Seeking advice from New Yorkers

[Mr. Hyde]

I'll be in NYC from March 21st to the 24th and will be seeing the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater on the 23rd at 8pm till whenever. I'm wondering if any locals have any suggestion as to what else might be interesting to do while I'm in town. I'm probably dining at Keen's steakhouse for supper on one of the nights. Other than that, I'm just wondering what's happening this week that a first time NYC visitor might be interested in checking out. Anything that I should avoid would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance to anyone with a suggestion.

[hippywife]

1. Pssst.

It's the Allman Brothers.


And expect to get lots of Olive Garden recommendations. :eyes: :rofl:

[Mr. Hyde]

2. How did that slip by me?

that's embarrassing. :dunce:

I won't be going to the olive garden btw. I'm looking more along the lines of Keen's and Luger's.

[hippywife]

4. I didn't think you would but

it's a very long standing inside joke around here. :hi:

[madinmaryland]

3. Check out the Bitter End in the Village.

Great bar with local bands. I've ended up there more than a few times late at night and ended up catching the first train out of the city in the morning (it's 5:05am!).

[Mr. Hyde]

7. That does look cool. nt

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

5. Mamoun's falafel by NYU

And, Nancy Whisky Pub is pretty cool. It's like a dive-ish bar with indoor shuffleboard.

[sohndrsmith]

6. I'm not a "local" per se, but I lived in lower Manhattan while in college and have been a regular

visitor to the city throughout my childhood. That said, I haven't been there much recently, but hopefully that won't matter regarding my ideas:

The Beacon Theater is on Bway/mid-70's, right? Well, you're near some neat places, if I have that right (and congrats on seeing the Allman Bros. Very jealous).

A few suggestions, knowing nothing of your interests or overall timeframe:

- Strawberry Fields (Central Park near Columbus Circle)
- Natural History Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (other side of Central Park)
- The Guggenheim (other side of Central Park)
- Central Park Zoo (in Central Park)
- Empire State Bldg (a little further away - around 33rd and 5th Ave)
- Rockefeller Plaza (also further south)
- Times Square?
- FAO Schwartz? (Central Park South - close to Mac Store)
- Grand Central?

Things I'd want to do if it were my first time in the city:
Buy a pretzel from a street vendor
Take a cab somewhere
Take the subway somewhere
Get bagels in Grand Central (I think it's Zabars' cant remember)
Go to Chinatown
Go to Washington Square Park/the Village
Spend hours at the Met (tropolitan Museum of Art - my home away from home - lived there when I was in school)

If I think of more I'll edit.

Dock's is a good seafood restaurant (if it still exists - I'm not sure). Think it's on 59th st. Or was...

Enjoy and good luck... it's a magical place.

[Mr. Hyde]

9. Thank you. I'm definitely going to Chi Town and the Museum of Natural History.

I will definitely buy a pretzal from a vender and will try to check out GCS bagels.

[Chan790]

11. Bagel places in GCT.

There are three and I can't really say I have a strong preference between them.

Mendy's Dairy/Mendy's Deli: It's a kosher deli really, but they have two separate counters, side-by-side, one for the delicatessen and one for the dairy. (You know, dietary prohibition on mixing meat (except fish) with dairy.) You have to go the dairy counter for the bagels, they keep their kosher food law strictly. If you want a bagel and a Reuben, you're going to stand in line twice. The bagels are great, but they seem truly befuddled that I don't want lox.

Zaro's Bread Basket: Has several locations throughout the station, this is the destination bagel place in the station. I'm not overwhelmingly impressed though as the service ranges from bad to terrible depending on the location, time of day and how swamped they are. It's a bakery as well as a bagel shop. The bagels are pretty good, but their standout is the black-and-white cookie. The cakes are amazing as well.

Hot and Crusty: This is the new kid on the block, so to say. They only serve bagels and bread, cooked on the premises. Again, not great service...must be a GCT thing, as I've never had bad service at any of their other locations. Of the three, H and C has the largest selection of bagels and bread (about 20 rotating varieties of each) because that's they all they serve. I think they have the best bagels but they're also the most expensive by almost $0.50.

In addition to these, there are two coffeehouses (Oren's Daily Grind and Joe: The Art of Coffee) as well as a Starbucks and a Junior's which all serve bagels. None of these, except Junior's, bakes on the premises (and AFAIK not the bagels anyways) and none of them offer a large selection of bagel varieties. If you're a coffee drinker and love gourmet coffee (ethically-farmed, quality-sourced, roasted daily in small batches), I recommend a short side trip to the Oren's beancounter in the Grand Central Market where they'll help you in selecting a bean that matches your taste. I brew Beowulf Blend for my espresso and one of the Harrar for my brewed coffee, but those are just personal preferences...I've never gotten a bad blend. 1LB runs about $13, which is actually reasonable for this quality of coffee. (I know coffee, I used to be a coffeemaster and a barista.)

[sohndrsmith]

12. that's it - its Zaro's - thank you... is there a Balducci's too? I don't remember

I just know where it is when I get off the train. : )...

My memory is quite fallible - obviously. Thanks : )

[sohndrsmith]

15. if nothing else - you gotta see the whale...

A round trip ride on the Staten Island Ferry might be of interest - used to be inexpensive and may still be, I don't know.

MMA is an inexpensive visit because admission is "suggested" (most people pay the suggested price, but if you can't, you pay what you can. Not sure about the admission to the MofNH - but most of these places have websites - and their worth checking out ahead of time. If nothing else it'll get you just that much more psyched. : )

Real NYC pizza is like nothing else, but I don't know where to recommend anymore.

[Mr. Hyde]

17. yeah, I'm definitely interested in some good NYC pizza.

also looking forward to jogging in central park one morning.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. Psst. keep this one a semi-secret? okay?

The Olive Garden is a great Italian restaurant.

[Mr. Hyde]

10. That's what I heard.

I'll put that on my to do list right above "walk around in central park late at night with lots of cash and flashy jewelry".

[rug]

13. Coney Island Freak Show.

http://www.coneyisland.com/sideshow.shtml

[PaddyBlueEyes]

14. are looking to do..touristy stuff

or behind the scenes regular new yorker stuff?

[Mr. Hyde]

16. Just wondering if there's anything big happening or anything that might be particularly cool .

in the eyes of someone who sees pretty cool things every day. I would be particularly interested in shopping at any stores that sell "unusal collectibles". I'm talking about rarities, oddities and antiques and such.

[PaddyBlueEyes]

18. Hit the village

you can find anything there...

[Mr. Hyde]

19. Thank you.

I'll make a point of checking it out.