martite

My husband and I are planning on going to NYC for our 7th anniversary. We're going from May 18-21. Here is what I have tentatively planned and I'm hoping for suggestions or opinions to the alternative.

Friday May 18
Arrive ~10:30am LGA
(I plan on taking the super shuttle but it seems to have been met with disapproval from several foddies. Is the super shuttle that terrible? The NYC 2007 Fodor's book seems to recommend it. Advice?)
Check in to Roosevelt Hotel
Need a good lunch venue (suggestions? dying for some good NY style pizza)
Check out the MET and MOMA (I realize that a lot of time can be spent at both museums but I plan on hitting just the main exhibits of interest)
Dinner suggestions in the $$ range?

Saturday May 19
Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty (booked tix in advance)
Visit Ground zero and maybe Wall Street
Dinner 8pm at Dock's (I heard via a friend that this had excellent seafood, any good? This will be our anniversary dinner)
After dinner, check out Empire State Bldg.

Sunday May 20
Explore Chinatown/Chelsea Market.
Dim Sum at Jing Fong (I heard this was the most authentic)
Dinner (Suggestions? around that area)

Monday May 21
Looking for a good breakfast place in mid-town before getting to the airport.

nytraveler

First DO NOT take the Super Shuttle - it is incredibly time-consuming and unreliable. And the cost will be almost as much as for a cab - $30 to $35 from LGA to midtown. If you want to take a bus take the shuttle to Grand Central Station - only 2 blocks from your hotel.

Second, you could spend at least a day at MoMA and a week at the Met. If you insist on doing both (don;t see how) go to the web sites and pick 2/3 things to see in each place - no more. (IMHO main exhibits of intrest at the Met is at least a full day - but don;t know your interests.)

For dinner suggestions - what cuisines do you like/dislike and what atmosphere (trendy, tradiaiotnal, casuale, romantic).

For day 2 Docks is fine casuale - not great seafood but have never had anything bad. (Le Barnardine is the best in the city. Sea Grill - Rock Center promenade - is much better than Docks, but also more $.) You can get all menus online at menupages.com.

Would suggest Top of the Rock versus ESB - MUCH shorter lines and views at least as good IMHO.

martite

NYTraveler, Thanks for the info. I'll cancel my reservations on supershuttle and opt for the cab. I don't have enough time to peruse the MET and MOMA as much as I'd like so...I'll have to make do. My main interest in MOMA is seeing the Van Gogh exhibit. I'll have to save the rest for another visit. When it comes to food, I love it all. I'm mostly looking for great food with a casual atmosphere (trendy can do to) for lunches. Saturday night dinner, I'm looking for something more romantic but affordable around the $25-$40 per person price range. I'm also hoping for some great seafood since I live in the mid-west.
Thanks

nytraveler

Great seafood in NYC is typically more than $25 to $40 per person for dinner. I really think you should look at menupages.com - even for Docks - to get an idea of what the budgets are.

There's no way you'll get out of even a casuale place like Docks for $40 a person for dinner - with a simple appetizer, main course (not lobster), one glass of wine, coffee, tax and tip you'll be more in the range of $60 per person.

And this is OK seafood - not great. Great would be in the range of $100 per person at least.

janie

martite,
There is no special Van Gogh exhibit at Moma or theMet, but there are certainly prime specimens at both places.Keep in mind that MoMA is free on Fridays after 4pm and may be busy. The Met is also open late, but is fairly quiet on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Sunday: Chelsea Market and Chinatown are not in the same neighborhoods. Chinatown is not a whole day activity--maybe a couple of hours to nibble and walk around shopping. You can then easily fit in a museum (uptown, 15-20 minutes by subway ) or some downtown places you didn't get to Saturday,or explore another neighborhood (Village, Soho, upper west side, 5th avenue, etc)

Rhea58

Another suggestion: You might want to have your "seafood fix" at
www.marysfishcamp.com for Saturday lunch after your downtown tour which would fit better budget-wise w/your planning. Their lobster roll is excellent.

mclaurie

Agree the Super Shuttle is really terrible and NOT good value for 2 people from LGA. Take a taxi from the official taxi stand. (Don't accept a ride from anyone who approaches you).

MOMA is a short walk from your hotel while the Met is 40 blocks away---not an unpleasant walk that could be done through Central Park if you want. Both museums are open late on Fri's. MOMA is free starting at 4 pm (consequently it gets packed at that hour). The Met is a "suggested donation" so you can pay whatever you want (really).

I can't think of any outstanding pizza near your hotel or MOMA. There has been a pizza truck on Park Ave. & 47 st (and before that it was at Park & 51 st) called Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck
47th St. nr. Park Ave., 917-287-7241 That would be near your hotel. You might look for it. Otherwise, I think you should wait for pizza til Sat.

For dinner on Fri. night, there are a few places nearish your hotel that do very good value prix fixe dinners ($30-35 for 3 courses). La Mangeoire and La Mediterranee are French and Cibo is Italian/American. Look at reviews/menus on menupages.com

Get your pizza on Sat. while you're downtown. One idea is to go over to Brooklyn (you can take a water taxi from the South STreet Seaport) to Grimaldi's then walk back over the Brooklyn Bridge. Another option is Lombardi's for pizza. Both places only serve pies not slices.

For your Sat. night dinner, I too don't think Dock's is all that AND it's in a very busines oriented location that may be dead on a Sat. night. Also agree seafood is expensive and at the more affordable end, the places are not terribly romantic. One suggestion is Vivolo, an Italian restaurant uptown in a lovely townhouse. They have a fair amount of fish on the menu. Grace's Trattoria is another idea, not solely fish, but very good. Again, have a look at reviews, menus etc. on menupages.com

For breakfast in midtown before your departure, if you want a great NYC bagel, take a walk over to Ess-A-Bagel. It's serve yourself cafeteria style but you can get eggs. If you want something close, there are several Burger Heavens (local chain) near the hotel that do a good breakfast. If you want something fancier, the Cafe at St. Barts church at Park Ave. & 50 st. is a lovely spot to sit outside, but they may not open til 9.

GoTravel

You will be a babbling idiot if you try and do MoMA and the MMoA on the same afternoon let alone the same day.

I suggest you pick the MMoA as they have quite a few Van Goghs.

Ditto on cab advice from LGA.

owlwoman

Agree with previous, take taxi from LGA to hotel.

For pizza, go to Grand Central Terminal's food court downstairs, Two Boot Pizza is very good. Food court also had mexican, deli, chinese, etc. no national chains, all local NY restaurants. You may also have breakfast there before you leave, or on 42nd Street, across from GCT there's a good restaurant that I can't think of the name of yet, but it's under the bridge (you'll see what I mean if you go there).

Also agree about trying to do two museums in one day. You will be out of your mind if you try. Go to MOMA Friday night, then have a nice dinner.

On Sunday, get up early AM and go to Met when it first opens, then head down to Chinatown. You will have plenty of time for both activities this day.

Most of all, enjoy the energy of NY and have fun!

For your anniversary dinner, try the Mermaid Inn, East Village - easy subway ride from your hotel....and I think it will fit your budget. Plus it's a fun neighborhood to explore.

http://www.themermaidnyc.com

Dohlice

A walk, at least part of the way, over the bklyn bridge is a great idea but you’ll be disappointed if you go all the way to Grimaldi’s for pizza. Not authentic NY, and not even all that good. If you want something fun and casual you can go to Two Boots in the food court at Grand Central. They have a sit down place there (instead of just cafeteria style seating) and the pizza is pretty good. You can also get single slices and take it to go. There’s a Jianneto’s truck near me, too and that pizza is pretty tasty. It’s only squares though.

I love The Blue Water Grill for seafood. It is pricey but the food is worth it. Maybe you cold skip the drinks to bring the price down. Foley’s Fish House is another place I liked. Also expensive but the view is fantastic. I haven’t eaten there in a while though, so check some reviews about the food. A fairly inexpensive and casual place is City Crab. Big wooden tables and people smashing crabs with mallets on newspapers. Fun! It’s also in a very nice area for walking around.

I didn’t see the Village on your list. I’d take that over China Town any day. Definitely do Wall Street. The huge flag at the exchange and Federal Hall are great sites to see. Especially around lunch time when the streets are packed. Stop at one of the bars on Stone Street for a drink.

martite

Thanks for all the great advice. So, Friday I will take a taxi to my hotel for check in. Then I think I will head to Times Square Visitors Center (is this a good idea?) Then go to MOMA. I love the idea about City Crab from Dohlice. Thank you. I wonder if I should try that on Friday? Does anyone think I can fit in anything else on Friday? I'd like to maximize as much as possible. Saturday I'll leave my itinery as is and then opt for dinner at Vivolo (thx mclaurie). Sunday I really wanted to go for Dim Sum but I'll opt for the MET instead. Then I'll head over to Chinatown because I have to see it. So, I'll be on the south side of NY. Dinner suggestions? Since I'm having Italian on Saturday, I probably want to try something different. Open to any ideas, just looking for outstanding food. Does anyone have any comments as what is an absolute must for first time visitors of NY (besides then main touristy sites) or anything that is outandingly unique to NY that I must visit or try? Thanks everyone.

doug_stallings

Why would you go to the Times Square Visitor Center? I'd skip that as a waste of time and head straight to MOMA from your hotel, and then maybe do a bit of shopping after since you'll be right in Midtown (or walk up to Central Park as far as the zoo).

And I don't understand why you can't have dim sum and go to the Met on Sunday. Personally, I can't stomach more than 2 or 3 hours in a museum. Head to the Met early, see all you care to see, and then go to Chinatown about 12:30 or 1. (Do the Brooklyn Bridge to aid your digestion after lunch.) You can always go back to the Met again after Chinatown if you want another dose of art. Your admission button works all day, and the 4/5/6 goes straight from 86th St. down to Canal.

I'm glad you're ditching Dock's, which is mediocre at best and sometimes worse. City Crab is better, though I really prefer Blue Water Grill. Whatever the case, make reservations for all your dinners since May can be a busy month.

jodeenyc

If you're in the area of Chinatown you could walk north into Soho and eat at Aquagrill one of my favorites although might be too much seafood for one weekend.

Also you initially noted you wanted a lunch spot on your museum day. I love grabbing a quick sandwhich at the cafe on the top floor of the MET. Gives you amazing park/city views and it's very peaceful.

mclaurie

Agree with Doug there's no reason to go to the visitor's center in Times Square before MOMA since it's out of your way. The only reason to go to Times Square is if you want to pick up tickets or go to one of the shops there. You can certainly fit more in on Fri. if your plane is on time. What do you want to add? City Crab is a nice idea for Fri. night.

On Sunday, if you're in Chinatown, why not eat dinner there? Or are you lunching there? I'm a little lost. Soho, Tribeca, east village, lower east side are all nearish Chinatown.

orangecats

Maybe some of this is redundant, but I couldn't help adding my two cents.

I MUCH prefer the Blue Water Grill to City Crab. It's a little expensive, but not that bad actually. In particular I love their lobster bisque -- delicious and filling. Often I get the lobster bisque and an appetizer -- for around $15 total. Blue WAter Grill also has a much nicer ambience.

I disagree that Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn is not that good. I love Grimaldi's! And a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is truly one of the best things to do on a sunny day in NYC.

There are several offshoots of the Grimaldi family pizzerias. One of them -- I'm pretty sure it's called Patsy's is in Chelsea -- on 23rd around 8th avenue, I think. I think the pizza's fantastic.

Another thing to think about is having lunch at the MoMA. They have a wonderful restaurant with delicious food. Last time I had a lemon aspragus pasta. The selection at the met is not so good.

Restaurant ideas in downtown: Prune is an excellent choice. So is Savoy. Both are really for special occasions, though, I think. An unusual (and less expensive) option is a place called Cafe Mogador in the east village. Delicious moroccan food, wonderful atmosphere.

I'm not a huge fan of midtown. Only restaurant I can think of that I like there is an ethiopian placed called Queen of Sheba.

Have a great trip!

Jeffrey

Ping's on Mott Street generally makes the lists of best Dim Sum on Sundays. I've never heard of the other place. I live in New York and eat in Chinatown often. You are going to have a hard time getting a bad meal there at any busy place, however. The guide books are very unreliable for Chinatown (Zagat's included) since looking "nice" usually beats food quality in that area.

New York Noodletown has kept up its quality as well.

Jeffrey

Another suggestion: skip the Met. You have little time. The Frick is more charming for a limited time (2-3 hours), and less crowded. You will see just as many paintings in that time as in the Met.

Unless you are extremely budget restricted, take a cab from the airport. Unlike, say, London, the airport-city public transportation is not user friendly.

Jeffrey

Chola's has good Indian food in more or less midtown.

PamSF

Consider either Pearl Oyster Bar or Mary's Fish Camp both in the village for seafood.

barnumbailey

Martite ~ Please know that it is certainly possible to see both the MET and the MOMA in one day if you are not that into art. I am just a person who likes to glance so I can literally cover the entire MOMA in an hour during a crowded time like FREE FRIDAYS. You just need to decide if you are a person who likes to glance at the artwork or if you want to wander slowly.