And Go! New York City in 72 Hours

And…Go! New York City in 72 Hours
                      BROOK BRYANT | Haven Magazine

                      THE SCOOP

                      New York City is the big city with all the glamour, power elite and juice
                      you can enjoy even on a budget. New York is home to every dialect in the
                      world where people come to work, play and live in a canyon of concrete.
                      The basic outlay of the island is based on neighborhoods such as the Upper
East Side, Harlem, Chelsea, TriBeCa, SoHo, Upper West Side and others. Each of the sections of
Manhattan has its own personality, demographic and distinctive charm. If you travel to New
York on a regular basis one or more of these distinct neighborhoods may have an appeal that
invites you to make it your home base. I love to stay in the leafy green areas of Chelsea,
Carnegie Hill and the Gramercy Park area of the city which tends to be more residential in
nature. Theater aficionados will gravitate to Times Square and Midtown in contrast to the
museum mavens which will want to stay near Central Park or the Upper East Side where they
can take advantage of these wonders. One cannot expect to visit this city once in their life and
declare they have done it all, never to return. It is a novel of activities, restaurants and cultural
venues you’ll want to open on occasion. New York City has it all contained on an island of
22.96 square miles and five boroughs connected by bridges, tunnels or waterways.

                                                  If one only does one activity in New York, one
                                                  must stand in Times Square in all its neon
                                                  wonderment. The heartbeat of the city is
                                                  theater, cultural venues, shopping and the
                                                  financial center. We are going to approach the
                                                  city as an overview you can use to complement
                                                  Internet sources to fine tune your upcoming
                                                  journey. When I travel I have a list of things I
                                                  simply must do, I stay at hotels that are tried
                                                  and true and I love to experience one or two
                                                  fine dining experiences. If time or theater
                                                  tickets do not allow for a leisurely dinner then I
                                                  splurge at a four or five star venue for lunch.

The quality of the meal is the same, the staff are just as attentive and the ambience will not be
compromised just because it’s daytime dining and not dinner.

                   ARRIVAL

                     Arrival by the masses is by the three major airports: JFK International,
                     LaGuardia and Newark Liberty Airport. It is standard that most international
                     flights arrive at JFK and LaGaurdia second to domestic arrivals. Your online
                     searches will offer information about your carrier, the airport and land
transportation to your hotel. Shuttling to hotels with other groups may be more cost effective, but
if you are on a time crunch you may not want to spend up to two hours getting to your hotel or
lodgings. Please pack as lightly as you can if you are traveling by train from the airport to the
city as there are steps and platforms to navigate. You may opt to pay in advance, when booking
your flight, for a sedan or car service with a credit card but make sure you still have a small tip
for the driver. He will expect it for furnishing bottled water and newspaper for the drive into
Manhattan.

Each of these terminals has its advantages depending on your carrier and the type of
transportation you are taking into the city. Taxi, shuttle, car service and air trains are available
for your use at the airports and can accommodate all budgets. There are licensed taxi stands
everywhere in the airports and you should only look for the medallion when you choose. A light
on means it is available for you to flag for your journey. It is a worth noting that you can use
your credit card in any licensed yellow cab in New York City, and the driver must accept it.
Tipping is expected and verbally encouraged by cabbies, as well as sedan and shuttle drivers.

If you like the romance of the rails this is a city that embraces train travel. Pennsylvania Station
(Penn Station) is hub for Amtrak and Acela service. Penn Station is a gritty, noisy and chaotic
terminal with basic amenities. Day trippers and workers are dashing around you to catch the
regionals and the only waiting rooms are in the main rotunda where you’ll be sitting on your
luggage. I love it for the people watching, carnival atmosphere and seeing how the traffic of
commuters ebbs and flows in the station. If you are holding a sleeping car ticket or Acela First
Class you may relax in the Acela Lounge for your layover. It is a relaxing but time-consuming
mode of arrival easing into the station in a streamliner under the skyscrapers. Lake Shore
Limited, Silver Series, Palmetto, Crescent and Pennsylvanian run daily into Manhattan as long
distrance trains. There is still a shiver I feel when, over the loud speaker, they announce a train
from Miami arriving at track number eight after a 30 hour journey. It is a known fact that writers,
Europeans and many with time on their hands who want to sit back, dine, sleep and arrive into
New York as they did decades ago take these trains.

                  SLEEP

                    Lodgings are offered by hotels, bed and breakfast and hostels of any price
                    point in every section of the city or boroughs. The bevy of Internet search
                    options such as Kayak, Hotels.com, Oyster and Expedia can assist in advanced
                    searches within your budget, your interests, where you’re staying and also by
star quality ratings. My hotel choices in the New York City area are based on hotels I have used

often and endorse but I encourage you to research your stay on Trip Advisor. Please do not
discount the idea of staying in Brooklyn which is having a redesign and offers many upscale
hotels at a much lower rate than in Manhattan. The subway is your friend and is not to be feared
as the most economic and efficient way to get around. My next trip I will be staying on Staten
Island at a bird friendly bed and breakfast and I will be using the Staten Island Ferry to get on the
island.

Two years ago I stayed in Jersey City before a transatlantic crossing and used the water taxi into
Battery Park. I will digress to say if you are using New York City for a base before a cruise make
sure you are staying near your ship terminal. It will be a tragedy if your tunnel or bridge is
delayed and you miss the ship. Do not let haughty people discourage you from even entertaining
the idea of staying outside the city for more deals, but realize you will have to spend extra time
commuting.

The Hotel Chandler at 12 East 31st Street reflects an understated, quiet and affordable choice for
those who want a European style establishment. Rates vary so please check the Web site for
specials. The rates are moderate for New York City. The staff will remember your name,
provide any of your needs like ice, office services or laundry without you having to ask twice
and they’ll make your stay memorable. Rooms range from queen doubles, kings, executive suites
and large one bedroom suites with Frette linens. This hotel was refurbished last year with an
emphasis on the lobby and public rooms. When checking in, I was thrilled to see the well-
appointed intimate bar tucked away into an adjoining room. It is my pet peeve to arrive and step
over guests sipping drinks on my way to the front desk with obnoxious canned music muffling
my conversation with the concierge.

Hotel Chandler has a breakfast room, limited food service for a fee and Library for
complimentary water, coffee and tea all day. It is a civilized experience to see the newspapers
hung on library racks while sipping an Earl Gray in the morning. There is free WiFi throughout
the hotel. I noticed many of the guests were international travelers who preferred a boutique
experience with excellent service and with a central location. The hotel is also child friendly for
a business trip with your family or for leisure travel. A high-end organic restaurant is opening
soon which will also attract a client base that prefers whole foods while on the road.

                     DINE

                       Dining is a personal matter reflecting your taste, dietary needs, budget and
                       area of the city in which you are staying. The offerings are so numerous that
                       it would be difficult to try to offer any suggestions other than a few famous
                       and not-to-be-missed-under-any-circumstances choices. Your hotel staff,
                       numerous reviews online and a treasure trove of guide books offer so many
restaurant options, it is mind boggling. Here is my short list of ideas, just to sample.

You must enter a real New York City deli when you are here for a weekend or short stay. It is the
noisy, rushed service and the lack of seating that makes it so special. Last year, a counter person
threw my wrapped bagel and schmear across the meat case at me. You will know the kind when
you walk by and you see fire fighters, office workers and Hassidim ordering their lunches. Delis

are in every nook and cranny of the city and you need to have one meal at one that treats you like
the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld. Please order cheesecake without graham cracker crust, corned beef
with mayo the size of a package and matzoh ball soup with chicken fat. Yes embrace the artery
clogging foods of my homeland. I want to caution you not to order butter and mayo on your
sandwich as this is New York City and many of the delis are kosher–not mixing dairy and meat.
So no smoothies with your pastrami or cheese on your sliced beef tongue. You may see devout
clients not mixing with the opposite sex. However, you will want to order kugel–a noodle
pudding where the serving will be the size of a sidewalk slab and worth every calorie.

Hot dog and pretzel vendors get a bad reputation but you know it is part of the culture to grab a
hot dog. If you do not want to venture into the sidewalk dining world of hot dog vendors, then
head up to Papaya King at 179 East 86th Street. Gray’s Papaya is located at 402 East Sixth
Avenue and at 2090 Broadway and 37th Street and the name implies the fruity drink concoctions
available. To confuse you even more there is Papaya Dog located 333 Avenue of the Americas
which is an offshoot of the original Papaya King. If you can follow this then you are ready for
the New York City subway system. The story here is cheap hot dogs, cold drinks and the candy
colored tropical concoctions. You come in, order quickly, rush to pay and dine standing up
which is, in my mind, perfect. Why waste time when you can eat on the fly? You better not eat
at any chain fast food restaurants, when you can dine like a prince on hot dogs just like the
natives.

Italian food establishments that resemble the scene from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp really do
exist in New York City. Mulberry Street in Little Italy east of SoHo or the Village is a fine area
to explore a pasta meal, rich Italian desserts and emerging Italian cuisines. It is fine if you want
to have a romantic dinner over scaloppini with a nice red wine but then again, you can
experience that in any large city in the world, so choose wisely. Lunch is a wonderful option for
the Italian, French and Asian restaurant startups which offer chef special without reservations. If
you want to dine in a multiple star restaurant in New York City, be advised that you’re going to
have to make a reservation with a restaurant’s Web site or with Open Table online.

I want to talk about “The Slice,” which to any newbie is a slice of pizza you can eat in or carry
out. You will see one on every street that boast the best pizza in New York and that may be true.
But it’s the atmosphere that I am talking about here. Imagine walking into a place with a flour
encrusted counter and ordering a slice with a drink and still get change back from a five dollar
bill. The staff will also smile and hurry you along but, again, this is an authentic experience– to
sample the crust, toppings and cheese from a city that actually has a pizza heritage.

I know food snobs are reading this with the question of where are the hip, edgy and have to be
seen restaurants? They are in New York City everywhere for every taste and budget and you can
access them on the Web with Trip Advisor, Zagat and other gourmet-themed sites. My last meal
in New York a few months ago was in the Members Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art –a sublime experience, with its extensive wine list, exotic menu and refined clientele. It is
my wish for you to experience real down to earth New York City over the ubiquitous world of
Starbucks, overinflated high end establishments and those that just are plain inferior in menu
options.

TOUR

                       Touring throughout the city can be as simple for you as asking the
                       concierge at hotel for maps, signing up for a hop on and hop off overview
                       of the city or walking tours of a certain neighborhood by an experienced
                       guide. Do not let anyone shame you because you decided to take a guided
                       tour by water or land as it is an excellent way to see the lay of the land or
                       the congested areas of the city.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are accessible only by water so you must plan accordingly.

Grayline Tours offers packages of the transportation and tickets bundled for the time sensitive
traveler. If you are budget minded and do not wish to spend money on a taxi then use the Hop
On and Hop Off tours for your transportation only. You may have some wait time but it is an
easy alternative if you are staying in Lower Manhattan and want to go to Harlem or Brooklyn
above the pavement. The outer boroughs have exciting venues, hotels and restaurants which
warrant at least a few hours of time. Brooklyn is experiencing a renaissance of upscale hotels
that are catering to the business and artistic clientele, waterfront revitalization and of course the
Queen Mary 2 docks in her berths two times a week at her passenger terminal in Red Hook.

If you only have 72 hours in the city I would break it down to two museums, one area of
shopping, one historical venue and one theater offering. Purchase or view online Access New
York or Fodors Guides to see which of these offerings are of interest to you. Theater tickets are
very expensive so you can decide to either stand in a long line in Times Square for “half off day”
of or order online at full price at your theater of choice. It is a hard decision due to the fact that
attending a Broadway production is an investment of time and money depending on your seat of
choice. Off Broadway and small theaters also offer extraordinary talent and tickets are more
obtainable at short notice. It is a very sound idea to access a New York Times or New Yorker
Magazine before you trip to help you start making theater decisions early.

It is a solemn decision to take the time to visit the area where the pre 9/11 World Trade Center
once stood. Reconstruction of the site is almost finished but there do remain memorial plaques,
flowers and other mementos of that fateful day. It is a personal decision to visit and many of the
modes of transportation do stop near the site for viewing. It is also most interesting to see the
construction site with cranes at that height rebuilding both commercial and memorial real estate.
Wall Street, Battery Park and the Sea Port area of the city are very interesting to venture at least
half of a day due to their historical contributions to the island. I would like offer a hint that if
you are visiting on a weekend or holiday there are many wonderful travel bargains in the
financial district hotels and they are posh. Transportation to Upper Manhattan and the deserted
streets may be a drawback but the hotels are underused when Wall Street is quiet.

ARCHITECTURE

Skyscrapers, the flat iron building, steel, glass, concrete, Gothic Revival, Green Design,
Brownstone, Row House, Penthouse, Garden apartments, Modern and Pre War Design and Loft

Dwelling. Urbanization, Revitalization and Renewal when describing the changes of existing
space within the city.

JARGON

Tunnel Neck, Dandy, bagel and schmear, slice, tube steak, Yoo Hoo drink, stoop, egg creams
and soda, walk up, Bloomies, Bridge and Tunnel People and BBQ (Bronx, Brooklyn and
Queens).

                       CITY CUISINE

                       Egg Cream Soda

                       ½ cup Seltzer water
                       ½ cup milk
                       Chocolate syrup to taste

Pour the seltzer in a tall glass first or else it will bubble over. Pour in milk and stir in chocolate
syrup until dissolved.

Nathan’s World Famous Beef Hot Dog

Egg Bread Hotdog Bun
Sauerkraut
Spicy Brown Mustard

Crepes and Cheese filled Blintzes

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 extra-large eggs
1 cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 to 3 tablespoons for baking the crepes and filled
blintzes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Cheese Filling
1 pound cream cheese
1 cup large-curd cottage cheese (pot style)

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Applesauce, optional
Sour cream, optional

Mix the flour, sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl and set aside. Using an electric
mixer set on high, beat the eggs, water, butter and oil together until light yellow.

Pre-heat a crepe pan over medium-high until a droplet of water sprinkled on the pan sizzles.
Brush the hot pan with butter, coating it well. Pour in 2 Tbsp. of batter and swirl to make a circle.

Fry crepes until lightly brown on bottom and turn out gently on a waxed or parchment paper on
brown side up. Fill the crepes with one tbsp. of cheese filling; fold over into a rolled or envelope
shape.

Just before serving fry gently in a little butter until golden on both side. Serve hot with
applesauce, jams or sour cream. Makes 12 blintzes.

Brook Bryant is the Voyages editor for Haven Magazine. Her travels have taken her to 37
countries and 393 cities in the world. She is a Senior Contributor on Trip Advisor with 390,000
miles traveled in the past 15 years by sea, train, bus and air. She and her family reside in
Duluth, Minnesota.

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