Stuff do to in New York

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Kefka

I'll be staying in Chelsea, across the street from MSG.

One of the things I want to have happen more than anything is to see Louis CK perform on a random night at Carolines by chance. I'd literally die of happiness. The jazz and blues clubs you mentioned sound awesome, I dont plan on sleeping much while I'm there so that kind of thing sounds awesome.

And of course I plan on seeing 3 hockey games while I'm in town lol. Oh and my friend who's going loves country but I dont think New York is Nashville haha

New York is everything. There are plenty of country bars, there's an old school blue grass spot in Alphabet City that I've never known the name of (potentially related to the presence of excessive amounts of whiskey) and a number of other bars that play lots of country. Your probably not going to find a lot of Kenny Chesney, but Willie and Waylon are easy to find.

Having lived here for a few years it's a bit hard for me to throw out a list of things to do/see, there's far too much. If you have any questions, bars to chill at, bars to pick up girls at, best slice, best taco stand, whatever, feel free to fire away and I'll do my best. It'll probably remind me of some places I forgot about, which is always great.

One recomendation, go to Torrissi Italian specialties on Mulberry in little Italy. Getting a table at night is likely out of the question, but they make the most amazing sandwiches during the day (actually by November they will likely have opened up a place called Parm next door that does sandwiches and small plates all day). The best turkey sandwich you will ever eat.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Attend the taping of the letterman show which is free.
If you are a geek, check out the B&H store.
If you are a sports fan, the NFL, NHL and NBA are playing in November.

I LOVE NY. Wish I can get a well paying job and live that. But it's mostly just a pipe dream.

I went to a taping of Letterman once, it was kind of a waste of time to get in at the time (2001). The process kind of screws up your day, because you had to stand in line, come back later, stand in line, come back later, etc. Ultimately, it was kind of lame anyway. Letterman comes off funnier on TV than in real life.

Went to that little shop nearby and saw Mujibar (or was it Sirijul?)

Otherwise FAO Schwartz was cool.

[Titan]

One of the great experiences of my life was hitting a broadway show. The theatre was much more "cozy" and intimate than I thought it would be. There was a great range of people and when we went outside for a smoke at the intermission the steam was coming out of the manhole and it was like a classic picture of life in the city. It was awesome.

I also really enjoyed the NBC and Carnegie Hall tours. behind the scenes and really neat.

Walking to Times Square was pretty cool as well.

Such an awesome vibe to that city.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Icon

Be prepared to stand in line for a while (couple hours) tho... strongly recommend getting there before they open. Bring a book :P

Or go last minute. If you show up at 5:30 you can usually walk right up to the window, in my experience. There's a bit of a risk you don't get anything you want then, but I've never been able to not get something interesting.

If there is something you have to see, then you should buy the tickets in advance. If you're just looking for a broadway show experience, this will work. It's often usually the older shows than many people have seen. Phantom of the Opera was regularly available there the first time we went. It was awesome, but it's been playing for 20+ years, so many people have seen it already.

[Table 5]

Stuff to do in NY: Looking where you are going.
Stuff not to do in NY: Backing up aimlessly while looking up at some building and/or trying to take a picture.

I highly recommend both of these.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Stuff to do in NY: Looking where you are going.
Stuff not to do in NY: Backing up aimlessly while looking up at some building and/or trying to take a picture.

I highly recommend both of these.

That's only good advice if you don't want to get hit by angry pedestrians and taxicabs.

[JBR]

Going for a week in mid August.. my 7th time and just as excited as the first. My favorites:

- Monte's Trattoria in Little Italy. Great food, reasonable and big portions. Spoke with our waiter (who was right out of Goodfellas) for an hour about his love of Canada etc. and his lifelong quest to visit.

- Several hole in the wall restaurants in Hell's Kitchen. This is a very underrated area of New York. Great restaurants on 9th and 10th Ave.

- Carnegie Deli. usually packed but it's quick in and out and the food is great. Touristy, but good.

- Take the "A" to Brooklyn and walk back over the bridge.

- Shopping. Century 21 is my favorite for work shirts, pants etc. Feline's Basement for the ladies (some decent men's bargains in there too).

[Kybosh]

Sit in your hotel room and watch PPV movies of the adult variety. Exotic!

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Stuff to do in NY: Looking where you are going.
Stuff not to do in NY: Backing up aimlessly while looking up at some building and/or trying to take a picture.

I highly recommend both of these.

I made the mistake of walking down 5th Ave yesterday between 53rd and 46th. I found out my lateral quickness is still pretty strong, quite the obstacle course of tourists.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by JBR

Going for a week in mid August.. my 7th time and just as excited as the first. My favorites:

- Monte's Trattoria in Little Italy. Great food, reasonable and big portions. Spoke with our waiter (who was right out of Goodfellas) for an hour about his love of Canada etc. and his lifelong quest to visit.

- Several hole in the wall restaurants in Hell's Kitchen. This is a very underrated area of New York. Great restaurants on 9th and 10th Ave.

- Carnegie Deli. usually packed but it's quick in and out and the food is great. Touristy, but good.

- Take the "A" to Brooklyn and walk back over the bridge.

- Shopping. Century 21 is my favorite for work shirts, pants etc. Feline's Basement for the ladies (some decent men's bargains in there too).

Carnegie is good, but try Katz's on houston. People have their own preferences when it comes to delis, but I persoanlly find Katz's to be much better than Carnegie.

[Icon]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Or go last minute. If you show up at 5:30 you can usually walk right up to the window, in my experience. There's a bit of a risk you don't get anything you want then, but I've never been able to not get something interesting.

If there is something you have to see, then you should buy the tickets in advance. If you're just looking for a broadway show experience, this will work. It's often usually the older shows than many people have seen. Phantom of the Opera was regularly available there the first time we went. It was awesome, but it's been playing for 20+ years, so many people have seen it already.

Yeah if you don't really care what you end up seeing, last minute tickets are likely available. Note getting tickets from there is same-day only.

Also just across the street is the Times Square Visitor's Center (might not be called that exactly but something to that effect), they sell tickets in there for all the shows as well for future days, albeit not discounted.

[troutman]

The Village Voice is a great source of info for live music and restaurants:

http://www.villagevoice.com/

The Concert Calendar is to die for:

http://www.villagevoice.com/events/concerts/

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Stuff to do in NY: Looking where you are going.
Stuff not to do in NY: Backing up aimlessly while looking up at some building and/or trying to take a picture.

I highly recommend both of these.

I found it was highly bussling with local pedestrian traffic to really do a lot of touristy camera things, so I kind of just forgot about it.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I found it was highly bussling with local pedestrian traffic to really do a lot of touristy camera things, so I kind of just forgot about it.

Honestly, that's the best way to experience this city (or actually any vacation destination). Forget the camera....you'll be too preoccupied with having to capture every single moment to actually enjoy anything. Just walk around aimlessly and have a good time.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by valo403

I made the mistake of walking down 5th Ave yesterday between 53rd and 46th. I found out my lateral quickness is still pretty strong, quite the obstacle course of tourists.

Yeah, that entire area is like a nuclear fallout zone for me. I try to stay away unless it's absolutely necessary. Too bad all the good watch stores are in mid-town.....

[kermitology]

Things I did during my recent trip to New York:

• Saw a concert at Radio City Music Hall (TV on the Radio)
• Saw a taping of Letterman
• Went to Chicago (musical). This was awesome because we got upgraded from the cheapest seats to the most expensive seats for free when we went to pick up our tickets. 3rd row!
• Went to the top of the empire state building around midnight
• Had a picnic in Central Park
• Went to the Museum of Modern Art
• Walked the Brooklyn Bridge. I wanted to go to Grimaldi's but my fiance can't eat gluten and she was in a very bad mood that day.. until
• Proposed to my then girlfriend, now fiance in the Brooklyn Bridge Park just down the street from Grimaldi's.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

View from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Plaza) is better than the Empire State building.

This. Line up is smaller and views are better. Great view of Central Park, Empire, St Patricks etc.

Here's a few of my pics from 2 years ago.

[Fire]

Try some soul food in Harlem. Amy Ruth's is a good one.

[CaptainCrunch]

If your any kind of music fan you have to go to Strawberry fields in Central Park and visit John Lennons' brownstone.

Go to little Italy and just eat Italian food.

Go to the UN and tour the museum.

Go to a Yankee's game, forget about the Mets

There's a restaurant in Time's Square called the Canadian Experience or something like that, go there for kicks.

I don't know if the Statue of Liberty is still closed or not but check that out.

Of course I went to the World Trade Center site, it seemed to be the thing to do.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

If your any kind of music fan you have to go to Strawberry fields in Central Park and visit John Lennons' brownstone.

Go to little Italy and just eat Italian food.

Go to the UN and tour the museum.

Go to a Yankee's game, forget about the Mets

There's a restaurant in Time's Square called the Canadian Experience or something like that, go there for kicks.

I don't know if the Statue of Liberty is still closed or not but check that out.

Of course I went to the World Trade Center site, it seemed to be the thing to do.

I have no idea what this Canadian place in Time's Sq is, I've never heard of anything of the sort. Could be hilarious though.

I'd recommend not going to Little Italy for Italian with a few exceptions. Don't walk down Mulberry and look at menus, most of those places are sub par. There are a few decent spots, you're better off to find those before you go and avoid the guys out front waving menus.