Labor Day 2007 | Weekend in Manhattan Edition: DIY NYC or, See Manhattan Like A Local.
The long Labor Day Holiday weekend is here. I’m offering two sets of tips today: First, what to do, where to go. Second, what to do when you get there. Call it, “When In Rome,” or “How to not look like a tourist.” Take your pick. But take my advice.
Many of you are already off from work, and are on your way to New York City. Well, you’ve picked a great weekend, as the weather in NYC will be spectacular! The local weather report for New York City shows highs of 80 degrees, and sunny and clear for the weekend, with some clouds on Monday, and a slight chance of rain for tomorrow, Friday. Bring your sunscreen!
So, here’s what’s on the calendar this weekend. Must-sees and Do’s:
- NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2007 now through Labor Day. Dozens of restaurants offering three-course, prix-fixe menus ($24.07 lunches, $35 dinners) at some of the city’s best restaurants. See who, where, what, as well as make your reservations: OpenTable.com.
- Other restaurants not on the list above, but that are my favorites:
Jane
Good
Hell’s Kitchen
Arriba Arriba
Neptune Room
Swich
Empire Diner
Brooklyn Diner
And, for dessert, or your sweet-tooth, Rice to Riches (map) has the world’s best, and biggest selection, of rice pudding. And, strangely, Chevy’s in Times Squre (map) has an amazing fudge chocolate brownie sundae thing that will put you into a coma.
- If you’re in town on or after September 4th, check out 20at20: Excellent Off-Broadway shows that will sell you tickets 20 minutes before curtain time, for $20! Shows include The Fantasticks, Naked Boys Singing, Stomp, and Altar Boys. Go for it!
- Rent a bike and ride up and down the Hudson River Park, to the Statue of Liberty, or through Central Park! A few options: Bike and Roll, Bite of the Apple Tours, or, let someone else do the work: Pedicab. Or, ye old horse & buggy: Hansom Cab Rides. Find your favorite horse on 59th Street, usually between 5th and 6th Avenues. Bring some carrots. For the horse.
- Movies with a twist: The Ziegfeld is the most elegant theater in Manhattan. (The ones at MoMA come close, too.) Watch a young and hot John Travolta in the original Saturday Night Fever, playing Friday through September 6th. (They’re showing Dirty Dancing tonight!) The Film Forum is showing “No End In Sight,” a documentary on what led up to the Iraq War. It’’s a must-see, and will probably not be available outside NYC for long.
Now, do’s and dont’s:
- Theater: I saw Mamma Mia last weekend. I highly recommend it. What I don’t recommend is doing what the young woman in the seat in front of mine did: take pictures. It is illegal, even if the show has not started. (She managed to get publicly humiliated by the usher even before the curtain went up. Amazingly, she had the gall to take a few shots during the performance.) Bad form. They could have removed her from the theater. While on the subject of electronic gadgets, turn your cell phone off. You can receive a $50 ticket if it goes off in a theater. Vibrate does not cut it. I can still hear you. And, if you’re sitting next to me, I can feel it. (If you’re cute, leave it on vibrate…)
- Sidewalks, escalators, revolving doors: Move. Yup, please move out of the line of traffic. My lovely, elderly aunt spent some time with me a while back. (We saw Mama Mia together. She’s in her 80s, from a foreign country, had no idea who ABBA was, and had a great time. We then took one of those pedicabs back to her hotel. She loved it!) But she had little understanding that you must move out of the way once you get through the revolving doors, or at the end of the escalator. I’ve said it before - everyone else knows where they’re going. It’s OK if you don’t. Please, enjoy the sights. If you’re not spending at least 50% of your time gawking at the tops of buildings, you’re losing out. But do it out of the line of traffic.
- While Manhattan is very safe, it’s still not a good idea to pull out your six-foot long map and attempting to figure out where you are. Ask. Really. We’re nice people. I feel complimented when someone assumes I live here, and can give them good directions. It’s a win-win proposition. And, like I’ve said before, we love foreign accents. Even those from Missouri.
- Taxi drivers: Talk to them. They know more about this city, and are far more intelligent than most people think. Half of them listen to NPR all day long. It’s rare that they’re going to take you on a round-about tour. They make more money with a lot of shorter trips, than a really long one. Sometimes they make mistakes, yes, but we all do. I’ve never encountered one who tried to rip me off. Just don’t try to pay with anything over a twenty, given them a good tip (I round up and add a dollar, sometimes two.) ask them if they’re really going to go on strike next week. Ask them why. And try to pay with cash - they tell me they hate the credit card terminals, and it costs them personally at least 5%. Which can add up!
Lastly, have a great time. There’s no better place to!
Editor’s Note: “See Manhattan Like A Local” has become a very popular category. Please, if you’re a local or visitor, or maybe a former local, let me know what you’d like to share. Your favorite out-of-the-way bar, the “must-sees’ of your favorite neighborhood, the ”before I die I must just one last time visit…“ This is, to me, the greatest city in the world. I just want everyone to know why.
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Coney Island Weekend: The Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, Nathan’s Hotdogs, and A Penguin
DIY NYC, or, See Manhattan Like A Local.
I welcome your comments, or, feel free to email me. Why not take a look around? If you like what you see, would you add me to your blogroll, or share with your friends? Thanks.
Tags: Arriba Arriba, Brooklyn Diner, Chevy’s, Dessert, Empire Diner, Fantasticks, Good, Hell’s Kitchen, Horses, Jane, Manhattan, Maps, Naked Boys Singing, Neptune, Off-Broadway, Pedicab, Rice Pudding, Taxi, Times Square
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