New York City Summer GTG: August 25th

[vlydog]

A couple great watering holes.

http://www.mlkhny.com/london/index.html

http://www.pdtnyc.com/

[Stephane]

A couple great watering holes.

http://www.mlkhny.com/london/index.html

http://www.pdtnyc.com/

Let's keep them coming guys

[vlydog]

A friendly bump for confirmation; let's add to the list.

[capice]

Looks like you are gonna have a great time guys...

[FWATCH]

I'll confirm for the 25th.

[vlydog]

My wife and I have been to OTTO several times. It is owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali. It is fun and casual and I 'm sure that they can accommodate a large group such as ours. I can even call and inquire but it is very important that I know the confirmed number of attendees.

OTTO Enoteca Pizzeria

New York City, New York

Serving classic Italian pizzas, a large selection of house-cured meats, Italian and local cheeses, Artisanal Gelato, and boasting a 750+ all-Italian wine list, OTTO has become a destination for New York diners as well as a neighborhood hot spot...

http://www.mariobatali.com/restaurants_otto.cfm

[Stephane]

Hello everybody,

Waking up this morning with some PMs so here is an updated list:

Confirmed

CarlsBadRolex Yes

Chad Yes

Dluddy Yes

EddHead Yes

Jetsons Yes

Vlydog Yes

JjFesq Yes

Jojo35 Yes

Stephane Yes

Kruzer00 Yes (if in town)

Pending

Archibald

Dave_Nyc

Fwatch

Its_Urabus

JbCb713

Redroom

WarModder

Chieftang

Not coming unfortunately, you will be missed!

82Kuba No

ChinkieChunkie No

Jmt No

Shundi No

See you later for more updates

Cheers

Stephane

[dylan]

Some random ideas...i'm trying to be varied since we are all different souls...

1. Since we are rep collectors are we doing a rummage down at Canal St? I could introduce you to the

cheapest watchsmiths around...grumpy old chinese guys that yell at me all the time when I ask them

to do a 7750 swap or change out some ETA day/date wheels..."Why you want to do that...that is crap chinese

watch...why you want real inside that junk!"

If that is a possible stop...then we could stop by Joe Shanghai for soupy dumplings....these delectable

dumplings that actually have soup inside...where you have to balance the dumpling in your spoon..nibble off the top...suck the soup out...pour a bit of gingered soysauce in the freshly made nibbled hole...and then down the dumpling without

spilling any soup on the plate....the person that spills the least will be heralded the King of Soupy Dumplings...we will hoist them on our shoulders as we run down Canal St...

2. Another fave stop is the champagne bar in the Carlton Hotel...great champagne...lovely restaurant on the first floor called Country...

3. Summer time...I'm all about rooftops...so if anyone is in the mood for a rooftop bar, there is always that....from the rooftop of the Gansevoort Hotel overlooking the meatpacking district....to the quaint, neighborhood style bar atop of La Quinta in Korea-town...depends on the mood/style

4. A visit to Tourneau on 57th?

5. For nightlife...all depends on where you want to drink...local dive bar....trendy lounge w. bottle service.....karaoke...

6. before i get really silly...g'nite

[Stephane]

Wow, Dave, some great ideas here

I guess I may update your status to CONFIRMED now

Cheers

Stephane

[scoobs1971]

Wow, sounds you guys are gonna have a great GTG! Too bad prices for tickets to NY have gone through the roof these days

[Watchmeister]

I love it when a plan comes together. So far so good on my end. Tell me where to go and I will show. On the watch tours I do it all the time with one or two folks when they come to visit. And I don't recommend many more than that if you want to try stuff on. In an hour and a half you can try the standard large stores (Wempe, Cellini, Tourneau, etc.), the dedicated stores (AP, Muller, Chopard, Breguet, Mont Blanc, etc.) and then finish it off haundling with the grey market guys on 47th street. The funny thing is the grey market guys always have the largest selection.

[chad]

Now those are some good suggestions..

the spotted pig is fantastic!!!!

A couple quick suggestions that I can personally vouch for:

http://www.ottopizzeria.com/index.html

http://thespottedpig.com/info.php

[rek001]

You guys, I am so jealous, I wish I could join you.

I LOVE Manhattan - the architecture, museums, watch stores, fine pen shops (Chicago is left with only one, all others have closed), the incredible lox & bagels places, Central Park, just the density and richness of the town.

Enjoy!

[jjfesq]

If you want to hit the Gansvoort rooftop bar (lots of eye candy) Then I suggest Old Homestead Steak House across the street. The Martinis are Huge and the Steak is awesome. I'm just not sure on our price limits if any but if you are coming all the way to NYC a good steakhouse (Sparks,Homestead, Smith/Wo, the Palm--which is not to far from the Waldorf, Lugar, (if you want to go to brooklyn) should be on your agenda unless you have vegan/meat issues.

of course if you want to go under the radar and have really good food there is a really good vietnamese place on baxter that is dirt cheap and excellent.

If you guys want Chinese and not Canal st. stuff in Midtown is Shun Lee Palace which is upscale chinese and AWESOME.

( great Peking duck, great Grand Mariner Shrimp...)

Sushi...No really good inexpensive places except for YAMA and no res and really small.

John

[jjfesq]

I love it when a plan comes together. So far so good on my end. Tell me where to go and I will show. On the watch tours I do it all the time with one or two folks when they come to visit. And I don't recommend many more than that if you want to try stuff on. In an hour and a half you can try the standard large stores (Wempe, Cellini, Tourneau, etc.), the dedicated stores (AP, Muller, Chopard, Breguet, Mont Blanc, etc.) and then finish it off haundling with the grey market guys on 47th street. The funny thing is the grey market guys always have the largest selection.

The 47th st guys...what a group. I bought a real TT zenith daytona w/champ face for $5600 (great price) from them about 3 years ago. The chronos on that thing were Fubar from day 2, on day 1 they worked great. They tried to get that watch right for a month and still could not do it. Finally after along heated discussion they gave me my money back. But the sob post dated the check for a day so I had to wait to deposit it and then for it to clear. It cleared and now I avoid those guys at all costs. Nice stuff to look at but If I didnt live in town so that I could bust chops in person if the watch went bad I would not buy from these guys.

[Stephane]

You guys, I am so jealous, I wish I could join you.

I LOVE Manhattan - the architecture, museums, watch stores, fine pen shops (Chicago is left with only one, all others have closed), the incredible lox & bagels places, Central Park, just the density and richness of the town.

Enjoy!

It's a pity you cannot join us.

I agree with you 100% about Manhattan.

I fell in love the first time I was there and it became like a strong friendship between us.

There are so many areas very different one from the other; like if all the cities of the world were sumarised right in NYC.

17 times sleep and I land

The 47th st guys...what a group. I bought a real TT zenith daytona w/champ face for $5600 (great price) from them about 3 years ago. The chronos on that thing were Fubar from day 2, on day 1 they worked great. They tried to get that watch right for a month and still could not do it. Finally after along heated discussion they gave me my money back. But the sob post dated the check for a day so I had to wait to deposit it and then for it to clear. It cleared and now I avoid those guys at all costs. Nice stuff to look at but If I didnt live in town so that I could bust chops in person if the watch went bad I would not buy from these guys.

Oh, well, I'll take the risk maybe but would only go with a couple of local friends of course

[Watchmeister]

Before everyone rags on the 47th Street guys - who do you think are some of the biggest dealers on Risti and one or two of the Rolex forums are. Even if you are not a buyer they have the best selection of automatic and higher end PAM's anywhere (including the Firenze store) and super higher end tourbillon-type watches. You may not buy them but they are fun to look at. The one thing I would also suggest is wear a gen if you have one. These guys have seen it all. At the end of the day they tend to be honest simply because they aren't going anywhere. You know where to find them when there is a problem.

[jjfesq]

Before everyone rags on the 47th Street guys - who do you think are some of the biggest dealers on Risti and one or two of the Rolex forums are. Even if you are not a buyer they have the best selection of automatic and higher end PAM's anywhere (including the Firenze store) and super higher end tourbillon-type watches. You may not buy them but they are fun to look at. The one thing I would also suggest is wear a gen if you have one. These guys have seen it all. At the end of the day they tend to be honest simply because they aren't going anywhere. You know where to find them when there is a problem.

I agree that the stuff is nice to look at and they can get you good deals on new watches, but from what I have observed the way they refurbish used watches can be sketchy. When I bought my Daytona, I offered to have Rolex fix it and send them the bill. The guy I dealt with flipped out. He basically said that since Rolex does not sell parts anymore they sometimes have to use generic substitutes and rolex wont service watches once generics are used and that he did not want any problems with Rolex USA. Listen, If you get a deal there and are happy with it God Bless! I just feel that even though these guys have the best prices that sometimes the lowest price is not always the best deal.

[Stephane]

A little update on our growing group

11 members confirmed their presence.

Unfortunately some others cannot come

But still waiting for some more confirmations

Confirmed

Kruzer00 Yes (if in town)

CarlsBadRolex Yes

Chad Yes

Dluddy Yes

EddHead Yes

Jetsons Yes

Vlydog Yes

JjFesq Yes

Jojo35 Yes

Stephane Yes

Dave_Nyc Yes

Hoping they will soon tell us if they join us

Archibald Pending

Fwatch Pending

JbCb713 Pending

Redroom Pending

WarModder Pending

Chieftang Pending

They cannot join us on that day

82Kuba No

ChinkieChunkie No

Jmt No

Shundi No

Its_Urabus No

Cheers

Stephane

By the way, if anybody is in NYC on august 25th, but didn't know about this G2G please feel free to PM me of course

[vlydog]

A little update on our growing group

11 members confirmed their presence.

Unfortunately some others cannot come

But still waiting for some more confirmations

Confirmed

Kruzer00 Yes (if in town)

CarlsBadRolex Yes

Chad Yes

Dluddy Yes

EddHead Yes

Jetsons Yes

Vlydog Yes

JjFesq Yes

Jojo35 Yes

Stephane Yes

Dave_Nyc Yes

Hoping they will soon tell us if they join us

Archibald Pending

Fwatch Pending

JbCb713 Pending

Redroom Pending

WarModder Pending

Chieftang Pending

They cannot join us on that day

82Kuba No

ChinkieChunkie No

Jmt No

Shundi No

Its_Urabus No

Cheers

Stephane

By the way, if anybody is in NYC on august 25th, but didn't know about this G2G please feel free to PM me of course

With 11 now confirmed for our GTG a reservation is almost an imperative. Maybe a poll should be taken to narrow the choices and to make a decision.

I would also like to make another suggestion for dinner.

Il Cortile "Little Italy New York"

http://ilcortile.com/

We only have two weeks to decide.

[dylan]

hmmmm...definitely with a large group it'll have to be well planned...

I guess italian, family style may be good...

I've got a list of fave restaurants of various cuisine at different price points...but

considering the size of our group...some places may be tough...

I wonder for steak if we could get a reservation at Lugars at such short notice...Keens is decent on 36th st...

Asian/Asian fusion...

Korean bbq anyone?

Indochine is a NYC classic..

http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7087.../indochine.html

Asia de Cuba?

http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/1131...at_morgans.html

Maybe I should treat Stephane to some White Castles....

[Stephane]

Maybe I should treat Stephane to some White Castles....

@Dave: I have no idea what the means

I'm speaking froglish remember

@All: I added a Poll for the restaurants. Please feel free to vote of course.

As for me, I think I'd choose Jetsons proposal, Pete's tavern.

In fact, as I eat a lot of italian food at home, when I am in the US I go for beef all the way.

Your steaks are so incredibly better than our...

Cheers

Stephane

[vlydog]

Hey Stephane,

I just noticed your poll; thank you.

I also see that the spotted pig is listed twice.

Can you replace it with another choice?

[Stephane]

Hey Stephane,

I just noticed your poll; thank you.

I also see that the spotted pig is listed twice.

Can you replace it with another choice?

Ooops, my mistake!

Sure, please fell free to make another proposal

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Maybe Stephane was simply making a stronger suggestion by placing the spotted pig on the list twice??? And as he is the one traveling the farthest distance, I think he should have the ability to vote at least twice!

T