Something new from WNYC’s John Schaefer (a Park Sloper) and host of the show Soundcheck. They invited musicians and artists to help create a map of their favorite destinations in New York City – where they go in this hectic city for creative inspiration or just for fun.
From parks and coffee shops to bowling alleys and museums, jazz clubs to vintage shops, musicians and artists such as Quincy Jones, Rosanne Cash, Simone Dinnerstein share their “note-worthy” spots. There’s also strong representation from emerging artists, such as The National’s Bryan Devendorf and Nicole Atkins, and even Soundcheck host John Schaefer checks in. Can you guess his favorite spot? Have a look at www.wnyc.org/noteworthynewyork.
Quincy Jones on Birdland, “Well, Birdland was my favorite place. Birdland and The Palladium. I used to go there with Brando. That was where I’d hear Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis. Those were my idols. The original Birdland is gone. There aren’t many places left, you know. There’s the Village Vanguard and then all that stuff from the old days—the Five Spot, Birdland.”
Now they’re inviting listeners to submit their favorite creative locations as well. Description of less than 200 words should be sent with your full name, neighborhood, age and address of the place in question to soundcheck@wnyc.org.
My favorite NYC place is the Doughnut Plant on the Lower East Side. Not just the best donuts, but it embodies what NYC is all about.
Every year at Hanukah time, I take my 3 boys downtown to the Lower East Side to purchase 8 dozen donuts to bring back to our house for our Holiday Party. We leave at 6:00am to miss the traffic and spend the day discovering, exploring and taking in the smells and sites of the Lower East Side. They have never grown tired of it. Today my kids are 17, 16 and 13 years old but I can still see the looks on their faces when we go each year and load up and carry out our 8 dozen boxes…They have that look on their faces as if to say…”I bet no one can guess what is in my white boxes??, because that is my NYC secret…”
As my parents would tell me stories of the LESide, so now my kids tell all their friends about the “new” LE Side, full of great donut places, funky hotels, and all the little places that you can discover…for me that is NYC…always re-discovery and re-inventing…and for me it all comes together at the Doughnut Plant.