First time to NYC

Hey guys/gals. I know there are a lot of you from various parts of the country, however it seems like there are a lot of people on this forum from NY.

So here's the deal. My wife and I are traveling there this September (to the city) and was wondering if you could recommend some good places to eat and shop while we're there. We're coming from the west coast so the fine shopping out here is basically Nordstrom, Neimen Marcus and Brook Brothers.

Needless to say we're pretty excited to see what the fashion capitol of the US has to offer. We generally enjoy the nicer things, but HATE paying full price. Food is another story though. We LOVE to enjoy fine dining. So what does the best of NYC have to offer?

EDIT: If you could include what we should expect to pay for a meal if you have a restaurant recommendation it would be appreciated.

Eleven Madison Park is currently my favorite - $125/person for the tasting menu, worth every penny. Review.
Grammercy Tavern - a consistent favorite, much cheaper than EMP
Babbo - Batali's big Italian restaurant, and a damn good meal at that. All entrees are under $30.
Daniel - French, a consistent favorite, but a old and stodgy in my book. $100 per.
Corton - French, complicated dishes that still seem to pull it off in today's "less is more" culture. $100 per.
Aldea - chef Mendez will take care of you with fantastic and creative dishes. Prices are incredibly reasonable, maybe $60 per for a few courses
Alto - for fancy Italian. Count on $100 per.
Marea - for fancy Italian from the ocean. Also usually $100 per.
15 East - for superb sushi. Sit at the chef's table and have him take care of you. We usually end up at $150 per. I can't say no to offers of more tuna belly.

That's what I like to see! Thanks for the quick reply gome. Now how about some shopping? I'm a big fan of Nordstrom Rack out here on the west coast. Anything like that where I can pick up some nice stuff at deep discounts?

Loving the restaurant recommendations too! Keep them coming! Looks like I might be shopping less and eating more.

Century 21 for the discounts. It can be a mob, but I don't know of a better place for discounts and such.

IMO Bergdorf Goodman is the store to visit, though they probably won't have many sales going on. It's still worth the visit. From there you can walk down Fifth ave and take a quick turn into Ma Peche for lunch (or Robuchon or Ducasse if you're feeling more flush)

+1 to Century 21. Best to go early to beat the crowds; it can get messy in there.

Check The Choosy Beggar to see if there will be any sample sales worth going to during your stay. Will likely be announced a week or so beforehand.

+1 to Bergdorf, even the window displays are simply beautiful.

Another option is Gentleman's Resale on the Upper East Side. High end consignments galore, you can find anything from Polo RL to Kiton suits, all in mint condition and they frequently have sales on their rotating stock. Next door is Designer Resale for your wife.

EMP is a fantastic restaurant and I highly recommend having a dinner there. You will not be disappointed.

It's fairly difficult to secure a reservation at Babbo as they only start taking them a month in advance (weekends and evenings are likely to fill up fast). They do however have 5 or so tables open per evening for walk-ins, so checking it out early would be best.

The kind people on this forum recommended me the Convivio for 62 dollars each for a 4 course pre fix meal. It was incredible and the neighborhood-Tudor city is very nice.

For shopping you may want to visit the Ralph Lauren Mansion - I do not think they have any heavy sales but the store is simply gorgeous. Wander down Madison if you want to see Manhattan's full overpriced glory. It is very glamorous.

Del Posto.

Blue Hill restaurant; They have their own farm and their products are fresh and extremely delicious.

I have not done this, but a couple of people I know have enjoyed it:

http://www.sail-nyc.com/

Sunset cruise (booze included)

-1 to century 21 and such. ok fine if you want to look for deals on a vacation but it's ok to do the tourist stuff when, uh, you're a tourist. i guess you're not from LA or SF based on your shopping comments so i'd suggest on the restaurant side that you go to more of a "trendy" style restaurant than the traditional ones mentioned so far, as this is something special to NYC. for shopping just wander around madison and soho.

You can't go wrong with the restaurants mentioned for a splash out meal but nyc is home to great, inexpensive ethnic restaurants. This might not be meaningful if you live in LA but if you happen to live in the midwest, it would be a shame to miss this stuff. Restaurants like Morgon (cuban), Indian Buffets (utsav, Darbar, etc), Chinese (Szechuan gourmet, amazing 66), Japanese (Menchanko-Tei), korean...the list just goes on ad on. Let us know if there's something in particular of interest.

Also, over the last five years there's been a renaissance of street food in nyc, from great lamb/chicken over rice to kati rolls to bahn mi. Here's a link to get you started:
http://streetvendor.org/vendys/past#2009

and here's a good place to try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/53rd_and_6th

Originally Posted by vinouspleasure

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You can't go wrong with the restaurants mentioned for a splash out meal but nyc is home to great, inexpensive ethnic restaurants. This might not be meaningful if you live in LA but if you happen to live in the midwest, it would be a shame to miss this stuff. Restaurants like Morgon (cuban), Indian Buffets (utsav, Darbar, etc), Chinese (Szechuan gourmet, amazing 66), Japanese (Menchanko-Tei), korean...the list just goes on ad on. Let us know if there's something in particular of interest.

Also, over the last five years there's been a renaissance of street food in nyc, from great lamb/chicken over rice to kati rolls to bahn mi. Here's a link to get you started:
http://streetvendor.org/vendys/past#2009

and here's a good place to try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/53rd_and_6th

We're not from LA, but from Seattle. We do have some ethnic restaurants here, however would love to see what NYC has to offer. All and any recommendations are appreciated.

Originally Posted by vinouspleasure

Click to expand...

You can't go wrong with the restaurants mentioned for a splash out meal but nyc is home to great, inexpensive ethnic restaurants. This might not be meaningful if you live in LA but if you happen to live in the midwest, it would be a shame to miss this stuff. Restaurants like Morgon (cuban), Indian Buffets (utsav, Darbar, etc), Chinese (Szechuan gourmet, amazing 66), Japanese (Menchanko-Tei), korean...the list just goes on ad on. Let us know if there's something in particular of interest. Also, over the last five years there's been a renaissance of street food in nyc, from great lamb/chicken over rice to kati rolls to bahn mi. Here's a link to get you started: http://streetvendor.org/vendys/past#2009 and here's a good place to try: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/53rd_and_6th
Also great for "noshing" (that's NYC for walking around eating a bit of this and that) is a visit to the Union Square Greenmarket on a Saturday to get a taste of stuff from farmer's from ten states. The Chelsea Market is great for a meander and snacking as well. My fav ethnic dive in NYC is Nyonya Malaysian, oddly enough right smack dab in the middle of Little Italy. Sometimes it can seem relentlessly hip and touristy at the same time, but Soho on a Saturday or Sunday should not be missed.

here's a nice one-two: vanessa's dumpling house: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/...atown-nyc.html . make sure you try the sesame sandwich with duck and then around the corner for gelato: http://laboratoriodelgelato.com/thelab.php not sure how adventurous you want to be, but the best thai in nyc is not in manhattan, it's a subway ride away in queens: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/sripraphai/

Originally Posted by vinouspleasure

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here's a nice one-two:
vanessa's dumpling house: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/...atown-nyc.html . make sure you try the sesame sandwich with duck

That place is pretty amazing. You can stuff your face with quite good dumplings, pancakes, etc for practically nothing. A friend and I split 2 pancakces, 2 buns, 8 or 9 dumplings, each had a water, and the total was something absurd like $9. I was completely stuffed afterward too.