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Going to New York - shopping/restaurant recommendations?

LesterSnodgrass

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Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger
Moo-for only 5 days I'd skip a day trip and stay in the city/Brooklyn.

I forgot pizza!

Best places:

John's on Bleeker
Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side)
Lombardi's on Spring
Difara's on Ave J and 13th St in Brooklyn (but you'll wait and its a hike)
Nick's in Forest Hills Queens (also a hike)
L&B Spumoni Gardens Brooklyn (another hike) but the best Sicilian in the world...


I prefer Dani's on Lefferts in Kew Gardens. My wife's folks live opposite Austin on the QB in Forest Hills and we hit Dani's for a slice nearly every time we are home. I miss NYC -- and can't wait to move back.
 

lagsun

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My 2 cents. Search the chowhound.com forum for restaurant suggestions. Lots of recommendations by cuisine and area. If you like espresso then I liked Joe The Art of Coffee which has a website and several cafes throughout NYC.
 

teddieriley

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Originally Posted by Mr. Moo
As for hotels... we are staying in the Roosevelt. It's cheap and in a good location. I'd rather spend the money on activities/shopping/food than a nicer room. Anyone agree?

All you need is a good, clean, serviceable room if you're on a budget - some place that is inviting when you return from a long day of siteseeing and shopping. I too would rather spend the cash on food and clothes. I'm not big time, so I think blowing $500 a night on a hotel room is ridiculous. I Pricelined the Grand Central Hyatt for a little over $100 a night (+ taxes, etc.). It's a 4-star business hotel, so we knew we would get something clean, and the location was perfect. Room was a little dark, but suitable for our needs. Don't know anything about the Roosevelt. Trip Advisor for reviews, if you haven't already, will be more than helpful.
 

mr monty

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Originally Posted by Mr. Moo
My wife and I will be making a trip to New York City for our 1 year wedding anniversary in October. We don't have any family or close friends there, so we'll likely be on our own. We are going to be there for 5 days. I haven't been there since I was 12 and she has never been, so we'll be very touristy.

I'm looking for recommendations about must do/must see things, including shopping to keep it MC approved.
smile.gif
Interested in restaurants, buildings, cool photo op places, best shows to see, etc.

Also, do you recommend renting a car or should we cab/subway it the whole time?

Also, what would be a good one day trip to take (i.e. leave early in the AM and come back in the evening)? Niagara Falls seems like it's too far for that (800 miles round trip). Any other ideas?

Thanks guys!


No close friends in NYC? You can't be serious? What about the your SF friends? Most are dying to meet you. Sent out some emails and report back.
Take the day trip to Boston and hang out with VOX? I think you under estimated your popularity on SF?

peepwall[1].gif
 

NewYorkIslander

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Originally Posted by zbromer
As an Italian-American, I can confidently say that a large portion of most Italian-Americans have no idea what authentic Italian cuisine is either.

By authentic, you probably mean Northern Italian...I'd swallow arsenic before I eat their food.
 

edmorel

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Originally Posted by mr monty
No close friends in NYC? You can't be serious? What about the your SF friends? Most are dying to meet you. Sent out some emails and report back.
Take the day trip to Boston and hang out with VOX? I think you under estimated your popularity on SF?

peepwall[1].gif


he and foo should double date.
 

TheFoo

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Originally Posted by Mr. Moo
As for hotels... we are staying in the Roosevelt. It's cheap and in a good location. I'd rather spend the money on activities/shopping/food than a nicer room. Anyone agree?

This would be my approach. Where is the hotel?

One of our favorite restaurants in the city is a little hole in the wall called Hagi Sake Bar. It's a Japanese small-dish restaurant on 49th between 6th and 7th, basement level. It's casual and relatively inexpensive. Simple but excellent.
 

calisanfran

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Some great suggestions have already been made. I'd add Jean Georges to your restaurant list: http://www.jean-georges.com/. You can combine the dinner there with your visit to Central Park.

It's a bit on the $$$ side, but the food and ambience is great.
 

TheFoo

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For Italian, we like Lupa, Celeste, and Il Gattopardo. Lupa is Battali's Roman trattoria-style restaurant in the West Village. The other two are Neapolitan/Southern Italian restaurants. Celeste is on the Upper West Side and much more casual than Il Gattopardo, which is in Midtown (54th between 5th and 6th, I think). The paccheri genovese at Il Gattopardo is maybe the best pasta dish I've had in Manhattan--tied with the carbonara at Lupa. As far as I can tell, they're all very authentic to the regional cuisines they report to serve. Lupa is exactly like a little (very good) restaurant you might stumble upon in Rome, down to the decor and ambience. You'd be amazed at how much crappy Italian food gets raved over in the city. If you make a macaroni-and-cheese dish with expensive parmesan, you'll be booked for weeks.

I've never been to Babbo, but I thought Del Posto (Battali's highest end restaurant) was overrated.
 

ohm

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Originally Posted by mafoofan
This would be my approach. Where is the hotel?

One of our favorite restaurants in the city is a little hole in the wall called Hagi Sake Bar. It's a Japanese small-dish restaurant on 49th between 6th and 7th, basement level. It's casual and relatively inexpensive. Simple but excellent.


Seconding this place - you can buy a bottle of something strong and they'll put your name on it so you can stop by every day after work to work on it. Note that Hagi is downstairs, it's not the same as the restaurant above ground. Sakagura is the big version of underground japanese food if you happen to love eating japanese in basements.

I'd recommend taking a boat tour around the city, it'll give you an interesting perspective on NY that you don't get from the air or walking/driving, they're full of trivia and you'll appreciate sitting down for a few hours.
 

lagsun

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Forgot to mention if you go full touristy and want to visit the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island then you need to reserve/purchase tickets ahead of time via their website.
 

TheFoo

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Originally Posted by lagsun
Forgot to mention if you go full touristy and want to visit the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island then you need to reserve/purchase tickets ahead of time via their website.

And spring for the express tickets at the Empire State building. You don't want the missus to be stuck in line for three hours.
 

teddieriley

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Originally Posted by mafoofan
And spring for the express tickets at the Empire State building. You don't want the missus to be stuck in line for three hours.

If you go to the Top of the Rock, no need to go to the top of the Empire State building.
 

TheFoo

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Originally Posted by teddieriley
If you go to the Top of the Rock, no need to go to the top of the Empire State building.

Well, if you want to be touristy and have never been to NYC, how can you not go to the Empire State building?
 

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