Four Days in New York City!

S

slewisoh

Semi-Pro
I just finished booking my hotel for a family vacation in New York City. I'm embarrassed (sp?) to say it's my first visit especially since I lived within 4 hours of NYC for at least 25 years of my life. Better late than never.

I'm looking for input on places you especially enjoy. We are staying upper west side and will spend time at the Natural History Museum, Guggenheim Museum and The Met. Statue of Liberty tour is booked...

It doesn't have to be an attraction, just please share places you like to eat or areas of Central Park that you enjoy etc. Gardens?
 
John's pizza, gah, pizza ain't where it's at. Ya gotta hit up Katz. A nice fresh carved pastrami, brisket or corned beef sammitch. Then if you want good Chinese, Wo Hop on Mott st, but go to the one that is in the basement. Food's a bit better then the one at street level. If you're feeling adventurous, make your way out to Woodside in Queens for Donovan's who were creditied with the best burgers in NYC, and for some dang good Filipino food at Krystal's or Ihawan.
 
thomas martinez said:
John's pizza, gah, pizza ain't where it's at. Ya gotta hit up Katz. A nice fresh carved pastrami, brisket or corned beef sammitch. Then if you want good Chinese, Wo Hop on Mott st, but go to the one that is in the basement. Food's a bit better then the one at street level. If you're feeling adventurous, make your way out to Woodside in Queens for Donovan's who were creditied with the best burgers in NYC, and for some dang good Filipino food at Krystal's or Ihawan.
Click to expand...
Is Wo Hop diffenrent from Hop Kee?Good to know you enjoy Filipino food. Also, try the cheesecakes at Junior's ( Brooklyn and Grand Central Station) though sometimes I think the cheesecake with caramel at Outback is better. Tao restaurant is also a good place to go for dinner
 
Take the Circle Line Full Island Cruise around Manhattan.. I went two years ago and although If I remember correctly, Adult tickets were about $30 but, well worth it. The trip takes you completely around the island of Manhattan and takes about 3 hrs. The narrators are very good and they point out some of the sites and tell you a great deal of history about the sites and New York City in General. I grew up in NY and still enjoyed this very much.

Here is the link for more info: http://www.circleline42.com/index.ihtml?page=sightseeing
 
I'll stick to the upper west side, since that's where you're staying. Plus, you mentioned a family, so I'll keep costs reasonable. At the Museum of Natural History, there's an excellent live reptiles show going on now - do not miss it, especially if you have any boys. You also have to check out the attached Hayden Planeterium - it's the best. For the best pizza IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (I'm not looking to start a beef over the city's best pizza - anyway, it's in Brooklyn), try Patsy's on West 74th or, across town, Nick's on 2nd Ave. and East 94th (double-check addresses). A very NYC thing is Grey's Papaya hot dogs on West 72nd and Amsterdam (the best dogs and super cheap). For perfect espresso, Giglileo on West 94th and Amsterdam. You're a tennis fan, right? Some of the local court complexes are nice just to walk by, like Central Park (center of park, enter at West 93rd, saw Naomi Watts playing there a couple weeks back) or Riverside and West 96th, on the Hudson River. I could go on...
 
Thanks everyone for the helpful info - especially the links. I guess I need to provide a bit more info, so here goes...

Eight year old son loves anything to do with critters and science so the special exhibit at Natural History will be great. For some reason my daughter is interested in caving so we plan to see the IMAX show - anyone seen this?


Daughter is enamored with fashion so we are going to check out the costume exhibit at the Met. What I really need is a NYC store that caters to tween fashion. She's excited at the prospect of buying some "fabulous NYC clothing."

Both kids enjoy art, thank goodness. They especially enjoy Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock. I was thinking the Guggenheim would be more up their alley, but please let me know if the Met fits the bill better. I'm a big Rothko fan but have not figured out where his works are displayed in NYC - perhaps the National Gallery has cornered the market on his work? I would also like to tie in some Greek and Roman mythology through sculpture as opposed to paintings. Some of the paintings are a bit graphic for their ages - not sexually but violent acts, very intense emotions etc.

Husband traveled quite a bit to Japan and I know he would love some Japanese cuisine. He would probably also love a great electronics store. He's been composing on the computer so if anyone is into that and can recommend a place for him to check out...

Even if we don't land tickets for a show, I want to take the kids to see Broadway lit up at night.

Our hotel has a small kitchen so we plan to have breakfast in the room most mornings, but will want to have a big breakfast at least one morning. Omelettes and a big stack of pancakes - any suggestions?

For lunch I have a very cool insulated backpack so we are looking for nice spots in Central Park to sit down for a picnic - again any suggestions?

Unfortunately, the kids aren't terribly adventurous eaters but I'm thinking about feeding them standard kid fare for dinner and then picking up carryout for us - Chinese, Indian, Moroccan.

I will definitely need some alone time during the trip, so would appreciate a place where I can get a decent latte and a few quiet moments with the paper or a puzzle.

Any playgrounds where the kids can blow off steam and just run around like a couple of nuts?
 
slewisoh said:
Thanks everyone for the helpful info - especially the links. I guess I need to provide a bit more info, so here goes...

Eight year old son loves anything to do with critters and science so the special exhibit at Natural History will be great. For some reason my daughter is interested in caving so we plan to see the IMAX show - anyone seen this?


Daughter is enamored with fashion so we are going to check out the costume exhibit at the Met. What I really need is a NYC store that caters to tween fashion. She's excited at the prospect of buying some "fabulous NYC clothing."

Both kids enjoy art, thank goodness. They especially enjoy Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock. I was thinking the Guggenheim would be more up their alley, but please let me know if the Met fits the bill better. I'm a big Rothko fan but have not figured out where his works are displayed in NYC - perhaps the National Gallery has cornered the market on his work? I would also like to tie in some Greek and Roman mythology through sculpture as opposed to paintings. Some of the paintings are a bit graphic for their ages - not sexually but violent acts, very intense emotions etc.

Husband traveled quite a bit to Japan and I know he would love some Japanese cuisine. He would probably also love a great electronics store. He's been composing on the computer so if anyone is into that and can recommend a place for him to check out...

Even if we don't land tickets for a show, I want to take the kids to see Broadway lit up at night.

Our hotel has a small kitchen so we plan to have breakfast in the room most mornings, but will want to have a big breakfast at least one morning. Omelettes and a big stack of pancakes - any suggestions?

For lunch I have a very cool insulated backpack so we are looking for nice spots in Central Park to sit down for a picnic - again any suggestions?

Unfortunately, the kids aren't terribly adventurous eaters but I'm thinking about feeding them standard kid fare for dinner and then picking up carryout for us - Chinese, Indian, Moroccan.

I will definitely need some alone time during the trip, so would appreciate a place where I can get a decent latte and a few quiet moments with the paper or a puzzle.

Any playgrounds where the kids can blow off steam and just run around like a couple of nuts?
Click to expand...

1) You're leaving out the mother of all modern art museums, my personal fave the Museum of Modern Art on West 54th St. If you go to one art museum, that's the one. They have bushels of Picassos, Van Goghs, Rothkos, De Chricos, Pollocks, everything.

2) Sushi with a queue: Yama on Irving Place - sushi for a splurge: Gari on Columbus and West 78th

3) Upper West Side breakfast as you described: Good Enough To Eat, Amsterdam and West 83rd

4) Picnic in Central Park: Great Lawn in the West 80s section, Sheep Meadow in the West 60s section, but pretty much anywhere else you come across - there are also numerous playgrounds along the western fringe of Central Park

5) Latte, table, chair: Starbucks (we're not so different from the rest of youse)

You've got a great attitude for your trip - have fun and drop me a line (sandroab@msn.com) if you have any other questions
 
Have fun in my home town! For art, if you have time, check out the Cloisters - it's in Fort Tryon Park in Northern Manhatten and has the art and architecture (the buildings themselves) of medieval Europe in a lovely setting. Everyone keeps mentioning the food. Do try the pizza and bagels if only to understand why native New Yorkers say those things are better (lol) in NYC.

Central Park has some nice places - follow the crowds and stay away from some of the more isolated areas (eg: The Ramble, though it can get busy there) that are "pick-up" places. There is a skating rink, Wollman, that has some nice spots around it to picnic. There used to be concerts (may still be) in the evenings in the summer at Wollman and you could hear the music while picnicking around the rink.

Lots of carryout everywhere, open till all hours, of any conceivable nationality. Boy, do I miss that anywhere else I've ever been. Hope you have a great time!
 
slewisoh said:
Thanks everyone for the helpful info - especially the links. I guess I need to provide a bit more info, so here goes...

Eight year old son loves anything to do with critters and science so the special exhibit at Natural History will be great. For some reason my daughter is interested in caving so we plan to see the IMAX show - anyone seen this?


Daughter is enamored with fashion so we are going to check out the costume exhibit at the Met. What I really need is a NYC store that caters to tween fashion. She's excited at the prospect of buying some "fabulous NYC clothing."

Both kids enjoy art, thank goodness. They especially enjoy Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock. I was thinking the Guggenheim would be more up their alley, but please let me know if the Met fits the bill better. I'm a big Rothko fan but have not figured out where his works are displayed in NYC - perhaps the National Gallery has cornered the market on his work? I would also like to tie in some Greek and Roman mythology through sculpture as opposed to paintings. Some of the paintings are a bit graphic for their ages - not sexually but violent acts, very intense emotions etc.

Husband traveled quite a bit to Japan and I know he would love some Japanese cuisine. He would probably also love a great electronics store. He's been composing on the computer so if anyone is into that and can recommend a place for him to check out...

Even if we don't land tickets for a show, I want to take the kids to see Broadway lit up at night.

Our hotel has a small kitchen so we plan to have breakfast in the room most mornings, but will want to have a big breakfast at least one morning. Omelettes and a big stack of pancakes - any suggestions?

For lunch I have a very cool insulated backpack so we are looking for nice spots in Central Park to sit down for a picnic - again any suggestions?

Unfortunately, the kids aren't terribly adventurous eaters but I'm thinking about feeding them standard kid fare for dinner and then picking up carryout for us - Chinese, Indian, Moroccan.

I will definitely need some alone time during the trip, so would appreciate a place where I can get a decent latte and a few quiet moments with the paper or a puzzle.

Any playgrounds where the kids can blow off steam and just run around like a couple of nuts?
Click to expand...
I'm glad you found the links useful. cuz they are.
you said your kids enjoy Pollock, there's a great collection of his work at the MOMA (museum of modern art). ... and the whole museum is very good in terms of popular artists as they're always featuring someone new. ... PS1 gallery a few metro stations away....or subway if you're so inclined :)
for dinner I'd stay in mid-town, great variety in the 40s... I think it's 46th or 49th that's got a bunch of ethnic restaurants one next to the other. there's also citrus on Columbus ave up in the 70s upper west side... up by where you'll be staying.
whatever you do I'm sure you'll love it and your kids too... what's not to love about NYC.... the place to be.
 
Check out a show at the UCB Theater if you don't have kids or kids who are too young. Sunday's ASCAT show is the best.

People watch at the Starbuck's at Astor Plaza. Watch the street performers at Washington Square park. Walk around China Town thru Canal Street, up through Little Italy, then through SoHo up West Broadway.
 
East Village. Go the Yaffa Cafe on St Marks between 1st and A. -bring ear plugs and vommit bag. For brunch go to Dumont on union ave in Brooklyn (Williamsburg). Best advice: stay between Houston and 14th Street -- everything else is a tourist trap. -the upper sides will put you to sleep quciker than a turkey dinner with a decaf chaser.
 
Well here we are, THE MISERABLE FAMILY, visiting New York City. We are pretty easy to spot. Dad is loaded down with a thermal backpack which contains about 30 lbs of food and water. I have an enormous bag containing my wallet, daughter's wallet, son's wallet, 4 pair of glasses, sunscreen, and seemingly a dozen maps/guides - none of which seem to have the info I seek. Trailing along are two whining bickering kids that we would probably trade in for the right price.

Sunscreen is a complete waste. I live in Cleveland and we see more sunlight. One less thing to haul around. Lots of painfully thin, well dressed people here. Shoot, even the dogs are well dressed here.

Natural History Museum was wonderful - AMAZING dinosaur display and the lizard show was very well done. Also saw the Zaha Hadid show at the Guggenheim. I was amazed that her ideas could actually be translated into structures.

Somehow we are going to see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, the Intrepid, get tickets for a play, shop for fabulous shoes, visit FAO Schwartz ETC ETC ETC...in the next two days.

I need some art, a crossword puzzle and a good mocha. Sounds suspiciously like a weekend alone in NYC.
 
slewisoh said:
Well here we are, THE MISERABLE FAMILY, visiting New York City. We are pretty easy to spot. Dad is loaded down with a thermal backpack which contains about 30 lbs of food and water. I have an enormous bag containing my wallet, daughter's wallet, son's wallet, 4 pair of glasses, sunscreen, and seemingly a dozen maps/guides - none of which seem to have the info I seek. Trailing along are two whining bickering kids that we would probably trade in for the right price.

Sunscreen is a complete waste. I live in Cleveland and we see more sunlight. One less thing to haul around. Lots of painfully thin, well dressed people here. Shoot, even the dogs are well dressed here.

Natural History Museum was wonderful - AMAZING dinosaur display and the lizard show was very well done. Also saw the Zaha Hadid show at the Guggenheim. I was amazed that her ideas could actually be translated into structures.

Somehow we are going to see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, the Intrepid, get tickets for a play, shop for fabulous shoes, visit FAO Schwartz ETC ETC ETC...in the next two days.

I need some art, a crossword puzzle and a good mocha. Sounds suspiciously like a weekend alone in NYC.
Click to expand...

As you may know (by now), Slewisoh, NYC is a fairly cosmopolitan city...that means that there are many (I'd even venture to say THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS) of places to stop for food and water! If I were trekking through the Outback or the Amazon, then maybe I'd have that much food and water on my back...

If you're looking for art, you should put the Metropolitan Museum of Art on your itinerary if it's not there already. By far the best museum in the city. I rarely make it to the second floor (featuring the art)-after 3 or 4 hours of ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Colonial America, Medieval Europe, etc.
 
Your daughter will love H&M. There's a few throughout the city but if you head down Broadway from 8th St, you can walk all the way down to Canal St. and find all sorts of tween fashion stores (transit is good for funky sneakers). Halfway down (Houston St.) is an H&M. At Houston and Broadway is the flagship adidas store. You're also close to Little Italy, SoHo, Lower East Side, and Chinatown. Great area and much, much more flavorful than the Uptowns.
Plus, you're very close to oldest, and best, pizzeria in the US, Lombardi's.
 
robkat said:
Take the Circle Line Full Island Cruise around Manhattan.. I went two years ago and although If I remember correctly, Adult tickets were about $30 but, well worth it. The trip takes you completely around the island of Manhattan and takes about 3 hrs. The narrators are very good and they point out some of the sites and tell you a great deal of history about the sites and New York City in General. I grew up in NY and still enjoyed this very much.

Here is the link for more info: http://www.circleline42.com/index.ihtml?page=sightseeing
Click to expand...

I wish we had done this in lieu of taking the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. We had the CityPass book so could have done this...I had the timed entry passes for the Statue of Liberty, but by the time you get done with multiple security checks and seemingly miles of lines it loses some of the sparkle.
 
Colpo said:
I'll stick to the upper west side, since that's where you're staying. Plus, you mentioned a family, so I'll keep costs reasonable. At the Museum of Natural History, there's an excellent live reptiles show going on now - do not miss it, especially if you have any boys. ...
Click to expand...

I thought the Natural History Museum's dinosaur collection was impressive, at least compared to museums in Washington and Chicago. We did see the live reptile show. My kids loved that video game (naturally) where you are the rattlesnake hunting a rat. You had to use the tongue to sniff out the prey and then STRIKE the rat and eat it. I thought this was all rather silly until I tried it and actually MISSED the rat.

At any rate, thanks again for the suggestion
 
Colpo said:
1) You're leaving out the mother of all modern art museums, my personal fave the Museum of Modern Art on West 54th St. If you go to one art museum, that's the one. They have bushels of Picassos, Van Goghs, Rothkos, De Chricos, Pollocks, everything.

2) Sushi with a queue: Yama on Irving Place - sushi for a splurge: Gari on Columbus and West 78th

3) Upper West Side breakfast as you described: Good Enough To Eat, Amsterdam and West 83rd

4) Picnic in Central Park: Great Lawn in the West 80s section, Sheep Meadow in the West 60s section, but pretty much anywhere else you come across - there are also numerous playgrounds along the western fringe of Central Park

5) Latte, table, chair: Starbucks (we're not so different from the rest of youse)

You've got a great attitude for your trip - have fun and drop me a line (sandroab@msn.com) if you have any other questions
Click to expand...

I was able to visit the Modern Art Museum ALONE - what a treat! I kept "rounding the bend" and spying famous works. Sent the husband and kids to the Intrepid that day so everyone was happy. Also enjoyed an enormous breakfast at Good Enough To Eat. Had no idea we could spend $60 on breakfast.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
Phil said:
As you may know (by now), Slewisoh, NYC is a fairly cosmopolitan city...that means that there are many (I'd even venture to say THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS) of places to stop for food and water! If I were trekking through the Outback or the Amazon, then maybe I'd have that much food and water on my back...

If you're looking for art, you should put the Metropolitan Museum of Art on your itinerary if it's not there already. By far the best museum in the city. I rarely make it to the second floor (featuring the art)-after 3 or 4 hours of ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Colonial America, Medieval Europe, etc.
Click to expand...

Of course it wasn't funny while we were actually experiencing it, but we will get some good laughs at my husband's insistence over "packing lunch." He was essentially a vending machine with feet.
 
I'll be heading to NY,NJ, PA, MD, and Canada next month on the 28th to the 8th of october. I already got the plane tickets and thats it.
 
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