What are the must do/must see/must eat things in New York?

Question

I am originally from SoCal and I am going to New York next week for the first time, I am going to visit my brother and will probably have some time to my self to do some roaming. What are the things that one should absolutely do/see/eat while in New York? I will only be there for 5 days so its not a whole lot of time. I am also looking for the best deals, I heard something about Rush tickets for broadway plays, if you have more info on this or other good deals, let me know!

Answer 1

Assuming you trust your brother's taste, and he's been in NYC for a while, he should have some ideas.  But here are mine:

Lower Manhattan:  World Trade Center site--everyone should see it, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (same ferry goes to both, one price); South Street Seaport

Midtown:  United Nations, Empire State Building; Rockefeller Center; department stores along Fifth Avenue

Uptown--Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Natural History/Rose Space Center

Answer 2

Quintessential places to eat in New York would have to include Pizza, Chinese Food, Italian food,  Bagels and smoked fish and a high end restaurant or two.

Here's what i recommend:

Pizza- Tottonno's - 2d ave & 80th st.

              Some others like Lombardi's on Spring street or John's on

               Bleecker.  You can try them, but Tottono's is the best.

Chinese- Chinatown-south side of canal street, Mott st.  Pick a place.

Italian-  North side of Canal, Mulberry street.  I like Luna's

Bagels and smoked fish-  Barney's Greengrass on amsterdam and

               about 89th street

High End Restaurant- Chanterelle, in Tribeca.  Very expensive.

Other interesting places include Bolo (Mario Batali's place)  Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's Restaurant)  and Union Square Cafe.

All of the places listed from the high end line down require reservations that may be hard to get.

Avoid tourist type places like the Hard Rock, ESPN Zone, etc.  Usually the food is very ordinary and over priced.

Oh yeah, don't forget street food.  These guys sell all kind of things for a couple of dollars.  I've never seen any over five.  Choose wisely!