A Fodors Lurker Goes to New York - Late March 2010 Trip Report
Mar 29th, 2010, 03:07 PM
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A Fodors Lurker Goes to New York - Late March 2010 Trip Report
My husband and I just returned from four days/three nights in New York City planned mostly as a Fodors lurker – I’ve posted questions and comments before, but found so much great NYC information that I really didn’t have to do much asking this time around.
Here are the highlights, in the hopes that they’ll be helpful to others. By way of background, I’ve visited New York before, but this was my husband’s first trip. We tend to be food-oriented on vacation – not just eating in restaurants (though you’ll see we do plenty of that), but also walking through food shops, markets, ethnic neighborhoods, etc. We also did a LOT of walking – probably at least seven miles a day – because we find it the best way to see and experience a city (and burn off some calories!) Our 9-year-old stayed home with Grandma, so it was just the two of us on this trip.
HOTEL:
** Courtyard by Marriott Midtown East – 53rd and 3rd. Great hotel, subway out the front door, friendly staff, clean, very large room and comfortable king-sized bed. Got what I felt was a great rate of $160/night on the hotel’s Web site back in December, kept checking Hotwire as the trip got closer, but nothing tempted me there. Would stay here again, and would recommend it to anyone. Note that the rate does not include breakfast – we had breakfast plans most days, so no need for a hotel breakfast.
SHOW:
** The Addams Family: Chose this musical not as much for the subject matter as the casting – Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. He was wonderful; she didn’t seem quite in her element – but it was a fun couple of hours. Grandma was a hoot and am still disturbed (in a good way) by Fester.
MUSEUM:
** Lower East Side Tenement Museum: This was a highlight of the trip. Strongly recommend booking in advance – visits are by guided tour only – we didn’t because we didn’t know exactly when we’d want to visit. Tour we wanted was sold out when we stopped by on Friday, so bought tickets for Saturday morning and came back. Our tour was “Getting By,” visiting the homes of German-Jewish and Italian Catholic families surviving the Panic of 1873 and the Great Depression. The visit offered amazing insight into the experience of many of our ancestors as they sought a better life in America – incredible to stand in the kitchen of one of the apartments and listen to the recorded voice of a woman (now long gone) who grew up in that very unit. Really made history come alive, and we’ll definitely go back and do other tours.
RESTAURANTS:
** Marseille – Dined here before the theater on a Friday night; made a reservation through Open Table. I ordered from the prix fixe menu – butter lettuce salad with toasted hazelnuts, hanger steak and frites and dark chocolate pot au crème. The salad was delicious, the frites were some of the best I’ve had, and the pot au crème was wonderful. The hanger steak was quite tough, although that’s a tough cut in the first place. My husband had the moules frites, with the mussels served in a flavorful sauce with white wine, garlic and tomatoes. We also sampled the shrimp beignets appetizer – more like tempura shrimp than a shrimp fritter – delicious, fluffy batter made with club soda for extra “oomph.” Really good. I had a nice glass of Cotes du Rhone; husband had a Belgian beer that was a little sweet for his taste. Loved this meal and the atmosphere, and our server was excellent.
** Balthazar – This is one of my favorites. Made Sunday brunch reservations a month in advance and were seated immediately. We each had a wonderful bowl of café au lait. I had the eggs Florentine – poached eggs with artichokes and spinach – and enjoyed them very much, particularly the artichokes. I also had toast on the side, nothing to write home about. My French-born husband had a large, buttery croissant that made him very, very happy, as well as the crepes du jour - buckwheat crepes filled with scrambled eggs, pancetta and gruyere, with mesclun on the side. They were also quite good, though he felt a plain crepe would have been better than the buckwheat. No room for dessert, though the dessert menu looked outstanding.
** Carnegie Deli – Was both praised as an icon and derided as a tourist trap in my research, but I’d been there before and enjoyed it. We split a huge corned beef sandwich – very lean, flavorful meat on great rye – and an order of potato salad, and I had a chocolate egg cream. We liked it very much and our waiter was friendly. We stopped in about 2 p.m. on a weekday – no wait for a table.
** Wo-Hop Restaurant, Chinatown – Had lunch here on the recommendation of a friend, and it did not disappoint. Wonderful steamed dumplings and good tea served in small water glasses. We split the “sweet and pungent” pork, which would not have been my first choice (a little sweet and sour goes a long way for me), but it was delicious. This is a very small, basement restaurant, and we did wait about 10 minutes to get in. Worth the wait, we felt.
** Ess-A-Bagel: We went to the one of 53rd Street, near our hotel. I had a sesame bagel (because they were out of pumpernickel) with raisin-walnut cream cheese – really good and satisfying. Loved the crunchy walnuts and chewy raisins in the cream cheese, and the bagel was perfect. Husband had cream cheese and sliced lox on a plain bagel -- pricey at $10.25, but he was in it for the experience. I think he OD’d on the lox, though.
** Gray’s Papaya: Had to try one. Liked the sausage, but the “toasted, crispy” bun just seemed sort of stale to me. Sorry, New Yorkers…this Midwestern girl prefers the Chicago red hot.
OTHER:
** Chelsea Market: We didn’t eat, just walked around and had a lot of fun doing so. Great fish market and a very cool Italian grocery shop.
** Zabar’s: Made the trip to the UWS especially for Zabar’s – definitely fun to look upstairs and down. Bought a couple of small kitchen gadgets, a reusable Zabar’s grocery bag to make shopping at home a little more fun and a couple of treats for folks back home.
** Staten Island Ferry: Took the ferry mostly to see the Statue of Liberty (I’ve visited the statue and Ellis Island before and we didn’t want to devote a large part of this trip to those places). We went pretty close to the statue, at dusk, so the torch and crown were lit. Couldn’t really take good photos through the glass, so we just enjoyed the view and the chance to sit down for a while!
** Chinatown: We had fun walking the streets on a busy Saturday morning, watching everyone doing their shopping and looking at the amazing array of items in the shops. Definitely get off Canal Street (where I couldn’t walk five steps without someone asking if I wanted to buy a fake designer handbag – I didn’t) and get into the neighborhood.
** Little Italy: This was a little disappointing – mostly restaurants, not much else. I’ve heard that Arthur Ave. in the Bronx is more of a thriving Italian neighborhood…will have to check that out next time.
** The Pickle Guys: OK…“Crossing Delancey” is one of my favorite movies, and I’d read about this place (49 Essex St.) which was similar to Peter Reigert’s pickle store in the movie. (The movie/play store is actually based on a different pickle place, which has since moved to the suburbs.) Tiny shop with barrels of every kind of pickle and pickled item imaginable, and a guy making horseradish out front. We got a couple of half-sours to munch as we walked. I think they cost about a buck total, and they were a great treat!
We also went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral (beautiful) and The Plaza to visit the “Eloise” portrait. Also had a great walk in Central Park on a warm afternoon.
Again, we did a lot of walking through various neighborhoods – Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Soho, Hell’s Kitchen, Fifth Ave., etc. – and took the subway when we needed to get somewhere quickly or just wanted to rest. The subway wasn’t too difficult to figure out. Would recommend carrying a small subway map (we had one in a book and also had one in an iPhone app) and not rely on the big maps inside the station – a lot of times, parts of the station map were scratched out.
Kind of a long report, but I hope I’ve made it readable. We had a great time and are already thinking about our next trip to NYC! We deliberately didn’t do a lot of museums or shopping this time around, but there’s always next time. Thanks to everyone here who, without knowing it, helped us plan a terrific getaway. Fodors is the greatest!
Here are the highlights, in the hopes that they’ll be helpful to others. By way of background, I’ve visited New York before, but this was my husband’s first trip. We tend to be food-oriented on vacation – not just eating in restaurants (though you’ll see we do plenty of that), but also walking through food shops, markets, ethnic neighborhoods, etc. We also did a LOT of walking – probably at least seven miles a day – because we find it the best way to see and experience a city (and burn off some calories!) Our 9-year-old stayed home with Grandma, so it was just the two of us on this trip.
HOTEL:
** Courtyard by Marriott Midtown East – 53rd and 3rd. Great hotel, subway out the front door, friendly staff, clean, very large room and comfortable king-sized bed. Got what I felt was a great rate of $160/night on the hotel’s Web site back in December, kept checking Hotwire as the trip got closer, but nothing tempted me there. Would stay here again, and would recommend it to anyone. Note that the rate does not include breakfast – we had breakfast plans most days, so no need for a hotel breakfast.
SHOW:
** The Addams Family: Chose this musical not as much for the subject matter as the casting – Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. He was wonderful; she didn’t seem quite in her element – but it was a fun couple of hours. Grandma was a hoot and am still disturbed (in a good way) by Fester.
MUSEUM:
** Lower East Side Tenement Museum: This was a highlight of the trip. Strongly recommend booking in advance – visits are by guided tour only – we didn’t because we didn’t know exactly when we’d want to visit. Tour we wanted was sold out when we stopped by on Friday, so bought tickets for Saturday morning and came back. Our tour was “Getting By,” visiting the homes of German-Jewish and Italian Catholic families surviving the Panic of 1873 and the Great Depression. The visit offered amazing insight into the experience of many of our ancestors as they sought a better life in America – incredible to stand in the kitchen of one of the apartments and listen to the recorded voice of a woman (now long gone) who grew up in that very unit. Really made history come alive, and we’ll definitely go back and do other tours.
RESTAURANTS:
** Marseille – Dined here before the theater on a Friday night; made a reservation through Open Table. I ordered from the prix fixe menu – butter lettuce salad with toasted hazelnuts, hanger steak and frites and dark chocolate pot au crème. The salad was delicious, the frites were some of the best I’ve had, and the pot au crème was wonderful. The hanger steak was quite tough, although that’s a tough cut in the first place. My husband had the moules frites, with the mussels served in a flavorful sauce with white wine, garlic and tomatoes. We also sampled the shrimp beignets appetizer – more like tempura shrimp than a shrimp fritter – delicious, fluffy batter made with club soda for extra “oomph.” Really good. I had a nice glass of Cotes du Rhone; husband had a Belgian beer that was a little sweet for his taste. Loved this meal and the atmosphere, and our server was excellent.
** Balthazar – This is one of my favorites. Made Sunday brunch reservations a month in advance and were seated immediately. We each had a wonderful bowl of café au lait. I had the eggs Florentine – poached eggs with artichokes and spinach – and enjoyed them very much, particularly the artichokes. I also had toast on the side, nothing to write home about. My French-born husband had a large, buttery croissant that made him very, very happy, as well as the crepes du jour - buckwheat crepes filled with scrambled eggs, pancetta and gruyere, with mesclun on the side. They were also quite good, though he felt a plain crepe would have been better than the buckwheat. No room for dessert, though the dessert menu looked outstanding.
** Carnegie Deli – Was both praised as an icon and derided as a tourist trap in my research, but I’d been there before and enjoyed it. We split a huge corned beef sandwich – very lean, flavorful meat on great rye – and an order of potato salad, and I had a chocolate egg cream. We liked it very much and our waiter was friendly. We stopped in about 2 p.m. on a weekday – no wait for a table.
** Wo-Hop Restaurant, Chinatown – Had lunch here on the recommendation of a friend, and it did not disappoint. Wonderful steamed dumplings and good tea served in small water glasses. We split the “sweet and pungent” pork, which would not have been my first choice (a little sweet and sour goes a long way for me), but it was delicious. This is a very small, basement restaurant, and we did wait about 10 minutes to get in. Worth the wait, we felt.
** Ess-A-Bagel: We went to the one of 53rd Street, near our hotel. I had a sesame bagel (because they were out of pumpernickel) with raisin-walnut cream cheese – really good and satisfying. Loved the crunchy walnuts and chewy raisins in the cream cheese, and the bagel was perfect. Husband had cream cheese and sliced lox on a plain bagel -- pricey at $10.25, but he was in it for the experience. I think he OD’d on the lox, though.
** Gray’s Papaya: Had to try one. Liked the sausage, but the “toasted, crispy” bun just seemed sort of stale to me. Sorry, New Yorkers…this Midwestern girl prefers the Chicago red hot.
OTHER:
** Chelsea Market: We didn’t eat, just walked around and had a lot of fun doing so. Great fish market and a very cool Italian grocery shop.
** Zabar’s: Made the trip to the UWS especially for Zabar’s – definitely fun to look upstairs and down. Bought a couple of small kitchen gadgets, a reusable Zabar’s grocery bag to make shopping at home a little more fun and a couple of treats for folks back home.
** Staten Island Ferry: Took the ferry mostly to see the Statue of Liberty (I’ve visited the statue and Ellis Island before and we didn’t want to devote a large part of this trip to those places). We went pretty close to the statue, at dusk, so the torch and crown were lit. Couldn’t really take good photos through the glass, so we just enjoyed the view and the chance to sit down for a while!
** Chinatown: We had fun walking the streets on a busy Saturday morning, watching everyone doing their shopping and looking at the amazing array of items in the shops. Definitely get off Canal Street (where I couldn’t walk five steps without someone asking if I wanted to buy a fake designer handbag – I didn’t) and get into the neighborhood.
** Little Italy: This was a little disappointing – mostly restaurants, not much else. I’ve heard that Arthur Ave. in the Bronx is more of a thriving Italian neighborhood…will have to check that out next time.
** The Pickle Guys: OK…“Crossing Delancey” is one of my favorite movies, and I’d read about this place (49 Essex St.) which was similar to Peter Reigert’s pickle store in the movie. (The movie/play store is actually based on a different pickle place, which has since moved to the suburbs.) Tiny shop with barrels of every kind of pickle and pickled item imaginable, and a guy making horseradish out front. We got a couple of half-sours to munch as we walked. I think they cost about a buck total, and they were a great treat!
We also went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral (beautiful) and The Plaza to visit the “Eloise” portrait. Also had a great walk in Central Park on a warm afternoon.
Again, we did a lot of walking through various neighborhoods – Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Soho, Hell’s Kitchen, Fifth Ave., etc. – and took the subway when we needed to get somewhere quickly or just wanted to rest. The subway wasn’t too difficult to figure out. Would recommend carrying a small subway map (we had one in a book and also had one in an iPhone app) and not rely on the big maps inside the station – a lot of times, parts of the station map were scratched out.
Kind of a long report, but I hope I’ve made it readable. We had a great time and are already thinking about our next trip to NYC! We deliberately didn’t do a lot of museums or shopping this time around, but there’s always next time. Thanks to everyone here who, without knowing it, helped us plan a terrific getaway. Fodors is the greatest!
Mar 29th, 2010, 11:46 PM
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When Crossing Delancy was filmed, the pickle store in it was called Gus's. Within the last year Gus's has closed in Manhattan and moved to Long Island, which is clearly not as romantic.
Some ex-employees of Gus's opened up The Pickle Guys about 5,7 years ago which is where you went. There was great animosity between the two stores.
The Pickle Guys are closed for the Jewish Sabbath on Friday afternoons and all day Saturday. While at the Pickle Guys be sure to go across the street to Kossar's Bialys on Grand Street which I think is the only walk-in bialy maker left in the city. They are fabulous and keep the same hours as the Pickle Guys.
And then slightly further up the block is Donut Plant which is arguably the best donuts in the city. They have their own religion since they are closed on Mondays. They are open until they sell out the donuts, usually around 6 PM.
http://www.doughnutplant.com/
Some ex-employees of Gus's opened up The Pickle Guys about 5,7 years ago which is where you went. There was great animosity between the two stores.
The Pickle Guys are closed for the Jewish Sabbath on Friday afternoons and all day Saturday. While at the Pickle Guys be sure to go across the street to Kossar's Bialys on Grand Street which I think is the only walk-in bialy maker left in the city. They are fabulous and keep the same hours as the Pickle Guys.
And then slightly further up the block is Donut Plant which is arguably the best donuts in the city. They have their own religion since they are closed on Mondays. They are open until they sell out the donuts, usually around 6 PM.
http://www.doughnutplant.com/
Mar 30th, 2010, 05:49 AM
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Starrs -- I'll admit, I was wondering if those guys did use vanilla and milk when they got off work! Definitely check the place out, if you can.
Bokhara2 -- We were there Thursday-Sunday. Thursday was gorgeous, in the high 50s and sunny. Friday and Saturday were a little cooler, with temps in the 40s, but clear both days. It spritzed a little on Sunday and was cool, too. We were comfortable with jackets, gloves and hats -- we live in Wisconsin, so we're pretty used to the cooler weather.
Aduchamp -- Thanks for the extra info. I saw the bialy place and it reminded me of my college days near Skokie, Ill. Will have to try it out next time. Always good to know of a good doughnut spot, too.
Glad some of you found this helpful...we really had a wonderful time!
Bokhara2 -- We were there Thursday-Sunday. Thursday was gorgeous, in the high 50s and sunny. Friday and Saturday were a little cooler, with temps in the 40s, but clear both days. It spritzed a little on Sunday and was cool, too. We were comfortable with jackets, gloves and hats -- we live in Wisconsin, so we're pretty used to the cooler weather.
Aduchamp -- Thanks for the extra info. I saw the bialy place and it reminded me of my college days near Skokie, Ill. Will have to try it out next time. Always good to know of a good doughnut spot, too.
Glad some of you found this helpful...we really had a wonderful time!
Mar 30th, 2010, 10:49 AM
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bk123...
I was in NYC the same days you were!
Great report...I will have to keep the restaurants you went to on my list for my next trip! Now I need to get started on my trip report!
Oh...I saw The Addams Family too and had the same impression you did! Nathan Lane was great...Uncle Fester was a hoot!
I was in NYC the same days you were!
Great report...I will have to keep the restaurants you went to on my list for my next trip! Now I need to get started on my trip report!
Oh...I saw The Addams Family too and had the same impression you did! Nathan Lane was great...Uncle Fester was a hoot!
Mar 30th, 2010, 12:04 PM
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Too funny, LowCountryIslander! I just checked out your profile...you're holding the very same book we used to get around! Can't wait to read your trip report.
Thanks for commenting, POMAH. We actually did spend quite a bit of time in Central Park -- I think I mentioned our walk there, though very briefly. We had to save some things for next time, though -- we'll check out the Bronx Zoo and other attractions when we have our daughter with us. This was a rare adults-only trip!
I neglected to mention that we also went to the Top of the Rock -- no waiting the evening we were there, which was our first night in town. We went just at dusk. Lots of fun to watch night fall over the city, and it also helped us get our bearings/orientation. Another great suggestion by Fodorites!
Thanks for commenting, POMAH. We actually did spend quite a bit of time in Central Park -- I think I mentioned our walk there, though very briefly. We had to save some things for next time, though -- we'll check out the Bronx Zoo and other attractions when we have our daughter with us. This was a rare adults-only trip!
I neglected to mention that we also went to the Top of the Rock -- no waiting the evening we were there, which was our first night in town. We went just at dusk. Lots of fun to watch night fall over the city, and it also helped us get our bearings/orientation. Another great suggestion by Fodorites!
Mar 30th, 2010, 12:38 PM
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Nice report bk! Wo Hop!!! That was my college find in the 70's!!! Nice to hear that it is still going strong.
Next trip combine Bronx Zoo/ Botanical Gardens with Arthur Avenue. That is where the Italians still live and eat, although getting smaller.
-john
Next trip combine Bronx Zoo/ Botanical Gardens with Arthur Avenue. That is where the Italians still live and eat, although getting smaller.
-john
Apr 1st, 2010, 05:44 AM
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LowCountryIslander, it's a great book! I'm going to look for those from now on...a Paris one would be terrific to have.
Starrs, seems like you've got some nice weather now. Enjoy!
Thanks, everyone for the positive comments.
Starrs, seems like you've got some nice weather now. Enjoy!
Thanks, everyone for the positive comments.
Apr 1st, 2010, 06:45 AM
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One Christmas I asked my secretary, Christine, what she wanted for a gift.
She replied, "Take the train into the city and get me some pickles from Gus's on Orchard Street."
So I did.
She was completely astounded that I did it.
Sorry that Gus's has closed on Orchard Street, but I think they have always been out on the island.
Thin
She replied, "Take the train into the city and get me some pickles from Gus's on Orchard Street."
So I did.
She was completely astounded that I did it.
Sorry that Gus's has closed on Orchard Street, but I think they have always been out on the island.
Thin
