NYC help needed: food, hotel, activities
 

I am thinking of surprising hubby with a Valentines trip to NYC. I'm pregnant, so this will be our last solo trip anywhere for a while.

Here's what we're looking for:

We want to eat some good food, but not fancy good food. We want to get some great NY style pizza. We want to get an authentic pastrami sandwhich. I've heard about Gray's Papaya for hot dogs, is it as good as they say? What else should we not miss as far as this type of food is concerned? And where should we go to find it all (we're willing to travel a bit for the best)?

We'd like to stay in Manhattan to make getting around as easy as possible. But we want as cheap as possible. Funny, right? We don't want luxury, would be willing to do a shared bath and private room as long as everything is clean. We just want a decent place to sleep after a long day of touring.

Touristy stuff: I've heard about the Gray Line tour, is it worth it? Where is the stand for the cheap theater tickets? I'd like to show him Central Park because I thought it was amazing, what's the best place to go there? I think I'd like to do the Empire State building because it is so typical NY, but is there a better way to go? Anything we should not miss if wanting to be your typical NYC tourist?

Thanks for any help you can give me, I'm trying to throw this together very last minute for a meticulous planner such as myself and hopefully I can make it all work out.

What's your hotel budget? You may be able to get something better than shared bath if you consider bidding on priceline. As far as a decent place with shared bath, check out hotel Larchmont. It's on a lovely residential street and the greeenwich village area. It's a short walk to almost any subway line and is in between WAshington and Union Square parks, also walking distance to tons of restaurants, clubs, shopping, Gray's Papaya, good pizza, etc.

As far as pizza, by the slice I like Joe's on Carmine St off of Bleecker & 6th Av,. For a traditional pie at a restaurant, check out John's on Bleecker (als midtown locations), Lombardi's, and Grimaldi's (brooklyn, but great pie). There have been many threads here on NYC pizza. You can search and get all kinds of info.

For more 'gourmet' pizza there's Otto's (Mario Batali's place) or Gonzo (grilled pizza). ALso Gnocco (an Italian restaurant in the E. VIllage) makes a great individual size coal oven pizza (and also has good food overall).

FOr pastrami, Katz's deli in the lower east side, and perhaps the newly reopened 2nd avenue deli on 33rd st and 3rd av.

Depending on the price of flight I'm able to get, I'd really like to keep the hotel at $100-150/night. I'll check out the Larchmont

As far as pizza, we're definitely not looking for gourmet. I've heard of both Lombardi's and Grimaldi's from food tv shows, and if it's half as good as some say it'll be worth the trip to Brooklyn.

I don't consider Grimaldi's pizza "traditional" New York pizza.

while you are in Brooklyn (very easy subway ride away from Manhattan) for Grimaldi's pizza (at Fulton Ferry area), be sure to walk 2 blocks toward the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). This is an emerging (mostly in the past 10 years) arts community full of galleries and some restaurants. I took my husband and father-in-law on a foot tour of the area 2 days ago and we all loved exploring it. Amazing that it's so thriving right underneath the footings of the bridges!

Here is a very cool photo of the area, nestled in the industrial buildings between the bridges, as you will see here:
http://portalviajar.com/america/esta...20brooklyn.jpg

AND you can go to Jacques Torres for chocolate dessert after Grimaldi's: www.mrchocolate.com

dmlove - Why not? And what would you suggest instead?

poodle - thanks for the info. And since I will be about six months pregnant at the time, I'm sure I would not be able to pass up the chocolate.

That's a tight hotel budget, even for priceline but it may be doable. CHeck biddingfortravel.com
.

Back to pizza, I prefer grimaldi's over lombardi's but other's may not agree. I've always like John's quite a bit too but haven't been there in ages. As far as traditional, I base 'tradition' on the pizza I grew up eating, that my dad made from scratch (he learned in his parent's pizza pub in Ozone Park queens). Anything along the lines of his pizza is traditional to me.

What is your idea of cheap for a hotel? I would book something cancelable (might check the Pod hotel-very small rooms but good) and consider bidding on Priceline for a 4*. You could easily win something like the Hyatt or the NY Hilton for $120-1450/night plus tax (15%)

The Grayline hoho tour is fine but it will likely be freezing in mid Feb. sitting on the top of an open bus. Take the nypartyshuttle.com instead if you want an overview tour.

TKTS booths have 2 locations, one on the side of the Marriot Marquis theater in TS and the other across from the South STreet Seaport. Details on hrs. etc. here
tdf.org/tkts
Downtown location always less crowded. Don't forget you need cash or travelers cheques only.

Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center is generally a nicer experience than ESB.

You'll get lots of opinions on "bests" of various foods if you do some text searches. Top pizzas include Patsy's in Harlem, Lombardi's and John's downtown and Grimaldi's in Brooklyn near the bridge. There's also a Brooklyn pizza tour if you're that into pizza.
http://www.bknypizza.com/pizza.html

Best pastrami is usually between Carnegie deli and Katz's but the 2nd Ave. deli which has been closed is re-opening very soon and worth a stop. I love Gray's Papaya.

2bebeaus, what dates are you looking at? If you mean on Feb 14th (which is a Thursday) and through the weekend, remember that includes President's day (Monday 2/18). That should be a busy weekend in NY, and hotels will be fuller and more expensive. Priceline deals would be tough to get for those dates too.

Nyre makes a good point. President's day is on the early side this yaer.

mclaurie - Thanks for the excellent reply. I checked out the site for the Pod hotel and it looks great. A little more than I was maybe looking to spend, but it looks like you get good quality for the price. I appreciate all the help and info.

nyer - I'm looking for a flight on the 13th, returning on the 16th. Hubby is a firefighter and has those four days off, so I wouldn't have to tell him too far in advance and ruin the surprise. As far as it also being President's Day weekend, would booking now be best? I wasn't even thinking of that, just worried about it being Valentines weekend as well.

Just found this info about budget NYC hotels:
http://nymag.com/urban/guides/nyonth...vel/hotels.htm

You should also check tripadvisor on any of these places for customer reviews.

MFNYC - great link, I bookmarked it to check out reviews later.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel - Tribeca has rooms (with private baths) for $175 during your stay, and it gets pretty good ratings on tripadvisor. I'd agree with mclaurie and book something cancelable and then bid on a 4* on priceline.

I just got a really great deal on a vacation package with travelocity for the 22nd-25th in NYC, so it might be worth a shot to look into that as well.

You might want to check broadwaybox.com prior to your trip for discount tickets. You might pay a little bit more than you would at the tkts booth, but you'll avoid having to wait in line in the cold!

Have a wonderful time!

Katz's for pastrami is a must!!

Also, don't miss a new york bagel.

shabbychic - Thank you! How did I forget about bagels? Though, having one there might ruin them for me here.

It's a chance you should take!