Taking a Bite

Yellow cabs, people on the go, NYPD vehicles, Starbucks, nail salons, bagel shops, Metro/AM free dailies, gays, hipsters, Greek diners, Fifth Avenue, the subway, women wearing pumps in club lines, gaggle of smokers in the entrance way to pubs, SoHo galleries, Manolo Blahniks…That’s New York in a nutshell—your most playful, totally addictive, 24/7 available love interest.  So, what do you say?  Care for a date?

GET THERE
Turkish Airlines, Delta.
Both run direct flights once a day.  Book online at thy.com, or call reservations on +90 212 444 08 49 (Ist).  For Delta, call +90 212 310 20 00 (Ist), or click delta.com. 

SEE
First time in NY? Check out Empire State Building (where Sam and Annie have their fateful meeting in Sleepless in Seattle), Grand Central Station with its fabulous ceiling of murals of stars, as well as Statute of Liberty and Times Sq., of course.  Artistic types shouldn’t miss the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd St. 0212 535 7710), MoMA (Modern Museum of Art, 11 West 53 St. 0212 708 9400), Guggenheim (1071 5th Ave. at 89th St. 0212 423 3500) and Whitney Museum of American Art (945 Madison Ave. at 75th St. 800 944 8639).
Looking for a nice picnic spot, a game of Frisbee, or just watching New Yorkers walk/run, bike, skate, swim, (or do naughty things)?  Central Park‘s Great Lawn is your destination.
SOuth of HOuston Street (SoHo) and The Village (14th St.) is great for boutique shopping, gallery hopping and eating with style.  Plus, you might run into a celeb or two!! 
If you’re a musical lover, make sure to head to Broadway (Wicked and Lion King are favourites now), or to Madison Square Garden at the heart of downtown for best of the best concerts/games/family shows, etc.    Who’s playing now? Santana will be at the Garden this week.  Don’t miss the iconic Blue Note (131 W 3rd St. 0212 475 8592), and Groove (125 MacDougal St. 0212 254 93 93) is another great club to head to with friends for a few drinks and some soul & jazz.  But for a totally crazy cabaret night, you MUST make your way to Shanghai Mermaid.  Girls, put on your sexy garter set and hold tight to your man!

EAT
Hungry for a bite, but don’t know where to start?  If feeling (and looking) avant-garde and Parisian, you may want to head to Jean-Georges’ Mercer Kitchen (99 Prince St. 0212 966 5454), or the Hudson Cafeteria (Hudson Hotel, 356 West 58th St. 0212 554 6000).  Spotted a celeb?  Fab, just be really careful not to choke on that yummy crab cake.
Another ‘tres’ hip place with excellent food where you can practice your (non-existent?) Francais with waiters over a perfect steak au poivre is Le Pere Pinard (175 Ludlow St. 0212 777 4917).
Buddakan (75 9th Ave.) and Spice Market (403 W 13th St. 0212 675 2322), our local favourites for Asian food and decor, are both fun, but chic and trendy Buddakan’s Crispy Jumbo Shrimp and Szechuan NY Ribeye are to die for. Another must-taste place for etnic  food is Yakiniku West (218 E 9th St. 0212 979 9238), a Korean-Japanese fusion eatery, where you get to grill your own meat!  Yumm…
For Mediterranean fare, be sure to head out to Il Corallo Trattoria in SoHo (172 Prince St. 0212 941 7119) for the best Italian food in town (si si, best!), or Beyoglu (1431 3rd Ave. 0212 650 0850) for Turkish dishes like cacik, manti, doner kebap and others, eaten at a pleasant outside area.  Antique Garage (41 Mercer St. 0212 219 1019), an old auto garage converted to a charming restaurant filled with antique mirrors and sconces, is also worth a visit.
Fancy a coffee?  Starbucks is sooo yesterday, darling.  Instead, head downtown to Cafe Gitane (242 Mott St. 0212 334 9552) for a laid back, bohemian local scene, and sandwiches to savour.  Ditto for Bread (20 Spring St.) and its delicious tomato soup & meatballs.
Vegans should check out Yaffa Cafe (97 St. Marks Pl. 0212 674 9302).  Kitchy and cozy, its outside patio is lovely in spring and fall.
Yep, you’re right; we saved the best for last: DESSERT! For heart-melting cakes, brownies and shakes check out Max Brenner (841 Broadway, Union Sq. 0212 388 0030) and Cafe Mozart (154 W. 70 St. 0212 595 9797).  If craving some vanilla cupcakes, get in line in front of Magnolia Bakery on 401 Bleecker St. (0212 462 2572), or at their new uptown location in Columbus.
For brunch, head to Friend of a Farmer (77 Irving Pl. 0212 477 2188), or Le Pain Quotidien (0212 757 0775) for a taste of countryside at the heart of the world’s busiest urban centres; or to Sarabeth’s at various locations to devour on fresh baked pastries and jam.

DRINK
Pravda (281 Lafayette St. 0212 226 4944), an underground Russian bar, is mesmerising with its sublime martinis, heavy but heavenly vodka shots, and terrific service.  Its owner operates the infamous Balthazar Restaurant and Pastis; tres chi-chi French bistros. 
Want to take your date for a romantic candle-lit evening in a hip, intimate setting?  Then Peasant cellar wine bar, a hiddent gem on 194 Elizabeth St. (0212 965 9511), is your  spot.
A city of Irish more than anything else, New York is home to Mc Sorley’s Old Ale House (15 East 7th St. 0212 474 9148).  Established in 1854, it’s ‘the’ gathering place for some great home-brewed beer.
If you’re with a group of friends and want to drink the night away, give The Fat Black Pussy Cat‘s Back Room a try-it’ll hardly disappoint you-neither will Pianos (Lower East Side), great for happy hours and bar food.
And finally, ladies, if you love to put on your party dress & makeup, and enjoy occasional booze, then check out Hotel Gansevoort‘s Terrace in summer (18 9th Ave. 0212 206 6700); and APT (419 West 13 St. 0212 414 42 45)-a trendy bar/club located in the city’s equally hip Meatpacking District. 

CLUB
As curious fun lovers, we found no other place delivers the clubbing experience that Pink Elephant (527 West 27th St. 0212 463 0000) does.  Look your hottest, and you’ll be guaranteed tons of fun and high quality, high energy dancing. 
Other hot NY nightlife spots are Marquee (289 10th Ave. 0646 473 0202), Cain (544 W 27th St. 0212 947 8000) and Bungalow 8 (515 W 27th St. 0212 629 3333).  Happy Clubbing, sinners!

SHOP
With the dollar so weak, now’s time to top off your vacation with a shopping spree, right?   Wander around Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, you’ll be shop-till-you-drop toute de suite.  Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are for pretty much everything; ABC Carpet & Home for gifts and furniture, Saks Fifth and Sephora for beauty & cosmetics.  
If you’re more of an indie type, head to St Marks Place where you’ll find comic books, or to Broadway between Canal & Houston to find chic shoes, dresses and wear’n’ go garments.  Most fashionistas tend also to flock to outlets outside Manhattan, most notably Woodbury Common (498 Red Apple Court, Central Valley. 0845 928 4000) and Jersey Gardens (651 Kapkowski Road, Elizabeth, NJ) for designer wear at incredibly low prices.
And, heck, why not be a New Yoker with a visit to Urban Outfitters (628 Broadway. 0212 475 0009) while you’re at it.

SLEEP

After all that eatin’, drinkin’, dancin’ and shoppin’, you gotta sleep somewhere, right?  Why not make that memorable, too?  Hudson, Mercer, Gansevoort, SoHo Grand (310 West Broadway. 0212 965 3000) are all but a few of NY’s hippest hotels.  
Affordable alternatives abound in the Times Sq. area; check out yelp.com for details.
If staying for more than just a couple of days, one other place you can ‘check in’ is Country Inn the City (270 West 77th St. 0212 580 4183); a bed&breakfast, self-contained studio apartment with a private kitchenette.  Give it a try (and let us know your experience!)

So, what do you think?  One exciting date, huh? 

Contributed by Doga ‘Dee’ Kayalar.