A Bite of the Big Apple

Posted by thuylinda in Reiser

“I love New York, even though it isn’t mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it.”

― Truman Capote

I fell in love in New York City (NYC) three years ago and I’ve just returned from my third trip. I’ve explored this city opens its doors and urban renewal never stops. Whatever you heard about NYC, believe it!

A good friend of mine asked me to give her recommendations for NYC and I started to make a list. Then I decided to share it with you guys here – hopefully more people will find it helpful. Thanks to my sweet friend Cathy Ngo and her friends for recommendations. All photos on this website are copyrighted material and all rights are reserved Phuong Costello Photography.

WHERE TO LIVE?

“There is no question that there is an unseen world. The problem is, how far is it from midtown and how late is it open?”
― Woody Allen

The city of New York proper comprises five boroughs: Manhattan (the heart of NYC), Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens. You should stay in Manhattan.

Our last trip we stayed at Paramount Hotel located in Time Square. The room was small but if you ask them nicely they may upgrade you for free! I love the lobby at the hotel. It was modern and fashionable and they had free wifi. I think we paid around 200 dollars per night per room. The hotel was perfect for us as a couple.

My recommendation for you is to choose a place in Manhattan nearby a subway- either it is in Lower Manhatten, Tribeca & Soho, Lower East Side & East Village, West (Greenwich) Village, Chelsea & Meatpacking District, Union Square, Midtown, Upper East Side or Upper West Side.. Take time to read the reviews rather than the hotel’s own description. My experience is if something bad with the hotel is mentioned several times in different reviews – they may have a point. You should plan ahead if you’re at all picky about where you want to stay because the standard occupancy is 85 % and rising in NYC. There are also some good budget options to be found. I recommend you to book in advance because once you get there, you will like to spend every minute to explore this city instead of wasting your time looking for a place to stay.

TRANSPORT

“I love New York. You can pop out of the Underworld in Central Park, hail a taxi, head down Fifth Avenue with a giant hellhound loping behind you, and nobody even looks at you funny.”
― Rick Riordan

Three major airports serve NYC: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark International Airport and Long Island MacArthur Airport. We took the Airtrain from JFK and made a transit at Jamaica Station. It cost $7.50 and took us about 50 minutes to get to Midtown Manhattan (Penn Station).

You will probably use the subway during your stay. The subway in New York City is one of the largest subway systems in the world in terms of track mileage and number of stops (468), and one of the only 24 hour subway systems in the world. The base subway or local bus fare is $2.50. If you are in NY for 4 days or more, buy the 7 day unlimited travel metro card- it’s worth it. It costs $30 and good for unlimited subway and local bus rides until midnight, 7 days from day of first use. If you want to know more how to ride the subway – go here.

WHERE TO EAT/DRINK?

New restaurants opens every single day of the year and it’s over 18.000 different restaurants in NYC. Where to begin? Whatever you’re after you’ll find it here! Either a quick walk away or subway ride away.

Breakfast

Start your day with a hearty meal. Bagels are one of New York’s iconic foods – and for a good reason. Head down Lower East Side to Russ & daughters for a New York classic like Smoked Salmon on a Toasted Bagel, a healthy choice like an Egg White Frittata, or fresh Home Made Muesli. And don’t forget the coffee. Another one is Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee. They have, literally, 20 different flavors of cream cheese. I also recommend Le Pain Quotidien – a bakery-cafe chain you can find several places in NYC. Their food is pretty good.

During your trip you should have a typical american breakfast. In New York, it consists of two eggs, toast, home fries and breakfast meat (bacon, ham or sausage). You can also get pancakes, French toast, or a waffle with or instead.

You can also find a cute breakfast place across from Central Park name Sarabeth’s.

Dinner

Taste some of the best foods you’ve ever had in NYC! Some places are absolutely worth the time it takes to get there and the wait in line. Here is a list over some of the places I’ve been to or friends of mine have recommended me:

East Village:

Momofuku’s restaurants for the pork belly buns and ramen (THIS PLACE IS A MUST!!! AND YOU HAVE TO TASTE THE PORK BELLY BUNS!).

Ippudo – a nice Japanese ramen noodle brasserie.

Green Village:

Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo for great Italian food.

Central Park:

Per Se – a great place for food lovers.

Meatpacking district:

Scott Conant’s restaurant Scarpetta for the spaghetti.

Steakhouse Peter Luger. You can’t go to NYC without going there for steak.

Nolita:

Pizza at Lombardi’s. This is America’s first pizzeria!

Tribeca:

Fusion Korean food in Kori restaurant.

Bouley – this is the place if you’re in for an amazing dining experience. Go to this French restaurant for a three hour 6 or 7 course!

Chinatown:

You get the best dim sum and crispy duck here! You’ll find streets lined with stands selling exotic foodstuffs such as live eels, square watermelons and hairy rambutans. Chinatown excels at cheap eats.

Madison Square Park:

If you’re in for a burger – check out Shake Shack. Some say Shake Shack is living on reputation and/or the wait is too long. But to me it was one of the best burgers I have ever tasted and it’s definitely worth the waiting.

Make a visit to Eataly – Mario Batali’s Giant Italian Food Market. A great place to learn, see, shop and eat, eat and eat as everything looks and tastes great! It feels like the italian mama is behind the scenes cooking for you.

Eleven – here you can have a multi-course tasting French menu. It’s a great place if you’re looking for maybe the best meal of your entire life.

Theater District:

Totto Ramen – a Japanese restaurant known for delicious ramen.

Brooklyn:

You should go to Smorgasburg – a flea food market.

Lower East Side:

Hester street fair – a collection of NYC’s best vendors in a bustling outdoor marketplace with the finest artisanal food, vintage clothing, jewelry, crafts, home goods and much more.

Dessert

East Village:

Chikalicious dessert club.

Momofuku milk bar – you want the crack cookie!

Upper East Side:

Two Little Red Hens have the best cupcakes I heard.

Upper West Side:

Cafe Lalo is known for the movie “You got mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I’ve read they have the best cheesecake in New York!

Bars

“You never know what you’re going to find when you go out at night in New York. You don’t know if you’ll find love, danger, happiness, or hell. You don’t even know if you’ll find a cab. But you’re ready to take your chances. That’s why you live in New York.”
– Kinky Friedman

Please, Don’t Tell (East Village): The absolute best speakeasy set-up for a bar in Manhattan. It’s a cool idea with the hidden place in the phone both. While it’s virtually impossible to get a table on a Friday or Saturday night without a reservation, that’s not the case earlier in the week, particularly if you call at 3 PM the day of when their phone lines open for reservations. To get in, walk down into Crif Dogs and open the wooden phone booth just to the left of the entrance. If you have a reservation, just dial the number posted, and a hostess will open the (semi) secret door to let you in. Fenomenal idea?

Milk & honey (Flatiron): There is a popular trend happening in New York City right now – the exclusive craft cocktail. There is no menu at this bar, you simply tell the server or bartender what you are interested in. Flavors, textures, types of liquor – and they create something just for you.

Jazz at the Village Vanguard (Greenwich Village) or any historic NYC jazz bar.

Angel’s Share (East Village): A hidden bar inside a Japanese yakitori restaurant? Who would’ve think?! An adorable NYC speakeasy with creatively crafted cocktails and a cozy atmosphere.

Campbell’s apartment: Like drinking on the set of a 1930s movie that historically depicts the gothic period. There are beautiful large stained glass windows light up the bar. The red carpets and leather seats make the place look important, cozy and mysterious.

WHAT TO DO?

“There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless.”

– Simone Beauvoir

The most popular stops on the tourist circuit are clustered in or near Midtown.

Time Square & Theater District

Times Square – iconified as “The Crossroads of the World” smacked in the middle of Middletown Manhattan. You’ll love or hate it. Gaudy billboards and glittery marquees! Times Square is the world’s most visited tourist attraction, hosting over 39 million visitors annually. New Yorkers hate Time Square and call it the tourist heart of the city. It’s loud, it’s bold, chaotic and a heap of garbage flying about the place.

But if you’re a tourist debating you should go to Time Square, this is a must. You will see all types of things, people, and events. It’s a crazy place! You’ll find Broadway and off-Broadway theaters located next to Time Square.

Broadway shows

At the north end of Time Square you’ll find the discount TKTS booth. Join the line and the savings can be 25-60 percent! Remember the latest hits aren’t likely show up here. The booth opens at 3 p.m. There is also a convenient location at South Ferry where the tickets are cheaper than in the Times Square location. If you are under 30, most theaters have a discount. Another discount suggestion is Playbill.com. You can get discount codes and buy online.

Good things that are playing on Broadway: “Pippin”, “Matilda”, “Lion King” and of course “Book of Mormon” (must see!), “Wicked” the usual. We saw the musical “Once”- winner of 8 Grammy awards. The party has already started by the time when we entered the Broadway theater. The stage was filled with musicians jamming to Irish tunes in what looks like a Dublin pub. Real drinks are offered to the brave theatergoers willing to go up and mingle. Eventually, come show time, everything sort of melts away – those musicians are the cast – and there’s just a guy up there strumming a guitar.

I’ve also been recommended “Sleep No More” . After reading the reviews I don’t think this is my kind of thing. Anyways, if you can afford it and want to experience something different- you should! I’ve been guaranteed that I have never seen anything like it.

There are also really good shows that are Off-Broadway. But the runs are usually shorter so it’s best to check ahead. Try companies like the Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club or Playwrights Horizons, maybe you’ll get a really good experience that is even better than Broadway. There won’t be fancy pyrotechnics so it depends on what you’re looking for in a New York theater experience: content or spectacle.

Central Park

Central Park is New York’s garden -Manhattan’s largest green space. The park includes multiple lakes, sports fields, wide open spaces and more than six miles of walking, jogging, cycling and driving paths. The official website here.

Summer

You can see the squirrels running around everywhere, find birds of every color, and watch the turtles swim around in the ponds. When you pay a visit to Central Park you will discover that there is something for everyone. You can spend a whole day there. I’ve taken power nap on the green lawn, eaten lunch at one of the benches, had some ice cream while walking around and listened to many of the street performers.

They also have SummerStage – free performances for all types of music fans. Check out the schedule of performances here.

Winter
The park is no less lovely in the winter. Simply taking a stroll through the park and seeing the snow-covered trees will immediately take you away from the hustle and bustle in the city. You can go ice-skating at Wollman Rink or Lasker Rink. Be part of Winter Jam 2014. Winter Jam NYC is a free winter sports festival for New Yorkers of all ages! Or you can watch a show at Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre. Don’t forget to shoot some winter pictures in Central Park.

“I’m ten years old. My life is half over and I don’t even know if I’m black with white stripes or white with black stripes!”

– Marty the Zebra from the movie “Madagascar”

The Dreamwork’s movie about Alex the lion, Marty the starry-eyed zebra, Melman the hypochondriac giraffe and Gloria the “hip” hippo all have a pampered life at the zoo before they managed to escape and ended up in Madagascar. Well, the zoo was the Central Park Zoo. It’s small but in a beautiful setting. It’s unique in that you can see views of buildings in the background. You need to know going in that it has a limited amount of animals.

Metropolitan Museam of Art (Met)

The Metropolitan Museum (Met) is a place that every tourist should visit. This museum is the largest art museum in the United States, and one of the ten largest in the world. I actually went there by myself and enjoyed it! I almost got lost a couple of times. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to see all of it. There were exhibits, that really impressed me because I’ve never seen things like that anywhere else. What really got my full attention was the Egyptian exhibit. It was like you were transferred to Egypt for a short period of time. Fantastic exhibits spanning the globe – something for all tastes and interests!

Museum of Modern Art (MoMa)

This museum is worth visiting. MoMa makes modern art so accessible. I loved all of the fabulous paintings on the 4th and 5th floors. Picasso, Matisse, Pollack, Monet, Van Gogh – just stunning! Don’t let the common misconception of “modern art” discourage you from coming here. Me and my boyfriend liked it and we are just “folks”. But we visited on Friday (as it is free between 4 and 8) and the amount of visitors was absolutely UNBEARABLE. I actually recommend you to pay the $25 – it is better than trying to navigate through a hot crowd.

Top of the Rock Observation Deck / the Empire State Building

I’ve been to both Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building. I think that Top of the Rock has the best views; especially on the highest level where the views are almost unimpeded by glass or building.

Top Of the Rock has brilliant panoramic views of the city with an excellent view of Central Park. A good idea to go just as the sun is setting so you get to see the skyline in daylight but then also as all the lights start to go on! Amazing sight! Make sure you’re arriving at least an hour or so before sunset to allow for lining up for tickets, security screening and lifts. My boyfriend who is a photographer totally fell in love with the view. We actually stayed there for almost 3 hours (!). Hint: Bring some snacks and water!

But there is nothing more New York than the Empire State Building, from the quirky history, to King Kong, to the excellent Art Deco architecture and the views. I went there with my family around New Year’s Eve. It was freaking cold and windy! Bring your heavy duty jackets/gloves/scarfs etc. You can stay in the covered room to “defrost” but the best and most gorgeous view has got to be outside on the 86th floor. The view there is breathtaking! It gives you a “Top of the world”-feeling!

Needless to say, go on a clear day – when you buy an online ticket it is valid for a year. If it looks like it’s raining or drizzling, defer your trip to another day when the weather is better.

Do book in advance!

Financial District

Wall Street is at the heart of the New York City financial district.

The New York Stock Exchange has a facade like a Roman temple.

The World Trade Center consisted of seven buildings symbolizing the heart of New York finance. They were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The two most prominent and famous buildings were the twin towers. There is a WTC Visitors Center where visitors can view exhibits, join walking tours, make donations, and hear personal stories about the events of 9/11/01 and 02/26/93..

9/11 Memorial is a beautiful memorial to honor those who lost their lives that day. The water falling into the hallowed ground says it all. Although free to visit, advance passes for a specific date and time are recommended.

Other sights

The New York Public Library: This is well worth a visit if you like all things bookish. I just soak up the atmosphere walking around and having a look at some of the titles on the shelves. The library itself is a amazing building, so grand, and the reading rooms are recognizable from so many movies!

Grand Terminal Central: It’s surprising how familiar it looks when you go inside the station, its been on so many films and it looks the exact same! If you go downstairs there is a massive food hall which serves just about every different type of food so is good for lunch. The main concourse is spectacular and the ceiling has an astronomical theme. Grand Central is a very busy hub, not just with commuters coming and going, but with many tourists.

Statue of Liberty: This is one of the most famous places in the world. No words I can use to describe the majesty of this fabulous American icon. But visiting the island is time-consuming and requires long waits and a crowded ride. A great trip all around. My last trip we took the Governor’s Island ferry instead. It’s free and you get a picturesque view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty! It’s not nearly as long as the Staten Island ferry. The island has 19th century houses and outdoor art exhibitions.

The Highline in the Meatpacking District. It is a very popular free attraction – an old elevated rail line that was converted into a walkway with stunning landscape architecture.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s population is about 2.5 million people. Brooklyn is big, it’s diverse, and it’s got something for everyone – it claims to be the real New York! You name it, Brooklyn’s got it: history, beaches, including Brighton Beach, parks, New York’s only aquarium, Coney Island, ethnic enclaves, night clubs, hip art galleries & museums and world-class shopping.

Brooklyn Bridge is one of my favorite buildings in NYC. Walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan around noon so you have the sun in your back and you can enjoy the view over Manhattan Financial District and Midtown. You will love it!

Brooklyn Bridge Park, which has a beautiful carousel and the most gorgeous view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan.

Coney Island: A day here is a fun-filled NYC experience. I love Coney Island because it is a quite beach destination close to Manhattan and it’s FREE! Granted it is over crowded. The beach offers all day sand, sun, and ocean water for the price of a subway ride!

There’s a long boardwalk with benches and various food vendors along that boardwalk. Its amusement parks have vintage appeal and the whole atmosphere is just chill. I loved to just watching watching people.

Shopping

Shop till you drop. Experienced and amateur shoppers alike will no doubt be thrilled by the amount of choice offered in New York’s shopping venues.

SOHO

One of the most beautiful districts in NYC. We enjoyed walking in every street and every corner of SoHo. Prince, Green, and Spring Street are where all of the popular boutiques are to go. SoHo has a fun youthful vibe about it. The shopping was tremendous and lots of trendy restaurants. The buildings in themselves are a treat because it has that real 1800’s feel. Great area.

Fifht avenue

Famous for the shopping, there are a ton of things to see here. A good mix of shops for purchasing and window shopping. I always thought the Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Oxford Street in London and the Fifth Avenue in NY to be the most impressive shopping avenues in the world. You can literally spend all day here and all of your money.

Major department stores

Barneys, 660 Madison Avenue, – originally located in Chelsea, this luxury department store now competes directly with its midtown neighbors

Bergdorf Goodman, 754 5th Avenue, – with a prime location at 57th Street and 3rd Avenue, Bergdorf remains the grand dame of all things fashionable and luxe in New York

Bloomingdale’s, 59th Street & Lexington Avenue, – the flagship of the Bloomingdale’s retail chain, located in midtown east

Henri Bendel, 712 Fifth Avenue – chic boutique department store that is known for up-and-coming designers and youthful flair

Macy’s Heral Square, 151 West 34th Street, – massive flagship that is a true New York landmark; choice and number of goods is so large you may have trouble buying anything!

Saks Fifht Avenue, 611 Fifth Avenue, – beautiful flagship of the Saks chain; be sure to check out their window displays, particularly during the holidays

B&H: It has long been the place to go for all your photo, video, pro audio and digital imaging needs.

Shopping malls

Woodbury Common Outlet Mall – Located 50 miles north of New York City in Central Valley, NY, this premium outlet mall is the most popular with international tourists. It is easy to get there by bus, not necessary to rent a car to get there. You have to be prepared to spend a whole day there.

Queens Center Mall – Located on Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevaard in Elmhurst, Queens, this mall has s a classic outer-borough neighborhood vibe. It was the first shopping mall in NYC, and recently underwent a major expansion and renovation. Easy to get there by subway.

Fao – toy store: This is the toy emporium – your little child will be overwhelmed, and yourself will suddenly revert to early childhood, not knowing where to run first, and what to touch or play with! This is a multi-story establishment with all imaginable toys in inventory! You will find the famous floor piano keyboard and the Lego area with amazing full-size creations and so much more.

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