Trip to New York as Graduation Gift for the kid

[nisryus]

Since the kiddo will still be shy of turning 18, we are planning to make a trip to the Big Apple as his High School graduation gift. (Sorry son, we aren't going to Vegas to see the girls )

Flying in to LGA on a Wednesday. Will be staying at Park Central (everywhere is expensive as hell, might as well pick somewhere nice)

So far here is what i have planned

Day 1 - Fly in to LGA and get to hotel by 4pm
See a Broadway show after early dinner

Day 2 - Thursday
Visit United Nation in the morning (The kiddo is in Model UN and will be majoring in International Relation, so UN HQ is a must to him)
Lunch is at Sarge for them pastrami sammich...
Check out Chrysler Building
Grand Central Terminal
Bryant Park and NY Library
Empire State Building?
Go up along 6th ave to Rockefeller Center
Radio City Music Hall
Off to 7th and broadway to dine at Juniors

Day 3 - Friday
Central Park - start from lower east and then move on toward lower west side
Step out of CP and check out Lincoln Center of Performing Art
Early lunch near Fordham University and Lincoln Center
Walk back to Central Park and head up toward Bethesda Terrace
Then up towatd middle of CP, start from west and then east
Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art - I am sure we will spend the rest of the day there
Take Green metro to Spring street to Lombardis pizza
Take Yellow metro back to the hotel

Day 4 - Saturday
Take Metro to lower Manhattan
Visit One World Trade Center and the Memorial
Check out the Charging Bull/Fearless Girl statue
Walk around Wall Street/New York Stock Exchange
Visit Trinity Church
Late lunch in Chinatown
Visit Battery Park, and take pic of the Statue of Librerty from afar (we are not taking the ferry or cruise to go there)
Metro to K town for dinner, then walk to Time Square for night scene

Day 5 - Sunday
Visit West side of Manhattan
Check out Chelsea market
Visit Littel island and then Pier 57 for lunch
Head up to Hudson Yard, check out the Vessel/Edge
Walk to Madison Square Garden
Take Red metro to Fulton street, then walk to Brooklyn bridge
Back to Chinatown for dinner

Day 6
Fly back to Austin from LGA early morning

Any thoughts or recommendations?
-I picked Lombardis for pizza because its the oldest (?) Its got to be good, i hope.
-I know Katz has good pastrami, but Sarge is closer after the UN tour.
-Any good bagel place for breakfast? Or overall cheap place for breakfast? Hotel's food is too expensive, so we will most likely eat breakfast outside.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Since the kiddo will still be shy of turning 18, we are planning to make a trip to the Big Apple as his High School graduation gift. (Sorry son, we aren't going to Vegas to see the girls )

Flying in to LGA on a Wednesday. Will be staying at Park Central (everywhere is expensive as hell, might as well pick somewhere nice)

So far here is what i have planned

Day 1 - Fly in to LGA and get to hotel by 4pm
See a Broadway show after early dinner

Day 2 - Thursday
Visit United Nation in the morning (The kiddo is in Model UN and will be majoring in International Relation, so UN HQ is a must to him)
Lunch is at Sarge for them pastrami sammich...
Check out Chrysler Building
Grand Central Terminal
Bryant Park and NY Library
Empire State Building?
Go up along 6th ave to Rockefeller Center
Radio City Music Hall
Off to 7th and broadway to dine at Juniors

Day 3 - Friday
Central Park - start from lower east and then move on toward lower west side
Step out of CP and check out Lincoln Center of Performing Art
Early lunch near Fordham University and Lincoln Center
Walk back to Central Park and head up toward Bethesda Terrace
Then up towatd middle of CP, start from west and then east
Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art - I am sure we will spend the rest of the day there
Take Green metro to Spring street to Lombardis pizza
Take Yellow metro back to the hotel

Day 4 - Saturday
Take Metro to lower Manhattan
Visit One World Trade Center and the Memorial
Check out the Charging Bull/Fearless Girl statue
Walk around Wall Street/New York Stock Exchange
Visit Trinity Church
Late lunch in Chinatown
Visit Battery Park, and take pic of the Statue of Librerty from afar (we are not taking the ferry or cruise to go there)
Metro to K town for dinner, then walk to Time Square for night scene

Day 5 - Sunday
Visit West side of Manhattan
Check out Chelsea market
Visit Littel island and then Pier 57 for lunch
Head up to Hudson Yard, check out the Vessel/Edge
Walk to Madison Square Garden
Take Red metro to Fulton street, then walk to Brooklyn bridge
Back to Chinatown for dinner

Day 6
Fly back to Austin from LGA early morning

Any thoughts or recommendations?
-I picked Lombardis for pizza because its the oldest (?) Its got to be good, i hope.
-I know Katz has good pastrami, but Sarge is closer after the UN tour.
-Any good bagel place for breakfast? Or overall cheap place for breakfast? Hotel's food is too expensive, so we will most likely eat breakfast outside.

A suggestion: get at least one shitty hotdog from a roadside stand, kind of a requirement to say you were there.

Any place there will probably have the best bagels you've ever had, but someone might give better local suggestions.

Consider more than one place for pizza. It's incredible, no reason to limit it to one meal.

 

[Brainonska511]

Johns on Bleeker St in the West Village is also a good spot for sit down pizza.

Bagel: in my experience both as a former resident and frequent visitor - just go into any independent bagel joint near wherever you are.

I think you have a pretty solid itinerary overall. If you wanted to take a trip on the N/W out to Astoria, there is also the Museum of the Moving Image, a bit of a smaller museum, but they had some cool stuff, and some great food in the area.

Protip: don't call the subways by their color if you're looking for directions, and note that there is a fair amount of shared trackage for different routes and express/local, so do pay attention to what trains (letter/number) you need. I believe you can also just pay with any tap to pay card or with your phone thanks to the OMNY readers, so no hassle to deal with metro cards.

 

[Brainonska511]

If you like ships, planes, and military equipment, there is also the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.

I would consider skipping the Empire State Building. It's cool to see the outside, but I hear the view is better from the top of the roc (Rockefeller center). Personally, I never did either. I had been up to the NYAS in 7 WTC, and that view was pretty cool.

 

[nisryus]

Thanks guys.

ok, hotdog stand - added to the list
Adding museum of moving image, and i see UNO pizzeria neaby.... Yessss!
Yep, Roc is on the list on Day 2.
Probably add yankee stadium to the list.

Looks like a lot of walking

 

[Brainonska511]

I don't know if I'd into an Uno. Aren't they a chain? Plenty of decent corner pizza shops for a quick slice though.

In Astoria, I don't know if it's still there, but Astoria Beer & Cheese was pretty awesome for food. My wife and I used to go there when we were dating.

 

[nisryus]

Oh wait, you are right. I think i saw UNO frozen pizza in my local HEB.

Well, going to try that Astoria Beer & Cheese place. It is still there per Google.

Might skip Yankee Stadium. A friend commented the area is a dump and not very safe.. not sure if thats true.

 

[Brainonska511]

Oh wait, you are right. I think i saw UNO frozen pizza in my local HEB.

Well, going to try that Astoria Beer & Cheese place. It is still there per Google.

Might skip Yankee Stadium. A friend commented the area is a dump and not very safe.. not sure if thats true.

I think it's fine around Yankees Stadium, but if I recall, there isn't so much to do, so might be kind of a waste to go there if not attending a game. It's not like Wrigley Field, where the outside looks really cool, and there is a whole ecosystem of business around it. It has been a long time since I went to Yankees Stadium, so maybe it's different now, but when I did go, it was kind of meh around the outside.

Astoria is a cool place though. I lived there for 6 years when I was getting my PhD. Always good food around, and the subway running right down 31St made it incredibly accessible.

 

[nisryus]

Everything is expensive in NY. Flight and loding already cost $3100. Not to mention parking fee for leaving the car at Austin airport.

For breakfast we might buy some instant noodles, and some store brand bagels and cream cheese spreads, to save a few bucks.

 

[Brainonska511]

If you're flying into LGA an you want to save a bit, consider the Q70 SBS (also called the LaGuardia Link) - it's a free MTA bus that will bring you to the Roosevelt E/M/7 station, where you can catch one of the subway lines into Manhattan. I used to use that a lot when I traveled to NYC for work from Boston. I could have reimbursed a cab, but it was just so easy to take the public transit.

Bagels and breakfast aren't too bad from coffee shops, but picking up stuff (if nothing is included with your lodging) certainly makes sense, and I can appreciate that. I think the last time I got a bagel and coffee in midtown in May 2023 it was like $5-$7 (totally worth it though because people in Boston can't make a bagel if their life depended on it). Also, many grocery stores, where they have the fresh rolls and stuff sometimes, they have local bagels, then you just cut and add your own spread for a slight discount over buying a bagel in a shop with their spreads.

NYC has certainly jumped in lodging costs when they effectively banned building more hotels (basically, new hotel permits require the city council to approve it, which means it's just not happening).

 

[nisryus]

Thanks Brainonska511!

I didn't know about no more new hotels. That make sense now on how much loding costs. Dman, it is almost twice the money I had spent on loding while in Cali, for the same length of time.

 

[Brainonska511]

Yeah, there are still some deals to be found, but I recall the last few times I went down, hotels could cost $250/night easily, even for very no frills ones.

 

[MrSquished]

Skip Yankee stadium it's a trek for not much. Unless it's like a bucket list item. Also don't eat at an Uno, but especially not in NYC. Also if you are going to head up to the vessel, in case you hadn't planned to do it, use the High Line park. It's a very unique and beautiful park.

For the restaurants you want to go to in each area you are going to, check out or post in the NYCFood subreddit. Those posters will guide you around the hype trains to the best spots. Like for Chinatown for example.

 

[bbhaag]

Since the kiddo will still be shy of turning 18, we are planning to make a trip to the Big Apple as his High School graduation gift. (Sorry son, we aren't going to Vegas to see the girls )

Flying in to LGA on a Wednesday. Will be staying at Park Central (everywhere is expensive as hell, might as well pick somewhere nice)

So far here is what i have planned

Day 1 - Fly in to LGA and get to hotel by 4pm
See a Broadway show after early dinner

Day 2 - Thursday
Visit United Nation in the morning (The kiddo is in Model UN and will be majoring in International Relation, so UN HQ is a must to him)
Lunch is at Sarge for them pastrami sammich...
Check out Chrysler Building
Grand Central Terminal
Bryant Park and NY Library
Empire State Building?
Go up along 6th ave to Rockefeller Center
Radio City Music Hall
Off to 7th and broadway to dine at Juniors

Day 3 - Friday
Central Park - start from lower east and then move on toward lower west side
Step out of CP and check out Lincoln Center of Performing Art
Early lunch near Fordham University and Lincoln Center
Walk back to Central Park and head up toward Bethesda Terrace
Then up towatd middle of CP, start from west and then east
Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art - I am sure we will spend the rest of the day there
Take Green metro to Spring street to Lombardis pizza
Take Yellow metro back to the hotel

Day 4 - Saturday
Take Metro to lower Manhattan
Visit One World Trade Center and the Memorial
Check out the Charging Bull/Fearless Girl statue
Walk around Wall Street/New York Stock Exchange
Visit Trinity Church
Late lunch in Chinatown
Visit Battery Park, and take pic of the Statue of Librerty from afar (we are not taking the ferry or cruise to go there)
Metro to K town for dinner, then walk to Time Square for night scene

Day 5 - Sunday
Visit West side of Manhattan
Check out Chelsea market
Visit Littel island and then Pier 57 for lunch
Head up to Hudson Yard, check out the Vessel/Edge
Walk to Madison Square Garden
Take Red metro to Fulton street, then walk to Brooklyn bridge
Back to Chinatown for dinner

Day 6
Fly back to Austin from LGA early morning

Any thoughts or recommendations?
-I picked Lombardis for pizza because its the oldest (?) Its got to be good, i hope.
-I know Katz has good pastrami, but Sarge is closer after the UN tour.
-Any good bagel place for breakfast? Or overall cheap place for breakfast? Hotel's food is too expensive, so we will most likely eat breakfast outside.

This sounds like a wonderful graduation gift. I'm not from that area so I don't have any recommendations or advice but I hope you have a great time!

 

[nisryus]

Thx MrSquished. I will task the kid to check out that NYCFood subreddit for places to eat. He has been watching those youtube channels on NY pizzas and some all you can eat places..

Initially the kid had actually asked for a newer phone, which i got him a samsung a15 5G just 5 months ago (he totally broke the pixel 6a i got for him in less than a year!!!) So instad of just a phone.. everyone goes on a trip!

 

[MrSquished]

Thx MrSquished. I will task the kid to check out that NYCFood subreddit for places to eat. He has been watching those youtube channels on NY pizzas and some all you can eat places..

Initially the kid had actually asked for a newer phone, which i got him a samsung a15 5G just 5 months ago (he totally broke the pixel 6a i got for him in less than a year!!!) So instad of just a phone.. everyone goes on a trip!

It's a great subreddit. People will post what their lists are for their upcoming trip, and then others will post what they did hit on their trip, and it all gets rated - based upon how many days the trip was and what was tasted. Of course some responses are dumb but overall, that subreddit will guide the right way. I use it to find places to eat on my long bike rides in the city. Some of those people eat at michelin starred restaurants regularly, so specify your budget, while those folks are rich, most of us in there are on a budget.

When you go to the Met, if it's a nice day, go on the roof deck. It's absolutely gorgeous up there.

 

[MrSquished]

btw the subreddit is FoodNYC not NYCFood, pardon