Let me begin by saying that our first trip to NYC started out not so great because I was very sick with a cold that my Dad gave me for Christmas!! HA HA

We departed Atlanta on Friday December 26 at 8:30 am and landed in Newark at about 10:15! Luggage arrived quickly as did our driver from Dial7!

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Soho which I thought was an excellent location! The room was quite small, but I was prepared as I had already read about the room sizes in Manhattan! We had a very nice view of the ESB! Overall, it was a great hotel! I would definitely stay there again.

So, I guess I will just let ya¡¦ll know what we liked and disliked!

First the restaurants:

Lombardi¡¦s was great!

Shake Shack was soooo good! Loved the burgers and the cheese sauce they put on the fries is to die for!!!!!! I need the recipe for it!!!!!

Pearl Oyster Bar was just OK. The terrible service was a turn-off! The food was very tasty! I had the Lobster Roll and the Mussels, my husband had the clam chowder and the kids split a lobster roll and the salt shrimp!

The Famous Halal Cart on 53rd and 6th was amazing! Worth the wait for sure!!! We arrived at 7pm and there was already a line and the cart hadn¡¦t even been unhooked from the van! We waited about 1 hour but it was so worth it!! You have to be careful not to go to the wrong cart; there was another vendor on the other corner that claimed they were the ¡§Famous¡¨ cart!! Line up in front of the Hilton and you will be in the right line!!! I can¡¦t really say enough about how good the food was!!!!!!

Burger Joint was not as good as Shake Shack! Line was way too long and $47 for 4 burgers, 4 cokes and one order of fries!!! Not worth the wait!

Washington Square Diner was just OK!

Grimaldi¡¦s has the best pizza we have ever eaten! We ordered a large with sausage and extra mozzarella and devoured it in about 10 minutes! I could have ordered another!! The wait wasn¡¦t too bad! We arrived at 11:30 and were seated by 12! Really the best pizza I have ever eaten!!!!!!!!!! Did I say it was good?

Katz Deli was interesting! We were pastrami virgins, so we decided to order it! Still not sure what it is, but it was really good! Loved the mustard on it and the fresh pickles they give you when you sit down are delicious!!!

We liked the hotdogs from wherever we got them!?

Ok let¡¦s move on to the touristy part of our itinerary!

Ok, Let me say this out loud!!!!!!!!Very loud!!! Do not go to the top of the ESB!!!! Let me repeat that, Do Not go to the top of the ESB!!!!!!!!!! We had the New York Pass, which I will get to later, and my dear husband said that you couldn¡¦t come to NYC and not go up!!!!! Wrong!!! When we arrived around 6pm the line had about 30 people in it and we were told we would be at the top in about an hour, so we stayed! Bad decision, it took 3 hrs!!!!!!! And so not worth it! One queue after another! I was ready to jump by the time we reached the top!!!!! By the way if you¡¦re willing to pay $45 pp you can go straight to the top!! Would have done that if we had not wasted money on the New York Pass! The Art Deco design of the ESB is interesting and a must see! Just go into the lobby area and walk around!

Top of the Rock was so easy and the view was spectacular!! We went up at about 4pm and watched the sunset! Most certainly the highlight of our trip! I loved the 3 different levels!

We wanted to do the NBC Studio Tour but it was sold out for 3 days!

Madame Tussaud¡¦s was silly! Would not waste money on it, but we had the NYPass!

The Museum of Natural History was great! Highly recommend it! Was quite shocked by how many people thought the animals were going to be real! My son kept saying ¡§Do these people think this is a zoo?¡¨!

The Blue Man Group was awesome! Loved the small venue! The kids really enjoyed the show!

Stomp was also great! It¡¦s amazing what you can do with a broom!

Accomplice The Show was rather boring in the beginning but ended up being pretty good! Takes place in a few different pubs, so keep that in mind if you¡¦re taking the kids.

So the biggest disaster was the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour! We arrived at around 8:15 to find there were at least 500 people in line already! This was the one day our schedule was going to be a little tight so we were a little concerned about the time! We reached Ellis Island at 1:00 and walked around for about 45 minutes and left! Complete disappointment! Not with the Island, but with our time constraints! I was beautiful though!

The NYPD Museum was fun! My son loved all the antique weapons and the old patrol car!

Times Square was soooooo packed! It was like NYE every night we were there! It took about 10 minutes to walk 10 feet! We sat at a little table area in the center of the street and people watched!

Rockefeller Center was so beautiful with the tree and all the decorations! We loved watching the ice skaters!

The walk over the Brooklyn Bridge gave us great views of Manhattan! The bridge itself is architecturally stunning!

Ok, the subway system was very easy to maneuver! We bought the 7 day pass for $25 pp and it was well worth it! I think we used our cards at least 30 times!!!

The New York Pass is not worth buying! I will post a separate thread about it!!!

The weather was pretty good while we were there! We were prepared with everything needed to bundle up!

First let me say that New Yorkers were very nice and accommodating to us wide-eyed tourists! You guys and gals were so gracious!
Now let me vent about the tourists! Why does everyone act like they were raised in a barn? I was almost knocked down in Times Square at least a dozen times and never once heard an ¡§excuse me¡¨ or ¡§sorry¡¨! Do people really think its ok to stop right in the middle of the sidewalk to take pictures or look at maps? Wow is all I can say! Someone needs to write a book on proper behavior when traveling! I really was shocked by the way people behaved! Shocked!!!!!!!!!!

NYC is absolutely amazing! I wish I lived there!!! We will return again soon and hopefully I will be well enough to thoroughly enjoy it! In the end it was a truly amazing vacation!

If I missed anything I will post more later!

Tammyļ

I've been waiting for this report--glad the trip was so enjoyable for you.

Also glad to hear some support--we try and try and try to explain to visitors about the ESB lines and about the Statue/Ellis ferry time constraints. More reports like yours will help others learn this lesson.

And when NYers go "off" in an occasional thread about "rules of the sidewalk", now you know why--we live your vacation experience every day.

Truly happy for your excellent trip.

ESB is good if you get there early - as soon as they open - on a week day. We were up in about 30 minutes. But, won't go again. Not something you need to do more than once.

Agree on Statue of Lib. Totally a waste of time. Stay on the boat and take pics.

Very nice report & glad to see you packed alot into your stay.

Next time try Mary's Fish Camp in NYC or Brooklyn; food & service much better than Pearl's IMO.

Rhea58- Thanks, we did have a great time! It just went by to fast!

Sounds like a great trip!
Did you have a ticketed time for the ferry to Ellis Island or did you have a flex ticket. I was VERY glad we bought tix for a specific time - the line was much shorter.

No we didn't have a timed ticket! That's just one more reason why the NY Pass is useless!!!!!

tambennett-So glad you had a great time in New York. Sounds like you did a lot in short period of time and the weather cooperated.

I loved what you said about the city. Seems like another NYC addict has been born!! That is exactly the way I feel about the city (I live in So. Cal). It is someplace I can go again and again. Even though I've been many times, I start getting depressed if I don't get my New York fix!! Haven't been since Aug of 2007, had planned to go in Nov of 2008 but had to put it off until Feb 2009. I can't wait.

Yes New Yorkers are very helpful. Don't know where they got such a bad rap. Also, don't know where tourists get such bad manners. Now that you've had your first trip, you don't really need to go to Times Square on your next visit. Although I like to stay in Midtown because I see so many shows, I always stay on a quieter side street and avoid Broadway unless the theater is on that street.

Thanks for the trip report.

Also glad to see you tried the subway. I love the subway-such an easy way to get around.

When I was in NYC in Aug 2007 working a convention, I made my co-worker go on the subway with me. We were in the Chinatown area and needed to get back to midtown for a show and time was of the essence. The traffic was terrible-a cab would have taken twice as long. She had been to NYC many times but had never been on the subway (always took a cab). She was apprehensive at first but had to agree it was a quick and convenient way to travel. Don't think she'd go by herself though!!

paula1470- We loved the subway! Such a quick and easy way to get around! And the metrocard was the best deal in NYC! Although the $14 we paid at the famous halal was a steal as well!

I will have to try the halel cart on my Feb trip . I mentioned on an earlier thread that I stayed at the NY Hilton during my last trip. I just couldn't get over the length of the lines. I never had the time or patience to stand in the line. One night as I was returning to the hotel from a show, it started pouring. The people in the line never even thought about moving and they were drenched. Of course it was Aug so not cold but still I am not sure halel is worth that. I guess I have to find out.

It is sooooo worth the wait!!! I'm drooling right now thinking about it! YUM

Silly question! Can anyone tell me exactly what kind of food I had at the halal cart? Ethnicity I mean!

Thanks

Well, sweetie darling, you certainly didn't have a bacon sarnie.

Thin

Well I've never eaten at "THE" halal cart everyone's referring to but thought it's a good opportunity to clear up something I keep seeing on Fodor's regarding street food in NYC:
Halal is NOT a specific food ("I had the halal" ) or even a specific ethnicity.
It refers to the Muslim way of cooking that involves avoiding certain foods and having meats prepared according to Muslim law. You could have Halal hot dogs, Halal beef stew, Halal Pakistani food, etc.
It's sort of like saying
"what kind of food is kosher"--or gluten free--or vegetarian.
It's a way of preparing food according to certain guidelines or beliefs.

nyer-Thank you for your response! My daughters best friend is Muslim and I was trying to explain it to her and she had no clue what I was talking about, so I thought I'd ask the experts! I would really like to find the same sort of food in the Atlanta area, but was unsure of the specifics! I will do a little research! You really should try the cart, it's so good!

Thanks again,
Tam

Tam, I was curious. Check this website -
http://www.zabihah.com/ls.php?id=47

Each restaurant lists something for "Halal authenticity" and for some there is "Halal sign in the window".

Interesting Thanks for the info, nyer.

starrs- Thank you for the website info!