NYC - Post your questions about the Big Apple here

Can you make some recommendations for Little Italy restaurants?

Lots of good choices for Little Italy:

Paesano is good

Pellegrino's is one of my personal favorites

And for dessert you HAVE to go to Ferrara's

When it shows off Broadway shows, are these in the same area as regular Broadway shows, or other parts of NYC. For instance Cats was listed as "off Broadway". (I have seen the Broadway cast do Cats when they toured to West Palm Beach), but just for instance. Having played semi pro with union musicans in pit orchestras, I know most of the words to too many musicals Im afraid. I'm a musical nut.

I just didn't want to stray too far away to get to a show.

flowers wrote:

I know most of the words to too many musicals Im afraid. I'm a musical nut.

Me too... my favorites are 1776, Chicago, Fiddler and Grease.

flowers wrote:

When it shows off Broadway shows, are these in the same area as regular Broadway shows, or other parts of NYC. For instance Cats was listed as "off Broadway". (I have seen the Broadway cast do Cats when they toured to West Palm Beach), but just for instance. Having played semi pro with union musicans in pit orchestras, I know most of the words to too many musicals Im afraid. I'm a musical nut.

I just didn't want to stray too far away to get to a show.

Off Broadway is just that - it can be located anywhere in the city other than the main theater district. May I ask where you saw Cats listed as Off-boardway? I was in both telecharge.com and broadway.com and didn't see it listed.

bluejay2fly wrote:

flowers wrote:

I know most of the words to too many musicals Im afraid. I'm a musical nut.

Me too... my favorites are 1776, Chicago, Fiddler and Grease.

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris or some such was fun, Half a Sixpence, Brigadoon, West Side Story, Camelot, Music Man are some of the ones I played for, but I know 1776 almost verbatim, the others are very good too. Oh yea, I thought Mary Sunshine was a good spoof on niceness. There was one in the late 70s using words from NYC children's essays, cant remember the name of. The last one I saw was that one about AIDS, thought I would hate it because of the subject, but it was well done. ...what the heck, I like anything with singing and dancing and a lame theme lol. They all have a happy ever after ending you can count on.

[quote="Nick Needs To Know"]

flowers wrote:

Off Broadway is just that - it can be located anywhere in the city other than the main theater district. May I ask where you saw Cats listed as Off-boardway? I was in both telecharge.com and broadway.com and didn't see it listed.

Oppps looks like it must be New Jersey, has a NJ in front of the location.

http://www.broadwaybox.com/

Thanks for that link flowers

What hotels beside the Hyatt can any of you recommend for Manhattan?

Colorado Gal wrote:

What hotels beside the Hyatt can any of you recommend for Manhattan?

We stay in Manhattan once in a while, I know, I know, we're only in Staten Island but, we still stay in the city once in a while and I can recommend the following hotels from personal experience:

Luxury
The Plaza
The Carlyle

Higher End but not true Luxury
Omni Berkshire
The Benjamin

3.5 - 4 star hotels
The Michelangelo

And of course, this is my list based on my own experience. There are lots of great hotels in Manhattan, just be sure you research them well and pick one that best suits your needs.

I meet some cruisers for dinner and drinks last Friday night and they recommended the Millenium Broadway Hotel. I know Cruvy Gal said she didnt like to stay in the Times Square area, but my friends really loved this hotel for the money. They said bigger rooms than usual for NYC and they got rates around $200. (I checked and rates for the end of June 09 were more like $279 and up). It also got good write ups in several of my NYC travel books for larger than average rooms, nice mattresses and down comforters, said the tower is the best deal.

Iv seen some good write ups and prices for Double Tree as well that the books about NYC liked.

I'm still completely mystified about the bus/subway directions both online and in the book. Cant make heads or tails of the directions. Im to the point I will just ask the concierge when I get there.

Flowers - what exactly do you find confusing, maybe we can help explain it better. It's really very easy. If you want to go on the subway, simply go down the steps, locate the ticket vending machine, select your ticket type, go to the entrance, swipe your metro card, locate the train you need and proceed to the tracks. The bus is as simple as going to the bus stand, waiting for the right bus and paying with exact change (quarters, dimes, nickels) or with a metro card. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm really eager to help but, I just wish I knew what was confusing you. Please tell us so we can help.

Well, for one thing Id rather take a bus, and dont understand which are busses and which are subways. I will see instructions to get to the Staten Island Ferry something like 3, 4, 5, 6 S W Bowling Green etc.

Havent a clue which bus Im supposed to take from Lexington or do I have to get on the subway. There is a string of numbers, then a couple of letters than a name of a place and then more stuff after that.

Id just like to figure out something easy. Its 1.25 miles to the zoo from where I am on Lexington. I just want to know how to get on the bus to go to the zoo. Id have to go look to exactly say what it says on how to get someplace, but I cant make head or tails of the directions and my sister cant walk that far and do the zoo. We need the bus at least one direction.

This is a link to the bus routes in Manhattan: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/manbus.pdf - you're kind of in a can't get there from here situation, you will need to transfer. The 101, 102 or 103 should take you North and then you can either walk a few blocks over or transfer to a cross-town bus.

Nick Needs To Know wrote:

This is a link to the bus routes in Manhattan: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/manbus.pdf - you're kind of in a can't get there from here situation, you will need to transfer. The 101, 102 or 103 should take you North and then you can either walk a few blocks over or transfer to a cross-town bus.

thanks. Im sure we can walk over a few blocks, just not a whole 1.25 miles each way and then walk around the zoo too. Not unless my sister gets into shape and she doesnt seem so inclined.

flowers it's really pretty easy to get around the city. And, remember just ask! New Yorkers aren't as unfriendly as our reputation precedes.