Ex NYer visits home - Help need info!
 

Hi all,

I am usually on the Europe board but I am booked to NY/NJ for a visit to my family this August(I live in Ireland). Its been so long since I have been to NYC and NJ I am at a loss where to take myself and the other half.

Some ideas - Would love Tickets to a TV show but can't apply online for Letterman for example as I have no U.S. Phone. Any ideas or other shows I can get tix to?

Interested in some fun tours (Not the usualy NYC Bus tour as I worked for years in Manhattan and I know the usual stuff)

Bars, cocktails restaurants?? We go to some restaurant wine bars on occasion here in Dublin and would like a nice place one night for a treat. Other places like small local places I would love to know as I cannot remember any or they ones I used to go to have closed.

How is Hoboken these days? I used to live there and it sounds like more restaurants etc ahave been added. Any preferences?

What is the Area around the WTC like? I used to work around here and I am still a bit worried about how it will look to me. I have had many wonderful summer memories eating in drinking on a friday in front of the palm court...what building was that??? It was beside the WTC. We would all meet for drinks and watch the Gekko's (remember wall street the movie!?) Is the seaport any good now?

Aso all I keep being told is Brooklyn is fantastic...it was a bit scary in some part when i moved away and would like to go here and have a meal.

This will be a new intoduction post WTC for me so any help would be apopreciated and i would be happy to help any and all about Dublin on the European board if you are going to ireland.

Many Thanks

Hello, welcome to New York.

You can request tickets for the Letterman show on line
http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latesho...t_ticket.shtml

tickets for other shows taped in NYC
http://gonyc.about.com/od/tvtapings/

walking tours:
http://gonyc.about.com/od/toursbr/

http://www.nycwalk.com/

I've read good things about this one
http://www.newyorktalksandwalks.com/

http://www.bigonion.com/

The World Trade Center site now looks just like a vast new-construction site, the days of it being an unpaved crater are long gone. As for the Seaport, except for some Thursday night drinking done by people who work nearby, I don't know anyone in Manhattan who goes there to dine or drink. But that doesn't mean it's not a pleasant thing to do.

Best new place for a view:
Top of the Rock, a display and viewing platform at the top of the RCA buildng in Rock. Center. It is very well done, some interactive displays, advance tickets can be purchased, and the line to the top of the Empire State Bldg can be avoided. I've done the Top of the Rock with family, and I'm glad I have. I will go again.

There is a special exhibit of glass art objects by Dale Chihuly at the New York Botanical Gardens this summer. I saw information on that here
http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogof...icID=328.topic

This website may help with current events and new restaurants, including Brooklyn

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/ (New York Magazine sponsor)

also
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/

A very trendy and popular area for strolling around and ending up in a new cafe or restaurant is the Gramercy and Flatiron areas of Manhattan, say 14th Street north to 23rd Street, 5th Avenue to Third Avenue. Also Chelsea (west 20s) and of course the East and West Villages.

The Palm Court is in the World Financial Center; it's still there, west of where the WTC was.
For a map, other things in that area, and PATH train info (to Hoboken)
see
http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTrave.../html/wtc.html

If you can;t organize anything in advance Letterman has a "day of" option. If you call in at a certain hour and can reach the show they will give you a number and tell you what time to wait on a corner near the show. They then pull people from that pool to fill in for the no-shows for that day's show. All the details are on his web site.

and here's the website mentioned above for the Top of the Rock

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/ODTStatic/site.htm

SiobhanP

Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, wonderful views and free.

You said it has been a long time since you were home so just a reminder how hot NYC is in August. Is this a first time visit for the other half?

Happy planning and welcome back to NYC.

Sandy

I am getting worried about the heat as I have a tough time in it these days as well.

Is the Path train running now from Hoboken? i knew they were doing some badly needed upgrades. That was my commuter route each day.

Also the brooklyn bridge is a good idea for a walk as I have never dione this. I would like to try out Patsy's pizza with him after a walk over.

My last view of Manhattan before I moved away 11 years ago was on the deck at the River cafe attending a private party overlooking the seaport and the buildings we all worked in and the WTC. It was a beautiful sunset. The view is no longer the same unfortunately.

OK how about a nice place for a drink before heading to dinner?

Welcome back to NYC! If you are interested in a fun tour, try the Food Tour of NYC http://www.foodsofny.com/ they now have 3 tours to choose from. I recently took the Greenwich Village tour, thanks to advice given here, and it was fantastic!

The food tours look great maybe a cheese tasting I saw on the web as well. Any wine tastings in NY? I am not familiar with the U.S. wines as I did not drink much wine when I left and its an enigma to me now. I know a small bit about European wines.

Also any nice places in the evening our last night for a cocktail??

Welcome back to New York!

Manhattan wine tasting establishments include:

Veritas (20th St bet. Park/B’way) – gazillion of wines available by the glass with very good food to match.

Cru (5th Ave near 9th St.) – same concept as Veritas

Tia Pol (10th Ave near 23rd St.) – excellent Spanish tapas and decent selection of Spanish wines.

The Tasting Room (Lower East Side) – I heard about this place that has good

Brooklyn:
Park Slope is a great place with some of the better restaurants in the metropolitan area, including:

Al Di La - One of the finest, if not the best, Venetian-inspired restaurant in the metropolitan area.

Saul – Serves very good contemporary American fare.

The Grocery – Also, serves very good contemporary American fare. Extrememly popular with the Manhattan crowd (reservation is a must).

Di Fara’s (not in Park Slope) – Dominick Di Fara has been serving the BEST Neapolitan-style pizza in the country for more than a quarter of a century now. Extremely loooooong wait and, especially in the summer, it may not be the best for somebody who has problems with heat.


Hoboken:
Washington Street continues to be the hub of restaurant and bar activities in the area. We frequent:

Augustino’s (near 8th or 9th Street) – the best “red sauce” Italian in the area. The veal chop that's about the size of your head is consistently solid. Pastas are always very good.

Amanda’s (near 11th Street) – Good brunch and good value dinners in a somewhat slightly upscale Victorian setting. Don’t let that fool you as I’ve eaten breakfast there wearing a nice pair of shorts. Good American wine list.

Enjoy !

Hi Siobhan, if you walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, you can venture into DUMBO, which in the 11 years since you lived here became an artists haven and is now turning into luxury housing(!). There's a terrific local restaurant called Superfine; it's one of those places where the menu changes daily depending on what's fresh in the market, but it's not crazy expensive. It's something of a scene but low-key and local, too, with artwork on the walls, sometimes live music or a d.j. spinning records, and a pool table in one corner. It's also a good place to hang out for a drink at the bar.

Also, I always recommend Jacques Torres chocolates in DUMBO (mrchocolate.com). Sooo yummy, so fresh! Buy yourself a treat (or two) and wander over to the waterfront park to sit on a bench and savor it...

As another poster mentioned, Park Slope has a number of great restaurants. The Grocery is actually in Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, which is another good area of Brooklyn to check out. Both neighborhoods are in western Brooklyn, and so not too much of a trek back into Manhattan.

Hi SiobhanP--

This article was in the Baltimore Sun food section today. I thought it might be of interest to you.

http://tinyurl.com/jsk33

SiobhanP

What nice responses from lots of folks.

Sending to the top in the hopes that mclaurie will be back and see your question. mclaurie is always helpful and very gracious to those of us with questions on NYC.

How long will you be home for?

Sandy

I will be home for 2 weeks but will have to go to NY state (Parents now there), North Jersey where I hail from and see family and friends and Boston to a sibling and finally manhattan to catch up with a friend and see the city for the first time as a tourist and show my other half NY not the drunken St Patricks version he had years ago but the real NY.

The reccommendations are great! I know someone here in Dublin (french/Irish guy) who worked in brooklyn restaurants and will give a few recc's as well.

What about a dressed up evening with a cocktail?

mclaurie are you back? ttt for SiobhanP

ttt

TTT!

You've gotten <i>great</i> advice and answers so far.

For <b>same day tickets for Letterman</b>, there's some very good inside advice on this page despite it being mixed with a promo for a bus tour (a good one too for an overall view in an air conditioned bus)
http://www.newyorkpartyshuttle.com/d...n_tickets.html

For a fun tour that combines a bit of Brooklyn with pizza, I hear the <b>Slice of Brooklyn pizza tour</b> is lots of fun! I think the fact that it's in an air conditioned bus is also good in August. ;)
http://www.bknypizza.com/index.html

<b>The Literary Pub Crawl</b> in Greenwich Village is also fun
http://www.bakerloo.org/pubcrawl/index.htm

As already mentioned, the food walking tours are also very popular. Foodsofny and Bigonion are the main ones, but there are others.

Bars, cocktails, restaurants...would be easier if you gave us a neighborhood. If you're into cheese, you should try <b>Artisinal</b>, a French brasserie specializing in cheese. They also have good prix fixe lunch and dinner.
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/listings...ant/artisanal/

<b>menupages.com </b>
is a great source for restaurants. Search by cuisine, by neighborhood with reviews and actual menus (sometimes out of date but better than nothing)

You mention Patsy's pizza after walking the Brooklyn bridge. The original Patsy's is in Harlem, so not anywhere near the bridge. Did you mean Grimaldi's in Brooklyn-- a stop many people make before walking walking back to Manhattan? Or maybe Lombardi's in Nolita (new name for area north of Little Italy)? Here's info on a self guided tour of Brooklyn Heights and walking the Brooklyn Bridge
http://gonyc.about.com/od/toursbr/a/brooklynbridge.htm

For a nice place for a drink before heading to dinner (ofcourse it depends on where you're staying and where you're eating) the <b>lobby lounge of the Mandarin Oriental hotel</b> (on the 35th floor of the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle. I think the Time Warner building is one of the best additions to the city.

For a dressed up evening......<b>the River Cafe</b> is still a great place to be. The food, the service and the view.
rivercafe.com
There are also several dinner cruises. <b>The Bateaux NY</b> gets good reviews and has dancing too.
http://www.spiritcitycruises.com/ba/index.jsp

Tribeca is really blooming. I went to lunch at <b>Bouley</b> not too long ago and it was really terrific. They have 2 different prix fixe menus, 3 course or 4 course. It's really a special treat. (I don't think they close in August but double check and ofcourse book ahead.)
http://menupages.com/restaurantdetai...mp;cuisineid=0
I understand Upstairs at Bouley, around the corner from the restaurant is more casual, still great food.

I can't tell you about Hoboken from personal experience, but I hear that too is booming/blooming. According to this map, the PATH from Hoboken appears to be operating
http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTrave.../html/map.html
Jersey City has had a big renaissance with some new office buildings, apts and hotels (there's a Hyatt Regency with great views of the skyline)

Battery Park City is a pretty place to be in summer and yes, the South Street Seaport is also doing well, but up til now, mostly with tourists. But with the Fulton fish market gone and new restaurants, that may change. Here's a run down of new places from a recent article from NY magazine
http://nymetro.com/restaurants/featu...198/index.html
There are also some cruises that leave from there including some sail boats
http://www.shearwatersailing.com
http://www.sail-nyc.com
There's also the NY Water Taxi with a stop at South STreet. Many people use it to go one stop to Fulton ST. in Brooklyn for the Brooklyn bridge walk back to Manhattan.
nywatertaxi.com
They also offer a hop on/off option to get around.
Also keep in mind there's a 2nd, much less crowded TKTS booth across from the South Street Seaport if you feel like taking in a show. Info here
tdf.org/tkts

For wine tastings, have a look at
http://www.localwineevents.com/New-York-City-Wine/

The Divine bar (2 locations) has been recommended here as a good place. They have wine tastings on Tuesdays at their west side location
http://www.vino-versity.com/
But perhaps the most interesting to you might be Vintage NY in Soho, a wine bar and restaurant at 482 Broome ST. (entrance at 60 Wooster). ALL NY wines.
http://www.vintagenewyork.com/winebar.html
I'm a white wine drinker and I find the Washington State wines particularly good and good value. I recently had a Pinot Gris at Metrazur (restaurant inside Grand Central) from Eyrie Vineyards, Willamette Valley, OR that I thought was excellent.

Hope I haven't overloaded you with info. If you want to share your hotel location we can perhaps offer some more specific options.

How about the Bubble Lounge for a drink? You can also look up VinoVersity.com. They do a 2 hour wine tasting. If they have one scheduled during your visit you could get tickets - it's really a lot of fun. Summer in Ireland is much more my speed weather wise. It is going to be extremely hot here. Bring a hat and plan to carry water. There will be plenty of places to duck in for free air conditioning!

There is a great ice cream place now where you had your last view. There is also a restaurant called Pete's right there. They have great food, great view at a fraction of River Cafe prices.

I cannot thank all of you enough for the fantastic reccommendations. We are so looking forward to our visit and its my first time home in 5 years. I am going to enjoy being a tourrist and showing my other half how great NYC is.

Mclaurie - I always though Grimaldi's was called Both Patsy's and Grimaldi's? I also hear there is one in Hoboken. I did think of booking a dinner in the river cafe but i have to see my finances etc. This trip is startiung to get pricey. I am trying to see if My brother can get us a hotel in Manhattan on their points as they have offered and then I can pick my locations. I assume the Little Italy festivals will be on at the weekends. I will look it up but I always loved these and i think its a real NY event. I was trying to explain this to my other half as the soprano's was showing a festival with the statue and amusements etc and he thought it was unusual. We definately have nothing like it in Dublin!

I Used to work in Exchange place and have heard there is a huge change in Jersey city these days. It was not really progressing rapidly when I was there but everywhere is growing. I look forward to seeingg some old haunts and discovering a new side to NYC. Thanks you all again for your help and info. I will definately post after the trip! and as always on the European board any Ireland/Dublin info just ask....I even know where to go for nice cocktails here in Dublin!

You're correct. Grimaldi's is also known as Patsy Grimaldi's. I didn't know. :-]

But make sure you walk the Brooklyn bridge from Brooklyn TO Manhattan for best views.

The San Gennaro festival is in Sept. or Oct. but there's a cheese festival in Little Italy over the summer.
http://littleitalynyconline.org/

That website also indicates a Spprano's singing competition Aug 12 &amp; 13. ;)