Discovering the Best of New York City

Chapter 1 Discovering the Best of New York City

In This Chapter ▶ Celebrating the most festive parades and seasons ▶ Finding rooms in the best hotels ▶ Enjoying all kinds of cuisine at all kinds of restaurants ▶ Visiting Lady Liberty and other top attractions ▶ Giving the credit card a workout at the top shops ▶ Choosing the spots with the best nightlife

elcome to New York, New York, the city so nice they had to name Wit — oh, you know. No matter when you visit, there’s sure to be something of interest going on. In this chapter, I list my choices for the best events, hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping, culture, and nightlife.

Whether you’re looking for a world-class hotel, exotic cuisine to enjoy, or the view from the Empire State Building, I have no doubt you’ll soon compile your own “best of” list. But here’s a good place to start!

Best Events Best Parade: West Indian–American Day Carnival and Parade. Held on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, this is the biggest parade in New York. The musicCOPYRIGHTED (calypso, soca, reggae, and Latin), MATERIAL the amazing costumes, and the incredible Caribbean food make this an unforgettable experience. If you’re lucky enough to be in town on Labor Day, don’t miss it. See Chapter 3.

Best Time of Year to Come to New York: Late spring. Many people adore summer, when free outdoor cultural events abound, and I agree that it’s a fun time to visit. But late spring is even better: New Yorkers are ecstatically trading their winter coats for summer dresses and shorts the minute that temperatures are consistently in the 60s, the

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Downtown Orientation

E. 13th St Greenwich Ave. Broadway Little W. 12th Fourth Ave. St. W. 12th St. W. 11th St. Gansevoort St. Waverly Pl. E. 11th St. W. 10th St. First Ave. Horatio St. Eighth Ave. W. 4th St. E. 10th St. Third Ave.

Jane St. University Pl. W. 9th St. Fifth Ave E. 9th St. Wanamaker Stuyvesant E. 9th St. Bleecker Tompkins W. 12th St. M Sixth Ave. E. 8th St. W. 8th St. M St. Mark’s Pl. Square Bethune St. Waverly Pl.

Lafayette E. 7th St. Park WashingtonWashington Waverly Pl. Astor Pl M E. 6th St. Bank SquareSquare ParkPark Washington E. 5th St. W. 11th St. M W. 4th St. Pl. Perry Grove Jones E. 4th St. W. 3rd St. Second Ave. Commerce Seventh Ave. S. Bedford Cornelia Gt. Jones Charles E. 3rd St. Bond W. 10th St. E. 2nd St. Hudson Bleecker Hudson River Christopher M Barrow Carmine E. 1st St.

Sullivan La Guardia Thompson

MacDougal Morton M E. Houston M Downing Allen

Bowery Chrystie Leroy Forsyth M Clarkson Varick St. Prince Elizabeth Greenwich St. W. HoustonKing M Mulberry Mott Washington Rivington Charlton M msburg Spring M Willia Vandam Spring Bridge Delancey Sixth Ave. M Dominick Wooster Greene Kenmare W. Broadway Broome Eldridge East Broome Crosby Canal River Grand Broadway M Park M

Elizabeth Watts Lafayette M Howard Desbrosses Canal Mercer Holland Tunnel Hester Vestry Lispenard M Baxter West St. Laight Walker M M Mott Canal Mulberry

Bowery White Hubert Beach

Cortlandt Bayard M Franklin

Leonard Centre N. Moore FranklinHudson Division Worth Harrison Henry Jay Thomas Madison M Catherine Subway stop Duane

W. Broadway Duane GreenwichReade St. M Closed indeﬁnitely HudsonHudson Reade Chambers M RiverRiver M Chambers M ParkPark Warren 0 1/4 mi Murray M CityCity HHallall Robert F. N Park Pl. Wagner Pl. 0 0.25 km ParkPark Spruce Frankfort Barclay M Park BeekmanRow Dover Vesey Ann M Pearl World Trade M M M BeekmanWater Center Fulton Front

M Church As Little Italy has shrunk, Chinatown South End Ave. John site M Cortlandt has grown. Canal street is mobbed daily Liberty Maiden Cliff Greenwich Platt Pier 17 with seafood, fruit and vegetable, and BBatteryattery John ParkPark Cedar Liberty Fletcher DVD, CD, and sunglass vendors compet- Albany Cedar Maiden Trinity Pl. Nassau Pier CityCity Carlisle Broadway Pine ing for very little sidewalk space. Get Rector Pl. M William 16 M M Wall St. Rector M Water lost in the maze of side streets for a Exchange Pl. Front W. Thames South M more interesting stroll. J.P. Ward South Street Viaduct

Green New Morris Bowling S. William 2nd Pl. M Beaver

Battery Pl. VVietnamietnam 1st Pl. Narrow streets are lined with skyscrapers Stone Pearl VVeteranseterans Whitehall SouthSouth Bridge Broad PPlazalaza here and during the week the activity is GardensGardens Battery Pl. State relentless. You’ll also ﬁnd some of the BatteryBattery M Pier 6 city’s oldest and most historic structures ParkPark M here. At night and on weekends the area, however, tends to be desolate. Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel

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E. 12th St.

East River The once-famous bohemian enclave where off-beat Szold Pl. became the Beats is still a great people- TTompkinsompkins watching neighborhood. You won’t ﬁnd any high- SSquarequare rises here, just quaint, narrow streets and beautifully Washington PParkark

Square Park preserved brownstones and townhouses. Ave. C Ave. Ave. D This once-tiny stretch of furniture stores, boutiques, and a few restaurants

Ave. B Ave. A Mangin Baruch Pl. is thriving since the opening of the New Museum. E. Houston The formerly derelict Bowery is becoming a

Columbia

Attorney restaurant row. Pitt Ridge

Clinton Stanton Suffolk Norfolk Essex

Delancey liamsburg A Kazan WWilliamsburgil The East Village now is home to some of the city’s

Bialy- New stoker Lewis dge M BBridgeri most interesting restaurants and despite its counter- Broome EEastast culture reputation, real estate prices are very Grand RRiveriver “establishment.” Willet Jackson PParkark Essex Orchard Ludlow Cherry Mont- Gouverneur Allen FDR Dr. gomery Here’s another neighborhood that has a cute Jefferson acronym (North of Little Italy). This is really old Little Canal M Clinton Water Front Italy in architecture, but there is nothing old about Rutgers Gouv Slip the very hip boutiques and cafes that are sprinkled E. PikeBroadway throughout the relatively small enclave. Monroe Rutgers Market Slip Pike Slip East River Dr. What once was an artist’s destination has become a very affluent tourist destination. You’ll ﬁnd just Cherry Hudson about all the top designer names in retail here River Water East River housed in historic cast-iron buildings. Park South Manhattan Bridge City Hall Park This is where so many immigrants, especially Jewish, settled as their ﬁrst home in America. And there is BROOKLYN still some of that old-world feel to the neighborhood, Brooklyn Bridge but it has faded as the area has become a hot spot for restaurants, bars, and edgy shops. Battery Park In the 1980s TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal), with its City sprawling lofts and hip restaurants, became one of Upper the most desirable places to live. After September 11, Manhattan 2001 and its close proximity to the World Trade

Uptown Center, the area lost a bit of its luster, but that was only temporary. TriBeCa is thriving once again. Vietnam Veterans South Plaza Midtown Gardens Sadly, this once unique and charming neighborhood, squeezed by the expansion of Chinatown, has shrunk Battery Park Downtown to a mere block or two. And what’s left, with very few exceptions, is nothing like what it once was. You can’t even get a good plate of pasta here anymore.

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Midtown Orientation

W. 64th St. Lincoln W. 63rd St. CCENTRALE N T R A L P A R K Center The heart of corporate Manhattan, W. 62nd St. W. 61st St. The Midtown East is also where you’ll ﬁnd such W est D Pond

Columbus Ave. rive Central Park W. landmarks as Grand Central Station, the Amsterdam Ave. W. 60th St. Empire State Building, St. Patrick’s W. 59th St. M Central Park Queensborough Bridge South

West End Ave. Columbus Cathedral, the Chrysler Building, and the W. 58th St. United Nations. Circle W. 57th St. W. 56th St. This bustling sprawl of an area includes W. 55th St. B

many of the city’s best hotels, the Art Deco Ninth Ave. W. 54th St. a

DDeWitteWitt w

masterpiece, Rockefeller Center, and a Tenth Ave. W. 53rd St. a M CClintonlinton y

neighborhood called Hell’s Kitchen where PParkark W. 52nd St. you’ll ﬁnd some of the city’s most ethnically W. 51st St. diverse restaurants. W. 50th St. M M Seventh Ave.

W. 49th St. M W. 48th St. In the truly American tradition, everything E W. 47th St. here is big and gaudy and, as a result, the E W. 46th St. B streets here are constantly crammed with r o a

Eleventh Ave. W. 45th St. Twelfth Ave. people who have come to gawk at the big d W. 44th St. w a and the gaudy — meaning the neon y

wonderland of Times Square. W. 43rd St. Eighth Ave. W. 42nd St. M M Bryant This is a quiet, mostly residential neighbor- W. 41st St. Port Park

Tenth Ave. Authority hood. On its southern fringe is the Indo- W. 40th St. Pakistani enclave known as Curry Hill. Lincoln W. 39th St. Tunnel W. 38th St. Seventh Ave. Javits W. 37th St. The heart of this neighborhood is the Convention W. 36th St. postcard-perfect little park that’s so Center W. 35th St. exclusive you need a key to get into it. You don’t need a special key to live in the W. 34th St. M quaint and very beautiful brownstones W. 33rd St.

W 32nd St. Ninth Ave. Penn W 32nd that surround the park, but you do need Station St. money. Many of the buildings here date W. 31st St. TheThe HighHigh LineLine Tunnel back to the 1800s, giving the area a real Entrance W. 30th St. 19th century feel. W. 29th St. W. 28th St. M ChelseaChelsea ParkPark

HudsonH River Park W. 27th St.

u West Side Hwy. d s W. 26th St. Cheaper rents attracted many publishing o n

R W. 25th St. Madison and media businesses and, as a result, the i v Square

e Eleventh Ave. Tenth Ave. r neighborhood is now bursting with Park P W. 24th St. a r W. 23rd St. M M restaurants and clubs. Along with Union k Square, and the wildly popular greenmarket, W. 22nd St. the Flatiron Building embodies the spirit of W. 21st St. Chelsea Piers Gramercy Park this vibrant neighborhood. W. 20th St. W. 19th St.

W. 18th St. M With galleries everywhere, Chelsea is now H Ninth Ave. Eighth Ave. one of the city’s arts centers. There is an u W. 17th St. d W. 16th St. almost small town feel to this neighborhood, s

o Seventh Ave. which has also become the center for the n W. 15th St. M R W. 14th St. M city’s gay population. i v W. 13th St.

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E. 58th St. Level Sutton Pl. M E. 57th St. To Upper E. 56th St. E. 55th St. E. 54th St. DeWitt Clinton M M M E. 53rd St. Sutton Pl. South Park E. 52nd St. St. Patrick's Cathedral E. 51st St. E. 50th St. M Place Rockefeller E. 49th St. Mitchell Beekman Center Place ROOSEVELT ISLAND E. 48th St E E. 47th St. EE E

E. 46th St. E Park Ave. Fifth Ave.

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Grand First Ave.

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Lexington Ave. E. 43rd St.

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BryantBryant New York ParkPark E. 41st St. Sixth Ave. (Ave. of the Americas) Public Library

E. 40th St.

E. 39th St. Queens-

FDR Drive Midtown E. 38th St. Tunnel R

E 37th St. Tunnel i Exit v E 36th St. Tunnel e Entrance E. 35th St. r

M E. 34th St. Herald M E. 33rd St. Square E. 32nd St. Broadway Information E. 31st St. The High Line M Subway stop E. 30th St. Fifth Ave. Madison Ave. Park Ave. S. E. 29th St. M E. 28th St. Chelsea Park M

H E. 27th St. u d E. 26th St. s o

n First Ave. MadisonMadison E. 25th St. Second Ave. R i Ave C v SquareSquare e E. 24th St. r ParkPark P a Upper r M M M E. 23rd St. k

Asser Levy Pl. Manhattan Lexington Ave. E. 22nd St. Peter Cooper E. 21st St. Uptown GramercyGramercy ParkPark Village E. 20th St. E. 19th St. Midtown E. 18th St. E. 17th St. Stuyvesant Town E. 16th St. Downtown Union N.D. Square E. 15th St. Perlman Pl. Irving Pl. M M M

Union Sq. W. Union Sq. E. E. 14th St.

Fifth Ave. Sixth Ave. (Ave. of the Americas) the of (Ave. Ave. Sixth E. 13th St.

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Uptown Orientation

W. 104th St.

This 843-acre nature retreat in the heart W. 103rd St. M M Ward’s Island Footbridge of Manhattan is one of the great parks W. 102nd St. WARD’S ISLAND

of the world. Even if nature is not your Manhattan Ave. thing, from the Central Park Zoo to the W. 101st St. PARK W. 100th St.

Carousel, from playgrounds to skating . r W. 99th St. W A R D ’ S D rinks, there is something for everyone in e I S L A N D d i W. 98th St. s Central Park. r e v i R W. 97th St.

M W. 96th St. M Henry Hudson Parkway This mostly residential neighborhood also W. 95th St.

features landmarks like Lincoln Center, W. 94th St. the Museum of Natural History, and the W. 93rd St. Cathedral of St. John the Divine and is

enviable because it is surrounded by two Broadway W. 92nd St. great parks, Central Park and Riverside W. 91st St. Park. W. 90th St. West End Ave. Columbus Ave.

W. 89th St. Central Park W. RIVERSIDE PARK W. 88th St. Amsterdam Ave. Long the address of the rich and famous, W. 87th St. the Upper East Side is also the home to M W. 86th St. M the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 86th St. CARL SCHURZ W. 85th St. PARK Guggenheim, and other fantastic museums along “Museum Mile.” You’ll W. 84th St. W. 83rd St. T h e also ﬁnd a thick concentration of G r e a t W. 82nd St. L a w n restaurants and bars, and, of course, Metropolitan some great and very expensive shopping W. 81st St. M Museum of Art along tony Madison Avenue. W. 80th St. AAmericanmerican MMuseumuseum M W. 79th St. ooff NNaturalatural HHistoryistory 79th St.

W. 78th St. . r

e W. 77th St. d i s r e v W. 76th St. i

R Amsterdam Ave. West End Ave. W. 75th St.

W. 74th St. The Central Park W.

Hudson River Lake W. 73rd St. Columbus Ave

M W. 72nd St. M

W. 71st St.

Upper Broadway W. 70th St. Manhattan W. 69th St.

W. 68th St. Sheep

Uptown Pl. Freedom Meadow W. 67th St.

M W. 66th St. 65th Midtown W. 65th St. St.

Lincoln W. 64th St. Center W. 63rd St. Downtown Central Park W. W. 62nd St.

Henry Hudson Parkway W. 61st St. West End Ave.

Amsterdam Ave. Columbus Ave. d Tram W. 60th St. Roosevelt Islan Columbus M Subway stop Circle W. 59th St. M Central Queensborough Bridge Park South

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E. 104th St.

E. 103rd St. M WWard’sard’s IIslandsland FootbridgeFootbridge E. 102nd St. WARD’SWARD’S IISLANDSLAND E. 101st St. Mount Sinai PARKPARK Hospital E. 100th St.

E. 99th St. WWARD’SA R D ’ S ISLANDI S L A N D E. 98th St.

E. 97th St.

M E. 96th St.

E. 95th St.

E. 94th St.

E. 93rd St.

E. 92nd St. Jacqueline Kennedy E. 91st St. Onassis E. 90th St. Reservoir E. 89th St. Fifth Ave. Madison Ave. Park Ave. First Ave. Second Ave. Third Ave. Lexington Ave. E. 88th St.

E. 87th St. Gracie Mansion T r a M E. 86th St. n York Ave. East End Ave. CARLCARL SCHURZSCHURZ s v e r s e E. 85th St. PARKPARK E. 84th St.

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M E. 77th St.

E. 76th St.

E. 75th St.

E. 74th St.

E. 73rd St.

E. 72nd St.

E. 71st St. Fifth Ave. Madison Ave. Park Ave. York Ave. Second Ave. Third Ave. E. 70th St. First Ave. Lexington Ave. E. 69th St.

M E. 68th St.

E. 67th St. FDR Dr.

E. 66th St.

East River ROOSEVELT ISLAND T E. 65th St. ransverse Central E. 64th St. Park Zoo M E. 63rd St. 0 1/4 mi Wollman E. 62nd St. Rink 0 0.25 km N E. 61st St. Level From Lower RRooseveltoosevelt IslandIsland TramTram M E. 60th St. M Central Park South M E. 59th St. To QQueensboroughueensborough BBridgeridge Pl. Level Sutton Upper

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city’s in bloom, prices are still reasonable, and there’s a lovely sense of anticipation and sociability in the air.

Best Season in New York: The December holidays. Lighted Christmas trees on Park Avenue; the big snowflake at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue; the trees at Rockefeller Center and Lincoln Center; the Hanukkah menorah at Grand Army Plaza, at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street; the decorations in department store windows, restaurants, and hotels. And even though the crowds, especially around Rockefeller Center, may bring out the Scrooge in you, the atmosphere is almost always festive and like no other time of year.

Best Hotels For more information on all the hotels listed in this section, refer to Chapter 9.

Best Hotel: The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park. The combination of a great location, just across from Central Park; large, well-outfitted rooms; and typically excellent Ritz-Carlton service is as good as it gets.

Best Hotel for Downtown New York Elegance: The Mercer. The Mercer is located in the heart of SoHo. The high-ceilinged, loftlike rooms and suites, some with fireplaces and all with ceiling fans and luxurious bath- rooms, are spectacular.

Best Hotel for Downtown New York Edge: The Bowery Hotel. An intimate boutique hotel with cozy public areas, the Bowery Hotel’s faded glamour is right at home on New York’s former skid row, which is quickly becoming a revitalized dining and culture destination.

Best for Classic Old-World Elegance: Hôtel Plaza Athénée. That European feel pervades the hotel from the old-world design to the first- rate concierge service.

Best Hip Hotel: The Ace Hotel. Musicians and music lovers love the Ace, and with its incredibly well-curated mix of partners (Stumptown Coffee, No. 7 Sub, Other Music, and Opening Ceremony) and the Breslin gastropub, it’s transforming this neighborhood north of Madison Square Park into the place to watch for interesting new developments.

Best Moderately Priced Hotel: The Lucerne. This is the best hotel on the Upper West Side. The homey, neighborhood feel of the hotel, its exceptional service, and its nice-sized, well-equipped rooms make this a very attractive midrange option.

Best Budget Hotel: The Pod Hotel. If you don’t mind sharing a toilet and shower with other guests, this cheerful hotel offers impeccable comforts — including an in-room sink and your own little flatscreen TV — at budget prices.

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Best for Families: Hotel Beacon. Not only is this hotel a great deal — you can get good-sized suites for so much less than you would pay in Midtown — but the Upper West Side, with its parks, the Museum of Natural History, and fun restaurants, is also a great neighborhood for children.

Best Romantic Hotel: Crosby Street Hotel. Maybe it’s the location (on an unusually quiet cobblestone street in SoHo), the vibrant original art- work in the lobby, the effortlessly elegant lounges and garden, or the playful mix of colors and fabrics decorating the rooms — or the amazing combination of all these features that makes this hotel so romantic. Whatever it is, the overall aura makes you feel as if you’re getting away with something, and who can resist the romance of that?

Best Hotel Bar: Bemelmans Bar. Named after book illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans, who created the Madeline books and painted the mural in the bar, the Carlyle’s romantic, charming bar features white-glove service and wondrous cocktails.

Best Restaurants For more information on the restaurants listed in this section, head to Chapter 10.

Best Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern. This New York favorite has been reinvigorated by executive chef Michael Anthony, who creates sophisti- cated American cuisine that is both refined and deeply satisfying.

Best Special-Occasion Restaurant: Jean Georges. If you want to eat an exceptional meal — one that will make you wonder if you’ve ever really tasted anything before — you won’t go wrong choosing Jean Georges. The room has bona fide New York–style swagger, and the food is consistently superb.

Best French: Daniel. For faultless French cooking, nobody does it better than chef Daniel Boulud, especially here at his signature restaurant.

Best Italian: Lupa. How can you choose just one great Italian restaurant in the city? Impossible . . . but chef Mario Batali continues to deliver high-quality food at great prices in this Roman-style osteria.

Best Seafood: Lure. Not only is the seafood superfresh and flavorful, but it’s served in a supersexy setting: a subterranean re-creation of a luxury yacht.

Best Steak: Frankie & Johnnie’s. Whether you choose the former speak- easy that is the original location in the Theater District or the newer branch in John Barrymore’s former town house, your steak, particularly the house sirloin, will remind you why Frankie & Johnnie’s has been around since 1926.

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Best Jewish Deli: 2nd Avenue Deli. The deli’s no longer on Second Avenue, but the pastrami sandwiches and chicken soup are as good as ever. And now you get free chicken cracklins (gribenes) with your meal.

Best Burger: Burger Joint. Who woulda thunk that a fancy hotel like Le Parker Meridien would be the home to a place called Burger Joint that serves great burgers at great prices?

Best Breakfast: Good Enough to Eat. They’ve been lining up on Amsterdam Avenue on weekend mornings for over 20 years to get a taste of chef/owner Carrie Levin’s bountiful home-cooked breakfasts.

Best Dessert: Haveli. I’ve got an incorrigible sweet tooth, so I can find something to love on any dessert menu. But the one I most look forward to is Haveli’s gulab jaman, always served hot and just this side of impos- sibly sweet. It’s a pure sugar rush to heaven.

Best Ice Cream: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. A treat from the Ice Cream Factory is the perfect reward after a brisk walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Rich, homemade ice cream with a view of the Manhattan skyline — that’s a tough combination to beat.

Best Bagel: Ess-a-Bagel. Big and fluffy, with a thick schmear of cream cheese — “ess” the best in its class.

Best Times Square Restaurant: Virgil’s Real Barbecue. In a restaurant wasteland loaded with bad theme restaurants and overpriced national chains, Virgil’s is, in a sense, a barbecue-theme restaurant, but it does an excellent job of smoking meats.

Best Attractions For more information on the attractions in this section, refer to Chapter 11.

Best Attraction: Statue of Liberty. If you have time to do only one thing on your visit to New York, sail to the Lady in the harbor. No other monu- ment embodies the nation’s — and the world’s — notion of political freedom and economic potential more than Lady Liberty. It’s also the ultimate symbol of New York, the personification of the city’s vast diversity and tolerance.

Best Skyscraper: Empire State Building. Like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, once again the tallest building in New York, is one of the city’s definitive icons. The view from the 86th-floor observatory is unforgettable.

Best-Looking Building: Chrysler Building. This award goes to the chrome-topped, gargoyle-laden Art Deco masterpiece. It’s my personal beacon on the skyline.

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Best Historic Building: Grand Central Terminal. Even if you don’t have to catch a train, make sure you visit this Beaux Arts gem that was built in 1913, saved from destruction in the 1960s, and beautifully restored in the 1990s to recapture its initial brilliance.

Best Art Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s not only the best art museum in New York, but also the best in North America. The number of masterworks housed here is mind-boggling.

Best Museum for Children (Big and Small): American Museum of Natural History. You could spend your entire visit to New York at this 4-square-block museum; there’s that much to see. From the famed Dinosaur Hall to the adjoining Rose Center for Earth and Space, the Museum of Natural History houses the world’s greatest natural science collection.

Best Park: The High Line. Okay, obviously Central Park is the best of the traditional parks, but the High Line has redefined the idea of what an urban park can be. It’s a strip of tranquillity high above the road- river-and-rail bustle of Manhattan.

Best Location in Central Park for a Picnic: The Pool. At 100th Street, the Pool is like being in another world. It’s relatively quiet and undiscov- ered, and with weeping willows, ducks, geese, egrets, and a hawk or two, this watering hole is an oasis of tranquillity.

Best Place to Take the Kids: Central Park. With a lovely carousel, a zoo, two ice-skating rinks, and numerous playgrounds and ball fields, Central Park is a children’s wonderland.

Best Street: Broadway. Fifth Avenue has the better reputation, but it’s lost some luster in the past few years with the proliferation of chain and theme stores, so my pick is Broadway. Because it stretches from one end of Manhattan to the other, no street captures the city’s diversity better than Broadway.

Best Neighborhood to Stroll: Greenwich Village. With its historic streets, hidden cafes, cozy restaurants, and eccentric characters, Greenwich Village is a constant but pleasant barrage on the senses.

Best Bridge: Brooklyn Bridge. New York is a city of bridges connecting the various islands to the mainland and beyond. But none equals the splendor and originality of the Brooklyn Bridge. Walking across it is a must.

Best Free Attraction: Staten Island Ferry. On the Staten Island Ferry you get views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, lower Manhattan, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and the rest of New York Harbor — and the chance to mingle with commuters. Plus, you can’t beat the price of this ride.

005_618257-ch01.indd5_618257-ch01.indd 1919 99/23/10/23/10 99:36:36 PMPM 20 Part I: Introducing New York City Best Shopping For more information on the stores in this section, skip to Chapter 12.

Best Department Store: Saks Fifth Avenue. Not as overwhelming as other department stores, Saks is consistently good. Don’t miss the windows at Christmastime!

Best Clothes Store: Barneys. This store is the pinnacle, with prices to match.

Best Market: The Brooklyn Flea. A whisky-soaked brainstorm by a Brooklyn blogger and a Brooklyn speechwriter yielded a festive flea market that has raised the bar for all open-air markets across the city. Fleas seem to be popping up ten-a-penny around town these days, but this is still the one to see.

Best Bookstore: McNally Jackson. In a city of many terrific bookstores, McNally Jackson has distinguished itself with a lovingly curated selec- tion of general-interest literature and a comprehensive roster of special events.

Best Music Store: Other Music. I’ve been a loyal customer since I was a college-radio DJ, and I still make unexpected discoveries that broaden my horizons at Other Music.

Best Shopping Zone: SoHo, NoHo, and Nolita. All three are within easy walking distance of one another and feature the best, trendiest boutiques.

Best Culture and Nightlife For more information on the listings in this section, jump to Chapters 14 and 15.

Best Performance Space: Carnegie Hall. You can find few greater performance spaces in the world than this one. Visually and acoustically brilliant, Carnegie Hall regularly attracts an amazing array of talent.

Best Free Cultural Event: Shakespeare in the Park. Imagine Shakespeare performed by stars, under the stars, in Central Park. No wonder it has become a New York institution.

Best Children’s Theater: Paper Bag Players. For children ages 4 to 9, this group performs in the winter only and offers tales told in imagina- tive and original ways.

Best Jazz Club: Village Vanguard. The acoustics and sightlines aren’t great, but you can’t do better for finding consistent, good-quality jazz.

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Best Rock Club: Mercury Lounge. This venue is intimate, but not obscure. The Merc is the best for hard-edge rock ’n’ roll.

Best Comedy Club: Gotham Comedy Club. Comfortable and sophisti- cated, this is where the best come to hone their acts.

Best Pub: Ear Inn. Located in an old hanger-on in chic SoHo, the Ear Inn continues to survive among the lush lounges that surround it.

Best Bar for Cocktails: Pegu Club. Owned by master mixologist Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club’s creative cocktails — whether shaken, stirred, or poured — are always perfect.

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