[madgeylou]

wow you're coming to my town! way cool!

when people come to visit me, i usually take them to a mixture of tourist-y things and local-y things.

fun touristy things:
* chinatown! it's bizarre and awesome!
* metropolitan museum of art. unparalleled. read "from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler" with the kids first and they will love it even more.
* american museum of natural history, especially the life sized blue whale model and the gem room.
* the ferris wheel inside toys'r'us, times square.
* times square in general. although, coming from vegas it might not be so impressive
* the staten island ferry. it's free and you get an awesome view of the city and of the statue of liberty.
* walk over the brooklyn bridge.
* carriage ride through central park at dusk. it's both cheesy and classic!

fun not-so-touristy things:
* jackson heights, queens = little india. sari shops, immense gold jewelry, and amazing indian food. i think there is a vegan place up there? not sure ...
* west side highway. great fun to rent bikes and ride all the way down the island
* brooklyn! home of the greatest rappers, artists, and hipsters on the planet. williamsburg is trendy and full of galleries and funky shops. park slope (where i live) has the most gorgeous brownstones and was the richest neighborhood in the US in 1890 -- has an unusual family-oriented/hippie/yuppie vibe and great food including an amazing vegan restaurant called the v-spot. brooklyn heights has more amazing architecture. prospect park rivals central park and is usually much less crowded. coney island is an american institution but not long for this world -- being "developed" very soon. sigh.
* take a pedicab down broadway. terrifying in a wonderful way!!
* wandering. the best things in new york are found by wandering. one of the best wanders can be had by starting at union square (try to make it to the saturday greenmarket), then wandering down broadway till you hit little italy and then chinatown. when you get to canal street, don't be alarmed by the madness -- just keep going south. chinatown gets better the further away from canal street you get. great fun!
* any girly girls in the party might appreciate a trip bergdorf's to ogle the pretty ($2,000) shoes, henri bendel's to ogle the pretty (expensive) everything else. it's a lot of fun to go into the fancy places like prada and gucci and touch things and see the salespeople glaring at you.

foodwise ...
* red bamboo is good. in the west village just off of the W4th subway stop. just ate there last night in fact. get the creole soul (fake) chicken.
* there's a vegetarian dim sum place in chinatown that's great (i think it's just called "vegetarian dim sum.")
* better burger on 44th and 8th ave (i think?) is good for veg*ns and omnis to eat at together.
* s'nice on 8th avenue has great sandwiches, soups, salads, cupcakes, and milkshakes
* i haven't eaten at many of the fancy veg*n places, but i hear that candle cafe is the best of the bunch.
* i've heard mixed reviews of zen palate
* falafel from the guy on the street is typically delicious and totally vegan if they hold the white sauce.

if i think of anything else i'll pop in and add it. i'd totally be up for meeting up too!