Sep

18

Easy, good, and cheap:

– Getting a reasonably good haircut, usually from a recent immigrant (mine Israeli, many Eastern European), less than $20, fast, open on Sunday. In Norwalk, CT I was paying over $40. The haircut was not better, and I think the "stylist" prolonged it all unnecessarily to make it seem more like I was getting my money's worth.

– Laundry wash/dry/fold — less than $20 for a big load, done very, very quickly, without paperwork … they can just remember which bag is yours without even putting your name on it … all cash … and yes, stereotypically, they are Chinese.

– Chipotle — Despite being on very pricey real estate, the prices are still cheap..the premises are very clean, including restrooms … on off-hours you can even get a big table and read a newspaper … unlimited refills on soft drinks … all just like suburbia.

– Of course the subway is a good deal. Taxis are not at all that bad either, and not outrageously expensive, considering all that is involved.

– Jogging — There is the problem of getting stopped at red lights, but once you get in Central Park you are home free. It is easy to jog for an hour without noticing the passage of time. There is a jogging path along the East River, but I often see rats there, which is no fun.

– Food from street vendors … Had a totally excellent chicken gyro from a vendor around Park and 52 or so, and a Coke, and if I remember correctly the total was $4.

Expensive but good:

– Tennis — If you want to play without too much extra time overhead, you really just have to pay…on the order of $100 per hour (plus or minus a factor of 2). There are many choices of surface though. If courts seem unavailable everywhere, you can probably still get one on Roosevelt Island, where the tennis club spans the full width of the land.

– Parking in a garage — Of course this is outrageously expensive. If you do shell out for it, though, they do treat you very well, making you feel at home.

– Obviously, restaurants, Broadway shows, operas, ballet … expensive but very, very good and in endless variety.

Expensive and a Pain:

– Groceries at D'Agostino's … no self-checkout … no express lane … cashiers are dumb (sorry) and get snagged on anything. An Orwellian "D'Ag Tag" required to buy anything at a reasonable price … lines very slow even though everyone is buying just a few things. The groceries are expensive.

– Blinds from Home Depot … I already wrote about this topic. In the end I had to ditch Home Depot and went with a higher end, custom guy. Only had a few windows. The blinds ended up being outstanding, both esthetically and mechanically. But do not deal with Home Depot on this one.

– I have not experienced this personally yet, but I am sure my first experience with the BMV will be difficult. It is hard to imagine though, that it could be worse than Connecticut.

Reasonably Good but not as good as elsewhere:

– McDonalds. I wrote about the great McDonalds on Main Avenue in Norwalk. The McDonald's on 53rd and 1st Avenue is ok, but it can't approach the Norwalk location. Multiple days with the credit card reader broken … no strawberry jelly, only grape, and sometimes out of stock … slower service and, of course, no drive-through, inadequate climate control, effectively no air conditioning…relatively leisurely employees. (See Chipotle above, which is owned at least partially by McDonald's. Somehow they do a very good job with Chipotle here.)

Special category:

– Boston Market. I have not gone to a Boston Market in Manhattan, so this is a comment on Boston Market in general. It is also owned by McDonalds. Boston Market is a disappointment — the concept is good, but the experience is always a letdown. The wait in line is longer than it should be (unlike Chipotle), and for some reason it always seems a little too chaotic, with lots of kids milling around, people who cannot make up their minds, and, especially, slowness at the register. Then when you actually sit down … again it feels a little chaotic … there might be a fly landing on your food occasionally … the soft-drink fountain might be broken … the "Thank You" trash can might be overflowing. None of these things seem to happen at Chipotle.


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