Circa Brewing Co.: Passion & Pride IPA Can Release and Drag Brunch!

Circa Brewing Co, a brewery in downtown Brooklyn, released their Passion & Pride IPA on June 22. Available while supplies last!

Very few things can get me out of bed super early on a Saturday morning: avoiding long lines at Disneyland, unexpected parades down on the street below our windows, or overly excited cats demanding food. Turns out we can add one more crucial thing to the list: Circa Brewing Co.’s Passion & Pride IPA can release.

Circa Brewing Co. released their Passion & Pride IPA last Saturday, June 22, and we got an awesome sneak peak inside the canning process. Read on to find out what the beer tastes like and why you need to pick some up ASAP!

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Winter Might Be Coming: A Review of the Museum Hack Game of Thrones Tour

Game of Thrones madness is in full swing right now. The HBO show’s eighth and final season is currently airing, with an epic series finale scheduled for May 19, 2019. Sunday night socializing has ground to a halt for us as we huddle around our television set, hanging on every word and concocting new conspiracy theories.

But what if you’re itching to get your Westeros fix on the other six days of the week? Or what if your significant other keeps repeating “Winter is coming” and you think he’s crazy because it’s summer now, that fool? Whether you’re a hardcore fan or have no clue what a White Walker is, here’s why you’ll want to head to NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Museum Hack Game of Thrones-inspired tour.

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Why Classic Harbor Line’s Cocoa and Carols Cruise Is The Perfect NYC Holiday Experience

I’ll let you in on a secret: prior to this year, we didn’t have any New York City holiday traditions. Typically, Mr. Five O’Clock and I spend the last two weeks of December in California (and the first two rushing around wrapping up last-minute assignments and purchasing zany holiday gifts), so the festive air and holiday cheer tends to pass us by.

Not so this year. Our fabulous, NYC-savvy friends Lynn and Justin of Mad Hatters NYC invited us to carol the night away on Classic Harbor Line’s Cocoa and Carols cruise, and it was a true holiday offer we couldn’t refuse. Here’s why the Cocoa and Carols cruise is the perfect New York City activity for the holidays.

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RISE Brewing Co.: The Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Company You Need to Know

Listen, as your average New Yorker, the ritual of morning coffee (and, let’s face it, afternoon coffee) has become deeply ingrained into my everyday life. And just like airlines who proudly proclaim at the end of a flight, “We know you have many choices when you fly, so thanks for flying Airline XYZ,” I know that you have A TON of options when you need your cup o’ joe — whether you’re zipping into a coffee shop or purchasing it at the grocery store to drink at home.

I mean, I used to order at the Starbucks near my old office in Times Square purely out of convenience. (Nothing against ’em, I just found myself on autopilot after four years.) But now that I work remotely, we’ve started to up our coffee game in the same way that we care about cocktails, beer, and wine.

Enter RISE Brewing Co., whose nitro cold brew coffee has become my on-the-go coffee of choice. With its current roundup of coffee cocktail collaborations across the country and delicious products, here is why it’s going to be your next coffee obsession.

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Missions and Martinis: A Night Out at Spyscape, NYC’s New Spy Museum

Dodge lasers in Special Ops at Spyscape, NYC's new spy museum.

I’ve always secretly wanted to be a spy. (Guess it’s not so secret any more, right, Internet?) Given the nature of blogging, though — I’m sharing my experiences for the whole darn world to read — I’m guessing I won’t be on any intelligence agency’s shortlist when it comes time to recruit new secret agents.

Still, I’ve done my fair share of reciting lines from James Bond films, examining John le Carré novels, binge-watching The Americans, and stealing French fries from my mom when she isn’t looking. Which, of course, means I’ve got a few spy skills up my sleeve.

So when I heard that a new spy museum called Spyscape was opening in Manhattan, my ears perked up. And when I learned that Spyscape hosts a special “Missions and Martinis” experience on Thursday nights, I was sold. Here’s the inside scoop on Spyscape, NYC’s new 60,000-square-foot spy museum and experience.

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Booze News: Coney Island Brewery’s Freak Week is Here!

Coney Island Brewery's fifth annual Freak Week returns September 17-22, 2018.

As beer-loving Brooklynites, it’s a complete mystery how we didn’t discover Coney Island Brewery until this April. (Seriously, how did this take a whopping five years of New York City living?!) Nevertheless, we’ve been happily sipping on their brews all summer long.

As summer draws to a close — although the weather gods may beg to differ — it turns out that the fall season is moving full speed ahead at Coney Island Brewery. They’ve got a stellar lineup of specialty beers coming your way during their annual Freak Week, which runs from September 17-22, 2018.

So what’s the deal with these new brews? And how can you join in on all of the fun? Here’s the 411 on everything you need to know about Coney Island Brewery’s 2018 Freak Week.

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An Unconventional Day at the Museum: The Museum Hack Tour of NYC’s American Museum of Natural History

New York City has no dearth of incredible museums. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History to smaller institutions like the New York Transit Museum and the Tenement Museum, you could spend a whole week in the city just museum hopping from one place to the next and not get bored.

But museum fatigue is a bonafide problem. (You know, when your feet start to ache after standing in front of sculptures for a few hours and your brain goes, “Not another painting that a three-year-old could draw.”) And in mammoth-sized museums like the Met, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure about what’s worth seeing.

Enter Museum Hack. In an effort to get out of my cocktail bar comfort zone and into more of New York City’s cultural institutions, I signed up for their “Un-Highlights” tour of the American Museum of Natural History, not knowing what to expect.

It was wacky. it was zany. And it was the best time I’ve had in a museum in years. Here’s why.

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Why You Need to Visit Coney Island Brewery

Get a tasting flight at Coney Island Brewery to sample the great craft beers they have to offer in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Coney Island Brewery's tap room may be smaller than some, but what it lacks in space, it more than makes up for with its tasty beers. Here's why you need to take the ride down to the southern end of Brooklyn and visit Coney Island Brewery.

When I think of summer in New York City, I inevitably dream about Coney Island. Umbrella lounge chairs dot the long stretches of sand; the smell of sizzling hot dogs wafts in the air; and high-pitched shrieks abound as people whiz by on roller coasters and other amusement park rides. But I didn’t realize until a few weeks ago that Coney Island is home to its very own brewery, named — you guessed it — Coney Island Brewery.

The brewery’s tap room may be smaller than some, but what it lacks in space, it more than makes up for with its tasty beers. Here’s why you need to take the ride down to the southern end of Brooklyn and visit Coney Island Brewery.

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5 Best Things to Do in Beacon, NY: Your Perfect Day Trip from NYC

Visiting Dia:Beacon, a world-renowned art museum, is one of the best things to do in Beacon, NY.
We're going to let you in on a little secret: Beacon is one of the coolest day trips from New York City, and after reading about all of the cool things to do in Beacon, NY, we wouldn't be surprised if you hop on the next train going upstate! Here are the 5 best things to do in Beacon, NY.

Even though it’s possible to live three lifetimes in New York City and still not get to everything the metropolis has to offer, sometimes even diehard New Yorkers need a change of scenery. We’re going to let you in on a little secret: Beacon is one of the coolest day trips from New York City, and after reading about all of the cool things to do in Beacon, NY, we wouldn’t be surprised if you hop on the next train going upstate!

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Imli: NYC’s Upper East Side Indian Restaurant You Need to Know

Spearheaded by Executive Chef Manuel Butler, Imli is a fabulous restaurant serving urban Indian food in the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York City. With familiar classics like Chicken Tikka Masala, as well as Indian interpretations of dishes like pizza or Scotch eggs, make sure it's on your NYC to-do list!

Despite devouring the multitude of cuisines that New York City has to offer over the past six years, Indian cuisine has been conspicuously absent from my restaurant repertoire. (Nothing personal; I just eat way too much cacio e pepe and xiao long bao.) So when Mary, the blogger behind Mary in Mahattan, invited a group of us to dine at Imli, an Indian restaurant in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood, I jumped at the chance.

What happens when a group of eight bloggers descends on one of New York’s tastiest Indian restaurants? A lot of laughs, cocktails, and completely full stomachs, that’s what. Here’s why your next meal should be at Imli.

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