NYC subway is comparable to the Paris metro. It operates 24 hours a day and has good coverage. Probably the best way to get around if you're a tourist since some of the main attractions are spread out.

If you're looking at airbnb, you will probably have fun staying in the village (east or west) or the lower east side. Try to pick a place that is not too far from the subway (e.g., it can be a trek to parts of the far east village).

Exactly this. If you are using airbnb definitely stay somewhere downtown, meaning West Village, East Village, or Lower East Side. If you try staying in a hotel, it is near impossible to find a decent hotel for any decent price in this area. Anywhere in midtown is also central, you can get anywhere you want easily, and hotels are generally a bit cheaper. #1 thing if you are staying in Manhattan is just be near a Subway. Everything is fairly navigable using the subway.

I suggest you do not splurge on NYE, and instead spend that money on 3 other things

Hit the meatball shop and ucb east theater for a date tonight. Cheap and awesome night. Mushroom sauce was great at MS. Supper restaurant is also in that area. Glad to be home.
Best sushi in the city is at Gari? Anyone disagree?

Call me boring but I'm really excited about Discovery's new exhibits and it's one of my favorite places to visit in New York. I don’t think they have any particular special events coming up but since their exhibits keep changing, I never see the same one each time I visit. Right now they have Body Worlds which I've heard is phenomenal. you can see the details at http://www.discoverytsx.com/exhibitions/bodyworlds .After an adequate dose of museums I like to eat New Yorks finest since I'm also a complete food maniac.

i find it kind of odd that body worlds is coming to the city since "bodies the exhibition" has been on permanent display at the seaport for several years

i guess the discovery space will have a location advantage for tourists

I'd say masa if you don't have a budget

My most recent trip to the UWS Gari (last night) was much much less good than my previous trips (probably like 20 trips at this point...).

In the omakase, a good portion of the dishes (maybe like 1/3) were pretty significantly botched for a high-end place--chewy salmon, significantly too much wasabi, etc. Others weren't quite botched, but were not as good as they usually are. They even didn't quite pull off their classic salmon + tomato dish that's usually amazing.

There was still one amazing in each set of three or four, but part of the awesomeness of Gari was that everything was really good and some stuff was amazing. It really ruins the experience to be disappointed by a lot of the food.

My friend mentioned that on Yelp there are now a few recent reviews saying that they've gone downhill. So, that really really sucks.

Which Gari is generally identified as the best? I've been to the Midtown one twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. Didn't know if one was more impressive than the other though.

masa not worth the $$ at all

Yasuda is great and not nearly as expensive as Masa. Would also recommend Ichimura at Brushstroke.

I keep reading about Tanoshi Sushi being a great value and really good omakase. Going to try and get a res soon. It's $50-60 per person I think.

I had a less enjoyable experience at the uws location than I've had each time I've been to 46.

Edit- Just saw NoahSD's post saying the same. I was there like 1.5 years ago and was really disappointed with a couple of the pieces which are totally standard at gari as well as this really gross bonita piece they decided to serve (chewy/bloody, fishy etc)

46 is still the nuts, and sitting at the bar>table

i ordered the brunch menu at at hakkasan on saturday.

after reading the nytimes review, i was worried about overpriced small portions.

but $39 seemed reasonable for 7 pieces of dim sum plus flat noodles, a bellini and dessert.

also ordered the roasted duck pumpkin puffs a la carte, which ended up being a good decision.

everything was presented well and tasted good. i'm not the best judge of dim sum, but a fair portion patrons seemed to be native chinese who were enjoying the food.

worth a try if you like chinese/dim sum.

Man, that's a lotta pages to go thru.

Any quick suggestions for a couple, or sometimes just for myself?

Any opinions on the best burger in Manhattan? Best I have found so far is Minetta Tavern on Macdougal St.

I had the black label burger at Minetta. Thought it was good but def not the best. Don't understand the hype.

Wasn't suggesting was the best out there, just the best of the few places I have tried so far. What's the best then in your opinion?

Shick shack tastes like mcdonalds, or worse.

that's harsh, although i agree they're overrated

Jean Georges dinner burger uptown on like 72nd(?)

Dude.. Shake Shack is awesome. You guys are nuts. Probably not the best burger in Manhattan (I don't really order burgers at nice places usually for whatever reason), but pretty damn awesome.

I thought Shake Shack was OK, better than most fast-food burgers but nothing special and nowhere near worth the ridiculous wait (took us an hour). Counter Burger >>> Shake Shack. Bare Burger is in the same genre as Counter with more exotic meats (fewer topping choices, perhaps), and is also quite good.

I really liked Minetta's Black Label burger. It's not a life-changing experience, but it is a damn fine hamburger.

Yeah.. I really like Bare Burger.

Agreed that one hour wait is ridiculous. I try to go there off peak hours.

Corner Bistro when it isn't a busy time..