A really good dinner in a cool venue is Klong on St Marks in the East Village. Its Thai/Fusion, reasonably priced, and on St Marks which has a pretty cool vibe in itself. The best musical out there is Wicked. Lets put it this way...I hate musicals, but even I thought Wicked was worth it. However, you need to buy tickets a year in advance to get them so you may want to go with one of the Disney shows which are supposably good....I think Tarzan's music is all written by Phil Collins and The Lion King has amazing costumes and sets and whatnot. I am a total Monty Python dork and saw Spamalot, but after a while I wanted to kill everyone for singing all the time. Plus all the great actors (David Hyde Pierce, Alan Tudyk/Hank Azaria, Tim Curry) have left the cast. Avenue Q is basically Sexy Sesame St, supposably hillarious. There's also some new show called Spring Awakening which was described by my wife's friend as "p*rn musical with real rock music" - they loved it. Also, if you are here the last week of March, the Allman Bros are starting their annual 2-3 week occupation of the Upper West Side....a smoking good time if I say so myself.
no point, just recognizing the signs. Practically all the advice about places to see is situated in Manhattan...not that there's anything wrong with that.
I frequent NY multiple times a year. For Pizza, hit Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. Go right before rush hour dinner time and you will miss the long line that forms down the street. Gray's Papaya has some good dogs. There's also some pie place that has great desert. To save money, skip the cabs and get a subway pass. It's worth it. Subways are much safer then portrayed on TV. Biggest piece of advice you will ever get about NY. Skip the guided tours. They suck and they are expensive. AND MOST importantly, skip the statue of liberty tour. It's a total drain of your day as it takes forever to actually get to the island and walk around it. You can't go up to the top. It's a horrible experience and sucked all the life out of a full day in NY for me and the lady. Seriously, just go down to the shore and look at it. The ferry ride and subsequent tour is a waste of time. There is nothing in that museum worth seeing and by the time you get out there you won't care about it anyway.
Don't spend more than 15 minutes in Times Square (and that's only if it's your first time in New York)...it's just stupid tourists walking around like tourists staring at other tourists, chain restaurants, and lighted billboards). There's absolutely nothing to do there. I would recommend walking around the different neighborhoods in Manahattan, check out Belmont in the Bronx for the "real" Little Italy. Skip Lombardi's in SoHo...it's just hyped up by out-of-towners and that's why there's always such a long line..the pizza isn't that great...give me a slice of Ray's over Lombardi's anyday..
If you're going to the Statue of Liberty make sure to stop at Ellis Island too and see the museum. It will make you proud to be an American. Central Park is beautiful year round and always worth taking a walk around. If you're looking for nightlife check out Bleeker Street. Lots of good cheap eats in Chinatown. Washington Square is good for people watching but probably not this time of year. Parts of Brooklyn are really nice and recommend checking out Prospect Park.
agreed on Lombardi. Any food in SoHo is a joke and likely diluted or dumbed down. If you want real stuff, head out to Little Italy or Brooklyn.
Don't buy broadway tickets for full price. Go to a TKTS booth and you will get the same tickets for about half price. Catch is, that they don't always have tickets for every show and tickets are for the same day. http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56
broadway: avenue q / spring awakening- tkts for cheap tickets or just wait at 6 pm outside the box office for rush tickets ($20 based on random drawing - two tickets per person) lounge/drinks: the stanton social in the LES (on rivington and orchard) xicala - spanish wine bar in nolita (elizabeth and delancey) APT: good lounge but busy after 10:30 pm. If you like good music, the DJ here is good. food: SEA (williamsburg): Thai fusion off the L train (the restaurant in Garden State). Cheap and good (N. 6th street). Chinatown: cheap dim sum, hot pot, $3 meals, etc. Lots of places. I like Moon House on Bayard and Mott and Sichuan Kitchen (Canal and Bowery). Sushi - lots of places on St. Marks / East Village for cheap cheap sushi (like 50% off all the time -- decent quality for the prices) Steak - try your luck at any of the great steakhouses around the city. I'd like to throw my hat to les Halles (28th and park) -- crowded but really fun. Peter Lugers in Williamsburg is also great. They're both relatively affordable. High end - try Morimoto on the West Side (15th and 10th ave). Walk around!! West village has lots of pubs and bars and jazz cafes -- walk west to get away from the crowds. East Village has the young people and the funkiness -- lots of wine bars and hookah joints. You can always find something. Lower East Side is fun.. try Piano's, but maybe not so fun for tourists. It's still cold, but Central Park is amazing (so is Prospect Park) -- walk down 5th Ave just to window shop, same thing in Soho. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.. you could do a walking tour straight through Chinatown and onto the bridge. Go up to Harlem (it's awesome.. and just try out the food). Take the L over to Brooklyn and check out the galleries there.. Check out the homes on the Upper West Side, if you have time, check out the cafes in Park Slope... Best thing you can do is probably pick up a TimeOut or L (http://www.thelmagazine.com/) when you get here to figure things out. I'd spend maybe half or one day on the Statue of Liberty and all the other stuff, but NY is all about the people and the life here. Just walk around or sip a coffee and take it all in. Have fun! PS - The Italian in Little Italy is overpriced and horrible. A good brunch place is Jane's on Houston Street or Havana Cafe (Cuban). If you really want to go all out -- don't miss Balthazar's in Soho for lunch.. all the pretty people are there.
If you're there to see how the people are...I suggest you spend some time out of Manhattan, it's like a different world in there compared to the outer boroughs. Check out Astoria in Queens, Bensonhurst or Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. I don't know much aobut Bronx and Staten Island is a basically a giant wasteland lol If you want to stay safe and comfy, stay in Manhattan, if you want to REALLY experience New York, go outside the boroughs and make sure its not to some wannabe Manhattan hipster enclave like Williamsburg or DUMBO.
Astoria rocks. If you want great Greek food it's the place. Also they have interesting cuisine (S. American, fusion) that's affordable.. and on weekdays, try out any of the Egyptian cafes in the area. Don't feel the need to do everything, though.. just enjoy whatever it is that you're doing.
I completely agree. I don't understand why a lot of you are recommending Little Italy. It's a freaking tourist trap with mediocre food and high prices. Plus, maybe you like getting harassed outside by the guys pimping their restaurants, but I certainly don't. Other than that, there are a lot of good suggestions in this thread. Definitely get a Metrocard and sample NYC's wonderful mass transit system.
If you go to the Statue of Liberty get your Ferry tickets on-line. Also, if you want to go inside the monument and see the museum (it was ok) make sure you get those tickets (which are free) on-line with your Ferry tickets. You have to get Statue tickets something like 48 hours in advance of actually going. My wife and I opted for the very first Ferry as the wait and lines were shorter. Also, be prepared for some intense security procedures (more stringent than air travel). Visiting the Statue of Liberty Someone earlier mentioned that visiting the Statue was a waste of time. It's not great but it's probably the same as visiting the Eiffel Tower. If seeing one of the most visible monuments in the United States is not that important - skip it (i.e. if you feel ok, for example, with visiting Paris and skipping the Eiffel tower). Someone also mentioned blowing off the Empire State Building for the Top of the Rock. Yes, the lines for the Empire State building are long but how many movies ended on top of Rockefeller Center? Also, eat at Ray's pizza. Ray's has THE BEST pizza in New York.
Go to the little italy in the Bronx, have you been there. It is much less of a tourist trap and more authentic
Les Halles is the best deal on steak in Manhattan. The steak au poivre with frites and salad is $19.50...great deal. Also, if you are into celebrity chefs (like my inlaws), Anthony Bourdrain is pretty effin famous these days. Little Italy sucks. There is a no name italian place in my neighborhood (Hells Kitchen) which blows every overpriced craphole Little Italy joint to which I have been forced to take clients. Avenue Q is funny, but drink first.
ROFL. Which Ray's? Ray Bari's? Famous Ray's Pizza? World Famous Original Ray's? There's like a 100 of them out there. Kramer: I miss home, and I don't even know how to get there. Jerry: What's around you? Kramer: I'm lookin' at Ray's Pizza. You know where that is? Jerry: Is it Famous Ray's? Kramer: No. It's Original Ray's. Jerry: Famous Original Ray's? Kramer: It's just Original, Jerry!
Speaking of Seinfeld, I have already mentioned this, but go on the Kramer tour, it was hilarious. Best tourist thing I did in NYC last year.
