4 worst places to ride out a hangover in NYC (and 4 of the best)

Joshua Saxon • March 18, 2016

Feeling that post-St Patrick’s day hangover? Not surprised. This city seriously knows how to celebrate its Irish heritage and it’s not uncommon to find yourself a little “green” after the festivities. But guess what, NYC doesn’t care about your queasiness and isn’t about to exert any special effort to make things easier for you. Fortunately, Secret NYC is here to tell you the top places to avoid in New York City when you feel like you’re gonna spew (and some of the best spots to recover in).

1. The subway

Aside from steering clear of the weird and wonderful characters that might trigger a gag reflex when you’re not feeling your best, the subway is mad noisy. Take extra care to avoid the 42nd Street station (platform for the F, M, B and D trains) below Bryant Park. At a head-splitting 93 decibels, it’s the noisiest public place in the city.

2. Times Square

“Hey, we don’t seem to be getting on great today. Why don’t we go hang out in one of the brightest and busiest intersections on the planet?”, said no hangover ever. If you need to go through it, take a deep breath (making sure you’re not standing next to any garbage cans or street vendors), keep your head down and resist the urge to vomit.

3. The Lobster Place

Any other day, this is a must-visit spot in NYC for culinary aficionados where you can get some of the best and freshest fish or even dine out at one of their many restaurants. But that day is not today. Today, all of your foods will be odorless and, ideally, beige in colour.

4. The office

There’s probably no avoiding this one. Your boss isn’t stupid enough to think it just happened to be St Patrick’s Day last night and you just happened to have the flu today. Best bet is to slap a pair of shades over those sensitive eyes of yours and hope no one notices your inordinate number of trips to the bathroom.

And now you know where not to go, here’s four places that might make you feel like your old self again…

1. Stay home and call the Hangover Club

Not something we at Secret NYC have ever tried ourselves, but by all accounts, the Hangover Club is a sure-fire way to end a hangover within the hour. With prices starting at $199, you’ve either got to be as wealthy as Jack Daniels himself or be suffering the shakes the likes of which have never been seen. You also need to get over that fear of needles because the nurse administers an IV drip. For real.

2. A juice bar

We appreciate that this morning you took a solemn vow never to drink again ever in your life, but that doesn’t include super healthy, packed-full-of-vitamins, natural juice. Get those hydration levels back to a realistic condition and wash away that Guinness breath. We like Oasis Juice Bar (3163 Broadway).

3. Bryant Park

Despite some parts of Bryant Park being considered among the noisiest parts of town, it’s actually one of the most relaxing places you can take five in New York City. Find yourself a quiet spot (away from any concert or other such thing that detracts from the sweet beat of your throbbing head) and just people watch for a while.

4. Meditation workshop

What you need right now is some peace and quiet. Why not sign up to a free meditation workshop and guarantee your incredibly delicate constitution is left well alone for a while. Chill out and don’t throw up on the guy in the robe. He won’t be mad (he’s a pretty level-headed guy), you’ll just look like a douche.

Feature cover image: dtasheva