An Afternoon on the Upper East Side? Here's What to Do

Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Welcome to the Better Together Here podcast with your host,
Devin. And Ashley?
Helping you make the most of your time in New York City.
Hey everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the Better
Together Here podcast. My name is Devin.
And my name is. Ashley, in today's episode, we
are going to give you a Quick guide to what to do on an
afternoon in the Upper East Side.

(00:22):
Most people know about the Met. They want to go to the Met.
It is arguably New York City's most famous museum, possibly one
of the best. But what do you do before and
after when you found yourself onthe Upper East Side?
We're going to answer that question for you, so let's get
right into it. There are a lot of stereotypes
and puns about the Upper East Side, but let's let one of our
favorite shows, Broad City, tee that up for us.

(00:45):
There's my phone. I knew it was stolen.
OK, It's in Harlem. Great, let's go track it down.
No way. Wait, wait.
It's moving South. It's an Upper East Side.
My dude, I don't want to go there.
Must we? My son-in-law is such a
disgrace. He went to Cornell.
I'm fine with the tsunami, but not in the Saint Barts.

(01:08):
Anywhere else is fine. It's the 10th horse that died
this year. That's ten horses I've had to
replace. Why does anybody come up here?
It is a horrible, vapid wasteland, you see.
Where's the net? Oh, right down here.
And you make a. Right.
Yeah, You can't miss it. Thank you.
The main stereotype of the UpperEast Side is that it is a very

(01:28):
rich, pretentious area which hasa lot of truth.
It definitely has a lot of truth.
It's definitely one of the more expensive places to live in the
city and it's probably like the most like prim and proper and
like fanciest place in to live in Manhattan.
And a lot of the people who are on the Upper East Side are they

(01:49):
come from like generational wealth and have been in that
experience and world their entire life.
If you've seen this, the show Succession, the dad, the like
the main character dad who's trying to figure out who's going
to take over for him when he passes away.
His big giant apartment is on the Upper East Side on 5th Ave.
right across from the Met actually.

(02:10):
So that kind of gives you a glimpse into what the Upper East
Side can be like. I also just, I think it's a
house which really sets the stage for like the Upper East
Side has houses, not just apartments, whereas most of New
York does not have actual houses.
True. And in that that home has been
on the market recently and it wasn't like the hundreds of
millions of dollars. Yeah, very expensive.
Very expensive real estate, lot of old money up there, but very

(02:33):
beautiful place to go and walk around.
Also, the Upper East Side is thesetting for where Gossip Girl is
filmed. If you're a Gossip Girl fan,
everyone there lives on the Upper East Side.
They go to school in the Upper East Side.
Heavy Upper East Side influencesall throughout that show.
And are they pretentious? Yes, exactly.
OK, the Upper East Side, despitewhat we're saying, we do love

(02:56):
going here from time to time. It has some amazing spots, some
great pockets within the neighborhood that are worth
visiting. So first stop before you go to
the Met, have an early lunch at Don Filippo.
Don Filippo is a pizza spot thatwe accidentally stumbled upon
after going to the Met. I was getting very hangry.

(03:17):
This spot of good reviews. We went in amazing.
Totally unassuming as well. Like when you walk in, it kind
of looks like you're stepping into like 1994.
Yeah, I was about to say, the decor is very dated.
Like you would not expect to getlike a fantastic slice or whole
pizza here, but don't judge it by the looks fantastic pizza.

(03:38):
Whenever we go, we usually sharelike a whole cheese pie.
All of their pizzas that we've had there are great.
I don't think we've done by the slice.
But they do offer it if you're by yourself or you don't want a
ton of food. If you just want a quick bite,
they do offer by the slice. But honestly, I recommend just
doing the whole pie. If you're worth like two to four
people, just do the whole pie. And don't skip the garlic knots,

(04:01):
they are phenomenal. Once you've had a nice lunch to
fill your belly up before going to the museum.
You wanna grab a coffee at 787? There's nothing worse than
getting to a museum. We've talked about this before,
I think getting to a museum and either being hungry or tired.
So that's why you eat before andthat's why you grab a coffee or

(04:21):
a nice tea before. 787 Coffee highly rated, very close to Don
Filippo and both of these are close to the Met. 787 has a
fantastic cappuccino and their drip coffee is also very good so
highly recommend this place. Get some caffeine before you go
walk around the Met for a couplehours.
Once you're ready, head on to the Met.

(04:44):
Know that there is often a line,especially on weekends.
So if you're getting there, I have seen that in the early
mornings when it first opens, it's the most crowded to get in.
So this kind of itinerary we're giving you is honestly probably
better because then you're goingto get there around like
1:00-ish one in the afternoon. There's probably going to be a

(05:07):
shorter line to get into the museum.
It might be a little bit busier once you're in there, but like
most people, try to get there right when it opens or you know,
they get there early and they want to get there before lunch.
I recommend doing it after lunch.
I will say if you get there and there is a big line, don't be
discouraged because I don't, I don't think that you're actually
going to be waiting in line for that long.

(05:28):
I feel like the maximum time you'd be waiting to get into the
MET would be like maybe 1/2 hour.
That's probably on the high end of things, but they do this all
the time and they move people through pretty quickly.
So don't get discouraged if you get there and you see a huge
line. When you buy your ticket, that
gets you access to pretty much everything in the museum.
There are some maybe special exhibitions or tours or things

(05:49):
like that that are not included,but you are getting a ticket to
explore this vast museum. Pro tip, if you know someone or
you wish someone who lives in New York or New Jersey and they
have an ID with their address inone of those two places, they
can do pay as you wish, which basically means you can pay a
dollar per person and get in essentially for free to the
Mets. So that's just a little tip if

(06:11):
that works out for you. The Met itself, it is a massive,
massive museum. I believe it covers what, 6
blocks, 5 or 6 blocks? I mean, it is huge and it covers
such a wide variety of art and styles and time periods and

(06:32):
regions of the world. That's actually how it's
generally set up. Four blocks, Four blocks, OK,
But still, that is a huge amountof space, especially in New York
City. Four blocks is is massive.
So the Met is in between 5th Ave. and Central Park.
So it is partially in Central Park and then the front of it
butts up against 5th Ave. So very iconic place on the

(06:54):
Upper East Side to visit. And the way that the MET is
generally laid out is by geographic region and then often
within that it's by like type ofart.
And again, there are there is sections with modern art, there
are statues, there are historical weapons and swords

(07:15):
and Knights armor. And there's an instruments area
with all kinds of funky instruments from all across
civilization, civilizations across the world.
You have Greek and Roman art, you have Impressionist art, you
have Renaissance art. Everything.
Is that is Renaissance our thing?
Probably we're not like super arty people, but we go to

(07:37):
museums. Truly, anything you want to see
is probably going to be at the Met.
And to this day, like Devin and I live in New York City, we go
to the Met quite frequently. There are times where we're
working through the Met and we take a turn and we're like,
we've never been through this area.
You could go to the Met pretty much every day for like a couple

(07:57):
weeks and you would see different things every time.
Yeah, it's. A huge it's a huge place to
cover. So again, plan beforehand if you
can and if you know that there are specific pieces of art that
you would like to see, like Van Gogh's self-portrait, figure out
where that is so that you know exactly where to go.
Ask the staff inside. One that I really like is the I

(08:19):
believe it's called the Egyptianwing.
It's kind of Indiana. The back part of the museum that
butts U against Central Park. An there is a massive, not just
recreation, but an actual physical like tomb, not a
pyramid, but like an Egyptian tomb enclosement that has been
there, that was from, you know, thousands and thousands of years

(08:40):
ago. There's this fake kind of Moat
that goes around it and it's gotthis awesome.
Like the full wall is glass thatyou can see into Central Park,
which is just, I don't know, something about that is like
very iconic, especially if it's like rainy or snowy and you kind
of get that view of the park with this historical piece of
the Middle Eastern landscape plopped into Central Park.

(09:03):
It's just or into the Met in NewYork City.
It's just it's iconic. The Egyptian wing also has
mummies and a bunch of really, really cool Egyptian jewelry, so
highly recommend that area. Know as well that inside the
Met, most of the pieces will have like a number associated
with associated with them and I believe it's through the
Bloomberg Connects app, you can punch in the number and find

(09:27):
more in depth information. Some of them have audio
recordings of historians and artexperts talking about the
pieces. So there's so much to do and
explore in the Met. You could be in there for 30
minutes, you could be in there for the entire day.
So plan accordingly. We recommend going to the gift
store even if you don't buy anything, there are some really
cool pieces. Most of them are pieces of art

(09:50):
throughout the Met that are thenplanted on to shirts or tea
towels or notebooks or other gifts and trinkets that'll help
you have a memory of your experience at the Met.
Really great spot to look for souvenirs for people at home.
Yes, that are much better than just an I heart NY shirt all

(10:10):
right and that leads us to this episodes in New York know how if
you are heading out of the met and you're trying to go to the
next activity that we're gonna talk about and you don't know
exactly where to go. One of the best pieces of advice
so we can give you when you are feeling lost and needing

(10:32):
directions is to ask someone whois walking a dog.
The reason is that if they're walking a dog, odds are number
one that they are from New York City and #2 they are very
familiar with the area that you are currently in.
If they're walking their dog there, they probably live there.
They know all the INS and outs. They know the streets, they know
the places. They know the spots in Central

(10:53):
Park, for example. So when in doubt, ask someone
with a dog. Yeah, the amount of times that
somebody has come up to me in Central Park and asked me like
where Bethesda terraces or wherethe mall is, honestly, I get a
little bit of, I feel like a little bit of like pride being
able to know exactly where to tell them.
But we take our our dogs to the park every single morning.

(11:14):
And I know the bottom third of Central Park like the back of my
hand. I know every sidewalk.
I know every direction and placeto go.
So again, if you need directionspretty much anywhere in New York
City, go ask somebody with a dog.
And that is this episodes in NewYork know how ask someone with a
dog. OK, back to an afternoon on the
Upper East Side. All right, when you're done with

(11:37):
the Met, depending on what your energy levels are like an
optional second activity that isclose to the Met.
And if you aren't planning on devoting a whole lot of time to
Central Park, I highly recommendyou do this.
And that would be to pop into the park from the Met and go and
check out two spots that are very, very close.
Number one is the obelisk. The obelisk is a giant tower

(12:02):
shape pyramid looking thing. I don't know what.
Kinda looks like the Washington Monument.
Yes, yes. Whatever that is called.
I mean, I think obelisk is the name of the shape, right?
But they just call it that. I don't know for sure.
But the obelisk, there's a lot of cool history that goes along
with the obelisk, one of which is that some of the related
things are also in the Met that relate to this specific obelisk.

(12:25):
And there is a twin obelisk in London, a twin to the one that
is in Central Park, so go check that out.
They're both from Egypt, right? Yeah, yeah, they're both, I
believe, gifts from the government of Egypt.
And yeah, one went to London, one went to New York City.
Fun fact, there's a time capsuleburied underneath the obelisk.

(12:47):
What's in it we know? Or is it a secret?
I think we looked it up one time.
Oh yeah, there's like a Bible inthere.
That's all. Just just just one Bible.
There's a Bible. I think it was like pieces of, I
mean, that's. What the pieces of like the
time, Yeah. Yeah, I guess is what a time
capsule is, but. There were other things besides
a Bible, but that's the only thing I can remember.

(13:09):
Once you're done looking and thinking about what might be in
that time capsule underneath Obelisk, you can also go to
Belvedere Castle, which is near the Great Lawn.
I will say this total in time with walking and exploring would
probably add another 45 minutes to an hour to this activity.
But Belvedere Castle is a beautiful part in Central Park.

(13:29):
Again, you've got the great lawnright there, which is has been
sites to some really iconic and famous demonstrations as well as
concerts. Beautiful grassy area.
There's ball fields there. But then Belvedere Castle is one
of the highest parts in the parkand it is what it sounds like.
It is a beautiful castle structure.
You can go up, not all the way into the top of the castle.

(13:52):
We can go to where the base of the castle is, which gives you a
nice expansive view of the UpperEast Side of the Great Lawn.
You've got the Ramble behind you, so 2 spots in Central Park
that are worth exploring and arevery close to the Met, so you
can kind of piggyback it as partof this activity.
After you've explored the Met and hopefully a little bit of
Central Park, you may want to take a rest, get off your feet

(14:15):
for a little bit. And the best way to do that is
get some post museum drinks at the Raven Pub.
It's a bit of a walk from Central Park, but once you get
there, hopefully you can catch their happy hour.
This is a classic Irish pub and their happy hour goes until 7:00
PM every day I believe. I think it's including the
weekends and on that Intel 7:00 PM happy hour you can get $7.00

(14:38):
beers, wine, and well drinks. I've loved this pub every time
I've gone. They have a surprisingly robust
food menu with options that are actually really good.
Sometimes you go and get pub food and it's just something
that was reheated and is kind ofmediocre.
They have good food worth worth getting.
They also have plenty of beers on draft and live music

(15:00):
throughout a lot of the week. You'll just have to check on
their Instagram or whatever is is if there is live music that
night. But friendly staff, T VS on to
watch sports, a good happy hour,plenty of seating.
You can't really ask for more than that.
Is this the place where there was a singer and she was asking
for request and you requested Pink Pony Club?

(15:21):
Yeah, and this was right as chaperone was kind of blowing
up, but I don't feel like she had quite entered like the
circle of sports pub, the sportspub world.
And yeah, she was she was playing guitar.
And her first request, I went upand requested Pink Pony Club.
And she laughed and she like kind of couldn't believe it.
And. I Because it's like a bar full

(15:42):
of men watching like basketball or something, right?
Yeah, and then we went and checked on her Instagram later
and she had, you know, posted a picture of her playing guitar at
the bar and like at mentioned Chapel Roan on Instagram and
said first request of the night was Pink Pony Club.
It's finally infiltrated the sport like the boys sports
scene. So I just thought that was a
hilarious, hilarious moment. So the Raven Pub definitely,

(16:06):
definitely head there after the museum.
And that leads us to this episode.
You'll have to check it out segment.
The next stop is Sushi Gamma. Sushi Gamma is a fantastic
option for sushi on the Upper East Side.
They have delicious food, delicious drinks, quick service,
and especially fair prices if you can go during their happy

(16:27):
hour. Their happy hour is a little bit
funky in that they have a happy hour for food from 12:00 to 6:00
and then a happy hour for drinksfrom 3:00 to 7:00.
So ideally you're there at, you know, 4:00.
Catch them both. Phenomenal spot.
This place has fantastic sushi, always very fresh and again like
Devin said, if you happen to getthere for their happy hour and

(16:51):
get like a happy hour drink and a happy like a few happy hour
rolls, highly recommend. Just good classic, no frills,
solid sushi spot. And I want to say that most of
the rolls are like a good 2 to $6 off during their happy hour,
depending on the roll. So you're, you're getting quite
a great deal That is this episode.

(17:12):
You'll have to check it out. Segment Sushi Gamma.
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
All right. And now back to Upper East Side
itinerary. We said it was an afternoon.
It might be turning into a full day, which is fine because the
Upper East Side has some great, great spots.
We will say too, that typically when you go further east and

(17:33):
when you get over to like SecondAve. of the Upper East Side, you
get a little bit younger crowd, a little bit more lively bar
scene than whereas like 5th Ave.itself is mostly just
residential kind of high end expensive homes.
So the more you go east on the Upper East Side, the less kind
of stereotypically pretentious it can become.
Our favorite spot for dinner on the Upper East Side is uptight.

(17:57):
This is our favorite Thai restaurant that we've had in New
York City and it earns that designation.
Everything that we've had there has been absolutely top notch.
Some of our favorites are the vegetable pad Thai.
Sometimes I feel like when you get like a vegetable or like a
vegetarian pad Thai, you get like little strings of carrot or
maybe pea in there and then that's kind of it.

(18:20):
This vegetable pad Thai you havelike big, thick, very well
cooked and seasoned pieces of like Hardy vegetables included.
So that's one of our go TOS. We also really love the beef
short rib Penang Curry that is awesome.
And we usually dabble in one or two of their specials that they
have like on rotation. Yeah, we had like a, it wasn't

(18:42):
braised some type of duck, crispy duck Curry or crispy.
It was amazing that. Was so good.
If there's anything duck on the specials menu you should get it.
We also really love their cocktails.
Some of our favorites are the M&M Magical Spicy Margarita and
the Lachitini does that. Have M&M's in it.
It doesn't have M&M's in it. I think it's called magical

(19:04):
because it has like the pea blossom in it, so it makes it
kind of blue, so naturally. Blue M&M is like for magical
Margarita. Magical Margarita?
Yes, and who doesn't love a lychee martini?
The lychee Teeny here is very good and I will say they have
very well done cocktails for a reasonable price.

(19:25):
I believe that their cocktails are like $15 per cocktail, which
in New York is very fair. For this quality of cocktail.
I would say it's not unreasonable to go to like a
fancy cocktail bar and have thisexact same type of cocktail and
pay like 22 or $24.00 per cocktail.
I'm not saying that we do that alot or recommend spending that
much money on a cocktail. I'm just saying these cocktails

(19:47):
are better than what they're charging.
Agreed. We've also loved that at
Uptight, you can almost always get right in.
They have a lot of seating. Obviously call ahead and try and
get a reservation if you can, but they have a lot of seating.
They move tables pretty quickly,and the staff is very, very
friendly. We're going to take a quick
break to mention our free transportation guide.
If you were coming to New York City for the first time or the

(20:08):
10th time and you need a refresher on how to get around
the Big Apple, this is the answer.
It is 100% free and it covers everything from navigating the
subway, getting a taxi, getting to and from the airports,
biking. Around the city and all the
things that are important to make sure you maximize your time
in your city. So go to bettertogetherhere.com
and click the button that says free navigation guide to sign

(20:29):
up. To round out your evening.
After you go to Uptie, if you want a nice dessert, we
recommend going to Anita La MamaDel Gelato, which is a Gelato
spot. There will usually be a line,
especially in the summer, so plan on that, but it is
phenomenal Gelato. Don't skip the waffle cone.
The waffle cones come out like warm and fresh and when you walk

(20:51):
in it smells like fresh waffle cones.
Love this spot. Really, really fantastic Gelato
and like very interesting flavors.
Like they change the flavors frequently.
Obviously you're gonna have yourstaples, but they have a lot of
like very interesting and uniqueflavors as well.
So we just lined out a full evening, afternoon day on the

(21:12):
Upper East Side for you. Again, make sure you get a bite
before you go to the museum and some coffee after you're done at
the Met. Go explore Central Park a little
bit, grab a drink, grab some dinner, grab a dessert.
There is so much to see and do on the Upper East Side.
If in doubt or if some of the spots you don't maybe like that
type of cuisine that we recommended, look around 2nd

(21:35):
Ave. That's robably the best spot for
different like quality restaurants and bars.
But this gave you a good insightinto what to do on the UER East
side. If you have not already, please
sign up for our newsletter. We've changed the format in the
last month or so where it's a little bit more in depth and
we're kind of giving you a lot of different recommendations.
And we talk about events that are up coming that week.

(21:55):
We talk about things in the news.
We talk about historical events that will help you win some
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There's a big button in the menuthat says newsletter, leave us a
review, leave us a rating, follow us, share it.
All that stuff is so, so helpfulfor us.

(22:16):
And then other than that, we'll catch you on the next episode,
The last song on this train, everyone, please.
Leave the train. Thank you.
For watching me.

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