I (kinda) Love NY

As a Bostonian, there is nothing I enjoy more than getting my hate on for New York (and NJ). My rivalry with New York is friendly in nature and truth be told that I absolutely revel in the fact that while visiting NY I can act as arrogant as I want and it puts me on equal footing with the natives. While travelling for work my accent is almost always mistaken for New York. I love the friendly, relieved look that I get when I immediately correct them.

The Troll and I met up this weekend in Nyack, NY. It's about halfway between between Baltimore and Boston and happens to be home of the second largest mall in America, Palisades Place. We did a little shopping and then caught the Secret Life of Bees at the mall's 21 screen theatre. During the movie the sound cut out for about 8 seconds and I thought that riots were going to ensue. To put it in perspective, when something like that would've happened in Baltimore, everyone would've remained silent. If it had happened in Boston one or two people may have shouted something while the rest of the cinema looked on mortified. When it happened on the border of New York/New Jersey, 3/4 of the theatre screamed that they wanted a free ticket, while the other 1/4 silently agreed.

The movie incident only reinforced that for all of the garbage that the country heaps on New Yorkers, there is a laundry list of things that they get right. Here are a couple of only-in-New Yorkisms:

Diners: Truthfully, I am not a huge fan of diners, but I definitely like the idea of them. Upon entering any NY-area diner you will be handed a menu the size of a Manhattan phone book that contains pretty much any food you could possibly want. Not bad for $10 plus a free bowl of soup.

Service: Boston take note! I've never, ever, eaten anywhere in greater NYC where I didn't warrant the attention of at least three employees. I get a waitress, a busboy, and one guy who's sole job is to fill my water glass. Food arrives 15 minutes after it's ordered. Time is money, folks, and New Yorkers seem to get it.

Sports: Their baseball teams may suck, and they be obnoxious in their 18-1 t-shirts, but at least they are passionate. Who else besides New Yorkers would rapidly support the Islanders and NJ Nets?

Their lack of direction: No, they do not know where the N and R go nor will they give you directions to Century 21. In fact it kinda reminds me of....Bostonians....

Bagels: Real bagel shops do not sell smoked salmon (it's lox) nor do they offer to toast your bagel. Retro-signage, chalkboard menus, and people behind the counter who bark at you if you take too long to order. Eat your heart out, Finagle.