WITH London hogging the limelight as the Olympics host city, every Anglophile and expat Brit is surely yearning for cucumber sandwiches and a double-decker bus sighting.
But as New York’s British consul-general, Danny Lopez, points out, you don’t have to cross the Atlantic to sample the best of Great Britain. The 38-year-old diplomat rarely gets homesick.
“There’s a great British vibe in this city,” he says. “[Diarist] Samuel Johnson wrote: ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life’ and he’d have said the same about Manhattan.”
Lopez’s tip for breaking the ice with our cousins from the Old World? Forget gymnastics and swimming. Read up on your soccer, or, as they call it over there, football.
“There’s nothing that Brits like talking about more than the English Premiere League,” says the fan of northwest England’s Liverpool FC. “Even if you don’t support the same team, you’ll find some common ground.”
This is his British New York.
1. The London Candy Company, 1442 Lexington Ave., at 94th Street
“In the UK, by law, chocolate needs to have at least 18 percent of cocoa, whereas in the US, it’s usually between 8 and 11 percent. I love going to this shop because I know I’m going to get a much heavier dose of cocoa. My favorite is Cadbury’s Praline Flake — the tastiest thing you’ll ever have — and the British owner, Jigs Patel, claims it’s the only place you can buy the limited-edition bars in the US.”
2. The Churchill Collection at The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave., at 36th Street
“It’s an exhibition about Winston Churchill’s life through his letters, poetry and artifacts. Winston Churchill is credited with coining the phrase ‘The special relationship’ back in 1946 to describe the closeness of the UK and the US, and he’s a treasure to both nations. His personal story is one of the finest examples of that special relationship, and [he] had strong connections to New York: His mother was an American who was born in Brooklyn. ”
3. Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, Hanover Square
“The garden is there to honor all Commonwealth citizens who died in 9/11, and, to me, it symbolizes the ties between the UK, the Commonwealth and the US. The plantings — hydrangeas, hollies and the yellow magnolias — are reminiscent of a British garden and it has shrubs from England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It’s a beautiful spot. I often stop there to pause for a while when I am downtown. The queen, Prince Harry and Prince Charles have all visited and it always transports me back to London.”
5. Pret A Manger, 880 Third Ave. at 53rd Street
“When I lived in London, I ate Pret pretty much every day for five years. It’s the only place in NYC where you can get a cheddar and tomato sandwich or a ham, cheese and mustard toastie — all very British. When I’m not eating at an event or function, I’ll always pop in at lunchtime.”
6. Charles Tyrwhitt, 745 Seventh Ave., between 49th and 50th streets
“Crisp tailoring is classic London and you can’t get that anywhere better than a British shirtmaker. Luckily Charles Tyrwhitt, where I always bought my shirts in London, has branches here. The collars are very different to the US because they are more tightly fitted and being able to use cuff links on the cuffs is very important.”
7. The Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St., between Madison and Fifth avenues
“It has more 18th-century portraits by British artists than any other museum in New York. My favorite is a portrait of ‘Lady Hamilton as Nature’ by George Romney(left), which used to be on the mantelpiece of Frick’s bedroom. It was said that the first woman he would see when he woke up was Lady Hamilton!”
8. Cock & Bull pub, 23 W. 45th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues
“They’ve got London Pride and Old Speckled Hen on draft, which is important, and good sausage rolls, too. Their [entree] British Bulldog — grilled banger [sausage], Bubble & Squeak [cabbage and potato pattie], wholegrain mustard on a bread roll and a mug of chips [french fries] — is phenomenal.”
Top Brit pubs to watch the olympics
“The Brits are very good at sports that involve sitting down, like rowing and cycling, which is very appropriate as you can watch them sitting down with a pint in your hand,” Lopez says. “The British mentality is that we enjoy sport, but it doesn’t really matter whether we win or not. It’s a bonus if we do, but we’re not that bothered if we don’t.”
The Churchill: 45 E. 28th St., between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South
The Windsor: 234 W. Fourth St., between 10th and Charles streets
The Red Lion: 151 Bleeker St., at Thompson Street
The Black Horse: 568 Fifth Ave., at 16th Street, Brooklyn