[gr8000]

A business trip came up today so I will be in NY next week - never been there before.

Other than general sight seeing (need to do my homework on this), what other places of inerest would you guys recon?

[boymonkey]

I'm not from New York but I was sightseeing there in August.

CityPass will get you started on general sightseeing:
http://www.citypass.com/city/ny.html

New York Pass is similar but includes a lot more attractions. Ask yourself whether you have the time for so many or not:
http://www.newyorkpass.com/attractionsFullList.asp

[MontegoGoGoGo]

Have a cigar and a drink at the Oak Room/Bar!

[slalomfever]

tons of clubs, Soho, Rockefeller Center, Museums, restaurants....you name it we have it in the Concrete Jungle.

[LACSTER]

I'm going next month and this is what a friend sent me today. Hope this helps

Food ---
1. Peter Lugar Steakhouse* (Brooklyn) - very good steak but more of a NY hotspot, everyone in NY swears by it. definitely want to make reservations way in advance
2. The Chocolate Room (Brooklyn) - cute place with really yummy original desserts - no reservations
3. Joe's Shanghai* - (Chinatown) - good dumplings, chinese place - no reservations
4. Peanut Butter Company - (Greenwich Village) - very cute/interesting menu/casual - go if you're a fan of Peanut Butter or if you're in the area
5. Pearl's Oyster Bar* - (Greenwich Village) - lobster roll is really good - and it's not sushi. lobster on a bread roll. we didn't make reservations but you may want to
6. Momofuku - (East Village) - fusion jap food - very hyped up & busy, good food but not sure if it's worth the wait nor the price but there were a ton of restaurants in the East Village that looks good too
7. Chickalicious* - (East Village) - 2 locations across the street from each other. We went to take out location cuz there was a line for the 3 course sit down dessert location
8. Magnolia Bakery* - (Greenwich Village) - long line but gotta try their Red Velvet Cheesecake
9. Taim* - (Greenwich) best falafel ever - small spot, no res.
10. Ninth St. Espresso* - (inside Chelsea market) -very yummy coffee
11. Serendipity3* - (Upper East Side close to Omni) really cute place but long long line. put your name down and go shop
12. Carmine's* - (Times Sq.) - really good pasta/family style so dont order too much
13. Katz Delicatessen* - (East Village/Soho/Lower East Side border on Houston) - best Pastrami EVER
14. Dean & Deluca - (SoHo) - good coffee
15. Forty Carrots - (SoHo inside Bloomingdales) - if you guys like yogurt and taking a shopping break, try it. I crave their yogurt so bad.

Shopping ---
1. Greenwich Village area*- Marc Jacobs Accessories Store - (tiny tiny place and line to get in but their wallets are like $20, I bought a ton, loved it
2. SoHo area* -
TopShop's first shop of this British Chain in US but pricey for H&M-like clothes but very cool,
Muji - cute Japanese lifestyle store,
Uniqlo - Jap brand of simple basics clothing, good quality
3. Chelsea Market (Chelsea)* - cute indoor market w/coffee shops, groceries, butcher shops, bakeries - good place to see
4. Upper East Side - near Omni - there are lotsa name brand shops
5. 5th Ave* - should check out Henri Bendel dept store & Takashima
6. Macys - Orginal Macys, huge and carries better things than ones here
7. H&M/Zara - I believe the East Coast has better coats - may wanna check it out

To Do --
1. Rockerfeller Center - we went Ice Skating but the rink in Central Park looks bigger if it's open by then
2. Empire State - you should go in the day, we went at night and you can't see much
3. Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
4. Take the hop-on/hop-off Open Top Buses, they give you a good little tour of the city and it's the best way to see Harlem w/o being in Harlem lol
5. Ground Zero - there's really nothing going on so swinging by on the bus is a good idea
6. The Met
7. Central Park
8. Little Italy - Ferrera has good desserts

[Blake]

the cupping room in soho. killer hangover breakfast.

[nightkhan]

+1 for momofuku

there are several momofuku locations, each one is different. momofuku noodle bar is the original. great ramen and steamed pork buns, those are the essentials. definitely is busy, but i didn't think it was that expensive tho. pretty good price imo. momofuku ko is the ultimate of the group, but it's a more refined dining experience, chefs table, only 12 seats, $125 pp for 2 hr dinner. definitely a great experience.

ippudo is the other good ramen place.

go to shake shack in madison square park.....you won't regret it, don't forget the black and white shake.

[M3#3]

+1 on The Cupping Room, you might want to go there for after dinner dessert and live music. Barrolo around the corner for dinner (outstanding)where you definitely need reservations Highly reccomended.
Try Koi in the Bryant Park Hotel for Jap/Fusion and get the blueberry ice cream for dessert. You can't go wrong.
Restaurants at the "W" hotels are worth every penny IMHO.

[Sellotape]

Originally Posted by nightkhan

+1 for momofuku

there are several momofuku locations, each one is different. momofuku noodle bar is the original. great ramen and steamed pork buns, those are the essentials. definitely is busy, but i didn't think it was that expensive tho. pretty good price imo. momofuku ko is the ultimate of the group, but it's a more refined dining experience, chefs table, only 12 seats, $125 pp for 2 hr dinner. definitely a great experience.

ippudo is the other good ramen place.

go to shake shack in madison square park.....you won't regret it, don't forget the black and white shake.

Don't forget Momofuku Ssam. Try the Pork Buns, they're heavenly. If going with a group, try the Bo Ssam. It the best thing on the menu, but you'll need at least 5-6 people.

http://www.momofuku.com/ssam/menu.asp

[Sellotape]

Yassas,

If dinner at Luger's is on your bucket list or something, fine, but don't mistake it for the best steakhouse in NYC. While it's somewhat of a personal thing, there are many excellent steakhouses in the area and you don't need to trek out to Brooklyn for excellent steak. My favorite is Strip House (13 E 12th st, www.striphouse.com) It's got a great Bordello type theme and some of the best side dishes of any of the New York steakhouses. (Try the Goosefat potatoes.)

You'll probably want try something different when away from Greece, but we have some excellent Greek restaurants. Molyvos (http://www.molyvos.com/) and Thalassa (http://www.thalassanyc.com/index.html) are as good as anything I have had in Athens (except Spondi perhaps.)

You can get some great recommendations on NYC restaurants at chowhound .com (http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/18 These folks know NY restaurants like nobody else.

For non-food items, get a helicopter ride over Manhattan. I know there was that accident with the italian tourists recently, but they are phasing these out in the next few years and this may be your last opportunity. It really is the best tourist thing to do in NYC. I recommend NY Helicopter nychelicoptertours.com over Liberty due to a bad personal experience when trying to take a tour with Liberty.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by M3#3

Restaurants at the "W" hotels are worth every penny IMHO.

on that. stayed at the W union square once, i can't remember the name of the restaurant inside of it, but the foot was amazing and so were the freshly muddled cocktails. very expensive though, but what isn't in new york. (reminds me of one time when we stayed of the helmsley park lane and the 10oz glass bottle sodas were $10 a piece!!!)