Hey, going to New York for a couple days in late May, already have my Yankees tickets, does anyone have any recommendations of must do activities/sight seeing/ restaurants to visit?
I'll tell you what not to do... Don't get scammed. Free hip hop CD or fake taxi/Uber scam.
TBH, there's so much to do in NY that I can't really think of things that are "must do". The must do typically depends on your interests. Most people ask "what did you do?" in New York. Few go, "OMG did you Statue of Liberty??"
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There’s so much to do. Pick an area and see what you can. Limit travel is my advice.
Agreed. A couple of days isn't much time really so just pick things that interest you. That said, one of the observation decks is probably worth it for the view, if you are okay with waiting in line. Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, Rockefeller Square (we did that one), Hudson Yards come to mind.
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I agree with not trying to do everything. That said, here's a long list of stuff so spoiler tagged:
Spoiler!
** Note that everything is in order of most liked (by me) but everything I’ve listed is amazing so go anywhere on the list, depending on what you’re feeling like having or doing **
Restaurants
Rubirosa or Joe & Pat's -- This is the best pizza I've ever had. Both have the same ownership. Rubirosa is in SoHo and has a bit of a cooler vibe and a wider menu outside of the pizza but it's also harder to get into. I recommend the Vodka Pie with pepperoni or Tie Die. Joe & Pat's is in the East Village and they also do a happy hour late afternoon where the pizzas are $10 and they also have cheap drinks.
La Esquina (https://esquinanyc.com/flagship/brasserie) -- This is an incredible Mexican restaurant in SoHo. The restaurant is made up of three parts: (1) A taqueria where you order at the window (2) A café (no reservations) (3) An exclusive basement restaurant. I would recommend going to (2) or (3). If you want to do the basement restaurant, you’ll have to make a reservation three weeks in advance (and will need to call in for it). It’s definitely worth it. The café is no reservations so you’d probably have to wait 20-30 minutes for a table is my guess. Some of the best dishes include the Queso Fundido and Mexican Corn on the Cob (Elote).
Julianna’s Pizza (http://julianaspizza.com/) -- The second best pizza I’ve ever had and often voted as the #1 pizza place in the US. I recommend going shortly after they open (around 11) to avoid any lines they might have. It’s a sit-down restaurant and they get through their line quickly usually (and the lines are longer in the summer) but if you went on a weekday before 11:30 you’d probably be able to go right in. After your pizza, take a walk on the boardwalk which is nearby as it has a great view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. I recommend getting something with not a lot of toppings, like just pepperoni. You could also walk across the Brooklyn Bridge either to here or from here (it's a bit of a hike, though). Other really good Brooklyn pizza spots are L'Industrie (slice but they make them from scratch) plus two I've never been to but are universally acclaimed, Di Fara and Lucali
Ivan Ramen (http://www.ivanramen.com/) -- This place was featured on Chef’s Table (on Netflix) and is a great place to go for lunch if you like ramen. They use rye noodles and the broth is so flavourful. The chef/owner is from New York but spent a lot of time in Japan and won awards for his ramen over there. I like both the Tokyo Shoyu Ramen (amazing chicken broth) and Spicy Red Chili Ramen.
Osteria Morini (http://osteriamorini.com/soho-nyc/) -- One of my all-time favourite Italian restaurants. They serve cuisine from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, so not typical “American” Italian (red sauces, etc.). Everything is good and it’s an excellent spot for lunch or dinner. They have a really good lunch deal though where you can get a two-course lunch for $29.
Momofuku (https://ssambar.momofuku.com/) -- From chef David Chang, it’s kind of a blend of American/Southern comfort food and Asian food.
More Expensive:
Rezdora (https://www.rezdora.nyc/) -- An absolutely amazing Italian restaurant. I recommend if you go, get the pasta tasting. Food from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The best Italian restaurant I've ever been to, including Italy
Cote (http://cotenyc.com) — This is a very cool restaurant experience. Essentially a Korean steakhouse elevated. The “butcher’s cut” is the best deal with three or four different types of steak plus 10-12 sides. It’s all cooked at your table. Best rose list in the city too. If eating meat is not your thing, Undercote downstairs is an amazing cocktail bar and cool space
Quick Eats:
Los Tacos No. 1 (https://www.lostacos1.com/) -- The pork/adobado tacos are the best I’ve ever had anywhere. The cactus tacos are excellent too as a vegetarian option. A quesadilla here is also pretty much the same as a taco except with cheese. One time I was in New York for 6 days and I went here four times. It’s a taco stand inside Chelsea Market. Tacos and Quesadillas range from $3 to $5 so it’s a great place to drop in for a quick snack. The line also moves fast if there is one. A few steps from Los Tacos is Los Mariscos (same owners) which does seafood tacos and is also very good. https://www.losmariscos1.com/
Mama's Too -- Upper West side slice joint. The square pizzas are the best here but everything is great.
Joe’s Pizza -- In contrast to Mama's Too, Joe’s is the classic New York slice. It’s in Greenwich Village and is a good place to drop it at any time of night (open until 4 or 5 AM!). The slices are huge so you probably only need one.
Dominique Ansel’s Bakery -- This place is famous for the “Cronut” which is half croissant, half donut. It is an amazing pastry. I stood in line for about 20 minutes around 11 AM one day and was able to get my hands on two of them. Seems post-COVID it's easier to get. Read More: https://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutso...yKq#.kd85v4mrd
Lighter Meal/Lunch Spot:
Pisillo Italian Panini (http://www.pisillopanini.com/) -- One of the best sandwich shops I’ve ever been to (the other being Molinari’s in San Francisco). You could definitely split one sandwich between two people. It’s in the Financial District of New York (near Wall Street).
The Bao (http://www.thebaonewyorkcity.com/) -- This is in the St. Mark’s area of town and it’s a great lunch spot. The best thing to get here are the soup dumplings (Xiaolongbao).
Katz’s Deli (http://www.katzsdelicatessen.com/) -- If you want to go to a classic New York deli, this is it. Pastrami sandwiches, corned beef, you name it. A good tip is to order at the counter and tip your slicer and the sandwich you’ll get will just be that much better.
Cocktails
ONieal’s Restaurant & Bar (http://www.loungenewyork.com/) -- Awesome cocktail bar where they’ll make whatever drink you want. The bartenders are very good at their job!
The Ship (http://www.theshipnyc.com/) -- Kind of a secret type of bar in SoHo that’s worth checking out if you’re in the area
Please Don’t Tell (PDT) -- It’s a pretty neat place in the St. Mark’s area. You go to a hot dog joint called Crif Dogs and step in the phone booth and that’ll get you in. I recommend making a reservation earlier the same day (around 3:00 p.m. is the recommended time to do so) and that's how you get the secret password
Darling - New cocktail bar up near Central Park in the Park Lane Hotel
NoMad Bar - Another great spot in, well, NoMad (near Flat Iron)
Touristy Things Worth It
Chelsea Market – Definitely go here for great food (Los Tacos!) and even just to check it out. It’s built out of an old Nabisco Cookie Factory
High Line – If you’re going to Chelsea Market, a good way to get there is via the High Line which is an old abandoned elevated railway track that they turned into a park. Also a way to get to Hudson Yards
Central Park – Must see. It’s massive but worth popping in there for a walk. It’s amazing to walk around the city and notice how quiet and peaceful everything is in the middle of the rest of the city’s chaos
NBC Tour / Top of the Rock – I really enjoyed this. The view is better than the Empire State Building because you can see the Empire State Building! Less expensive, also.
Museum of Natural History – This was very cool. It’s also massive and takes a long time to go through if you want to see everything.
Touristy Things Not So Worth It
Empire State Building – I think it’s expensive and takes a long time to go to the top (I think 3 elevators if I remember right) and once you’re up there, you’re looking through a fence into the city so the view isn’t the best.
Statue of Liberty – Long way to go and really not much more to see than if you just looked out into the water for the statue from, say, Brooklyn. If you really wanted to get near the Statue of Liberty and not spend any money you can take the Staten Island Ferry for free
Coney Island – A neat area of town but it takes a really long time on the Subway to get out there so I’d say go there only if you’ve run out of other things to do.
Little Italy – Not really great Italian food in this area anymore with the exception of Lombardi’s Pizza (the place that actually first brought pizza to North America).
Chinatown – Shanghai Joe’s is the only place worth going to in this area. Lots of people trying to sell you cheap knock-offs of things.
Times Square – It’s a must-see spectacle, but don’t you don’t need to spend too much time there. Most of the restaurants are either chains or bad or both.
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[QUOTE= [*]NBC Tour / Top of the Rock – I really enjoyed this. The view is better than the Empire State Building because you can see the Empire State Building! Less expensive, also.
[*]Statue of Liberty – If you really wanted to get near the Statue of Liberty and not spend any money you can take the Staten Island Ferry for free
area. Lots of people trying to sell you cheap knock-offs of things.
=QUOTE]
As somebody who lives nearby and is in Manhattan at least once a week, I would highlight these two things especially.
You're probably going to spend more money than you imagined, and spending anything to go out to the Statue of Liberty is the biggest waste.
The free Staten Island Ferry service is probably the #1 overlooked bargain for any visitor, since you get both a free ride across New York Harbor
(with a nice view of lower Manhattan) and a reasonably close pass by of the StofL for plenty of photo ops. The only down side is that you have to
take it both ways to return to lower Manhattan, and the trip is 30 minutes each way, so you burn an hour.
And you do have to mini-sprint to make it back for the return trip, since they force you to get off when it docks in Staten Island and then rush
around to the entrance to get back on before it leaves minutes later. Otherwise you have to wait another 30 minutes for the next one.
But it costs $0 for as many people as you have with you. There won't be a whole lot of that during your visit.
As I just typed that, walks through Central Park also came to mind. There's always a gathering in Strawberry Fields
playing Beatles/Lennon music across the street from the Dakota, where he was murdered.
If you have any interest in TV production or history, the NBC Tour is also worth it. You "usually" will get to see the Saturday Night Live studio
and the Tonight Show studio (although it is subject to rehearsal/taping schedules).
Tickets for the Tonight Show are pretty tough to get, but Fallon does a "monologue rehearsal" earlier in the afternoon
and they give out tickets for just that if you just want to get a sense of what it's like to sit in the audience.
The monologue rehearsal is a lot longer than the actual monologue, because he sometimes runs 40-50 jokes just to see which 6-7 get the best reaction to be used that night.
Tickets for any TV show taping are ALWAYS FREE and not transferable (same in Los Angeles), so don't get scammed into buying anything like that from somebody on the street.
Last edited by bobbylouie; 04-28-2022 at 09:59 PM.
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If you really want to see one of the big Broadway shows you will need to book tickets in advance. If you're not fussed what you go to, buy tickets for 50% the day of and enjoy.
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Thanks AC!
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My favourite 2 things I did in NYC was top of the rock at night, and, walking to Brooklyn to get Grimaldis. The walk through Manhattan was a lot of fun to see all the side streets and businesses and weirdos of NY.
I love NYC, great place.
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-- Have lunch at the secret "Burger Joint" buried inside the Thompson Central Park Hotel (56th and 6th)
-- Visit Grand Central Terminal but stop for a "Manhattan" or other old school libation at the Campbell Apartment (43rd off Vanderbilt)
-- Walk the High Line outdoor park (west of the Flatiron District)
-- Head to the Upper East Side - there is a locksmith/shoe repair place on 2nd Ave and 77th called "Keys and Heels" - but it is NOT a locksmith but rather a secret speakeasy
-- Ground Zero
-- If the Rangers are still in the playoffs, hit me up and we will catch a game at MSG in a suite
-- Take the gondola to Roosevelt Island - go to the Graduate Hotel and head to the top floor lounge for a drink and cool views of Manhattan
-- Touristy recommendation -- go to "The Edge" observation deck in Hudson Yards -- cooler and newer than Top of the Rock
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What to do in New York?
