heythererena

My husband and I are planning a quick getaway weekend in NYC in late April. He's a novice photographer and we're craft beer lovers/foodies. We are hoping to meet up with a friend that lives in Brooklyn, but would really appreciate some feedback on our itinerary/accommodations since it will be my husband's first time in NYC and we want to maximize our time.

Friday

- Pick up stuff for a picnic or Shake Shack
- Central Park (Strawberry Fields)
-Met or American Natural History Museum
- Dinner at Craft or Jeepney

Saturday

-Top of the Rock

-Subway to Brooklyn or walk Brooklyn bridge
-Grimaldi's pizza
-Beer tasting at Brooklyn brewery
-Dinner at Talde

We had dinner at Canlis when we traveled to Seattle. Would love to have a memorable dinner that isn't outrageously priced. Clearly a few Top Chef influenced picks here but any other recommendations are welcome!

The biggest question is where to stay since we plan to spend time in both Manhattan and Brooklyn (and I'd rather not impose on my friend and her roommates!)

Looking forward to your responses!

heythererena

Just remembered NY delis were on my husband's list. Open to suggestions to maybe sub in for the picnic lunch or Shake Shack on Friday?

nytraveler

If you give us your dates and specific nightly budget people can make hotel recos.

heythererena

nytraveler: Friday-Sunday the 2nd to last weekend in April. I'd say we're comfortable with $150-$200 max/night

nytraveler

Well your budget minus the tax is really a max of $175 a night. And looking at booking.com for April 22-24 there just aren't any hotels in Manhattan that I can reco for those dates.

However when I looked at Hotels.com they do have the Newton Hotel, a reliable budget property on the upper west side, with a superior room (1 double bed and private bath) for $167 per night. (If you are not familiar this is a mid/upscale residential area near Central Park with lots of inexpensive/moderate restaurants of every possible ethnicity and 2 subway lines for easy access to the rest of the city - 10 minutes to Times Square.)

However both sites mention that these dates already have very heavy bookings and supply is limited - so if you are interested suggest you book something cancelable today.

You may want to check some of the other search engines - I don;t have time to do all of them but you never know what might pop up.

heythererena

nytraveler: we ended up raising our price point and booking The W Union Square. Just wanted to say thank you for your help with such a short notice!

kureiff

My husband and I loved Russ & Daughters, and I'd definitely recommend it to fit your NY deli. We had breakfast there: caviar, blinis and creme fraiche, champagne, and two different sandwich boards. It was wonderful!

http://www.russanddaughterscafe.com/

IMDonehere

What made you pick Jeepney? We live in the neighborhood and the food has improved greatly since it opened. Too bad you aren't in NYC for their special dinner on Wednesdays and I think Thursdays:

http://moderateindulgence.com/2014/0...o-feast-hands/

The term deli had changed greatly over the years. For a genuine NY Jewish deli try the Upper East Side 2nd Ave Deli and walk over to the Park.

http://www.2ndavedeli.com/deli-locat...per-east-side/

Russ and Daughters is quite excellent but is far from the Park and is what used to be called a Dairy restaurant even though they serve all sorts of fish, not a deli.

Today deli is used in NYC to widely describe a place where you can get breakfast or lunch and where you order at a counter and rarely has table service.

heythererena

kureiff: Russ & Daughters looks amazing! We'll add that to our list for next time (Trip report coming shortly)

IMDonehere: We really enjoy Filipino food and were really interested to see a modern interpretation of the cuisine. We did see the feast but couldn't get a group big enough (or more so interested enough to shell out $55/person w/out beverages included). It ended up being pricey but really worth the experience.

Your "deli" definition definitely makes sense now. We weren't able to fit in a NY Jewish deli this time around but definitely will need to do so for next time.(Trip report coming shortly)