01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page iii guide to Manhattan 6th Edition By Ethan Wolff with Shopping by Karen Quarles 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page ii 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page i guide to Manhattan 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page ii 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page iii guide to Manhattan 6th Edition By Ethan Wolff with Shopping by Karen Quarles 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page iv other titles in the IRREVERENT GUIDE series Irreverent Amsterdam Irreverent Boston Irreverent Chicago Irreverent Las Vegas Irreverent London Irreverent Los Angeles Irreverent New Orleans Irreverent Paris Irreverent Rome Irreverent San Francisco Irreverent Seattle & Portland Irreverent Vancouver Irreverent Walt Disney World® Irreverent Washington, D.C. 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page v Published by: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 Copyright © 2006 Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or autho- rization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978/750-8400, fax 978/646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317/572-3447, fax 317/572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Frommer’s is a trademark or registered trade- mark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or ven- dor mentioned in this book. ISBN-13: 978-0-471-77062-6 ISBN-10: 0-471-77062-0 Interior design contributed to by Marie Kristine Parial-Leonardo Editor: Cate Latting Production Editor: Heather Wilcox Cartographer: Roberta Stockwell Photo Editor: Richard Fox Production by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services For information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800/762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317/572-3993 or fax 317/572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. Manufactured in the United States of America 54321 01_770620 ffirs.qxp 2/17/06 11:01 PM Page vi About the Author Ethan Wolff is a native New Yorker (born and raised in Virginia, but that was a geo- graphic anomaly). When not being irreverent, Ethan enjoys being cheap. Frommer’s NYC Free & Dirt Cheap has all the details. Acknowledgments Special thanks to Anna Sandler and Evelyn Grollman for all their hard work, and to Cate Latting for her stellar editing. A Disclaimer Prices fluctuate in the course of time, and travel information changes under the impact of the varied and volatile factors that influence the travel industry. We therefore suggest that you write or call ahead for confirmation when making your travel plans. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information throughout this book and the contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of printing. Neverthe- less, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for changes in details given in this guide or for the consequences of any reliance on the information provided by the same. Assessments of attractions and so forth are based upon the author’s own experience and therefore, descriptions given in this guide necessarily con- tain an element of opinion, which may not reflect the publisher’s opinion or dictate a reader’s own experience on another occasion. Readers are invited to write to the pub- lisher with ideas, comments, and suggestions for future editions. Your safety is important to us, however, so we encourage you to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Keep a close eye on cameras, purses, and wallets, all favorite targets of thieves and pickpockets. 02_770620 ftoc.qxp 2/17/06 11:14 PM Page vii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Maps Map 1 Manhattan Neighborhoods 5 YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW 6 Where to find the best New York panorama (6) • How to get the best view of Ground Zero (7) • How to stay out of trouble (8) • How to walk the walk (9) • How to talk the talk (9) • How to get around underground (9) • How to drive around town (11) • How to do lunch at an expensive restaurant and still have enough left over for dinner (11) • How to flag a taxi (11) • Where to smoke (12) • Where to find the facilities (12) 1 ACCOMMODATIONS 14 Basic Stuff 16 Winning the Reservations Game 16 Is There a Right Address? 17 The Lowdown 18 What’s New (18) • Places to misbehave (19) • For culture vultures (19) • Deal Breakers (20) • Art attack (20) • New York’s Celluloid Alter-Ego (21) • So very literary (21) • Luscious love nests (21) • For stargazing (22) • Such Indexision (22) • Broadway bound (22) • Money talks (23) • It’s a small world (23) • Location, location, location (24) • Drop-dead decor (24) • For shopoholics (24) • For the body beautiful (25) • Suite deals (25) • Taking care of business (26) • Family values (26) • Money’s too tight to mention (26) • Ringing in the new year (27) • Try these when there’s no room (27) 02_770620 ftoc.qxp 2/17/06 11:14 PM Page viii Maps Map 2 Manhattan Accommodations Orientation 28 Map 3 Downtown Accommodations 29 Map 4 Midtown, Chelsea, the Flatiron District & Gramercy Park Accommodations 30 Map 5 Uptown Accommodations 32 The Index 34 An A to Z list of places to stay, with vital statistics 2 DINING 48 Basic Stuff 50 What Will It Cost? 50 Tipping 51 Getting the Right Table 51 When to Eat & How to Dress 51 Where the Chefs Are 52 The Lowdown 52 TriBeCa hot spots that won’t cool down (52) • Where’s the beef, yo? (53) • Something fishy (54) • Bangs for Your Buck (54) • Vegging out (55) • Young Americans (55) • Morning Grub (56) • Americans feeling their hautes (57) • Le top-of-the-line French (58) • Ciao down with chic Italian (58) • The Lowdown on Little Italy (59) • Hipster Italian (59) • Italian when papa’s paying (60) • Like a big pizza pie (60) • China chic (61) • In Chinatown, Jake (61) • Pots and pan- Asians (62) • Cone Heads (63) • Sushi queue (63) • Cooking to a salsa beat (64) • South of the border (64) • Mediterraneo (65) • Home/ style (65) • Good for the soul (66) • The Caffeine Scene (66) • We never close (67) • New York classics (68) • Out in the open air (68) • Hello deli (69) • Show starters (70) • Bistros with cachet (70) • Sometimes a great noshin’ (71) • Voyage of the bagel (72) Maps Map 6 Manhattan Dining Orientation 73 Map 7 Downtown—East Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo & NoLita Dining 74 Map 8 Downtown Westside Dining 75 Map 9 Midtown Dining 76 Map 10 Uptown Westside Dining 78 The Index 79 An A to Z list of places to dine, with vital statistics 3 DIVERSIONS 100 Basic Stuff 102 Getting Your Bearings 102 02_770620 ftoc.qxp 2/17/06 11:14 PM Page ix The Lowdown 104 God save our mad parade (104) • The Lowdown on Times Square (105) • The Amazin’ Met (106) • Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade (107) • Deep in the art of Queens (107) • Free Culture (108) • Art and leisure (108) • Mo MoMA (109) • Gallery Scoop (110) • The gallery beat (110) • The rest is history (110) • Immigrant song (111) • New York stories (112) • Beautiful buildings, Downtown (113) • Beautiful buildings, Midtown classics (114) • Beautiful buildings, Midtown moderns (115) • On the square (116) • Steeple chase (118) • Reel NYC (119) • Way Uptown (120) • On the waterfront (and on the water) (121) • Where to pretend you’re in a Monet painting (124) • Getting high (124) • Utter childishness (125) • Must-sees for second- timers (126) Maps Map 11 Manhattan Diversions Orientation 128 Map 12 Downtown Diversions 129 Map 13 Midtown Diversions 130 Map 14 Harlem & Upper Manhattan Diversions 131 The Index 132 An A to Z list of diversions, with vital statistics 4 GETTING OUTSIDE 142 The Lowdown 146 Born to run (146) • A bicycle built for one (147) • Pounding the pavement (148) • Street walkers (149) • For the birds (149) • Tour Time (150) • Water, water everywhere (150) • The pickup game (151) • Skating—straight up or on the rocks (152) • Hot Wheels— Central Park’s Roller Inferno (153) • Jungle gym dandy (153) • A quick dip (153) • Indoor fitness (154) • Par for the course (156) • Pier 63 (156) • Back in the saddle (157) • You bowl me over (157) • A walk in the park (157) • Fly through the Air with the Greatest of Ease (157) Maps Map 15 Getting Outside in Central Park 144 5 SHOPPING 162 Basic Stuff 164 Target Zones 164 Bargain Hunting 167 Business Hours 168 Sales Tax 168 The Lowdown 168 Style-wise guys (168) • Funky clothes for alternagirls (169) • Tattoo You (169) • It Girl boutiques (169) • Don’t fall into the Gap (170) • Shoes for fashionistas (170) • Shoes for people who hate the word fashionista (171) • Money bags (171) • Accessorize this (172) • 02_770620 ftoc.qxp 2/17/06 11:14 PM Page x Ooo—shiny! (173) • Upgrading your Underoos (173) • Outer beauty (173) • Where to splash ’n’ sniff