Q. Dear Jordan,
First of all: Greetings from Munich! I’ve been a fan of your blog for quite awhile and I could really use your help right now. Next week I’m going to visit New York for the very first time (I’m really excited) and since I don’t really know anybody in the city I hoped you could help me out with some advice. Basically I’m just looking for a few nice places where one can grab a bite for breakfast/lunch/dinner or a drink in the evening.
Thanks very much in advance!
Best,
Olivia
A. I get this question from readers coming to NYC all the time, and it’s one of my favorite to answer. My top NYC must-sees & -dos:
– Bars: Fat Cat NYC (live jazz and every game imaginable, from billiards to chess), SPiN (Susan Sarandon’s ping-pong bar; also offers good food at in-house restaurant Ducks), the Breslin (in the Ace Hotel; excellent pickle-back shots), Raines Law Room (speakeasy vibe and decadent cocktail list), The Diamond (a Brooklyn bar done exactly the way you want it to be), The Patriot Saloon (Kendrick’s rec; it’s majorly cheap and majorly dive-y), and The Frying Pan (beers…on a boat!).
– Restaurants: Trattoria Casa Di Isacco (total hole-in-the-wall secret find), Menkui Tei ($8 ramen; my new favorite place in the world), Nobu (if you’ve never been, a visit to NYC is a good time to change that), 44 1/2 (for brunch) and 44 & X (for pre-theater dinner), Essex (very boozy, scene-y brunch), Minetta Tavern (go early, maybe sit at the bar, and definitely drink a martini), and Casellula (if you like cheese, there is no better restaurant in the entire city).
– This walk, which includes free hotdogs and an excellent, affordable brunch spot.
– This one, which includes some of the best pizza in the city and a museum dedicated to the man who inadvertently bestowed upon me one of my favorite possessions.
– And this one, which includes neon drinks, board games, and indie jewelry.
– Some must-do touristy-type things: spend an afternoon at the Museum of Natural History (stand under the whale), take a ferry ride around the island, eat a pastrami sandwich at Katz’s Deli, window-shop on 5th Avenue (and for-real shop on Broadway below Bleecker), hit The Highline (followed by a sunset drink at the Rusty Knot), stop into St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and eat a dirty-water dog and something from a Rafiqi Food Cart (they’re all over).
Native NYCers…anything to add?
