Your Eccentric Friend Shows You Around Town: A Review of “Awkwafina’s NYC”

Written by:

In honor of Queens-born rapper/actress Awkwafina’s recent Golden Globe win and the upcoming premiere of her Comedy Central show “Nora from Queens,” I re-read “Awkwafina’s NYC”. Awkwafina, aka Nora Lum, released this NYC travel guide book in 2015, a time when she was best known for the bangers “My Vag” and “NYC Bitche$.” I wouldn’t have predicted that she would then publish a travel guide, but this is actually the kind of book the city sorely needed.

NYC travel guides have a thing or two to learn from “Awkwafina’s NYC.” Unlike in any major guide book you’ll find, Awkwafina’s guide gives proper respect to all five boroughs. Heck, she even starts her tours in Staten Island of all places, and her take of it is far from the token “board the Staten Island Ferry for a cheap view of the Statue of Liberty” line that guidebooks reduce Staten Island to 99 percent of the time. Instead, she goes in depth about the Conference House, Egger’s Ice Cream Parlor, and Tottenville’s Main Street. That’s not something you’ll find in a Fodor’s guide. You probably also won’t find your typical guide skipping Coney Island for Brighton Beach, sidestepping Williamsburg for Greenpoint, and basically blowing off all of Manhattan for Washington Heights and Koreatown. And, of course, Awkwafina lavished love on Queens, with a tour of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and the neighborhoods of Flushing and Corona.

Central Park Hans Christian Andersen Statue shilohinthecity
Awkwafina's NYC
The time I chickened out of one of the book’s dares


You know what doesn’t get a lot of love/attention in this guidebook? Any of the usual Manhattan tourist traps. There is a brief tour through Central Park near the end of the book, but the park mainly serves as the setting for Awkwafina’s embarrassing series of dares she invites you to subject yourself and the poor unsuspecting public to. Belting out the lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believin’” underneath Bethesda Terrace isn’t my cup of tea but you’ve got to admit that it breathes new life into your typical trip to Central Park.

Some other features of “Awkwafina’s NYC” that the book could have done without: the end-of-chapter mad libs, some of the unrelatable extreme jokes (ex: “For me personally, any place with imported meats and not one but THREE salad bars basically spells pants-less eat-weeping in a dimly lit kitchen surrounded by tattered morsels of imported meats while eating an entire cake out of my bare hand and yelling things at my cat”), and the overuse of the word “ratchet.” Seven times is seven too many.

But overall, this was a refreshing departure from the cliche of tourist traps to which the major guide books have reduced New York City. This guide’s sight recommendations are memorable, the food recs are mouth-watering, and Awkwafina comes across as your eccentric, knowledgeable friend whose sanity you’re slightly worried about. I’d love to see what she’d include in an updated version.

Awkwafina's NYC Pinterest

6 responses to “Your Eccentric Friend Shows You Around Town: A Review of “Awkwafina’s NYC””

  1. How NOT to Use the Subway: NYC Subway Pet Peeves | Shiloh in the City

    […] rub up against yours as you’re all holding the pole. As Awkwafina pointed out in her book, Awkwafina’s NYC, this is one of the most off-putting thing you can do on the […]

  2. Allie Avatar
    Allie

    Wow this is a great review of the travel guide and makes me want to get it before my next trip to NYC. Thanks for sharing!

  3. Karthika Avatar
    Karthika

    How fun! I love hearing a local’s perspective in places to see and foods to eat. NYC is too overwhelming for me otherwise.

  4. Snazzytrips Avatar
    Snazzytrips

    I love discovering non-touristy things so I would use Awkwafina’s guide book when visiting Manhattan.

  5. ashleigh (@Ashleigh_Hogan) Avatar
    ashleigh (@Ashleigh_Hogan)

    Oh wow, the guidebook sounds great, love New York and need a reason to go back!!

  6. juliarenee Avatar
    juliarenee

    I really want this guidebook now! I prefer more local tips, and every time I’ve visited NYC, I haven’t been a fan of Manhattan. This book sounds like it’s right up my alley!

Tell me what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: