Escape the 80’s?
At the risk of sounding spoiled… it can be challenging to Find the perfect group activity despite living in the most dense urban environment in the United States! Broadway shows require you to wade through masses of humanity in Times Square, typically last up to 3 hours, and require either an excessively early or late dinner. Baseball games require you to commute to the Bronx or Queens (depending upon your preference), again deal with masses of people, and eat (un)satisfactory food. This week’s Find is a convenient, not too long, adventure for you and your squad paired with some totally tubular food!
Escape the Room (The Rec Room) NYC
107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002
I long for the days of my youth (in the 80’s!) when I would go to a friend’s house and play Dungeons and Dragons. I also loved taking a trip to the local arcade with my allowance. Now my children disappear into their phones playing games that require no imagination, little thinking, and certainly aren’t social.
Escape the Room, The Rec Room, provides me a connection to my gaming past and actually makes you use your brain. First, it is a group activity that requires team work, problem solving, and speed. Second, this particular game was set in the 1980’s which was perfectly appropriate for me! I dare any of my fellow Finders to Escape this Room, my peeps weren’t remotely close. There are Escape the Room(s) in every major city and it is a blast. I resisted this activity initially but am hooked on this as a group activity for any and all ages. I would recommend filling the minimum number required to have the room to yourself so you don’t need to problem solve with strangers. Good luck!
Speedy Romeo
63 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002
After you Escape the Room, whether you actually Escape the Room or not, walk over to Speedy Romeo for some amazing Pizza. This location just opened mid-March and is the second location of this famous Brooklyn staple. Todd Feldman (one of the owners) named this restaurant after a very successful horse owned by his family and this restaurant is a triple crown winner with local produce, homemade ingredients and a wood fire oven!
For those of you that don’t want to leave the comfort of your own home, don’t work well with others, and really just like to play games on your iPhone there is always the app The Room. This is a brilliant app that allows you to solve complicated Escape the Room puzzles that are highly addicting. Once you solve the first one (which is free) you can purchase two additional Rooms for $1.99, a nominal price given the quality of the puzzles, graphics, and time required.
So, go back in time to the 80’s, eat some totally rad pizza and consider Escape the Room NYC, TheRoom app, and Speedy Romeo Found!