Finding the best of the British in New York
New York has always had something of a soft spot for anything British whether it’s providing a temporary home for famous ex-pats like Dylan Thomas or just welcoming yet another wave of UK guitar bands to our venues like the Mercury Lounge.
So where can you go in New York if you want to get a taste of that quintessentially British lifestyle? Here’s a selection of some of the ways that you can find the perfect British cup of tea, play some typically British casino games and even find that elusive warm English ale!
What many New Yorkers don’t know is that the city actually does have something of a ‘little Britain’ nestled in the West Village on Hudson Street. And perhaps the epicentre of this Brit-crazy zone is the famous Myers of Keswick shop.
This has proven to be a godsend for any Brit who needs to get their fix of Heinz baked beans, and can also be no less amusing for a New Yorker as they try and discover the true appeal of a scotch egg.
However, for a truly English tea, there’s few better places than Tea and Sympathy on Greenwich Avenue that provides probably the best bet for hunting down the legendary Yorkshire Tea!
But obviously there’s more to the Brits than their unusual food and drink tastes. And we all know how crazy they are about soccer and so it’s been a real treat to find that some UK football stars like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have been popping up at the Yankee Stadium as part of the Major League Soccer events.
And on an evening many British people like to head to a casino to have a bet on games of poker and bingo that are a little different to what you might find in Vegas. But obviously practice makes perfect and so we can all enjoy a little gambling UK-style at the Coral site that features all of the casino games that the Brits are crazy for!
But if there’s one thing that still makes us Americans a little confused about British culture it’s their choice of drinking room-temperature beer. So if you want to get acquainted with the British thirst for warm cask ale, then maybe head to the Jones Wood Foundry on 76th street so that you can enjoy a drink of Old Speckled Hen ale whilst digesting your bangers and mash and preparing your next online poker strategy!
