Planning for New York City!

[Kevin]

Ok, now that we've decided to keep our late June 06 ( originally March 06 )exchange into Manhattan Club... let the fun begin!

Though I'm sure this has been asked and answered, I thought I'd start a new "Best Things NYC" thread. Please help with any of the following ideas for a one week "newbie" trip to the Big Apple:

Best web site or books for info
Must see's & do's
Best "Eats" - cheapo and / or "Big money"
Best shows
Do's & don'ts
Shopping
Public transportation

Etc... etc...etc...!!!

We don't normally do tours and we won't be renting a car. Any advice will be considered GOOD advice. The more information the better. Thanks!

Kevin

[Dani]

Congrats!! You can start with www.nycvisit.com and www.citysearch.com and place a search for Manhattan. It's a free website with great restaurant reviews.

[DebBrown]

We just returned from a weekend in NYC. It had been years since I'd been there. We got around by using taxis and the subway. I'd recommend getting a Manhattan city, bus and subway map. In fact, I have mine in my purse if you want it. Just send me a private message.

I'm no expert on the "best" lists so I'll leave that to others. Have fun!

Deb

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by DebBrown

We just returned from a weekend in NYC. It had been years since I'd been there. We got around by using taxis and the subway. I'd recommend getting a Manhattan city, bus and subway map. In fact, I have mine in my purse if you want it. Just send me a private message.

I'm no expert on the "best" lists so I'll leave that to others. Have fun!

Deb

Hi Deb,

I believe your tip qualifies under:

"Best way to get around"! I'll contact you soon.

Dani...

I'm going to get in lots of trouble because of the time I've already spent on those web sites!

Thanks to both of you!

[Hoc]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Must see's & do's

You have to see at least one Broadway show. Go to the top of the Empire State Building at night and look out over the city (get there before 11:30 pm). Ground Zero is such a significant thing that you probably have to do it, even though there's not much to see there. Walk through the Village, walk through Times Square, consider some of the best museums: Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Science and History Museum, Tenement Museum, others that interest you. Shopping. Macy's and Bloomie's for the big spenders, Century 21 (across from Ground Zero) for bargains, and many others. Lower East Side tailors for custom tailoring. Art Galleries in Soho. There are a lot of great guided walking tours, as well.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Best "Eats" - cheapo and / or "Big money"

Carnegie Deli is right around the corner from the Manhattan Club: Good Corned Beef. Down a bit is the Stage Deli: Good blintzes and potato pancakes. Across from there is Lindy's, who essentially invented cheesecake as we know it today. The other way (still on 56th St), Patsy's serves good Italian food, and was a Sinatra and mob favorite.

Serendipity has great desserts and essentially was the predecessor to Farrell's. They are famous for their frozen hot chocolate, but I prefer a do-it-yourself sundae using peanut butter sauce and hot fudge. But any of their desserts is good.

John's Pizza or Ray's Pizza are good NY Pizza places.

One if By Land is a splurge restaurant, near the Village. One of the most romantic in the country, and serves the best Beef Wellington and Chocolate Souffle I've ever had. People rave over Peter Luger's steak. It tasted spoiled to me, but maybe I just got a bad batch. Their onion rolls were fantastic though. You can get the same onion rolls at Tavern on the Green in Central Park or at the restaurant at the Plaza Hotel.

I like Katz's Deli on the lower east side for pastrami, and just down from there is Yonah Schimmel's knishes, the best in town since about the 20s (but closed on Saturdays). Also near Katz's is Russ & Daughters, a package store where you can get the best smoked fish in town, as well as other take-home delicacies. Behind Katz's, down Orchard St. on the other side of Delancey, Gus' Pickles sells homemade pickles, sauerkraut, marinated artichokes, olives, peppers and other similar types of things out of barrels on the sidewalk.

There are a few ideas.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Best shows

Depends on what you like. You can go to www.broadwaybox.com for reviews and discounts on some shows, or you can stand in line at the TKTS Booth on the day of the show for half-price tickets. There is one in Times Square, or a less-busy one with the same tickets down at the Seaport.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Public transportation

Mostly subways and walking. You can get almost anywhere that way, unless you are in a wheelchair or scooter, in which case New York is not particularly accessible.

Originally Posted by Kevin

We don't normally do tours and we won't be renting a car.

Consider taking a Gospel Brunch Tour through Harlem on Sunday Morning.

Edited to fix a link.

[calgal]

Hoc, great suggestions! Kevin, do you have children traveling with you. If so, I will add a bunch of other ideas to this thread. Be aware that some of the hottest Broadway plays sell tix way in advance and you should consider it a priority to order tickets in a timely fashion if you want great seats (Spamalot is the new hit, haven't seen it). I would add a suggestion to take a ferry to Ellis Island or Statue of Liberty while you're down in the financial district near ground zero.

[changejobs]

hoc named a lot of great places.

as for johns or rays pizza -johns is brick oven pizza and is on bleecker street. NOT TO BE MISSED. order the pie well done

Rays -the real one is on 6 th ave and corner of either 11 or 12th st- i cant remember which. Lots and lots of cheese. Totally different than rays but should get one.

Take a ride to brooklyn.
- have breakfest at junior's and make sure u get a piece of their cheesecake.
- smith street , 5th ave and 7th ave have given rise to some amazing restaurants, checkout chowhound.com for reviews


back to manhattan
- take a walk around soho
- get a friday nytimes and look in the weekend section for events and walks

have a great time

larry

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by calgal

Kevin, do you have children traveling with you. If so, I will add a bunch of other ideas to this thread.

No kids... he'll be with grandparents! It'll be just the two of us.

This is going to be great for my planning notebook! Hoc, Larry and calgal... you've really added some great suggestions to our growing list. If this thread ends here... it will still be a lot of help to all TUGgers in the future. Thanks again!

Kevin

[Hoc]

Originally Posted by calgal

(Spamalot is the new hit, haven't seen it)

I saw it when I was there in May. Essentially, it's Monty Python and the Holy Grail onstage, with a couple of songs and bits thrown in from other Monty Python shows. Very little new, but it was still hilarious if you like Python anyway, and David Hyde Pierce was spectacular (surprisingly so to me -- far outshone his screen performances). The others were also very good.

I was able to get a ticket to the show without advance reservations by walking up to the box office when I got into town and asking whether there were any tickets available for the week. They had a ticket that day in the second row, at a premium price.

[Hoc]

Originally Posted by changejobs

as for johns or rays pizza -johns is brick oven pizza and is on bleecker street. NOT TO BE MISSED. order the pie well done

My personal preference is John's, as well, but there are some rabid Ray's fans out there. Just like they will get into fights in Kansas City over Bryant's or Gates BBQ, or in LA over Carney's or Pink's hot dogs. Everyone has their preferences. . . .

[custcarcen]

Take the Ellis Island guided tour-a must.

[JUDIE25]

Buy a subway/bus pass. I know you can buy 1 day packages, but you may also be able to purchase a wk package.

Since there is so much walking, I would walk some and then pick up the bus and ride a few blocks. Because of the all day pass I didn't have to pay again.

Also, if you are looking to economize on Broadway tix, don't forget the TKTS booth at Time Square. Usually there are plenty of good options, especially on weekdays. Once I saw Tyne Daly in Gypsy at 1/2 price.

[Dani]

Originally Posted by changejobs

Take a ride to brooklyn.
- have breakfest at junior's and make sure u get a piece of their cheesecake.
- smith street , 5th ave and 7th ave have given rise to some amazing restaurants, checkout chowhound.com for reviews

Yippee!!!! Someone suggested Brooklyn Even the Manhattan tour buses come through Brooklyn these days!!! Love the suggestions above. For a day in Brooklyn, I would take the train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum and start at the Brooklyn Museum. You can also visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and/or the Prospect Park Zoo and/or the central Brooklyn Library at Grand Army Plaza which are all either next to or a few blocks away from each other. On Saturdays, there is an open Farmer's market at Grand Army Plaza. I would then catch the 41 bus to downtown Brooklyn. You can catch it in front of the Library. The bus goes down Flatbush Avenue.

You can get off at the first stop after it turns down Livingston Street from Flatbush Avenue if you want to check out Juniors. Just walk down Flatbush three or four blocks. You can also take the same bus to Smith and Livingston and check out some of the restaurants located there. Wherever you decide to get off the bus at, do not let your day end before going to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights. You can just walk up to Court Street which runs parallel to Smith and go down Montague street until you reach the water.

Now, this is a full day in Brooklyn for sure, but you will have a great time!!!

[IreneLF]

Since you have alot of time before the trip, you might want to check out a guidebook and pick and choose what's right for the two of you in terms of touring and seeing the sights.
As a native New Yorker, I really enjoyed the Michelin green guide - I found that it worked so well for European cities and I would recommend it for NYC as well.

Great restaurant suggestions from HOC - you do know the good stuff!

[KenK]

Kevin:
You sure one week will be enough time? (Wear those comfortable walking shoes or sneakers!)

[decolady424]

Write/call for TV show tickets that are taped in NYC:

Conan O'Brien
The View
Regis and Kelly
The Tony Danza Show
The Daily Show
David Letterman

You've got the advance notice to get them. Great entertainment for free! They all have web sites.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by KenK

Kevin:
You sure one week will be enough time? (Wear those comfortable walking shoes or sneakers!)

Ken,

I was just wondering the same thing! Along with making sure we buy clothes at least 2 waist sizes larger than normal! We are going to do plenty of eating!

Kevin

[Hoc]

Originally Posted by Dani

Yippee!!!! Someone suggested Brooklyn

Hey! I mentioned Peter Luger's! Actually, if the weather is nice, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by an ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on the Fulton Waterfront, just on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, is a fun excursion.

[miaval44]

Plan your broadway show tickets ahead of time. There are plenty of discount venues available. May I recommend SPAMALOT, very witty, clever and closely follows Monty Python's Holy Grail. Congrats!

[Dani]

Originally Posted by Hoc

Hey! I mentioned Peter Luger's! Actually, if the weather is nice, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by an ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on the Fulton Waterfront, just on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, is a fun excursion.

True!!! Hey...you seem to know ALL the spots

[Hoc]

Originally Posted by Dani

True!!! Hey...you seem to know ALL the spots

Hmm, ya think I've been to NYC a little too much lately? All those easy trades into Manhattan Club have made me a quasi-native! Seven times in five years!

[Blondie]

I would recommend "Wicked" or "Mamma Mia" for great musicals. Just returned from Peter Lugers- it was $16 each way for a cab from the financail district in lower Manhattan. It is the first exit on the right right over the Williamsburg bridge-- different than the Brooklyn Bridge I think, and that is where we got messed up. The food was good but I did not like that you really have no choice of the steak you get. "Steak for three" was $130ish I think- and it was two Porterhouses cut into pieces and it was enough for three. I would not hurry back but certainly many others love the place. We like Angelo's coal Oven pizza just around the corner and 2 minutes from the Manhattan club. Go out the Park Central entrance and head left. Cross the street and at the next corner, cross and bang a right. It is almost next to the Salisbury Hotel on the left. have fun. We head back in FEb. Lynda

[carpediem]

Kevin,

March is typically a cold month in NYC so dress warmly since you'll be doing a lot of outdoor traveling. If you only have one Museum to hit make it The Met - it's got something for everyone. Since I'm typically in tow with small children I usually pass on the shows but you can always try your luck for half price tickets at TKTS in midtown (is that option still available?). I use to do that alot when I lived in Manhattan.

- The Empire State Building (at anytime) is great.
- Do visit the Wall Street Area and Ground Zero
- Be a kid and go to FAO Swartz (or just buy something for your little one there)
- Staten Island Ferry (free but may be a bit cold for March)
- The Village for shopping the East Village for Indian Food and what is that italian bakery in the east village called???
- Popover Cafe for breakfast on Amsterdam and 86th street is good (an old favorite of mine).
- Whenever you can take the bus over the subway. The subway is quick but the bus allows you to view the many diverse areas in the city. You can see major changes from block to block.
- Don't forget Chinatown or Little Italy.

Enjoy

[changejobs]

Originally Posted by Hoc

Hey! I mentioned Peter Luger's! Actually, if the weather is nice, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by an ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on the Fulton Waterfront, just on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, is a fun excursion.

The ice cream factory is right next to the river cafe. The river cafe is expensive but the view is incredible. If the price is too high for you cross the street and have brick oven pizza at grimaldis.

In addition, since your in the neighborhood walk down front st 2 blocks north and stop for at thc chocolate shop for chocolate, cake ,hotchocolate. etc. at
Jacques Torres.

[KenK]

TKTS is still available. Esp good for last minute planning. BUT....no credit cards, and no reg checks.

They like cash a lot.

www.tkts.com