Friday, August 13, 2010

Stuff to Do in NYC




If you only have time for one thing, you'll have to choose carefully.

Personally, I'd head over to H&H Bagel and have one there. See bottom of this list for location, yes, it's a pain to get to.

Stop kvetching, you're in N.Y. already! Fuggedaboutit !

So, here we go.


SIGHTSEEING

Statue of Liberty National Monument & Ellis Island Service Advisory:


http://www.statuecruises.com/ferry-service/welcome.aspx


HELPFUL TIPS TO AVOID WAITING

- Purchase Tickets Online
- Print Tickets at home prior to arrival
- Choose Reserve Tickets whenever possible

The elevator at Liberty Island (Statue of Liberty National Monument) is back in service. Guests with Crown Access Tickets must be able to climb 354 steps to reach the crown of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

Guests who choose to depart after 2:00 pm will only be able to visit either Liberty Island or Ellis Island. Unfortunately, there will not be enough time to visit both landmarks.

Year round daily service to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, current wait time is generally about 30 minutes to enter the screening facility at Battery Park, New York. The wait time at Liberty State Park in New Jersey is about 15 minutes. Wait times are less during Autumn and Winter months. We strongly suggest you book in advance to guarantee access inside the Statue of Liberty with a Pedestal / Museum Ticket.


Other Sightseeing


Walk around Washington Square Park, by NYU, skip going to Central Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_Park

Walk around Rockefeller Plaza, midtown, go next door to St. Patrick’s Catherdral”. located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York. It faces Rockefeller Center.

Have lunch at a cheap place midtown, see link list below:

http://nymag.com/search/search.cgi?t=restaurant;q=Midtown%3AMidtown%20West;N=1148;rpp=25

Avoid SOHO, a bit much these days. Try the West Village instead.

Eat in Chinatown and in Little Italy.

Don’t have a place for you in Chinatown but here’s a list:

http://nymag.com/search/search.cgi?fd=All&Ns=Relevance|0&search_type=sw&N=0&textquery=Chinatown+restaurants&x=0&y=0&scope=sc-all

This place in Little Italy is great.

Joey's Paesano
136 Mulberry St (Chinatown)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-3337

Probably the cheapest deal in the 'very authentic' Little Italy. We were rubbing elbows with every other patrons, but that's the way it seemed at any outdoor patio on Mulberry. Get a carafe of house wine. Good food and service.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/30890/restaurant/Chinatown/Joeys-Paesano-New-York

…and nearby to Chinatown and Joey’s is Ferrara, well known.

Ferrara Café
(212) 226-6150
195 Grand Street
b/w Mulberry & Mott St
New York City, NY 10013

http://nymag.com/listings/stores/ferrara/

Veniero’s below is also fantastic, I think the cannollis are better, but it’s a hike to get there, pretty far east if you are starting from the West Village, and otherwise, no sightseeing destinations nearby. Chinatown and Little Italy spots above are more convenient.

Veniero's Pasticceria & Caffe'
Note: this is the East Village, pretty far over from the West Village.
342 E 11th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 674-7070

www.venierospastry.com

Great coffee and amazing desserts, what more could you ask for? If you are headed here for take out, immediately get a number and then start browsing. If you want a table, push your way past the first room and into the back where someone will seat you, if you're lucky. The New York Cheesecake is probably the city's best.

http://eatinganddrinkingmywayaroundnyc.blogspot.com/2008/11/venieros-pasticceria.html

Old Town Bar & Restaurant
(212) 529-6732
45 E 18th St
New York, NY 10003

This is an authentic NYC Bar, great old NY feel. This is the opposite of “NY chic”. Run down, bartenders and wait staff are ancient. Don’t expect them to be sympathetic. Or in a good mood. Just deal with it.

http://nymag.com/listings/bar/old_town_bar/

Midtown Near Theatre District


Bar Americain is Pricey but great food and location, about $40 an entree.

BAR AMERICAIN NEW YORK
152 W 52ND STREET
NY, NY 10019
(212) 265-9700

http://baramericain.com/nyc/map

Keen's is a classic NYC steakhouse.  They've been doing it old world style since 1885.  Expensive but memorable steakhouse.  Enromous steaks and chops in a maze of old world paneled rooms.  

Address: 72 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018
Phone:(212) 947-3636
11:45 am – 10:30 pm
Reservations: opentable.com

http://www.keens.com/OurMenus/Dinner/index.html


The Old HOmesteak Steakhouse is a NYC treasure, not to be missed.  Located in the old meat packing distract, this is where it all began, before the hipsters started moving in, in the '70's and took over warehouses and lofts.  Still, The Old Homestead marches on, with melt in your mouth sirlions and freshest ever fish, plus all the trimmings.  

Old Homestead has operated from the same place since opening its doors in 1868 – making it one of the longest continually serving restaurants in America.  Look for the giant cow over the door and you're there !

Old Homestead 
56 9th Ave (between 14th & 15th st)
New York, NY 10011
212.242.9040

http://www.theoldhomesteadsteakhouse.com/?q=about

http://www.theoldhomesteadsteakhouse.com/?q=node


Sadly, Puttanesca didn't make it, competition is vicious, we can only hope this great italian restaurant will return.

Puttanesca Restaurant
859 9th Ave -
Midtown West

New York, NY 10019
(212) 581-4177


Great Italian-American trattoria as well: fried calamari, chicken Parmesan, and spaghetti and meatballs. The fresh homemade pastas are the main attraction; eight of the largest tortellini you'll ever see, stuffed with wonderfully pungent, almost gamey ground veal, lounge in a thick, garnet-colored Barolo sauce. And the addition of proscuitto gives the Paglia e Fieno—green and white fettucini with peas and mushrooms in a rich cream sauce—an agreeably smoky edge. Recommended Dishes Paglia e Fieno, $14; tortellini di vitello, $14 


http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/Puttanesca/

Best sandwich place in the village is Lenny's, located @ 6th Ave & 14th Street.  

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lennys-new-york-5

http://www.yelp.com/menu/lennys-new-york-5


Budget Hotels

Budget-minded travelers often turn to websites like Craigslist.com, AirBnb.com, and Homeaway.com to find short-term apartment and room rentals in cities where hotels are out of their price range.

Check this one for great deals:

http://
www.AirBnb.com

NY is a city of archetectural wonders, check out these classic buildings

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apthorp

Finally, last but certainly first in New Yorkers' hearts, is H&H Bagel.

http://www.hhbagels.com/


Yes, it's a hike to get there. Just start walking west on 46th Street. Accept no substitutes, many imitators !

Plant and retail store:
H&H Bagels

(212( 765-7200
639 W 46th St
(between 11th Ave & West St)
Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West
New York, NY 10036

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=H%26H+bagel&fb=1&gl=us&hq=H%26H+bagel&cid=0,0,2692422235753770703&ei=RINlTJr5MMOqlAeYoqWTDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQnwIwAQ

For authentic Jewish food, and maybe some smoked Herring, try this...

On East Houston Street between Allen and Orchard on Manhattan's gentrified Lower East Side sits Russ & Daughters Appetizers, a century-old shrine consecrated to lox and bagels, herring, smoked salmon, caviar, chopped liver, and the rest. Today a fourth generation of Russes manages the business that their great-grandfather built from a pushcart in what was then a teeming Jewish ghetto. That this tiny gem should still flourish under the same family—a fifth-generation daughter has recently been born—is an urban miracle, a testament to the unfailing regenerative powers of New York and its people.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324001104578161343809868504.html#printMode?KEYWORDS=Smoked

http://www.russanddaughters.com/

Enjoy !

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