SF and NYC do's and don'ts

Dodging tourist traps is tough in the US, so on the back of the 2010 DMA conference, here's a bunch of my San Francisco and NYC favourites.

San Francisco - do's

• Osha Lounge - Thai restaurant in the financial district (there are a few, but I can tell you first hand that the one on 2nd is indeed the shit)
• Range - Restaurant in the Mission with dope food, wine and cocktails
• Mighty - Club about a 15 min cab ride from the city centre with heavyweight DJS (and bassbins). Everything that's quality, from tech to chicago to drum and bass.
• Vessel - Club conveniently placed in the middle of the city. Nice decor. Rad sound. Solid commitment to deep house for a place that's so central to the CBD.
• The End Up - Tastefully seedy indoor/outdoor late night club in the Mission. Very gay / trannie / hermaphrodite / whatever friendly. 

San Francisco - don'ts

• Fisherman's Wharf - San Francisco is pretty much my favourite city in the world, so not much at all to say that's negative. Except that Fisherman's Wharf sucks arse. Don't go there. 

New York City - do's

• Sullivan Room - Proper underground club in Greenwich Villiage. No plastic. Just a dark room, a SICK soundsystem, an educated dancefloor and quality house music. Solid.
• Peasant - Next-level Italian restaurant in SOHO. Prime.
• Koncrete Jungle @ Love - Granted, this isn't for everyone, but if you're into drum and bass / jungle / dubstep / garage, then this is NYC's longest-running broken beat institution. Wicked MC and DJ talent. Best night I had in the US.  
• The Collective - Sweet restaurant in the Meatpacking District, with dope decor and comfort-food-made-a-bit-fancy. You can't lose.  

New York City - don'ts

• The Empire State Building - Of course I expected this to be a bit rank, but nowhere near as tragic as it actually was. Yuck. Trust Americans to take all the fun out of shit.