Headed to the Big Apple for an Easter weekend with the family. Staying in the Marriott downtown near Times Square and doing all of the traditional "tourist" things with a bunch of (4) teens and pre-teens. Not really my cup-o-tea, but parental responsibilities force such things occasionally (clearly, my wife doesn't want my boy to turn out to be such a "throwback" hillbilly like me).

Any "dos" or "don'ts"?

Sure hope the terrorist-types take the weekend off.

The three story Beretta Gallery on Madison is nice place to visit. The guns are on the uppermost floor. Last time I was there they only had some new Beretta gallery guns and rack of plastic stocked Sakos and Tikkas but no second-hand classic guns. Nice place to get clothing if you can afford them. There is Holland & Holland gallery someplace near NYC Public Library, but I have never went inside to take a look. The subway system and bus system makes driving unnecessary which is very nice. The Manhattan Island where tourists frequent is very safe place. If you on a subway and want to look like a local don't look around just pick on spot on ceiling or opposite side and keep staring at that one spot.

Go to Peter Lugar for steak and a martini.

The Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station is a pretty good restaurant, but you can't go wrong with any corner mom and pop deli that looks like there's a line at the counter. Depending on their interest, the kids might like the various sports related stores, some have museum like displays not just shopping. "Do" keep it to just a weekend, and "don't" go back. Naw, just kidding, have fun with your gang.

Katz's Deli on Houston street is famous and it is landmark. You will be in Greewich village then (just called the village). Pastrami on rye with mustard and cole slaw is amazing. You get on line once you are in and order at the counter and bring to your table yourself. tip the guy making you sandwich. they usually put pieces of pastrami on the counter to munch while you are waiting him to make it.

Lots of museums.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Don't bring a gun!

Craigd: 2nd time I've been told about the oyster bar at Grand Central, thanks! Yea, don't like spending any money there (not a DeBlasio fan) but whadaya do? Hope my son figures it out.

builder: got it on the guns.....

Peter Lugar's is one of the great steak houses around, unfortunately not in a good location to get to.

Builder, how was your trip to China?

Another vote for the Oyster Bar. Very good.

David,
Amazing trip that was clearly subsidized by China. they are on a roll and we are standing still. Scary. Wonderful trip. Will you be at the Southern?
Milt

This has jogged my memory about a guy that used to post on here ages ago, who owned a nice upscale restaurant in NYC. He had a matched pair of doubles built by a maker called White, I believe?..................English, or Scottish? Peter White, maybe? Too long ago, I cannot remember the maker's name exactly.

Does anyone remember him besides me, and if he is still in the restaurant business?

SRH

Here's one for the kids; take them ax throwing. Kick Axe is nearby in hip Brooklyn, super safe, each group has a range with fences and their own range officer. Make reservations.
Dinosaur BBQ is 2 blocks away, good eats.
Both places are on the web.

Stan,

I think you may be referring to Wayne Nish. He had a pair of boxlocks built by T.R. White. I don't know when he stopped posting, but it has probably been 10 plus years.

Ken

That's him!! You da' man, Ken. What a memory you've got. Wonder if he still owns the restaurant.

T.R..... Peter ..............was I a little close?

Just looked him up, he last posted 7-23-07. 10 1/2 yrs. Wow.

SRH

Apologies, Lloyd, for the OT post.

SRH

Not so off topic Stan. Dinner at the March might have been a treat for Lloyd and his family.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/30/arts/diner-s-journal.html>

I have been doing a little research on Wayne, and it seems he has been a busy boy. He has opened several new restaurants since being an active member here, and the last (I think) is an upscale hamburger place in Soho.

Google him ...........interesting reading.

SRH

It's all good Stan. No worries.

Eat a potato knish from a street vendor.

What is a potato knish?

Kids love old dark expensive restaurants! Don't forget to take a grand in cash to Bklyn, PL doesn't take credit cards. Sheesh.

Take 'em to the Village, walk around Washington Square and NYU. Go to the World Trade Center memorial. The Metropolitan Museum and/or Modern Art. Bring comfy shoes, if the weather's good NYC is a walking town, 5th and 6th Avenues in midtown are amazing, St Patricks is on 5th. +1 on the Oyster Bar, and Grand Central is worth the trip.
Don't go to the top of the Empire State Building, the wait in security lines can be more than an hour.

1. If you like cooking and can't seem to find the spices, etc. you need while out in the hinterlands, pay a visit to Kalustyan's on Lexington Avenue, about 26th or 27th. https://foodsofnations.com/ (Just up from the Fighting 69th's Armory on the other side of the Avenue) If there's a spice, a curry, a whatever ingredient for cooking, they likely have it. All the foodies in NYC wind up going there at some point or another, as do most chefs. Also, if you like Indian food, that whole neighborhood is chock full of good, cheap (by NYC standards) Indian/South Asian restaurants. It seems every time I wind up in NYC I also make a stop there.
2. Union Square Farmer's Market, Saturday mornings. Pricey and it gets crowded, but if you get there early it's a good place to get a little something to eat.
3. Flying Tiger, a little shop on Broadway about 20th. It's sort of the old Spencer Gifts but with a Danish flair. It's a good place to get tsotschkes for stocking-stuffers and a place kids will get a kick out of.
4. Patisserie Claude. West Village institution, not quite the same since Claude handed it off, but still damn good. https://www.yelp.com/biz/patisserie-claude-new-york
5. If you fly-fish, the Urban Angler. They've moved (again) to 5th Avenue between 35 and 36th streets, the side opposite the Empire State Building. They're on the 2nd floor and it's a bit of a rigamarole to find your way in, but worth the visit.
6. And there's always Central Park. Great for walking.

Wear walking shoes and bundle up - this time of year the wind can really howl and make your life miserable.

Don't take a gun. (It's SOP for hotel people to call the police on you) Don't take a knife. Seriously. When it comes to knives, the police have intramural contests trying to flip them open with one hand and they get really good at it. If they can, then it's considered a switchblade and you're in serious trouble.

being a tourist in manhattan is like swimmin wid da fishes in da ocean...you should be ok if you stay in the middle o de school wid duh utter fishes...however, if you find yourself on the edge o de school or worse, alone...den you are vulnerable to da predators...and above all...do not make eye contact with anyone you do not know...and have a nice time...

and as to the knish...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knish

and as i remember, a nyc knish is like mashed potatoes and onions in fried doe...

All things considered, not a place I want to be.

SRH

stan: visiting manhattan with loved ones in the spring and fall can be a wonderful experience...one just needs to be careful and avoid dangerous situations...lived above there and worked in and around there for almost forty years...never had a problem...

Knock yourself out.

SRH

The house that Teddy built....The American Museum of Natural History.

There are very few, if any, remaining "dangerous" places in Manhattan, especially south of 96th. Quite simply, Manhattan is now a gated community for very rich people and the few of the servant class allowed to live there so they are close to the masters they serve. If you stay out of the few remaining poor neighborhoods, the most dangerous things are getting hit in a crosswalk or falling off a subway platform. You can walk down the Bowery and see fashionably-dressed women pushing expensive Euro-modern-design baby carriages but you will not see bums. You can walk through Times Square on a warm evening and have no one jostle you - the crowds are largely a thing of the past.

BTW, by turning it into this gated community, TPTB have also managed to kill the city's vitality. But, like a great old tree, even though it's already dead it hasn't realized it yet.

dave: your description of today's well to do manhattan neighborhoods could easily be applied to most any other era...

and your tree analogy is spot on...the growth, decline and renewal of manhattan neighborhoods is truly like the branches of an old tree, that may never die...

NYC is a great place to visit. I would not want to live there though. A second vote for the natural history museum, absolutely one of the best I have been to. Only rivaled by the British Museum in London I would say. I hear the Jewish deli's are declining rapidly, what a shame. Hard to beat a hot pastrami on rye.

Holland & Holland no longer have a presence in NYC (bad info posted earlier in this thread - imagine that). They moved their USA gunroom to Dallas, TX.

Beretta Gallery is still open though and would make for a great stop. See if you can take a look of Hemingway's Beretta 12 gauge O/U that is there.

I would second the American Museum of Natural History. There are also some gun collections to be found there.

As for restaurants there are so many great restaurants, some already mentioned, I would not know where to start.

As a resident of Manhattan, I add my vote for the Museum of Natural History and the Oyster Bar. At the Oyster Bar, I recommend Oysters Rockefeller, which are oysters baked with a delicious sauce. I have had them several times and think they are great. If you happen to be in lower Manhattan, visiting the World Trade Center Memorial, you may pass the Federal Reserve Building on Maiden Lane. If you go that way, say a brief vintage gun lover's prayer, because the Maiden Lane side of the Federal Reserve building is where Patrick Mullin's gunmaking shop used to be located! One of the very best American gunmakers, trained in London and Dublin, who moved to NYC and made the finest sporting guns in the era of Teddy Roosevelt and earlier.

once had a double percussion gun with mullin marked lock plates and the maiden lane address on the top rib. as i recall the barrels had english proofs...

any other mullin marked guns that come to mind?...did he ever make breech loaders?

what about other nyc based double gun makers?

Here's an oddball suggestion sure to roll family eyeballs: New York's Marble Cemetery will be open Easter Day. Theodore Gordon, the father of the American school of dry fly fishing is buried there. It's a small walled cemetery with New York notables among the occupants. http://www.marblecemetery.org/
Gil

dont go at night...

In the FWIW column, New York was way-better than I thought it would be. Even though it was perpetually a mob-scene, I never felt unsafe (lots of security everywhere, even armed military). We hired a young man who was an excellent guide (an under-employed architect) and it was almost non-stop action. Learned some great history about this country's founding (Faunce's Tavern was neat). The food was fun and very good, the hotel was also fun (but $$$$!). All in all, it wasn't what I had expected. Never made it to Beretta (closed on Sunday). Walked an average of 7-miles per day (even riding the subways). The kids had fun and the adults did too.

The view from 104 floors up:


The Lady at night from the Staten Island Ferry:


The somber stuff...

Lloyd, glad you had a great time. I was there last May and was also atop the One World Trade Center as you were. The highlight for me was watching a Peregrine falcon eyeball-to-eyeball as it seemingly hovered 25 yards away against the strong head wind looking for a pigeon 104 floors below. First one I'd ever seen.
Gil

great that you had a good visit to the big apple!

My wife and I had a trip to NYC scheduled two weeks ago. Our flight was canceled due to the impending snow storm. We regrouped and drove to New Orleans instead. We'll have to save New York for another time. Disappointed but I learned a lot in the planning process. I'll have a head start on the next attempt.

I can't recommend enough the young man that was our guide. His ability to gauge the interests of our diverse group (at least age-wise) and his depth of knowledge of the history of the City was quite remarkable. He adapted perfectly to the changing weather conditions we encountered, gave us a primer on using the subway system, knew where to go to avoid the worst of the crowds, and also where to try the best foods for the best prices. His sense of history, current culture, and trends in the various neighborhoods was also quite impressive. He clearly loves his city and wanted to impress us with what it had to offer. Surprisingly, he was a conservative New Yorker as well, and our conversations were fun and very insightful.

Next time, see if he guides South Dakota pheasant! Naw, glad you folks had a great time.

Lloyd great pictures, thanks for sharing.

your pictures of central park and atlas, with st patrick's in the background, bring back fond memories of good times past...thank you...anymore manhattan pics you care to post would be appreciated...

and your comment regarding your guides conservative views just proves that new york is a wonderfully diverse society...why there are even people there from outer space...one can often find them selling rolex watches and umbrellas on 42nd street...

New York is clearly all about "money", and that attracts every sex, color, & creed of humanity. Being raised in rural (& semi-rural) hillbilly-hell tends to bias one somewhat against big cities in general, but... it would be a major disservice to one's full-appreciation of life's many options to not experience it. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere" really does apply in this case. A "Meritocracy" is a very good thing to have and... we still do it better in America than anywhere else. Warts and all.

There are interesting odds and ends in New York and places like it, but day in and day out life does not seem to be such a great thing from my point of seeing it. Our kid that lived there for three years was really excited to head there, but more than ready to move on when the time came. Watching routine life there can look very limiting and monotonous.

It's a people watching city. No better place in NA.
Times square on a nice day, wow.

Lloyd, did you try a knish?

My observation is that the apartments are so small in a vertical city, that everyone expands their space by living outside their apartment. Hence the myriad of people out and about, the places to go and things to do. Beats sitting in a box 20 floors up.

One of the great waterfowling and shorebird hunting areas in North America during the late 1800s early 1900s was just across the bay from Manhattan in Jamaica Bay, east of Brooklyn and west of Queens. It's now an 18,000 acre refuge and a NYC park all as big as Manhattan. My daughter has lived and worked in Brooklyn for almost 3 years and it has some beautiful, self-contained neighborhoods and we have enjoyed the visits there. Gil

CZ: never ran into one. I do have some limiting issues with my diet (souvenirs from a bad tick-bite), but I would have loved to try one. Food seems very different to me there now from the last visit I had there (35-years ago). Much cleaner and more business-like (& almost always $20). It felt much-safer too (way-better than DC). Lots of security around (if you looked for them, mostly well blended-in).

I think that was my somewhat disappointment when I visited. I'd see the same people in the morning come out of the front door of the apartment, maybe get a coffee or bagel within a block, and then I assume off to work. In the evening, the same folks, pick up a small sack of groceries or take out food, then back up stairs and do it all over the next day.

In many apartments, everyone hangs a bag of dirty laundry on their door knob, then a service charges them by the pound to wash clothes. I've watched old timers struggle to walk up a few flights of stairs because of rent control they can't afford to move from the place that they used to dash up the stairs when they were younger. In some of the name hotels, you can sit on the corner of the bed and touch the bathroom door and dresser. It's not exaggerating to note that the overwhelming majority are very rude and impatient.

I think places to go and things to do is a myth that tourists come up with. I'd go bonkers myself much beyond a few day visit, but I suppose that's just me. Maybe, outside living would be more pleasant if the jerks would just lay off their car horns. Alrighty, that was fun.

It's not just you, craigd. As a young man I once bemoaned a 28 mile drive (each way) to town to get something I needed, to a friend. He replied "One day you'll be thankful you live as far from town as you do." I understand that now, and...........I am.

SRH

When you're young and strong & hungry (& lonely?), the Big Apple offers a lot of opportunities to meet those needs. After you've honed your skills (& maybe piled up some cash?) you can always throttle-back and head out into the country to enjoy your assets a bit. That seems to be how lots of folks plan & then do it. I can't imagine being any older than I already am and actually living there, trying to maintain that frenetic pace the place seems to run at. Very high-energy, which can be fun when you're a youngster. Definitely not for old dogs.

I've a great friend from Charleston who, for about ten years, made the longest commute I ever knew of. His wife practices medicine in Charleston, and he worked for an import company. He'd fly to NYC every Sunday evening, work five days in Manhattan, then fly home to Charleston each Friday evening.

SRH

Stan, here's a longer commute: a local couple moved to NYC after winning the Pulitzer for Journalism-editorial writing for their newspaper the defunct Georgia Gazette competing against the NY and LA Times in 1984. Marjorie became CEO of The Economist and then the parent Pearson Group and commuted to London weekly one way on the Concorde and back on a Jumbo on which she could work in first class. Gil

and then there was the young lady from manhattan who went to chicago for a job interview...as she was sitting in the hiring manager's office, near the top of the sears tower, she was looking out the window at lake michigan, when the manager asked, so how do you think you would like living in chicago? she replied: i guess i could get used to a small town...