Categories: Misc.; Eat & Drink

The Rainy Day Guide to New York

By aliciak
updated 2 months ago

Park benches are soaked, puddles are everywhere, your $3 umbrella just blew out, and even your cute rain jacket can't make slogging around town all that enjoyable. It's raining in New York! But don't despair just yet; sometimes the "elements" can result in finding new, exciting things to do or places to visit. That 30-mile bike ride may not happen, but aren't there indoor activities you want to catch up on? When I was little, the tradition in my family during stormy weather was to play Monopoly, and to this day, I still have the urge to move my little iron playing piece around a board at the first sound of thunder. And pass Go and collect $200. But, I've got some other rainy day tricks up my sleeve.

Make a Rainy Day Playlist of Songs

Whether you are staying inside or exploring the city, arm yourself with a rainy day playlist. I suggest including:

Rain-The Beatles
Rainy Days and Mondays-The Carpenters
Purple Rain-Prince
No Rain-Blind Melon
The Beauty of the Rain-Dar Williams
I Think It’s Going to Rain Today-Bette Midler
Why Does It Always Rain on Me?-Travis
Rainy Day-Guster
Have You Ever Seen The Rain?-CCR
Rainy Day Women-Bob Dylan
Wasting The Rain-Shea Seger

Cozy Up in Front of a Fireplace

Crackling fireplaces may seem more like a snowy, wintry activity, but since New York living requires a lot of walking and transit time, rainy days=cold and wet. Now, I can’t guarantee these restaurants and bars will allow you to hang up your dripping socks in front of the fire, but at the very least, you can dry out while munching on some comforting foods. That’s right, the following all have at least one fireplace, with either gas logs or the real deal.

Camp

179 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Remember when rainy days at camp meant cutting up paper in the art center? Okay, I never went to camp, but I’m guessing there were activities planned in the event it rained.

Now that you are a grown-up, go to Camp with a capital C, which means, eat s’mores and drink beer inside of a foresty-wallpapered-bar.

Remember when rainy days at camp meant cutting up paper in the art center? Okay, I never went to camp, but I’m guessing there were activities planned in the event it rained.

Now that you are a grown-up, go to Camp with a capital C, which means, eat s’mores and drink beer inside of a foresty-wallpapered-bar.

Applewood Restaurant

501 11th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Applewood is one of those free-range meat, local food-serving restaurants you should take the parents or significant other to. In other words, impress them, but maybe they’ll pick up the check at the end of dinner?

Savoy

70 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012

Two, count ‘em, two fireplaces! And if you order the to-die-for creme brulee, into the fire it goes for its final touches!

Waverly Inn

16 Bank Street, New York, NY 10014

Ah yes, a restaurants for the stars. Getting a reservation is painful, and I guess there’s good reason? But you probably won’t even notice the warmth of the fireplace because the place will be jam-packed with celebrities…and a lot of hot air, if you catch my drift.

Buy Fun Rain Gear

Sometimes the right clothing can make Northeastern weather fun. Sometimes I repeat. I wear a bright blue rain jacket that doesn’t exactly repel water all that well, but is cute and cheerful. I used to have an umbrella with a flashlight on the end of it, which never actually came in handy like I thought it would. Okay, I’m not sure how convincingly necessary those two items sound.

One of my pet peeves (I have over 100) is when New Yorkers use those HUGE umbrellas that are as wide as the sidewalk. The nerve! I like staying dry too, but those things are ridiculous.

Hunker Down at Home

Nothing is making you leave your house with the wind gusts and downpours combined, so it’s time to plan a relaxing day at home. I personally know someone (not me, I swear!) who shuts down when faced with a bad weather forecast, who stayed home from work purely because it was raining outside and subsequently responded with “it’s raining” when asked about his noticeable absence. So, what to do in the meantime???

Catch up on that stack of Netflix movies sitting on your dresser. Yes, There Will Be Blood is long, but what else do you have to do?
Clean your apartment/house. There is nothing worse than doing spring cleaning, or any kind of cleaning on a nice day. You put it off and put it off and now you’re stuck inside on a beautiful 75 degree day. Clean when it’s crappy out!
A blanket and a book are your two best friends on a rainy day. No fireplace? Don’t improvise on that one. Just make yourself cozy the best way you can.
Cook! I’m naturally domestically-inclined, so I have the urge to cook and/or bake on a daily basis. (Yep, boyfriends, friends, and/or roommates are lucky!) Why not try a recipe you never have time for?