---
type: Video
title: "A Foreigner Takes on the Streets of Manhattan 🇺🇸"
description: The last stop of the America trip — Katz's pastrami, the Equinox hotel booked on card perks, and Harry's closing verdict that he was wrong about Americans.
tags: [united-states, new-york, manhattan, hotels, food, chelsea, credit-card-perks]
timestamp: 2026-08-05T12:00:00Z
resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxdwBFwWHA8
video_id: MxdwBFwWHA8
upload_date: 2024-08-23
duration: 1193
---

# A Foreigner Takes on the Streets of Manhattan 🇺🇸

The last city of the trip, and Harry uses it to close the argument he's been
running since Hawaii. He arrived in the
[United States](/countries/united-states.md) expecting arrogant, loud, annoying
Americans and finishes saying he was wrong — and then goes further, offering a
theory about why: Americans back each other, where Britain has what he calls
tall poppy syndrome and cuts people down for getting ahead.

The rest is [New York](/places/new-york.md) as a short list. Katz's for
pastrami, the Equinox hotel booked through credit-card perks, a run along the
Chelsea waterfront, and a haircut.

## Key moments

- [00:00] First time in New York, and the last city of the tour.
- [00:32] The revision, stated properly: Americans are very friendly, strangers
  strike up conversations with strangers, and it took him a while to notice.
  Less so in New York than elsewhere.
- [01:04] The theory he builds on it — Americans support people who are doing
  well, where Britain has tall poppy syndrome and pulls them back down. He
  flags it as his opinion.
- [01:04] National Guard in the subway, which he notes is not an everyday sight.
- [02:09] Katz's Delicatessen, founded in 1888.
- [02:09] You take a ticket to eat. Queues can run an hour, and at Christmas he's
  told two hours outside plus an hour in.
- [02:40] 7,000 kg of pastrami a week, and 2,000–3,000 people a day — on what
  the counter staff call a quiet day.
- [03:10] He's handed a free taste of the beef across the counter while ordering.
- [05:53] The *When Harry Met Sally* scene was filmed here, and he attempts a
  recreation nobody in the room reacts to.
- [07:02] His verdict: possibly the best sandwich he has ever eaten.
- [07:38] The bill: $36.
- [07:38] The Equinox Hotel — Equinox is a gym brand and this is their first
  hotel, rated the best in New York and top 50 in the world.
- [08:12] How he got it: booked through an Amex Platinum, which brings a $100
  credit, free breakfast, early check-in, late checkout and a free upgrade.
- [09:56] The upgrade doesn't come through, because he booked the same day and
  the hotel is full. His own lesson: book ahead if you want the perk to land.
- [10:28] The room, which he notes is small — space in New York is the
  constraint — with a minibar of creatine, vitamin C, sleep masks and CBD oil
  rather than snacks.
- [12:32] A hard bed, which surprises him after praising American beds all trip.
- [13:39] Chelsea, and the waterfront walkway built over an old railway line.
  His read: the city is working hard at being liveable and it's simply
  expensive.
- [14:10] Will's ranking — New York first for energy, Vegas last for feeling
  fake. Harry's own: Miami first.
- [14:42] The gym, which is open to the public as well as guests, runs the height
  of the building, and lists everything in pounds.
- [15:43] Indoor and outdoor pools, hot tub, cold plunge, sauna and steam rooms.
  A pool at all is rare in New York.
- [17:26] It's busy enough that he can't get space in the pool.
- [17:56] A working lunch on YouTube advice: not all views are equal, and you
  need a unique selling point like any other business.
- [18:17] A New York haircut, and the same head-massage machine he met in India
  turning up here.
- [19:01] The barber on the city: it changed more after Covid than at any other
  time, and he declines to say whether for better or worse — only that it isn't
  the same.
- [19:01] On the famous $5 two-slice pizza: he liked it when he was younger and
  doesn't see it now. The story is that it's the tap water.

## Extracted pages

- Place: [New York](/places/new-york.md)
- Country: [United States](/countries/united-states.md)
- Person: [Will](/people/will.md)
- Tips: [Use card perks at expensive hotels](/tips/use-card-perks-at-expensive-hotels.md)