Visiting NYC for the 1st time next month

[chalmers]

I've read past threads, just looking for some new/fresh information.

I've never been, my companion has been once. He suggests staying in Manhattan so we don't have to pay for a 30 minute taxi ride to and from our destinations every day. The hotel will be small and more expensive, but we can walk to and from it most of the time. Agree/disagree? Any better ideas?
The hotel we're looking at now costs around $350+tax for Fri-Mon at the end of October. Not bad for 2 people.

Any tips on what to do or see? The things I know I want are:

One 5 star elite restaurant experience.
Real NYC pizza that every snob on these forums is always raving about.
Good bar/drinking experiences that aren't uber expensive.
Any other neat culinary experiences you can think of.

We'll be there from Friday October 21st thru Monday October 24th. We're basically just going to explore the city, drink alot, and enjoy some great food.

Any ideas would be welcome, thanks.
We're also driving from Cincinnati, about 10-11 hour trip.

 

[Ns1]

i wish there was an official NYC thread for this

oh wait...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2142330&highlight=nyc+official

Don't stay in the financial district. Suck it up and stay near central park SOMEWHERE (UWS, Hell's Kitchen)

 

[Platypus]

Brooklyn is a lot more fun than Manhattan imo, obviously that's subjective.

I go once or twice a year for work and stay in Manhattan, but near the L train so that after work I can go to Brooklyn. Check out Robertas if you're in the area, worth the wait.

 

[uclaLabrat]

For Pizza, I'm biased, but it doesn't get better than John's, go to the theater district one on 44th between 7th and 8th. It's awesome inside.

 

[mnewsham]

I went last weekend, we stayed at The Westin Jersey City. It was 280 bucks a night for two people after taxes around 300-320 a night, a room with a king sized bed or a room with two double beds is the same cost so your choice. The \Westin in Newyork is closer to 450 a night! This is a 4 star hotel, nice pool workout area, etc. Good bar downstairs. While we were there actually the Honduras National football (soccer) team was staying there too so that was interesting mingling with them in the bar. It is about a block or so from the PATH station (train that goes into Manhattan) and light rail station (for exploring jersey side?) the thing i liked about PATH was that they use the same rail pass as the new york subway and buses use, so get one card and you are good to go. (keep in mind one card can be used for up to FOUR people at a time so just get one card with like 20-30 bucks and pass it back when you go through the gate to your partner) In all honesty there shouldnt be a reason for you to take a taxi really anywhere in Manhattan, the public transport is just everywhere, rail, bus, etc. This was my second trip to new york, first trip we stayed in Manhattan and that was pricey and not really worth it i realized when i came back from this second trip. Staying in Jersey is cheaper and only a 5 minute train trip from Manhattan and 10 mins to WTC. For dining we went to Michael Anthony's in the Marina across from the hotel. Not 5 star eating but certainly 3 1/2 to 4 stars.

Good luck with whatever you decide, but from my experiences staying in Manhattan vs. Jersey is just a waste of money.

 

[Ns1]

I went last weekend, we stayed at The Westin Jersey City. It was 280 bucks a night for two people after taxes around 300-320 a night, a room with a king sized bed or a room with two double beds is the same cost so your choice. The \Westin in Newyork is closer to 450 a night!
..
This was my second trip to new york, first trip we stayed in Manhattan and that was pricey and not really worth it i realized when i came back from this second trip. Staying in Jersey is cheaper and only a 5 minute train trip from Manhattan and 10 mins to WTC. For dining we went to Michael Anthony's in the Marina across from the hotel. Not 5 star eating but certainly 3 1/2 to 4 stars.

I stayed right across from the WTC and paid 140/night.

 

[mnewsham]

I stayed right across from the WTC and paid 140/night.

Depends on time of year and other factors, was it 4 star hotel, pool on site, work out area, etc. I actually stayed for 180/night my first time in new york, but it was a tiny room no TV, no Wifi, and a bathroom that was hard to breath in. Looking at 4 star hotels in Manhattan though and you tend to find yourself way above the 250 dollar a night area and more into the 300-450 a night area. (before taxes and charges)

 

[Axon]

Crema is a place I recommend to virtually everyone coming to NYC. It's a Mexican/french "fusion" place. Great food. W 17th between 7th and 8th I think.

I like Virgil's BBQ in times square for a little boozing and BBQ, but Blue Smoke is also good.

NYC pizza is kind of bizarre. I don't have a particular preference for a traditional slice. I guess maybe DiFara's, Ave J in Brooklyn. For thin crust, I like Grimaldi's, under the Brooklyn Bridge (warning: HUGE line, commonly 60-120 minutes, go at lunch, cash only). For a Sicilian slice, I love me some L&B Spumoni Garden's in Brooklyn.

Maroni's in Northport, NY (not within city limits). Fascinating tasting menu from one of my favorite local Italian chefs. You sit down, pay like $320 for two people, get 18 ridiculous, appetizer sized courses and as much wine/beer as you can drink and basically fill up until you're sick. It's like food torture porn.

Clinton Street Bakery (Clinton St, LES Manhattan): awesome pancakes, 90 minute wait for breakfast/brunch on weekends. Better to go at dinner.

For Italian, my favorite place in the city is http://www.gabrielsbarandrest.com/. You'll often see celebs just chillin' in there, but it's a regular thing, so you can't go apeshit if someone is in the place. But my absolutely favorite, best italian food joint is Vincents in Carle Place, NY. Its in a strip mall, but damn, is it delicious.

 

[Ns1]

Depends on time of year and other factors, was it 4 star hotel, pool on site, work out area, etc. I actually stayed for 180/night my first time in new york, but it was a tiny room no TV, no Wifi, and a bathroom that was hard to breath in. Looking at 4 star hotels in Manhattan though and you tend to find yourself way above the 250 dollar a night area and more into the 300-450 a night area. (before taxes and charges)

pardon the obvious, but if I'm in NYC I'm not going to stay in my room.

I stayed at the Millennium Hilton, so it wasn't the Ritz but it wasn't a Motel 6 either.

 

[mnewsham]

pardon the obvious, but if I'm in NYC I'm not going to stay in my room.

I stayed at the Millennium Hilton, so it wasn't the Ritz but it wasn't a Motel 6 either.

If they are willing to share a bed (OP didnt say if that was going to happen) then the Millennium might be okay, however the cheapest room with two beds (king and a sofa bed) at the millennium for the 21st through the 24th is 344 dollars a night and 173 bucks in fees for a total of 1,205 bucks, compared to what i suggested being around 900 or so that seems a bit unfair.

Also while you will obviously not be staying in the room the whole time, you still have to sleep there and walking around Manhattan all day is tiring, i don't want to go back to a room i hate or a hotel that doesn't satisfy me.

 

[Oil]

Pizza = Lombardi's

 

[Ns1]

If they are willing to share a bed (OP didnt say if that was going to happen) then the Millennium might be okay, however the cheapest room with two beds (king and a sofa bed) at the millennium for the 21st through the 24th is 344 dollars a night and 173 bucks in fees for a total of 1,205 bucks, compared to what i suggested being around 900 or so that seems a bit unfair.

protip: hotwire will guarantee double beds. priceline will not.

Also while you will obviously not be staying in the room the whole time, you still have to sleep there and walking around Manhattan all day is tiring, i don't want to go back to a room i hate or a hotel that doesn't satisfy me.

if all you need is a bed then "nice pool workout area, etc" is a waste. seriously, the bed was fine, but yes it was only one king. the room was actually a LOT bigger than I had anticipated because I constantly hear NYC hotel rooms = closet

finally, i would much rather return to my hotel room in NYC than my hotel room in NJ.

 

[mnewsham]

if all you need is a bed then "nice pool workout area, etc" is a waste. seriously, the bed was fine, but yes it was only one king. the room was actually a LOT bigger than I had anticipated because I constantly hear NYC hotel rooms = closet

finally, i would much rather return to my hotel room in NYC than my hotel room in NJ.

Im not saying it didnt work out for you and it wouldnt work out for the OP im just saying it worked out well for me. And a pool and workout area isnt a waste to me because those things help me relax, i thoroughly enjoyed being able to get up at 5AM do a few laps in the pool and a mile or two on the bike before starting the day.

 

[Ns1]

Im not saying it didnt work out for you and it wouldnt work out for the OP im just saying it worked out well for me. And a pool and workout area isnt a waste to me because those things help me relax, i thoroughly enjoyed being able to get up at 5AM do a few laps in the pool and a mile or two on the bike before starting the day.

fair enough. instead of walking laps I just walked manhattan.

 

[mnewsham]

fair enough. instead of walking laps I just walked manhattan.

Yeah i did both.

 

[96Firebird]

Went there the weekend before Irene hit for the third year in a row... My girlfriend and I enjoyed it. This year we visited the Bronx Zoo, and explored Greenwich Village. Also did the whole Times Square thing, and the MoMA. There is always something to do, which is nice, but I was tired after a long weekend there. We stayed at the Distrikt Hotel, which was very nice and new. As far as drinking, try a rooftop bar. There was one in our hotel last year (The Roosevelt Hotel, I forgot the name of the bar though), and there was one next to our hotel this year (Sky Bar I think). I'm not picky about pizza, so I would get the $1.50 slice from 2 Bros. There was one next to our hotel on the corner of 9th and W. 40th. I'm sure no matter what you do, you'll have fun...

And on the topic of hotel prices, I paid $130/night at the Holiday Inn on W. 57th St., $99/night at the Roosevelt near Grand Central, and $149/night at the Distrikt on W. 40th St. We go the cheap time of year, in mid/late August.

 

[rsutoratosu]

NYC pizza is kind of bizarre. I don't have a particular preference for a traditional slice. I guess maybe DiFara's, Ave J in Brooklyn. For thin crust, I like Grimaldi's, under the Brooklyn Bridge (warning: HUGE line, commonly 60-120 minutes, go at lunch, cash only). For a Sicilian slice, I love me some L&B Spumoni Garden's in Brooklyn.

Yes, I heard Grimaldi's is awesome too... if you want some good steaks, Peter Lugers in brooklyn or Quality Meats @58st.. http://qualitymeatsnyc.com/

 

[slayer202]

Momofuku Ko for lunch

 

[Taughnter]

Any tips on what to do or see? The things I know I want are:

One 5 star elite restaurant experience.
Real NYC pizza that every snob on these forums is always raving about.
Good bar/drinking experiences that aren't uber expensive.
Any other neat culinary experiences you can think of.

A few thoughts/tips:

1. If you don't want to deal with a commute, staying in NYC is your best bet, but as others have pointed out you can save some money by staying in NJ. If you're interested in staying in NJ there are quite a few hotels in Fort Lee, NJ, and while I'm guessing they won't be much less than the city, they probably will have some kind of shuttle to get you from the hotel to at least the bus stop. Jersey City is a good option too as others have pointed out, but the one that a lot of people miss are the hotels on Route 17 in Clifton. There is a "local" NJ Transit bus that stops right around one of those hotels so even without a car you can get back and forth if that's something you're interested in.

As far as restaurants, without knowing what you want, it would be hard to really suggest anything but I can say that I went to Barbuto (http://www.barbutonyc.com/) a few weeks ago and it was pretty fantastic. You can literally find 200 or more "awesome" restaurants if you do a little research so maybe check out some NY food blogs. You've really got a lot of options as far as cuisine and price, so figure that part out and you will still be choosing from a large list.

When it comes to Pizza, there certainly are some "Pizza Meccas" in NY (i.e. Grimaldi's in Brooklyn), but to me the entire NY Pizza thing is more about the way Pizza in NY/NJ tastes as compared to the rest of the country. For the most part, you can walk into almost any (non chain) pizza place and the pizza should be pretty darn good.

As far as inexpensive/cool bars, I'm sure there are a lot of those too. And once again that's a personal preference thing. My friends used to frequent this place (http://www.yelp.com/biz/blue-and-gold-tavern-new-york) quite a bit when we were in school and more into going to bars. They used to sell drinks for $3 (includes top shelf and they have a surprisingly good selection of liquor and beer) but I believe the price is up to $4 now. For NYC it's still pretty great, but the glasses are on the small side. Either way, that place definitely used to be pretty cool and they have some good stuff on the juke box (classic rock mostly) and a pool table if that is your thing.

And yea there are dozens of other things I could suggest, including other restaurants or "culinary experiences" as you put it, but I guess how helpful those suggestions are would depend on what you and your friend are really interested in doing. Do you have anything in particular in mind?

 

[Oyeve]

Danny's pizza in brooklyn. Great pizza, but no atmospere. No good pizza in manhattan imo, lambardis is overpriced laxative (always makes me go).

 

[slayer202]

eat and drink
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sake-bar-hagi-new-york

 

[Daishiki]

Yes, I heard Grimaldi's is awesome too... if you want some good steaks, Peter Lugers in brooklyn or Quality Meats @58st.. http://qualitymeatsnyc.com/

Another vote for Grimaldi's. It was worth the wait in the rain and cold.

 

[jbt52]

Carolines comedy http://www.carolines.com/

and figuring out the subway system and taking that all around at 3 am were 2 of my best memories

Also,a huge seinfeld fan so we walked all the way up to about 120th ave (roughly, cant quite remember) and ate at the seinfeld restaurant

 

[Rudee]

Search the forums. This exact question has been asked here dozens of times before.

 

[rsutoratosu]

New places pop up all the time, some old discussions are outdated

some place closes too