2 weeks in the US! Need some advices ;)

Hey guys,

I'm in the US for two weeks, my trip starts on Saturday from Frankfurt to JFK Airport.

First, I'm in New York City, then Niagara Falls, then Washington D.C., then Philadelphia, then New York again.

Then I don't need to import my Mountain Dew anymore. Well, at least for 2 weeks, dammit!

So this thread is for the american LPF members, I got some questions

Is there a awesome store/restaurant/food/drink/onlyamericanstuff I REALLY need to check out?

I think of buying a SIM card for my HTC Magic with mobile internet to have Google Maps and that stuff everywhere. Do you think I need a SIM or is whole New York City a huge WiFi hotspot?

If you have some advices or whatever that could make my stay a little more awesome, TELL ME!

VERGiL

Not sure about the east coast but when in Philly get your self a cheese steak sandwich.

Over 1 in 4 NY girls have some kind of STD might want to stay away from them.

All hotels and Starbucks and most McDonalds are wifi hot spots.

Out here in california I can find someones network open almost always save for the industrial areas.

Above all enjoy!!

Eat Barbecue, it's great. I think its an american-only thing...

Woodofcville said:

Eat Barbecue, it's great. I think its an american-only thing...

Click to expand...

Do you realize most people in the US don't even know what a tri-tip is?

Sad isn't it.

Look up the "olympic cafe" in NYC just off Times Sq (on 8th avenue if memory serves).

The best diner you'll get , and cheap considering its 5 min walk from Times Sq... We stayed at the Best Western President hotel.

EDIT , also NYC is very easy to navigate...but if you want one...get a Verizon sim while your there...then you avoid roaming charges, just make sure your HTC is unlocked.

moonreft said:

Do you realize most people in the US don't even know what a tri-tip is?

Sad isn't it.

Click to expand...

What's a tri-tip?! :crackup:

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your posts!
Any other advices?

VERGiL said:

Hey guys,

I'm in the US for two weeks, my trip starts on Saturday from Frankfurt to JFK Airport.

First, I'm in New York City, then Niagara Falls, then Washington D.C., then Philadelphia, then New York again.

Then I don't need to import my Mountain Dew anymore. Well, at least for 2 weeks, dammit!

So this thread is for the american LPF members, I got some questions

Is there a awesome store/restaurant/food/drink/onlyamericanstuff I REALLY need to check out?

I think of buying a SIM card for my HTC Magic with mobile internet to have Google Maps and that stuff everywhere. Do you think I need a SIM or is whole New York City a huge WiFi hotspot?

If you have some advices or whatever that could make my stay a little more awesome, TELL ME!

VERGiL

Click to expand...

oOo, I work @ JFK! Are you flying Lufthansa? If so, you'll be arriving in the terminal I work at!

I live like 2 hours away from philidelphia.... keep your doors and windows locked at all times thats all i can say.

Go visit the governor of California

@mfo: We're flying with Singapore Airlines, but if you see a guy with a blue Threadless Cyclope Shirt feel free to say hello, LOL.

Woodofcville said:

What's a tri-tip?! :crackup:

Click to expand...

Tri-tip is central California's version of "barbeque", it refers to the triangular-shaped piece of meat of the bottom of the sirloin muscle of a cow, so right below where sirloin steaks come from.

"Barbeque" is defined differently everywhere in the US, it's extremely regional. In central California, it's tri-tip. In Texas, it's brisket. In the Carolinas, it's pork, and gets even more specific in different areas of the Carolinas (eastern NC is whole-hog with vinegar-based dip, Lexington-style NC is only the shoulder and is a tomato and vinegar-based "dip", SC is often whole-hog and a mustard-based sauce), St. Louis and Memphis have their own styles as well.

The common themes between all versions of barbeque in the US are that they're usually cheaper, more flavorful cuts of meat that are slow-cooked for a long time. The meat is usually flavorful on its own, but is often smoked, rubbed, or sauced, but the cuts are often "tough" on their own, hence the long, slow cooking process to introduce tenderness to go along with the great flavors. At least in NC with pork barbeque (called "pulled pork" in places that have a different lingo), it's not unusual to smoke the pork for hours upon hours. My favorite 'que restaurant doesn't serve pork until it has been smoked for at least 15 hours.

I'm from western North Carolina, so I grew up on Lexington-style 'que, so that's really the only thing that is truly "barbeque" to me personally, but now living in central California, I have also grown to love tri-tip as well.

And in some places that don't have a regional variation of real barbeque, the mislead people will refer to an event as "having a barbeque". This is incorrect, barbeque should refer to the food itself. You don't go to a barbeque, you eat barbeque at a cook-out.

VERGiL said:

@mfo: We're flying with Singapore Airlines, but if you see a guy with a blue Threadless Cyclope Shirt feel free to say hello, LOL.

Click to expand...

Not my terminal, I believe Singapore = Terminal 4. Won't be seeing you

well the bbq point is moot here. new york isn't bbq state. but speaking of bbq im from cali but i love st. Louis style bbq mmmmm.

but being in new york it is a 24hr place. you can do anything you want at any time pretty much. oh go to "canal street" it is famous for having the best knock off name brands LoL.

michael

You should probably go shooting or something.... there's a huge business in las vegas where international (or national) tourists pay to shoot machine guns, but I'm sure you can just take a shooting class anywhere in the US. It's lots of fun! I'm pretty sure it's basically american-only too :na:

as for Washington DC, check out the white house probably, and then I stayed at this hotel there, I think it was called the madison, they had some really good food downstairs IIRC (I loved the goat cheese tart). I was told president bush ate here a lot and stayed in the hotel before he was elected. Of course, DC is pricey so be prepared.

and also, tri-tip is awesome, I used to live in santa barbara so I know all about it

Not so much something to try, but something to avoid: If you like chocolate, you'll be disappointed. Everybody I know from Europe that has visited the US has remarked on how bad chocolate is here. Most (though not all) chocolate made in the US is pretty terrible; thus why I only buy chocolate made in Belgium.