Keg 229

Ever found yourself at a bar and the bartender is so busy you just can’t seem to get a beer?  Well at Keg 229, wait no longer, you can simply pour your own beer!   How does that work exactly?  (At least that's what I was thinking).  Here is the scoop:  there are taps at the bar and at the tables.  You put a credit card down and pay by the ounce for your beer.  There is a little screen on the table that will let you know how much you have been drinking.  If you would like a table, you have to call ahead to reserve one.  (I recommend this as the tables are great for groups!)  You can even request the kind of beer you would like at your 2 taps. 

Keg 229 offers a great and large selection of American craft beers on Tap as well as in the bottle and can.  You can also pour your own beer at the bar, but you may have to wait a bit to get your own tap.  Don’t worry though they do have bartenders to get you a drink if beer is not your drink of choice or you just can’t get your own tap.  They offer a full bar and specialty cocktails are listed on the blackboard.  

The food is really good as well.  As you might imagine they have a menu that consists of things that go great with beer.  Pretzels with mustard, pigs in a blanket and a fantastic organic, grass-fed beef burger.  

The space is pretty big and quite cozy.  It is a fantastic place for meeting a group of friends and it will be a whole different experience from your normal pub.  Keg 229 is located down on Front St. at South Street Seaport.  If you don’t work near there and are still in winter hibernation mode don’t worry, spring is on the way and you will have just heard about a great new place in the Seaport to change the scenery with.   I think you are going to like this one.

Keg 229

229 Front Street

(212) 566-2337

Joe’s Pub

In addition to writing this blog and being an actress, I am also a bartender here in New York City.  I often get asked where to go and see live music, and on the list of places that I recommend is Joe's Pub.  Joe's Pub is fantastic for several reasons.  First, it is really eclectic; you are going to get shows that run the gamut from Rock and R and B, to Folk and Jazz to Drag Shows.  There is almost nothing that you can’t see there.  As a performer, I know that you have to be fairly well established with great reviews from past shows to even be considered for a booking.  In other words, it is a really competitive venue to get your act into, so you are going to see a great show. 

Second, the venue itself is a great place to see a show.  It is very intimate.  It has the feel of a downtown cabaret space with tables in the front, lounge-like booths with cushions and then there is the bar area behind that.  There is a $12 minimum (which you can have in either food or drink) and the ticket prices vary, but are usually pretty reasonable.   

I was there on Tuesday night for Dominic Sinesio’s CD release show.  He had a six-piece band and two back-up singers and boy was he fantastic.  A friend had told me about him and we went to the show together and it was amazing.  The last show I saw there was my friend Jesse Tyler Ferguson doing his one-man cabaret show.  He is so funny I could watch him read the telephone book.  The two shows could not have been more different, but both immensely enjoyable. .  I saw in their line-up for March that Steve Martin and his band are performing there.  I didn’t even know Steve Martin had a band!  This is why I love Joe’s Pub.  If you are looking for some live music check out Joe’s Pub to see what they have going on.  You might get to see Steve Martin or Amy Winehouse, or you might just discover someone new that you can’t wait to tell your friends about.

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater

425 Lafayette St.

212-967-7555

Jack and Judy’s B&B

 Jack and Judy’s B&B

I talk a lot about the benefits of staying in an apartment or villa when traveling.  It’s great to have a place where you can just sit and chill after a long day of site seeing before going to dinner without feeling cramped by a hotel room.  Or maybe you want to save money and be able to make yourself breakfast in the morning instead of having to go out.  Well if you are coming to New York and are looking for a place to stay, I have a great place for you.  Jack and Judy’s B&B located on West 81^st between Columbus and Amsterdam.  It is a beautiful block within walking distance of Central Park, Riverside Park and Lincoln Center.  You are close to 3 train lines (the B, C and 1 trains) as well as the 79^th St cross-town bus, which goes across 81^{st St} on this part of its journey. 

When I go away to a new city, I often don’t know which area to stay in.  I don’t want the touristy neighborhood; I prefer to be somewhere hip and cool where there are lots of bars and restaurants.  The great thing about staying on the upper west side is that you are close enough to get anywhere pretty quickly, but far enough out of the hustle and bustle so that you can appreciate a little quiet when you choose it.  If you come in the warmer weather it is so great to take a walk through Central Park or walk down to Riverside Park and enjoy a drink at one of the outdoor cafés on the river.  If you come during the time of Shakespeare in the Park, you can get free tickets to the shows and they are a 10-minute walk from Jack and Judy’s.  Almost anywhere you want to go can be reached within a half an hour door to door.  This is my neighborhood so I am extremely familiar with it and I love it!  There are lots of great restaurants and bars too.

Jack and Judy are my next-door neighbors.  They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.   They have been renting apartments since 1986.  They have six apartments (4 studios – one has a terrace and 2 one-bedrooms).  All the apartments are newly renovated and have their own private bathrooms.  Jack and Judy live downstairs so they are available to help you with anything you might need.  Rates are $150-$250 a night or $950 and up per week.  They do sometimes offer specials so check their website for details.   If you are looking for somewhere great to stay next time you are in New York check out Jack and Judy’s.  It a real gem.

Jack and Judy’s B&B

I talk a lot about the benefits of staying in an apartment or villa when traveling.  It’s great to have a place where you can just sit and chill after a long day of site seeing before going to dinner without feeling cramped by a hotel room.  Or maybe you want to save money and be able to make yourself breakfast in the morning instead of having to go out.  Well if you are coming to New York and are looking for a place to stay, I have a great place for you.  Jack and Judy’s BandB,  located on West 81^st between Columbus and Amsterdam.  It is a beautiful block within walking distance of Central Park, Riverside Park and Lincoln Center.  You are close to 3 train lines (the B, C and 1 trains) as well as the 79^th St cross-town bus, which goes across 81^{st St} on this part of its journey. 

When I go away to a new city, I often don’t know which area to stay in.  I don’t want the touristy neighborhood; I prefer to be somewhere hip and cool where there are lots of bars and restaurants.  The great thing about staying on the upper west side is that you are close enough to get anywhere pretty quickly, but far enough out of the hustle and bustle so that you can appreciate a little quiet when you want it.  If you come in the warmer weather it is so great to take a walk through Central Park or walk down to Riverside Park and enjoy a drink at one of the outdoor cafés on the river.  If you come during the time of Shakespeare in the Park, you can get free tickets to the shows and they are a 10-minute walk from Jack and Judy’s.  Almost anywhere you want to go can be reached within a half an hour door to door.  This is my neighborhood so I am extremely familiar with it and I love it!  There are lots of great restaurants and bars too.

Jack and Judy are my next-door neighbors.  They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.   They have been renting apartments since 1986.  They have six apartments (4 studios – one has a terrace and 2 one-bedrooms).  All the apartments are newly renovated and have their own private bathrooms.  Jack and Judy live downstairs so they are available to help you with anything you might need.  Rates are $150-$250 a night or $950 and up per week.  They do sometimes offer specials so check their website for details.   If you are looking for somewhere great to stay next time you are in New York check out Jack and Judy’s.  It a real gem.

 www.jacksbandb.com

212-721-4341

Snique Away

More and more we are seeing sites that offer coupons on just about everything.  There is Village Vines for premium dining, Groupon for well…many of your needs, Vacationist and now we have Snique Away, brought to you by the media group who put together Trip Advisor.   What is their angle?  Let me share. 

Snique Away is the new private sale travel experience that offers deals to a limited number of members.  There is no fee to join however you must have an invite.  (I am a member of Trip Advisor so I assume that is how I got my invite)  They offer members’ deals on luxury hotels that have 4 and 5 star ratings or the equivalent and have the highest rating in Trip Advisor reviews.  I use Trip Advisor a lot for cross-referencing and they are really pretty accurate.  Most of the stuff I have looked at offers dates from the time the deal starts until about 2 to 3 month out.  The majority of the hotels on there have been within the US, but I am starting to see a few international hotels creeping in.  They are pretty new so I am assuming their spectrum will broaden within the coming months.  The prices are really good on some of this stuff.  I wouldn’t hesitate to join. 

Ocean Lodge, St. Simon's Island, Georgia

If you like to travel then you should be signing up for some of these new discount travel sites.  Vacationist is great and now this one from Trip Advisor.  From what I can see, both are offering fantastic deals on some pretty amazing hotels.  Why not spend even a night or two somewhere that would normally be out of your budget for a fraction of the price?  Living in luxury isn’t so bad, especially when you get a deal on it.  Now that’s what I call a great vacation.

Need an invite.  Send Susan and Skye your email and we will invite you as an Undies guest.  Email us at: dontforgetyourundies@gmail.com

Hipmunk: searching for flights just got a lot more adorable

Doesn't it seem like most flight search web sites make everything way more confusing that it should be? Either there's too many criteria, or it opens up 30 other websites, or you are bombarded with pop-ups or ads yelling at you from all sides.  Well, I have dicovered a simpler way to search, that's much easier on the eyes.  It's Hipmunk.com

There's no annoying stuff crowded in, NO ADS, and the results are easy to read and color coordinated.

You can sort the  results by the usual criteria (price, stops, departure/arrival time, duration) or you can sort the results by "agony" which is a combination of price, duration and number of stops.  It really seems like they actually want to put user experience first. What a concept!

I also like that they include Amtrak as a travel option.  For someone who lives in NYC (depending of course on your destination),  getting a high speed train from midtown can be more desirable than the hassle of getting to and from the airport.  So it's nice they include it in the mix.

And how cute is the logo?

Check it out yourself at Hipmunk.com.

The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo

I feel like I might be a little behind everyone else on this, but if you are like me and haven't gotten around to reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" by Steig Larsson, don't put it off any longer.  I finished it last night and ran out today to buy the next one.  It was a fantastic read and one that you will not be able to put down.  It is perfect for the airplane.  You will be so engrossed you will most likely forget you are even flying.  The characters are fabulous, the story is totally engrossing and I became obsessed with reading for 4 days.  Literally.

The story focuses on a financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who likes to report on the corruption in the financial world.  This last investigation put him on the wrong end of a libel case.  It does however lead him to get hired by Henrik Vanger to discover who murdered his niece some 40 years ago.  He is introduced to the heroin, Lisbeth Salander and together they uncover much more than they could ever have imagined.  The tale is riveting and disturbing and will leave you hungry for more.  Good thing there are two more books for you to sink your teeth into.  It will not disappoint.  It actually surpassed all my expectations.  I highly recommend you put this next on your reading list.