By GARY FONG So, I was having drinks with a few friends the other day and somehow we got on the subject of cities when one of them posed this question:  what makes a great city, truly great?  In other words, if you set aside the obvious things that make a city just great – e.g, fab restaurants [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – Woodwork is one of my favorite football bars in NYC, discovered thanks to my Brooklyn-dwelling football pal, Scott.  It’s got a fun bar staff (who actually do know their football), reasonably priced beer (with a pretty broad selection) and good eats (click here for more on that).   It’s also a more physically comfortable place [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – Nevada Smiths is, hands down, my favorite football bar in New York City.  It’s not fancy – it’s actually a bit of a dive. There’s no food.  They serve drinks from plastic cups (at the moment, anyway).  On the day of a big fixture (e.g. Champions League final), you may not get a seat. [...]

    By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – The first thing to say is that the title of this series of posts is probably the last time you will here me refer to this sport as “soccer.”   Having lived in Europe for five years, I just can’t refer to the “beautiful game” by that name – it hurts my ears [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – I have loads of amazing memories planted in my visits to the Grand Bar at the Soho Grand Hotel.  The first time I ever visited, I was living in Los Angeles and visiting with a group of friends when we linked up with the complete strangers seated at the next table.  It was [...]

  By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – It calls itself “New York’s sexiest bar and lounge” and that might be about right.  Madame X is downright slutty – think New Orleans bordello meets dive bar.  Though not very fancy, this joint is definitely provocative.  The whole place is bathed in red – from the walls to the lighting to the velour [...]