I was just in NY for six weeks and confirm what everyone else is saying - I went to Bianca, Malatesta, Motorino (twice!), and Keste and they're all really good.

Also, Little Italy isn't really Italian, it's just a tourist trap that provides a caricature of what tourists expect from something "Italian" (i.e. everything is red, green, and white, and all the restaurants serve crappy spaghetti and meatballs, and they have "gelato" which is actually just chocolate ice cream). My wife and I went to Little Italy to check it out and basically walked around for two minutes, laughed at it, and left.

if money is no object and you want some dope italian food try and get a table at il mulino in the village on 3rd between sullivan and thompson. i don't believe they take phone reservations so you are just going to have to poke your head in and see. looks like a mob place from the outside with no real signage and curtains on the windows.

Hi all,

Going to NYC for the second time. Did a lot of tourist attractions and museums last time already and not redoing most. I'm staying in jersey city and taking the path to Manhattan. Usually we like to go back to the hotel at least once per day for a little rest. Since I may not want to go back to Jersey too often I'm looking to compile a list of cool places to take a rest such as parks, public libraries, etc. Actually I don't know what the etc. would be so I guess that's what I'm asking.

Thanks

Id check out 230 5th if the weather is nice if you want the upscale lounge/club thing.

If the weather is nice Hudson River Park on the West Side Highway is phenomenal place to kick back for a bit.

I'm moving to NYC late Sept-early Oct, need help picking a neighborhood. Is this the right thread? Or is this for non-noobs that are already in NYC?

A lot depends on where you will be frequenting (work, play, whatever), and what you value (location/convenience or space/'quiet'?)

Here is a neighborhood map for reference:

Great thread. Going to nyc in October with the wife for the first time on a fairly modest budget.

Prob gonna end up doing a lot of the touristy stuff, Met, NH Museum, Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State, Centreal Park, a couple Broadway shows, Tom's Restaurant (huuuuuge Seinfeld fan), etc, and obv a ton of walking.

Havn't heard much mention of getting into any of the late night talk shows. I know Letterman is tough to get into, but I've heard Fallon isn't so bad. Any other TV/movie related stuff we can do?

Also havn't seen anything about mafia stuff, I know there's a few mob tours has anybody ever taken any of these?

it would help to give age, some interests, how much you are looking to spend on rent to get a better idea.

Also, if you're moving to NYC a lot of people like living outside of Manhattan - it's generally cheaper and lots of the best neighborhoods are just a tiny subway ride into Manhattan.

I believe you can wait in line each morning for Letterman tix, but not sure that's how you'd want to spend your vacation. Same with SNL - 7am the day of the taping for standby tix, but these are not guaranteed admission, and I've barely made it into the studio at times with guaranteed tix.

Gonna be in the city tonight and would love to check out momofuku noodle bar. Noticed they don't take reservations. Is the wait time reasonable if I go early enough?

I have gone to both Saam and Noodle Bar on Thursday nights (which should be busier than a Tuesday) and had no more than 30 minute wait.

glad to hear that, thanks

I recently moved to Hoboken, NJ and would appreciate some ideas for places in NY to hang out with some friends who from out of town. What would be some appropriate places to go visit and hang out? Any recommendations from attractions, museums to bars would be appreciated. They're female friends fwiw so I guess sports bars wouldn't be the best.

I'm a 22 year old college student and a relatively light drinker.

If it's nice out take the PATH to 14th then walk around the high line. Youll be able to find a million restaurant / bars in the west village after too.

went there for halloween, it's small and an all out club. it's all house music and drinks are expensive. there is a small out door space that is decent and the crowd was a nice mix mostly 20s i think. not sure about lines and stuff cause i was there on a holiday/on some list via a friend.

+1. get there early if it's nice out. great views too obv.

Hi all,

Looking to make a weekend visit to NYC from DC sometime in the next few weeks.

Any particularly good events coming up? (Sep 24-25 or Oct 1-2nd).

I've been to NYC once and covered most of the common tourist spots, so am looking for some fun things to do.

The annual New Yorker festival is going on around that time, they usually have some interesting (if pretentious) stuff going on.

http://www.newyorker.com/festival

Affordable ARt Fair this weekend too if you are interested in purchasing art from up and coming aritsts, you can speak directly to the artists and get a sense of their style/potential, most works under $1k

http://www.affordableartfair.us/newyorkcity/index.php

Also nyc craft beer week ends this sunday, if youre into beer you might want to check out one of the events

http://www.nycbeerweek.com/events/

Hey all,

Might be going on a date to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in a month or so. I don't really know Westchester very well. Is there anything interesting to do in that area with a girl before dinner? Thanks in advance.

no. westchester is ridic boring.

i grew up there.

Hey guys, looking for some advice. My girlfriend and I are hoping to visit NYC between Christmas and New Years. Will be spending 5-6 days probably, and total budget for EVERYTHING including airfare needs to stay under $4,000.

I have traveled a fair bit and seen almost everything in the US but NYC has eluded me until now. My girlfriend has been several times with her family and probably did mostly tourist things.

For daytime activities, I think we will want to just wander around a little bit and hit art museums for sure. I'm also a huge Cowboys fan and they are at NYG on Jan 1, would this be possible for a tourist? We both love food and will be eating at least 1 or 2 nice meals, but don't want to be spending more than 150 no matter what probably. Love sushi, seafood, thai, steak, etc. French would be nice I guess though we have never been to French restaurants in Texas.

I am a jazz lover and want to visit at least one or two of the famous NYC venues: Bluenote, Village Vanguard, Birdland, Iridium, etc. Does anyone have experience with these places, and relative locations etc? We also want to take in a more mainstream show or two; broadway, symphony, ballet, etc.

So I guess what I need is some help with booking a hotel, ideas for dinners and shows so I can start looking into reservations and stuff. I want this to be a really special trip for us both but can't go completely crazy with spending.

Where are you planning on staying? That budget is going to be very difficult especially around New Years. Don't go to Times Sq for NYE.

Giants game definitely doable for you, they have cheap buses/trains to the Meadowlands from NYC. Even the absolute worst tickets for Cowboys-Giants will likely run 200$+ each though, so that blows up your budget a bit.

I guess budget could be $6,000 if it would make a big difference. I guess we would want to stay in Manhattan but I know very little about the city so don't really know... Very close friend of mine is in Brooklyn, but I don't want to have to take long cab rides into Manhattan or something frequently. We don't mind walking a bunch, or taking public transportation, and are generally pretty easy going. Don't need a great hotel and would prefer quality over large room.

This is really the only time we can both get time off but if this time of year is a real headache in NYC, I guess we could go somewhere else... What would you guys recommend for first timer looking for romantic, culture-filled, delicious sort of trip?