I have heard that no Italians eat in Little Italy restaurants and no Chinese eat in Chinatown.

Does anyone remember a place in Little Italy where the waiters sang operas? Is it still there?

This depends on what floats your boat. Whether its music, food, art, sports, whatever...its in New York. The new rage is something called the High Line, which is an old above ground abandoned rail line that has been converted into a pedestrian park running from the meat packing district way downtown, to about 20th Ave, and eventually to 34th Ave.

Wo Hop in Chinatown still has good, fresh food and quick service. It's also very, very inexpensive. In Little Italy, you can still get a very good meal at Sal Anthony's SPQR or Il Fornaio, both on Mulberry, right near one another. And even though it's a bit of a tourist trap, you sort of have to have an espresso and a pastry at Ferrara's.

You may be thinking of Asti's... that was in the Village, though. A fun place with OK food, but sadly it is closed now.

That's the place, and you are right it was the Village.

I used to frequent PELLEGRINOS for many years. The food was off the wall. However I haven't been there in about 2 years so I don't know if it's what it once was.

Last winter we had dinner at the OLD HOMESTEAD, which was fantastic. Then after dinner we went over to Ferrara's which was just ok. It's lost something over the years. It became a factory of sorts, a tourist trap. They've seemed to sacrafice the quality that once existed in their desserts to make room for production to serve the masses.

Still ok, but nothing like it once was.

Sicilian Babe, when was the last time you went to Wo Hop? Another place that I haven't been to in I can't even tell you how long ago. Probably 9 - 10 years or so. It was definitely the best in Chinatown.

My goodness, I can't believe how reasonably priced it still is :
WO HOP MENU

That's because of the passing from one generation to another. I worked there very briefly during the early 1980's, as a hostess during the San Genaro feast. At the time, it seemed to have been just moving from the older (2nd generation) guys to their children who were about my age. I remember there were two brothers, in their mid-late 40's who were definitely the ones in charge. Older brother was nice, younger was very tough & impatient. Anyway, the older brother died suddenly of a heart attack which understandably stunned the whole place. I didn't stay very long after that, but get the feeling as the years went by it became more & more commercial and not even sure if it's still in the hands of that Family (and I mean Family) I worked for. Sort of similar to the Corleones, where the style and character of the earlier generations became lost as the years went on.

Apple

DC, we just ate at Wo Hop in June. It was still really good. A must have is the seafood bird's nest. Delicious. We stuffed ourselves until we could barely walk and the bill for all four of us was $47!

Ferrara's is definitely as you described, but it's one of those NY things that you should do.

Amongst 'friends', his nickname is "Frankie No", because if you ring for a reservation, the answer you get is no. He's "fully booked" four years in advance, I've heard.

I think the regulars there have special tables reserved every night. I have heard as others have posted that it is way overrated and the staff is incredibly mean. Who would want to eat there?

I think mean service goes hand in hand with New York restaurants.. haha. At the Carnegie Deli a waitress one time gave me the evil eye like I just killed her cat.

Carnegie Deli has become a tourist trap over the years and is overpriced and overcrowded and overrated IMHO. Most of the neighborhood restaurants no one has heard of are very friendly places as are most of the high end places...certainly all Daniel Boulud's restaurants have great food and friendly staffs.

When we ate dinner in Little Italy a couple years ago when we got there we saw a stretcher in the restauruant. I was glad to see the stretcher leave empty..haha. I would have said, "I'm NOT having what she's having". haha.

It's funny this thread was made. On Tuesday I returned from a seven-day vacation to NYC; a kind of celebration for my and my friends' graduating this summer. We've had it booked since about January, and I can't believe it's already over.

"He adored New York City. He idolised it all out of proportion..." - Woody Allen

NYC is indeed an amazing place to visit, and the sort of place I'd love to live; I've already got a vague optimism about applying to its film school next year, though I doubt I'll pursue that with any deep interest. Physically, it was surprisingly flat (which makes walking easy), though architecturally it's astonishing. To a tourist, it's energetic, welcoming, efficient, eclectic, vibrant, modern.

STAYING

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on Park Avenue and 42nd Street, between Grand Central and the Chrysler building. Pretty sweet, pretty grand. As it happens, though we'd planned on visiting the Bronx Zoo and its neighbouring Botanical Gardens, and also planned on visiting Staten Island and Brooklyn, we didn't roam further than Manhattan itself, which pays testament to its attractions and appeal for first-time visitors. (I had wanted to get the subway to Coney Island, in order to ride the subway through Bensonhurst and see the famous elevated track as seen in The French Connection. But, practically, we were wise to cross off these outer areas very early. As it happens, we ventured into Brooklyn at night as part of a tour-bus.)

ATTRACTIONS

Before we travelled, we each purchased a week-long New York Pass, which made us even more eager to fit in the stuff we wanted to see. It's $155 for the seven days, and we more than made our money back from that. You can see what you get free entry to on the site, but we used it for the following: Empire State Building, New York Skyride (within the ESB; shit and overpriced but we got it for free, so what the heck), The Museum of Sex, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, The Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park Zoo, Madame Tussaud's, the Guggenheim, the MoMA, Madison Square Garden, Top of the Rock Observation Deck (Rockefeller Center), Liberty/Ellis Island Museum and ferry. For most of these, too, the pass got a line jump; very well worth it.

GETTING ABOUT

In terms of transport, we walked most places. I found Manhattan both walkable and navigable; its grid system is sensible, and even south of 1st Street, Broadway remains a good 'guide line'. You probably spend most time waiting to cross the roads at each junction, though this is easily mastered, as the traffic for most streets and avenues is one-way; if like me you're a fast walker, you can time it right and walk two blocks before having to stop - sometimes more. We used the subway once, from Spring Street to Grand Central; and on the first and second days we saw the city via the Gray Line hop-on-hop-off bus tours. The guides on these buses have an enthusiasm, knowledge and energy that make me recommend the buses in an instant, if you're a first time visitor staying for more than three days.

FOOD AND DRINK

For breakfast, we ate mostly at the Café Metro on East 42nd Street - eggs on French toast with coffee and orange juice went down very well.

For lunch and dinner, here's where I ate and what I had:
Heartland Brewery (5th Avenue, next door to the Empire State Building) - wild mushroom ravioli; Ellis Island Museum café - veggie burger with chips; Naturally Tasty (5th Avenue & 28th Street, opposite the Museum of Sex) - mixed vegetables and cheese on jacket potato; Marriott Hotel: View Lounge rooftop revolving restaurant (Times Square) - buffet; Metropolitan Museum of Art café - rigatoni with sauce; Stout (33rd Street between 6th & 7th Avenue) - veggie burger with (amazing) chips; Planet Hollywood (Times Square) - spaghetti pomodoro; Grand Central - here I combined two different stalls, getting a slice of pizza from one and then dipping into a vegetable curry from the Indian stall next door. Yummy.

(As a vegetarian, I found it no worse than any other city - you can find stuff quite easily, though some places seem to assume that since you don't eat meat, you don't eat much. Planet Hollywood was the exception, here; and I guess ordering a full cheese pizza ('pie') is going to get you full whatever your dietary needs.)

Places I drank:
Bar Stuzzichini (Broadway, just south of the Flatiron); Tavern on the Green (Central Park); Annie Moore's and Patrick Conway's - just off Vanderbilt Avenue opposite Grand Central; Oldcastle Pub (near the Wellington hotel?); Papillon Bar & Bistro (55th Street and 6th Avenue?); Stout (see above).

I learned very quick that the draught beer can be very weak and/or badly kept. In general, Guinness is a safe route, and I instantly embraced Brooklyn Brown Ale and Nut Brown Lager. I was also drinking many gin and tonics, warming to the idea of bartenders pouring stronger drinks the more you tipped. I also liked receiving seemingly customary free rounds every now and then, as a result of said tipping.

TIPPING

I must say, I found the whole tipping business kind of fun; though two of us weren't so keen, I loved embracing this new culture. And, if I'm honest, it results in unsurpassed customer service; you can't visit New York City and not be polite. Friendliness is contagious here.

Beware of being seduced, though; my waitress in Planet Hollywood met my eyes more times than I've ever experienced, and was looking at me like some sort of over-friendly stripper when recommending certain meals. She even talked me into getting a chocolate cake dessert, even though I was full from the main course. Needless to say, once she'd taken our bill, we never saw her again. I was quite literally left with my dick in my hand.

NOO YAWKERS

Conversation with the people in Manhattan came very easy. I'm not sure how many of them were actually from New York, but to me it didn't really matter. My first impression, from spending a week there, is that they're almost naturally outgoing, never intimidatingly so, very welcomingly so. I found the Americans I conversed with in Manhattan very articulate and very opinionated; I surmise that verbal presentation and interaction is a huge part of the education system over there. In comparison - and very much in general - the English are very reserved, and almost ashamedly humble.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

We visited the World Trade Center, or Ground Zero. The memorial 'shop' is at first glance very moving, and just by being there you realise just how little you 'understand' 9/11 as an actual experience that was lived through. I also found it frustrating: it's a nice, peaceful vicinity, but when reading the chronology of the event on the walls, you can't help but note the way in which the attacks are immediately absorbed as a way of self-righteous and -justifying identity-making. 9/11 has affected the city in more ways than are first noticeable: the security checks at JFK, of course, but also the security checks for the museums and the Empire State Building, and the many references made by tour guides, etc. There seems every effort not to forget 9/11 - a very legitimate stance - but very little effort to use it as a means of further understanding the complexities of terrorism and its social and historical implications. The "Us vs Them" attitude hasn't got us anywhere, nor will it.

Elsewhere, I found it fascinating and telling that residents proudly embrace such nicknames as 'The Finest' for the police department, 'The Bravest' for the fire department and 'The Strongest' for the garbage workers. These should be taken with a pinch of salt, but I fear they're actually genuinely taken seriously by many. As an example, one of the Gray Line tour guides talked very briefly about the private jet that recently crashed into one of the tourist helicopters, and then used this only to counteract it with the proud anecdote about the plane 'heroically' crashing into the Hudson, and how the 'whole of New York City came together' as a community effort to rescue the passengers and crew. I'm sure such heroism would be on display in any other city; this just happens to have happened in New York. And so there's an obvious collective un-self-conscious pride here, but it inevitably goes hand-in-hand with naivety. Perhaps New York is so 'big' - both literally and conceptually/culturally - that it's difficult to see things in a broader context.

Also obvious - and fascinating, alarming - was the divide in wealth. Not only this, but the seeming naturalness with which the divide is accepted. There's little awareness of the divide, and if there is an awareness, there's a lot of resignation on display. Doing the Gray Line 'Uptown Loop', we drove up the west side of Central Park, passing the Dakota building and 'seeing' Yoko Ono's apartment, hearing about Donald Trump's buildings and whatnot, etc., etc. Then we hit Harlem, and there's an obvious social gap there, but very little is said about it. Class divide is accepted as 'natural' - the misconception that the many homeless beggars that approach you on the subway or on the streets surrounding Penn Station are an unavoidable and quite natural by-product of the skyscrapers and office blocks that make the Manhattan skyline so visually impressive and culturally rich. It's revealing that these opposite ends of the spectrum are literally blocks away from each other.

There's more I could talk about, and not just this kind of stuff, but other stuff, like the comparative density of Central Park, and the ease with which you can get lost in it. But I think I'll leave it for now. I'd prefer to answer specific questions rather than ramble on.

All I will say is that I did the Sopranos tour, met Joe Gannascoli (Vito!!!), and had a great day in New Jersey - or part of it.

Pics to come.

Mick,

It sounds like you saw a whole lot while you were in NYC. I am so glad you liked it. To me there is no other city like it. I saw many of the sites you did. Didn't you think there food was great, generally speaking?

I am looking forward to seeing the pictures. I only wish I could have stopped by to buy you and yur friends a drink. Btw,was the weather pretty nice when you were there?

You've listed a whole lot for discussion. I look forward to reading other responses.

Thanks for sharing


TIS

Nice review of our fair city, Capo.

The Grand Hyatt is a pretty cool place to stay. They have that cool indoor waterfall, right? It's proximity to Grand Central makes it one of the most convenient hotels in the entire city.

Did you get down to Greenwich Village at all? There are a few British pubs down there. The most famous being THE WHITE HORSE, where Dylan Thomas drank himself to death.

I was in Central Park Sunday morning. I walked through the 79th Street transverse from the east side to the west side to visit my cousin at his building at 74th and Central Park West. The park is just about my favorite place on earth, especially in the Fall.

Ah, I forgot about the weather. It was hot and humid the entire time we were there. It rained for a day and a half, in the middle of our visit, though it remained warm. I found it interesting that even for a city this size, Central Park was generally deserted when it was raining. On Sunday they had predicted Tropical Storm Danny to hit the city, but it didn't; that was possibly our best day - we went up Top of the Rock.

I realise the city environment helps, but it could have been the Mediterranean at times. They must spend a lot of money on air conditioning, and at times it can get genuinely chilly inside of places; stepping back out onto the street is actually very nice. If you don't like humidity or glaring heat, or don't like walking in these conditions, I'd recommend against travelling in August.

Another very cool place.

My brother is an operating engineer at Rockefeller Plaza. He tells me that the tourism there has gone through the roof the last couple of years.

Mick, did you see any plays? Also, did you go in the Bada Bing on the Soprano tour?



TIS

There weren't any lines when we went (Sunday, 2pm). It was very peaceful up there. I guess that if the Empire State and the Top of the Rock are $20 each, peeps choose the former by default of its height.

We did ESB at night - what an experience. It's immediately humbling up there, looking down at a living city, with that low evening hum of ambience.

We did TOTR during the afternoon so as to see Central Park (which, as residents will know, is noticeable only by its absence at night; it has no lights).

Glad we did it that way. The two had very different vibes and feelings.



We only drove through Greenwich, and the Meatpacking District, as part of a night loop, which skirted the southern perimeter of Manhattan and then went into Brooklyn.

I didn't have the time to see any plays, though would have loved to seen Gandolfini in God of Carnage. Times Square's hectic. I don't know how the street promoters maintain their enthusiasm. "Hey do you guys like stand-up comedy? Where you from?" It can be overwhelming at first, especially if you try and be polite by engaging them in conversation; after a while you've got to forget that they're there if you want to get from A to Z in one moral piece.

I had a Heineken in the Bing. Wish I'd had a domestic beer though - only $3! Satin Dolls is probably the least professional pole dancing bar I've ever imagined (it's the only one I've actually been in).

I don't know about the UK, never having been there to compare with NYC, but what was your reaction to the general look of the city, as far as the huge skycrapers, street vendors, billboards, etc? Didn't it just have a certain flair all it's own? Hard to put my finger on it, but it so cool just to be walking down the street surrounding by such huge buildings.


TIS

I honestly can't imagine visiting New York City as a tourist, with time restraints and whatnot. I wouldn't know what to do first.

Not to sound obnoxious, but I've lived here all my life, so I guess I kind of take for granted all the great things Mick's posting been about.

The tours sound fantastic. But honestly, like most New Yorkers, I haven't been to the Empire State building in like 20 years.

Mick has me wanting to see the city like a tourist!

Nice writeup, Mick. It sounds as though you enjoyed yourself and saw a good representation of the City, and I'm happy for ya.

I wish I would have been able to make it to meet you for a few drinks (at least), but it just wasn't in the cards. Next time for sure!

Wasn't Joe Giannascoli a really nice guy??

I guess the closest we get to New York City in terms of city vibe, scale and feel is London. But London is a city built through a longer history, and it shows; London has more 'character', for me; it's more of a relic. Manhattan seems to have just exploded as a modern city in itself, and is trying constantly to deny even its own modernity with a perpetual transition to something unattainable.

(Geez, I just read that back; I've not written with such abstraction in so long.)

Architecturally, NYC epitomizes 'The American Dream' as a concept; it's excessive, gratuitous and unwarranted. Just look at the post office building on 33rd and 8th - it's insanely beautiful, sure, but a post office? There seems to be a formula whereby making a city look beautiful encourages its people, morally, culturally, etc.

I can't disagree with that, but I think a lot of the buildings try too hard to outdo each other or look different; they're ugly as a result. Perhaps my favourite building aesthetically (there are actually two) is the 'Grace' building just off Sixth Avenue on 42nd Street; it curves out at the bottom.

Going back to Times Square, I ought to have noted the sheer scale and colour with which it declares itself, especially at night. Some of the banners and advertisements are simply overwhelming; you can't turn the corner without being impressed by just the size. It's very hyperreal. Well-known faces and house-hold names stare at you; it's at once foreign and familiar. This is even more so when you've studied maps before you go; as soon as I got there I knew where to go and what streets to take - but it's still foreign.

Photos can never do the city justice.

You know PB. I think I am a tourist at heart. I live about 40/50 miles for L.A./Hollywood area. It's been too long now, but I use to drive to L.A. every 2/3 years and spend the day. we'd go to Universal Studios, shop (or at least window shop) on Rodeo Drive, walk down Hollywood Blvd. and take the Beverly Hills tour. We would wind up the day eating at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood. One time we were entertained by KISS, which although not my favorite group by any means, still it was cool.

Many times as your with these tour groups they ask where everyone is from. Ha ha...I'm from the area and still touristing. You might have fun seeing NY again through a tourists eyes. Still, may be different for you since you were born/raised there.

TIS

I can't say, to be honest. I met him very briefly, and I understand that making these sorts of celebrity visits must take its toll. I've seen Gandolfini signing autographs on YouTube, and though it's obviously nice of him to do it, he's not exactly enthusiastic about it; it's almost as if scribbling anything on a piece of paper is enough - but then again, I've never been one to chase autographs for this very reason.

We showed up at the Garment District Button for the tour, and the guide told us we could meet one of the cast further down the street. There was a short line waiting to meet Joe, and whilst we were standing in line we noted he must be selling stuff from the trunk of his jeep. I figured his recipe book or something.

Sure enough, it was his book, but also a 'Bada Bing' license plate (which is a New York license plate, not New Jersey!), some T-shirts, some pens, and what he called 'posters', which were just A4 print-outs of cast members posing. Basically, you got the hint that you had to buy something to get a photo with him - to 'meet' him at all, in fact. There was no price list, and it all happened so quickly; I got a 'poster' (which he signed) and the license plate. "Forty bucks" he says, as if it's nothing. My friend got the same, worried that choosing something else would cost even more.It's the quickest eighty dollars we spent whilst there. It took us a good few minutes to recover. I don't know if this was even legal, but what the heck, it was an experience I'll never forget. We figured 50 people or so were on the tour, and reckoned he made about $2k. He's apparently just become a father for the first time. Expensive cot, if you ask me!

Still, though, I got some cool prizes for answering trivia on the bus: a bag of pasta, a CD of music, a Satin Dolls poster, a Satin Dolls pen, and a free Sex and the City tour.

We went to Holsten's, which wouldn't have been part of the tour when you guys went. Pretty good. They had that Tony Soprano impersonator guy (the actual double used on the show, who now makes a living making appearances such as these) sitting in the now-famous final-scene booth, with whom you got your picture taken. He was a bit embarrassing; he neither looks nor sounds like Tony, and he was trying to be very hip by saying 'fucking' a lot of the time, which Tony would never do, and which must have sounded awful to the old, confused couple sitting across from him.

Capo, it sounds like you had a fantastic time, and you managed to do so much! I love New York and, even though I hate being a NYer this week because my tax bill came, I think it's one of the greatest cities in the world.

Did you pop into the Rainbow Grill while you were at Top of the Rock? The views up there are actually worth the ridiculous price you pay for drinks.

Haha... when I graduated from college I celebrated by going to work to pay the bill.

But I'm glad you got to visit, if anyone I know should see NYC it's you. It was very interesting reading about your experiences as a foreigner visiting for the first time. You've inspired me to make the trip again, as I've got a free place to stay in Manhattan anytime I want!

I'm glad you came away feeling that way, Mick. Really, I am, but unfortunately, in some areas, the awareness of the divide can be blatant.

Had you wandered around the Upper East Side, you probably would have noticed that the residents have very little patience for the less fortunate. But hey, that's not just New York City. "Old Money" behaves like that everywhere in the world.

Times Square is overwhelming and a lot of fun, especially for a guy your age. But to be honest, 42nd and 7th had a lot more "character" when there were still pimps and hookers hanging around at 10 in the morning .

I'm really glad you came away from the City feeling so good about it!

PB