I lucked into tickets to the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon for 3/16. My date and I will be arriving in NYC Friday afternoon and we will be leaving Sunday night. I need suggestions for stuff to do Friday night, Sat afternoon, and Sun afternoon. And places to eat. One of the things we’re going to do either Sat or Sun is go to MOMA to see The Scream. We’ll be staying at the Empire Hotel and would prefer to walk but we’re OK with taking a cab. Would love to do a jazz club on Friday night (preferably one where we can eat).
Are you willing to take the subway, even a little?
There are some cool things to see and do a little further up on the Upper West Side, but it might be a bit far to walk.
A 20-minute trip on the 1 line (which has a stop at Lincoln Center, only a few blocks from the Empire Hotel) would take you up to The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which is well worth your time. About a block away is Book Culture, a wonderful bookstore to browse in. (Make sure to check out the upper floors, where all the great used books are!) Catty corner from St. John the Divine is the Hungarian Pastry Shop, where you can get wonderful Euro-style pastries.
By all means, take a cab - from your last stop of the day back to your hotel is good. You haven’t lived until you’ve been shunted through traffic like a marble in a clothes dryer, by a guy with superhuman reflexes who can peel paint at ten yards with indecipherable curses. And who can play his horn like Wynton Marsalis.
Other than that… Jeebus. Just wander around and find trouble. Really. It’s not a place you need to plan very much, not when you only have a day or so to fill. DON’T waste a lot of time getting from place to place - you can kill all day trying to get to three places, or you can see ten thousand things without trying very hard.
I’ll be there that weekend as well (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof tix). <fx Crocodile Dundee>Mebbe Ahl see ya round.</fx>
if you go to MOMA you might want to have a nice lunch in the Bar Room at The Modern it’s right there at MOMA and is a very hip and delicious place for a light meal and a glass of wine. More elegant and pricey is The dinning room @The Modern.
For Jazz take a quick cab to Columbus Circle for Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola. AMAZING venue with views overlooking Central Park. Very romantic, but not stuffy, you can dress casual if you like and there’s a good food menu http://jalc.org/dizzys/events/event/av-125076#.UTar0mt5mSM As for Jazz this is the real deal, the hall is part of Jazz at Linciln Centre
For a casual afternoon you could spend time in One of the great parks if the weather is decent. I like Bryant Park, it’s right in the centre of the City. We happened upon it one day just walking down 6th near 40th.
If you are tempted to take in a Broadway Show go see ONCE the music is absolutely beautiful. it’s a great date night show, and it’s uber cool, the stage becomes a bar at intermission and the actors are all fantastic musicians. the show swept the Tony Awards with good reason.
Best Pizza? I recommend KESTE in the Village, the owner is from Naples Italy and imports the dough. it’s authentic and wonderful with a beer or a glass of wine. The place is tiny and always packed so if you decide to go for lunch go early, and then walk down the street and get a little scoop of heavenly ice cream at GROM
MoMA is free Friday evenings if you want to save $50. **Garage **on 7th Ave & W4th St in the Village has good food and live jazz. They also have a jazz brunch which is fun and there’s a “hidden” jazz club Smalls around the corner on W10th St btwn W4th St & 7th Ave.
And you can also always check Time Out New York to see what’s going on.
Very good advice, been there many times. A little pricey but what the hell, how often to you get to hear world-class jazz overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park?
I’ve always recommended taking the subway to the first stop in Brooklyn by the Brooklyn Bridge. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge for great views of the skyline. Wander down to South Street Seaport and get some lunch (assuming it is time for it). Stroll down to Battery Park and take the Staten Island ferry to Staten Island (it’s free). Good views of the Statue of Liberty. Once in Staten Island, exit the ferry, and get back on the ferry to go back to Manhattan.
All of that is assuming that it is nice weather outside.
To repeat a point, don’t plan to zig and zag here and there - you will lose your entire time just traveling around. I know it seems like you could go from MOMA to Ground Zero to the ESB to the Park to someplace for dinner… but you can’t, not in reasonable time. You’ll have an unsatisfying half hour at each place, if you’re lucky.
Look over the alternatives given here and the standard stuff you might want to see, and draw a fairly small circle around the cluster you most want. Then explore that circle; you’ll find wonders galore in between your chosen spots.
Just a head’s up : I think the St. Patrick’s Day parade goes up Fifth Avenue on Saturday the 16th this year from about 11 am-5 pm. Some people love it, others can’t stand it, depends on what you like. So either plan to get there early for a good viewing spot, be prepared to brave the crowds, or avoid the East side completely.
Enjoy the Allman Brothers!
I’ve only been to NYC once, so I don’t have anything to add compared to most everyone else. I just wanted to say I had a GREAT TIME at The Manchester Pub at the corner of 2nd Ave & E 49th Street.
When I arrived I asked the waitress if this was a touristy place or more of a locals place. She said, “Mostly locals, but every one in a while we get a few of those Irish fuckers in here.”
My wife and I knew it our kind of place and proceeded to get drunk as hell in there. Ahh good times.
Not that I’ve tried any of them - but if you’re the guinea pig you can report back to us. Besides, barbecue would be good before or after an Allman Bros. concert.
