind of delicacy.  So which places are the best?  Let’s break it down.

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Magnolia Bakery Opens Up New Shop In Penn Station

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As someone who frequently commutes back and forth from Long Island to New York City, I was thrilled to see that one of my favorite cupcake places had opened up right inside Penn Station- Magnolia Bakery!  Magnolia has been a favorite of ours at Manhattan Digest, and we have done a couple of features on them before.  Check out one of them here.  Here is some more information about the opening below, including a signature cupcake that is exclusive for this location!

Located on the lower level, near the A,C,E subway station, the new store will serve their wide variety of freshly baked desserts, including cupcakes, cakes, pies, muffins, scones, banana pudding, cheesecakes, cookies and brownies, as well as a range of coffee beverages and tea.

In addition to their classic desserts, they’ve introduced a signature Penn Station Cupcake in celebration of the new location. The chocolate cupcake is topped with an all new white chocolate buttercream and chocolate disc depicting the 34th Street subway station. The cupcake will be available every day exclusively at their Penn Station store for $4.00.

Perfect timing now that the holidays are in full swing and Penn Station is busier than ever!  They also open early and close late so you can’t miss your chance to try out what they have to offer (Banana Pudding at the top of my list!)  Go see what all the fuss is about and check out the Penn Station location today!  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Hours: 
Monday–Thursday: 6:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Friday–Saturday: 6:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
Sunday: 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.

 

Get Down And Grub With Friends at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ

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In my two years of running Manhattan Digest, I have reviewed a bajillion different types of restaurants but have never actually test-drived any BBQ-style places.  Even though I have been to this restaurant before, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ is worth not only talking about but giving a good review to as well.  Brother Jimmy’s BBQ has six different locations based in the New York City area- Murray Hill, Yankee Stadium, 8th Avenue by Madison Square Garden, 2nd Avenue, Upper West Side and Union Square.  So you really have no excuse when it comes to good southern style BBQ and hanging with some friends for a good night out and to watch the game or two.  Here are some “facts” about this fantastic establishment.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Brother Jimmy’s BBQ

Per the site– Brother Jimmy’s has celebrated over 20 years of legendary North Carolina, slow-smokin’ barbeque. As suggested by the restaurant’s slogan – “Put Some South in Yo’ Mouth” – Brother Jimmy’s mission was, and still is, to bring “down-home” cooking, hospitality and merriment to the heart of the Northeast.

Over the years, Brother Jimmy’s established itself as the home away from home for A.C.C. Alumni. Homesick alums from Duke, UNC, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, U.V.A., Clemson, Maryland, and Wake Forest began to flock to Brother Jimmy’s to catch the big Duke/UNC game, or to watch the Demon Deacons take on the Terps. By opening in Manhattan’s most popular neighborhoods, Brother Jimmy’s found a home in the hearts of New Yorkers. It has become the restaurant in NYC that reminded Southerners what good ‘ol Southern hospitality was all about and showed Northerners just what they’d been missing all these years.

Since 1989, Brother Jimmy’s business has grown from a simple BBQ hangout into a refined brand that embodies consistent, quality Southern specialties for brunch, lunch and dinner. It has also become a staple nightlife venue consistently rated at the top of multiple categories in the Zagat Nightlife Survey, and serves as a local haunt for everyone from sports fans to celebrities.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Brother Jimmy’s BBQ

A couple of nights ago a friend and I tried out their Murray Hill location, which was the first time I have ever experienced that particular location as I usually go to the one outside Penn Station on 8th Avenue.  This one is spacious, with a huge bar and restaurant area for all types of patrons.  Overall, Brother Jimmy’s in my opinion really is a sports bar type place but backs it up with really delicious southern BBQ.  Normally a sports bar atmosphere has basic food that doesn’t go the extra mile in order to retain that type of business outside of the beer sales but Brother Jimmy’s really puts together the additional effort for both aspects and does it really spectacularly.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Brother Jimmy’s BBQ

So let’s say you are with your boys, enjoying the game, and want to get your grub on.  This is what I would recommend the next time you are in one of their neighborhoods and want to stop on by.  For appetizers, something classic yet delicious like their Hush Puppies with warm maple butter and Hot Buffalo Wings.  The maple butter compliment the hush puppies really well, and no one can deny how epicly delicious wings can be.  Their wings come in buffalo, chipotle or crispy naked.  You can also elevate to a bucket o wings if you feel like it.  It’s worth it.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Brother Jimmy’s BBQ

They have a bunch of great stews and salads, however I would recommend trying out their massive platters as they are big enough to feed two people (or one for me.  Because I don’t share).  The platters come with pickles, tasty cornbread and choice of two amazing sides.  I would recommend the Carolina Pulled Pork which is slow smoked & pulled with Brother Jimmy’s original BBQ sauce.  The taste is incredible and I paired it with their fresh coleslaw and warm mac n cheese that really elevated the flavor of the pork.  You can’t go to a BBQ place and not get ribs.  I mean come on, look at that photo above?  You can get Northern Style which are smoked & then grilled w/ brother jimmy’s original bbq sauce, Southern Style which are smoked w/ brother jimmy’s Memphis-style rub, Baby Back style- smoked & finished on the grill w/ a sweet & tangy sauce or a combo of all.  Fall of the bone good.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Brother Jimmy’s BBQ

They also have a great line of sandwiches from BBQ, Turkey, Portobello and Blackened Catfish as well as a great line of sides which I previously discussed.  Definitely a place you should try out to satisfy your BBQ cravings.  For more information on menus, locations and more check out the official site.

 

 

z100’s Jingle Ball 2014- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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Last night z100’s, New York’s #1 hit music station, held their 2014 Jingle Ball right in the heart of New York City at the famed Madison Square Garden.  In conjunction with I Heart Radio, the concert was broadcast all over the internet with an air date on the CW to happen later on this month.  Naturally the show was sold out as it was packed with some of today’s biggest and brightest stars, all huddled under one roof to give everyone a great show and for us to have an awesome night.  Whereas there were a ton of great moments that happened throughout the night, there were some things that happened that made me puzzled, confused and wondering if it was really ok putting them there in the first place.  Take a look at what went right, and what went wrong at Jingle Ball.

The Standouts-

Taylor Swift-

Of course, Taylor was the headliner at Jingle Ballso she was the last to come out which happened around 11:45 PM, nearly four hours into the show itself.  It also happened to be Tay tay’s birthday today, so all of us got to celebrate with her on her 25th which was pretty awesome.  Honestly, Taylor is at the stage in her career where being at the top isn’t even the top, she’s further than that.  So the mini concert itself was really just a spectacle to watch and the audience craved every minute of it.  She has such great stage presence and really enjoys the interaction she has with her audience.  Only thing I was a bit confused by was why she performed two songs off of “Red” and not  all five of her songs from “1989”.  I get you wanna perform the hits, but you have enough adoring fans that know “1989” already that they would’ve been excited to hear something new as opposed to something we’ve heard for years (I was hoping she would’ve performed, “Style”.  Nope).  Otherwise, great set to end the night.

Shawn Mendes-

Maybe this is just my age as I am transitioning from the top 40 phase of my life to the WALK 97.5 stage, but Shawn Mendes was the only person on the Jingle Ball lineup that I had no clue who he actually was.  He apparently has some big song out right now that he performed last night called “Life Of The Party”, which for a guy just playing with a guitar and nothing else did a pretty good job.  The highlight was his own version of the first verse of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” which he did in a very stripped down way, and that to me was awesome.  It is good to know that someone of his tender age of 16 can research music from a different time period and take a song which is so deep and heavy and turn it into something much more light and in a way refreshing.  Hope he has a very successful career ahead.

Sam Smith-

Love him and I think he is the best thing that happened in 2014 by far.  Such a simple guy with this amazing voice that commands such a presence.  He is such a unique throwback to the yesteryears of Elton John and Billy Joel, and did such a fantastic performance of his hits “I’m Not The Only One” and “Stay With Me”.  Just like Shawn, I see a bright future for him and hope his success continues beyond this amazing year he had.

Pharrell-

Surprisingly Pharrell was the one who kicked off the night, which in past years is usually reserved for some of the smaller acts.  Pharrell spent most of his set performing hits that he was featured on such as “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky” but the latter two songs were his best.  Why?  The surprise announcement of his fellow “Voice” judge Gwen Stefani coming out to perform their new song “Spark The Fire”, which was freaking awesome.   Growing up Gwen was a huge music influence for me and seeing her and him perform together again was amazing.  Of course, he finished his set with “Happy” and invited a bunch of PSL’s on the stage to dance/take selfies with him.  Honestly, if I was on stage with Pharrell I would put my phone in my pocket and enjoy the experience and not do what these stupid girls did, but it’s a generational thing, so whatever.

5 Seconds of Summer/Maroon 5-

The only two “Rock” acts at Jingle Ball, and both did a pretty decent job.  Maroon 5 was great, maybe phoned it in a bit with “Animal” and “One More Night”, but I felt like they were super rushed because Jingle Ball itself had such a large lineup that many of the acts only had 10-15 minutes.  Nevertheless they were great.  5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS, were quite fantastic and did a great rendition of “What I Like About You”.  My hope is that they can get past the screaming girl phase and really be seen as a great band as opposed to a flash in the pan that pop seems to take in and spit out every year.

The Lowlights-

Jessie J/Meghan Trainor/Rita Ora/Nick Jonas/Charli XCX/Rixton-

I honestly felt bad for all of them, they legit got 2.5 seconds on stage and then went bye bye.  Nick and Rita I’m not shocked at.  Rita doesn’t even have a huge song here in our country, and Nick only has one song “Jealous” which he did pretty decently.  Jessie did one song “Burning Up” but came back later on in the night to perform “Bang Bang” with Ariana Grande, and Charli XCX came back after her set to do “Fancy” of course.  I just felt that all six of these artists are quite talented and had a good amount of buzz about them that they could’ve given them a little bit more stage time.  Especially Meghan Trainor, who legit rushed through quite possibly the biggest song of this year, “All About That Base”.  I get that they have to stay on schedule but I just thought it was a bit unfair to give them that little amount of time when they are all talented in their own right.

Calvin Harris-

You have had massive hits over the years with some of the biggest names in the business, and you even sing on some of your own songs.  So you got paid last night to stand on stage, press play, and yell at the audience and you weren’t even mixing.  Seriously?  Bye.

Ariana Grande-

Oh lord, where to begin.  First off, I’m begging this girl to stop wearing that stupid ponytail as she consistently looks like a 6th grader.  Want to be taken seriously?  Dress a little bit older than you have been.  Her shout out to her awful brother Frankie was another thing.  Zero connection with her audience, she giggled about tripping during her one part, and just seems very unprofessional.  Also, it seemed as if The Weeknd was supposed to perform with her on “Love Me Harder” but conspicuously wasn’t there.   I attest it to the fact that she wanted all the stage time, which further proves her diva like behavior that she has been accused of over the past year.  There is a huge difference between what she and Taylor is putting out there.  Just saying.

Iggy Azalea-

Sort of surprised that she was the second to last to perform over people I deem to be bigger and more talented than her.  Ugh.  What kills me is that she needs to figure out if she wants to be a pop artist or stay strictly rap, because her performance last night lingered both ways.  She was super bubbly and pop on “Fancy” then went the other direction on one of her better songs “Work”.  I can’t believe she didn’t censor the “Blow Job” line in that song, but to each his own.  I just read novelty all over her and hope that she figures out a game plan because the amount of respect she has in the industry as a whole is quite low for someone who had such highs this year.

Go to z100’s site for more information.

 

 

Free Pretzel Day at Auntie Anne’s on April 26th!!!

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When the words “free” and “pretzel” are uttered in the same sentence, many a people like me tend to get excited and hungry at the same time! Well fear no more, because on April 26th that fantasy will turn into a reality!  The beloved Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, which have been uber popular for several years across the country, will be offering one free Honey Whole Grain Pretzel at several of its Manhattan locations.  I have actually tried this particular pretzel in the past, and it has a great taste to it with less calories and less of a guilt factor when having it! [Read more…] about Free Pretzel Day at Auntie Anne’s on April 26th!!!