Is ten days in New York too long

[knasty]

Strolling over the Brooklyn Bridge then enjoying lunch/dinner at The River Cafe The River Café | Home is also a great way to enjoy NCY.

I proposed to my wife on the ferry from Manhattan over to The River Cafe. I could have done it on the bridge but we were already very late for the reservation! From what I remember it was pretty nice but we did celebrate with a few bottles of red so it's just a gut feeling...

 

[get me outta here]

Yes, I'm sure you will, but will probably do more walking outside for say 8 hours a day than normally at home though.

I am sure as an Aussie will be able to handle those conditions

 

[irv]

Yes, I'm sure you will, but will probably do more walking outside for say 8 hours a day than normally at home though.

You are right, but I have not had a holiday yet where we we are not walking/exploring at least 8-12 hours a day. When you are home generally working, holidays free to enjoy.

 

[ozkid]

Just got back from NYC so here's my USD$0.89 worth for the food places we ate at:

Balthazar is fantastic. French cooking with a great interior decor. Book though, or the queue snakes out (but so are so many of the good NYC joints)

Bouchon Bakery. Don't let the name fool you, not just baked goods and chocolate - it's another great French diner. We went to the one in Columbus Circle/Time Warner building. Perfect grilled pork matched with Californian pinot. Good place to then wander over to Central Park to burn off some calories

Katz's Deli...meh. Food was so-so, but the ambience is good

Momofuku Ma Peche. Delicious. The little buns stuffed with pork or with deep fried soft shelled crab is fantastic. We had the grilled fish for mains and we were stuffed

Magnolia Bakery. Chain of cute bakeries - make an arrow for the classic NY cheesecake. OMG

If at Museum of Modern Art (and you should be if in NYC), there are 2 that I recommend: Cafe 2 on level 2 (serving italian) and the sit down restuarant Modern. In fact, do both - Cafe 2 for midday sustenance, followed by Modern for dinner.

If at the Met (and again, you should be if in NYC), make a beeline for the rooftop cafe. It's takeaway food only, unlike the other restaurants in the museum, but the views are well worth it.

Brooklyn: Grimaldi's pizza - the thin crust variety, and pretty yum

Harlem soul food: Sylvia's. When beady eyed from too much Jack's the night before at a blues club, waffles with maple syrup and deep fried chicken for breakfast is perfect!!

Additional places I forgot:
Alta - modern take on Spanish tapas. Great decor yet again, and the seafood dishes were spot on. Especially the one with the pan fried scallops that then burst with sweet juice and tender meat on the inside. We are still talking about this one...

Nyonya - pretty authentic Malaysian Chinese in Chinatown. No frills, cheap-as, and about as I good as I have tasted outside of Malaysia/Singapore.

 

[ozkid]

Starting a burger war with this post:

1. 5 Napkin burger. Right combinations of fatty pattie, flame grill, sauce, gherkin all washed down with a great milkshake. Good service, and retro-industrial decor. Ambience 8, burgers 8. We went to the one around 44th street W.

2. Shake Shack. Another good combo of carbonated protein, adipose tissue, juice and seasame bun. Queues are mad but that's because the burgers are baaaad (cough). Ambience 3, burgers 8. We happened to go to the one at Grand Central Terminal, which is fun as the Metro Subway store is currently having an exhibition of the NY Expo of 1939 with some great photos.

3. The burger joint at Le Meridien hotel. walk past the checkin desk, turn left into the roped off area. Can't miss it, just join the end of the queue! Transported from modern hotel to burger dungeon with graffitti and cheeeezeburgers flipping on the hotplate. Ambience 5, burgers 5. Overall, hugely over rated - doesn't matter what TA thinks.

 

[mms498]

I just did 10 days in NYC... you should be fine. I stayed midtown with no particular plans

Food:

Katz is HUGELY OVERRATED. Don't go unless you want to experience the feeling of being hearded into a pen and yelled at by the cooks. The servings were huge by not necessarily enjoyable, and were pricey. My tip: eat at one of the many delis midtown.

Left Bank was excellent in West Village (and really good value for money considering Sydney prices for comparable food); and also Catch in Meat Packing and Mission Cantina (these where the 3 "it" restaurants I went to). Friends also recommended Spotted Pig, The Lion and Minetta Tavern (all West Village) but I didn't get the chance to go.

Tom's restaurant (aka the Seinfeld Cafe) was good for the novelty factor and the food was OK too.

Things to do:

Wander around mid town... Grand Central Terminal, NY Public Library, St Patrick's Cathedral -- hugely impressive old buildings.

Ground Zero - moving place, but probably wouldn't pay for the guided tour.

Wall Street - I work in finance so this was a must do, but even for the punter it is worth checking out the NY Federal Reserve, NYSE, get a photo with the bull. Also its close to the Staten Island ferry (free) which gives you a great look at the cityscape and the statue of liberty.

Walk around the districts - SoHo, Little Italy, West Village, Greenwich Village... great eateries, lots of little shops. Great areas

The High Line - this is great, loved this. Awesome garden walk on a sunny day.

Times Square - at night for the obligatory photo.

Sports - was lucky enough to be taken to the Bronx to see a Yankees game with some corporates I deal with, great atmosphere and it only goes for 3 hours so its manageable.

Shopping - I couldnt be stuffed going to Woodbury, save your $ and go to Macy's or along 5th Avenue and you will be fine! Diamond Alley on 47th if you are brave.

Parks - didnt manage to get to Central Park but Madison Square Park was lovely.

Intrepid Museum

 

[Major]

What are the recommendations for transfer from JFK to midtown ?

 

[mms498]

Flat fee cab is US$52 and includes tolls / tariffs. Excludes tip (only a couple of bucks for a cabby)

I know there is a rail / subway option but I couldn't think of anything worse than trying to get luggage on a packed train and then navigating to the hotel... cab is the painless option

 

[irv]

Looking at staying at Edgewater near Jersey, how easy is it to cross the river to Manhattan

 

[ozkid]

Flat fee cab is US$52 and includes tolls / tariffs. Excludes tip (only a couple of bucks for a cabby)

I know there is a rail / subway option but I couldn't think of anything worse than trying to get luggage on a packed train and then navigating to the hotel... cab is the painless option

Yep. A caution though, the flat fee only applies to the yellow cabs. Once you get out of immigration there's a lot of touts wanting to get you into their cab which is metered. Walk past them to the kerbside where there is a row of yellow taxis waiting for fare - those are the ones you want

Edit:
the fee does not include tolls - so the fare to say Midtown will be closer to $65 with tips

 

[irv]

So the flights are booked, what parts should we avoid when booking accommodation, and I am not meaning Times Square as will be simply play tourist and depart. Budget is up to US 250 per night, obviously less is better. At the moment looking at Hilton in Edgewater, aware there are travel costs into the city but price is reasonable.Thanks for all your feedback it has been great.

 

[ozkid]

So the flights are booked, what parts should we avoid when booking accommodation, and I am not meaning Times Square as will be simply play tourist and depart. Budget is up to US 250 per night, obviously less is better. At the moment looking at Hilton in Edgewater, aware there are travel costs into the city but price is reasonable.Thanks for all your feedback it has been great.

considered 414 Hotel?
Hotels in New York, New York | The 414 Hotel

stayed there trip before last, decent price clean accommodation and not too far from the action. Laundry shop a couple of doors down that do your clothes too which saved $$
communal breakfast area to load up with calories before the sightseeing and a chance to chat with other tourists and swap hints

 

[pagingjoan]

So the flights are booked, what parts should we avoid when booking accommodation, and I am not meaning Times Square as will be simply play tourist and depart. Budget is up to US 250 per night, obviously less is better. At the moment looking at Hilton in Edgewater, aware there are travel costs into the city but price is reasonable.Thanks for all your feedback it has been great.

In my opinion, there are not too many areas to avoid, as a blanket veto, in NYC. Wherever you stay, you will have a different experience, as you will tend to walk the immediate neighbourhood, even if you then take public transport to other localities for specific sites and activities.

For me, that's one of the great attractions of the city - that it is really a "city of cities".

On previous visits, we've stayed in many different sectors, including Upper Westside, Upper Eastside, Murray Hill, Midtown, various parts of Chelsea and the Village, across the river in NJ, and in Harlem, plus others I've probably forgotten for the moment. Many of those stays have been in rental apartments, some in the equivalent of B&Bs, a few in hotels.

Last week, we had an all-too-brief stay (3 nights) on the LES (Lower East Side), which we really enjoyed. A new hotel, which is a bit above your price range, so won't suit you for this trip, but I certainly would not recommend avoiding that part of town. It is full of interesting sights, sounds and flavours. Harlem, on a previous stay, was a great experience in a brilliant apartment, and there, too, we saw sites (and sights!) that we would have missed had we stayed downtown.

So perhaps look at the things you really want to do in your time in NYC, then focus on one of the localities that makes sense for those. You can then pick one of your target sites and do a web search on "Hotels near ....(MoMa/the Metropolitan/Madison Square/Times Square - or whatever takes your fancy)". The search will throw up hotels in all price brackets and makes a useful starting point for a more focused search.

Have fun planning.

 

[get me outta here]

That looked very nice, but around 350 per night and prob plus tax. I seem to remember you had a strict budget. Have you had a look at The Leo House a non profit place (no tax etc added). It's an ex convent right in town. It has mixed TA reviews but you it seems you can get a renovated ensuite room for <200 flat. You could email and then Skype if they have yr dates. They are hard to get into due to low price. Just also remember you were going mid next year. You may need to Skype straight off to get them to talk that far in advance.

let us know what you think, and how you go with bkg. I'm in NYC in May.

considered 414 Hotel?
Hotels in New York, New York | The 414 Hotel

stayed there trip before last, decent price clean accommodation and not too far from the action. Laundry shop a couple of doors down that do your clothes too which saved $$
communal breakfast area to load up with calories before the sightseeing and a chance to chat with other tourists and swap hints

 

[Major]

Loved this place - firstly here is the Entrée Menu (Main Course in Aussie talk):

View attachment 35172

No choice to be made huh? Of course I went with the Freddy Flintstone!

View attachment 35173

Just returned from the Westside Uncle Jacks and i also had the Fred Flintstone with the tail hanging off the plate by about 6 "...great steak and loved the steak knives

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Just returned from the Westside Uncle Jacks and i also had the Fred Flintstone with the tail hanging off the plate by about 6 "...great steak and loved the steak knives

You ate upstairs? How cool is that whole experience up there? Have you been to Lillies yet? Lillie's Times Square Don't let me down Major.

How you finding DoubleTree TS? Go make yourself known to the dude behind the bar who looks and sounds like Nick Nolte's twin brother - tell him you want the double strength coughtails he was making for those drunks from Melbourne one month ago - he is a LEGEND!

 

[Major]

You ate upstairs? How cool is that whole experience up there? Have you been to Lillies yet? Lillie's Times Square Don't let me down Major.

We hope to eat at Lillies tomorrow night

 

[Cruiser Elite]

We hope to eat at Lillies tomorrow night

We never ate there and I have no idea of food quality - what we saw did not look that enticing - just a fabulous bar for drinks.

If you like Italian food there is a great little Italian restaurant just up the road - Da Marino's - Da Marino NYC - Famous Traditional Italian Cuisine Times Square - this is a really fun place4 - they have a dude playing piano and another guy singing - great night in there.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Major if you are a major meat eater then I also strongly recommend - 1. Gallaghers Welcome | Gallaghers Steakhouse in NYC and 2. Churrascaria Plataforma Churrascaria Plataforma, the finest All You Can Eat Brazilian Steakhouse in the heart of New York City - both are just around corner from you - both are fabulous

 

[Major]

We have eaten in the Hell's Kitchen area the last couple of nights and found a couple of small Italian eateries. Last night was at Trattoria Casa di Isacco, New York City - Menu, Prices & Reviews - Hell's Kitchen - TripAdvisor and the veal saltimbocca was fabulous