He may have spent his Wonder Bread years in Connecticut, but Justin Long, who’s squired more than his share of lovelies — Drew Barrymore, Kirsten Dunst, Leighton Meester and Maggie Q among them — is definitely a man around town. So The Post felt compelled to ask him: Is New York a PC or a Mac? “It’s both,” says the boyish star of Apple’s “Get a Mac” ads. “That’s the great thing about New York. You can find the most happening crazy nightlife here and the most somber outing.” For now, you’ll probably find the 33-year-old cooling his heels somewhere in the East Village — that is, when he isn’t at the John Golden Theater playing opposite Jeff Goldblum in the dark comedy, “Seminar.” This is Long’s scenester New York.
PHOTOS: JUSTIN LONG’S NEW YORK
1 Joe’s Shanghai, 9 Pell St., between the Bowery and Doyers Street
“I have a weakness for Chinese food, particularly soup dumplings. You sit at these big long tables, so if you don’t like the idea of potentially socializing with strangers, you might want to stay away. The waiters want to get you in and out, but I like the challenge of trying to win them over. It’s a fun thing to bond over. When people are eating soup dumplings they’re infinitely happier than when they’re not.”
2 Bond St., 6 Bond St., between Broadway and Lafayette Street
“It’s fun to sit at the sushi bar because you watch them make the food. It’s like a fancy-pants version of Benihana. When I was making ‘[Live Free or] Die Hard,’ I’d go to restaurants in Japan with Maggie Q and she’d order all this stuff for us, like a shot glass with a quail egg yolk and a live minnow swimming around in it. I had to master my gag reflex.”
3 The Cabin Down Below, 110 Avenue A, at Seventh Street
“This is my Cheers — my bar of choice. My friend Matt Romano runs the place. It’s a great, dark, dank little basement bar and they play great music like Dylan, the Byrds and Cat Stevens, and you can dance there. They also have a fun house drink — it’s made with tequila, and it has a kind of cinnamon-y taste.”
4 Marie’s Crisis, 59 Grove St., at Seventh Avenue South
“This is a lovely, raucous place and a great date night, especially if you want to maybe confuse them about your potential sexuality — keeps ’em on their toes. The people here are so accepting and welcoming of everyone. There are regulars who have seats around the piano, and you wait for them to leave and then you sing show tunes and stuff. It’s so joyful. It’s like going over to a fun, drunken relative’s house to sing and laugh.”
5 Lucky Cheng’s, 24 First Ave., between First and Second streets
“I remember my first night there. It was with the cast of ‘Ed’ — Tom Cavanagh, Julie Bowen, all these people I looked up to — and the big blond drag queen running it, Anita Cocktail, asked me what I did for a living. I said, ‘I’m an actor,’ and she said, ‘Sure, so am I. What restaurant do you work at?’ I said, ‘I don’t, I’m working with these guys,’ and pointed out the cast. She got really
p – – – ed off and threw the mike at me. So there’s this big dude going off on me wearing makeup and a wig, and I had to sing ‘Jessie’s Girl.’ It was the saddest version ever rendered.”
6 The Back Room, 102 Norfolk St., between Delancey and Rivington streets
“It’s kind of an old speakeasy. It used to be Meyer Lansky’s place during Prohibition, so it has a great history. The guy who took it over refurbished it while maintaining the integrity of the original design. It’s beautiful in a very throwback, art-deco way. It’s kind of a cool blending, a fun night out with history. They also make fun exotic drinks. When I do drink, I’m not generally too fancy about it.”
7 Puddin’, 102 St. Marks Place, between Avenue A and First Avenue
“These sweet hipster Brooklynites make all their own pudding, and are more than happy to talk about how they stumble on flavors, and these great happy accidents they make, like chocolate-cake and caramel whipped-cream pudding. They even have a coconut vegan option for those who can’t have dairy. It’s a fun spot.”
8 Shun Lee, 43 W. 65th St., between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
“I love the food so much, I got their cookbook. I tried to make a few dishes that were my favorites — there’s a great shrimp with peas, and I remember seeing the photo and thinking it would be simple, but I failed miserably! I think that, in order to get people who are addicted to the food to come back, they’ve changed [the recipes] just enough so they won’t turn out properly. It’s a good place for a date, though, because the wait staff is over-the-top friendly.”
9 Fat Cat, 75 Christopher St., near Seventh Avenue South
“I was dating a girl at the time and we were walking around the West Village and I said, ‘I wish there was a place we could play games we love and drink cold cheap beer. That would be ideal.’ Then we stumbled on this place. I thought I was dreaming! She knew all sorts of things — I think she may have had an inkling that a place like that existed. I love pingpong, and they have four or five pingpong tables there, a few pool tables, even Scrabble. They sell Pabst Blue Ribbon in a can, so you get this cheap beer and play pingpong — that’s the best.”