NYC in May - Recs appreciated

The wife and I are headed to NYC in May for 4 or 5 nights. I haven’t been in about 15 years and when I visited several times I stayed at a girlfriends place in the Upper West side so my experience is outdated and I have no hotel experience there. The wife has never been. Looking for recommendations on best neighborhood to stay, hotel recs, dinner recs, and wine bar recs. Right now I’m thinking we will stay somewhere in midtown but would rather avoid Times Square area at least for accommodations but I’m open to suggestions. Don’t need overly luxe hotel. Would like to check out some quintessential old school NYC restaurants (Italian, Steakhouse, etc). We will spend most of our time walking various neighborhoods with a couple touristy attractions (Rock Center, maybe Staten Island Ferry).

Any help on these is much appreciated.

Cheers,

I recommend you stay with the girlfriend again! [berserker.gif]

What do you want to do beside eat and sleep? That would help narrow the location.

Ha! Actually that would strangely work if the old girlfriend still lived in NYC (my wife and her have met and neither are the jealous type).

Anyway, we have no real agenda, which we prefer, but we will most likely spend each day leisurely walking around different neighborhoods (midtown, west village, Tribeca, etc), hit up some recommended wine bars/shops (Chambers St. is on the agenda), undoubtedly a little bit of shopping.

Union Square area was recommended as a good home base. I have Keens and Sparks on my steakhouse short list, L’artusi for Italian possibility. Looking for places that won’t have a strict dress code and lacking atmosphere…

Robert, not to be snarky, but the Search function is your friend, there’s tons of threads on NYC. But to answer your question, I would stay someplace downtown as it has the most atmosphere and is the most interesting to walk through. Midtown has some things to see (and some great ramen joints), as well as Central Park, but below 42nd is where it’s at (oh, except the museums, they’re worth heading uptown for). Avoid Times Square and that area like the plague. I would skip Sparks, it’s become more average than above average and the wine list isn’t the bargain it used to be, BTW.

And bring good walking shoes!

We stayed at the Sheraton NY last year…good central location for us for walking.

I posted this in another NYC thread (wish there was a search function) but for midtown hotels we really like the London NYC in the mid-50s bet 7th and Ave of the Americas. It could use a refresh (the decor is a bit dated) but all the rooms are suites (a separate living room), the rooms and the bathrooms are HUGE by midtown standards, the prices are extremely reasonable, and it is convenient to all of those midtown things Michel is too cool to enjoy in midtown. And because it faces 54th, it is surprisingly quiet even on the lower floors. Ma Peche is 3 blocks away and is terrific. And the Carnegie is a block, so there’s that.

The London is my favorite hotel in NYC. They also have very reasonable 2BR suites for a family.

haven’t done any walking tours in NY, but the one’s I did in London were terrific.

My wife took her mother and sister on a walking tour of lower Manhattan and just loved it. If you’d like I will get the guide’s name.

I could get you a walking tour of the Mott Street area that would be fabulous and from which the mother in law might not return, if you know what I mean. I mean if a manhole cover was to be left open. It could happen. I’m just sayin. [stirthepothal.gif]

Thanks all for the responses. Ken, I’ll PM you if I ever bring the mom 'n law.
I think we are looking at a vacation rental in Greenwich Village as a home base. Keens for steak, and I’m still confused on Italian restaurants and wine bars…

If you’re here longer than a few days, a vacation rental is the way to go. You can shop and cook like a local (though, frankly, most NYers’ kitchens are tiny because most people order in or eat out, which is a shame). Greenwich Village is perfect too, as it has its charms, is quite walkable and pretty central in terms of subways/buses, and during the week isn’t inundated with tourists/bridge & tunnel folks just out to get drunk, as it is on most weekends.

As for Italians, there’s a plethora of them in the city, anything in particular you’re looking for?

If you’re near Cooper Union, half a block east on St. Marks is Paprika. Excellent Italian food at reasonable prices. Their buckwheat pasta is worth a detour.

For Italian accented Marea is a general favorite. So far as wine bars go everyone I know goes to Ten Bells.

I don’t like noise and crowds so I tend to avoid wine bars. I love Marea - one of the few NYC restaurants where you can have great food and a quiet conversation.

Yup, an apartment, loft, or the like in Greenwich is going to be perfect for us. Right up our alley for vibe, atmosphere, living situation, etc. In terms of Italian, just really looking for something maybe a bit rustic/romantic, or old NYC if you will, excellent food quality and at least a half way decent wine list. I tend to search for good atmosphere. I suppose we could walk around Little Italy area and find plenty that fit the bill but recommendations are always good. The list of Italian is overwhelming…

Thanks Jay, I will consider Marea.

A big NO on Little Italy! Not in Little Italy will you find what you seem to be looking for. Little Italy is OK for tourists and out-of-towners, but the restaurants are not rustic/romantic … unless you find waiters and maitre’d waiting outside with menu on hand asking passer-by to try their menu. Some local area restaurants, Little Italy and Times Square, thrive on out-of-towners knowing that the “neighborhood allure” are good enough for unsuspecting tourists who may likely not return after this trip, anyway.

Not to be a buzzkill, but almost any apartment vacation rental you find in NYC is illegal. Chances are you will be fine…but if something goes wrong you will be SOL.

Duly noted Ramon. Doesn’t sound like my cup of tea at all. Will avoid.

Ethan, I know nothing about legalities of vacation rentals in NYC but we’ve used various legit sites like vrbo.com and homeaway.com which fully vet the listings. We’ve been really successful in many cities. I see no reason why it would be illegal in NYC. Unless maybe there is some sort of sublet laws related to lessee’s subletting the properties they are leasing themselves in which case we would avoid. Most vacation rentals are done directly with the owner of the property through the various websites. I’ve already got my eye on several in Greenwich…

After having trashed Little Italy and Times Square, I should have at least offered alternatives.

Yes, there are many very good Italian restaurants are all over the city and you will be overwhelmed. If you want casual dining near at or within walking distance of Little Italy and GV, you might want to check these out:

Peasant in NOLITA: can be a little noisy, but always fun for a small group, food and decor are rustic, others say romantic, very good regional pasta dishes, sufficiently robust Italian wine list, under-rated Neapolitan pizza (the margherita is always a must for me), and the roast crispy pork dish rivals any in the city and, imho, including the Mailaino version which is already very good. http://peasantnyc.com/

Rubirosa in Nolita: Good for families. Solid food and OK wine list. Casual. Very good service. http://www.rubirosanyc.com/

Babbo in GV: one of the best in the city at regional Italian cooking. Plenty of A- to A+ dishes to choose from their antipasti, primi, and secondi menu. Very big Italian wine list, at all price points. Tough to reserve. Noisy and bustling. Rock music. Even though I don’t care much for this, but I’ll just mention it - Mario Batttali. http://www.babbonyc.com/ristorantemenu/ristorante/

Malatesta in GV: Serves some of the simplest yet tastiest Italian trattoria dishes. Very casual. Small wine list. Wine glasses that are of the small Italian non-stemmed tumblers. Low to moderate costs. Mostly young Italian-speaking wait-staff. Romantic, if you are looking to eat in a setting similar to a restaurant overlooking the piazza in a small Italian town. http://www.malatestatrattoria.com/

Keste in the GV: Mostly pizza. Thicker than your basic Neapolitan. Well-made delicious dough and toppings that’s as good as theyr’e done locally. Just for the record, this still not my local Manahttan-only favorite pizza place. Home – kesté - Nationwide Shipping

Da Marcella in GV – Romantic and dark (may be too dark for others). I like the cool , yet family vibe in this restaurant. Gems in the daily specials. http://www.damarcella.com/Home.html