The third of a month that I spent in some cities in the U.S. East Coast went by relatively slowly, which was great! I really felt like I saw, did, and ate a lot. Here are my recommendations and reviews of things I did and places I ate. P.S. I had loads and loads of fun. Vacations and trips rule.
New York:
Overall, New York City was not what I expected. It was just another big city. 5th Avenue wasn't even as impressive as I thought it would be. I had fun though... oh, and people need to stop honking already! They also need to stop and let firetrucks and ambulances pass by!!!
Korea Town - We found ourselves in Korea / Japan Town while we were exploring the streets of New York City. The area is lined with Korean/Japanese restaurants and a supermarket. Not knowing which restaurant would be the best, we just selected WonJo Restaurant, which had an upstairs and downstairs. We ate downstairs. The food was relatively (compared to Bay Area) expensive for small portions. The pancake was SIMPLY DELICIOUS! $17 for a small pancake. We picked up some drinks and snacks at the Korean market, which I believe was either right next door to WonJo or only a couple of doors down. If you want to see where a lot of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese people hang out at night, this would be a good area to eat and drink.
Times Square - What would a visit to New York be without visiting Times Square? It wasn't what I expected. Although the night lights were nice. When other stores in the city are closed, you can bet that the Times Square ones are still open. We had dinner at Virgil's in Times Square. We heard the restaurant had good ribs but I thought they were too dry. I did enjoy the jalapeno poppers, corn dogs (minus the weird sauce), wings, and macaroni and cheese, however. The chili fries were decent. We ate at Maxie's Restaurant for lunch because we saw their ginormous portions on television. You pay for what you get. Symon's sandwich was at least 5 1/2 inches high. My crab cake sandwich was huge and came with three large crab cakes. I highly recommend Maxie's Restaurant.
5th Avenue - It's just streets with nice stores. Other than that, it was not as impressive as I thought it would be.
David Letterman & Rupert Gee - I took a picture outside David Letterman's CBS studio. If you want to visit Rupert Gee, his deli is just around the corner from the Letterman Studio. Hello Deli is a small deli with four tables and a small counter. While I was eating there, at least 10 people came into the deli to take pictures of videos of Rupert Gee. He has to be one of the most photographed men in NYC. We ate "The Letterman" and "Big Ass" sandwiches. They were both pretty good.
Museum of Modern Art - Thanks to my dear friend, LL, I found out that MOMA had free admission Friday nights from 4:00-8:00. I'm passing this information on to another future NYC tourist. The line looks long, but you get in pretty quickly. We arrived between 4:15 to 4:30 and got in within 15 minutes. Don't let the long line discourage you. Free admission was good because I thought MOMA was only okay.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - Now, this on the other hand, was a GREAT museum. I loved it. It was my cup of tea.
Time Warner Center - I heard this place is either newly remodeled or relatively new. Anyway, the most expensive restaurants are purported to be located inside the center. When you step into the Center, you are greeted by really fat and naked man and woman statues. Visit the Samsung store; you can send photographs of yourself on online postcards to friends and family.
Statue of Liberty Cruise - I highly recommend this cruise. You get a great close up view of the Statue of Liberty, which I heard isn't open to the public (Can anyone confirm or disconfirm this?) . The cruise takes you around to look at a bunch of islands, buildings, etc. I think it's about two hours long and comes with commentary from a live person (not just some recording).
Ground Zero of World Trade Center - If you're in NYC, you have to stop by this site. There's not much to see, but it's part of our history. That rhymed.
Empire State Building - Plenty of photo opportunities atop this building. It overlooks the city.
United Nations Headquarters - Unauthorized people are not allowed to visit the building on the weekends. The flags of the nations were not even up. I bet the Headquarters would have looked spectular had all the flags been up.. like at Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center - There is an ice skating rink (smaller than Central Park) in the middle. Fans of NBC shows can visit the NBC store right next to the rink. All the colorful flags really made this Center festive.
Central Park - I'm a huge fan of Law & Order. I wonder if they film inside Central Park. Is it true that Central Park used to have a high crime rate? It seemed quiet and calm while I was there. I didn't explore the whole park; it's supposed to be blocks and blocks! I did check out the ice-skating rink though!
Chinatown/Little Italy - My coworkers told me that people put their trash right in front of their houses and stores in NY. I didn't really notice it until I toured around Chinatown and Little Italy. Wow.. piles and piles of trash out front.
Soup Kitchen - Alas, this place is closed! The website states that the owner is on an "extended trip." That was too bad. Symon was very disappointed. We did take some pictures of the outside though. The place was newspapered-up.
Gray's Papaya - My cousin recommended this place and said the drinks and hot dogs are great. The drink options are good! I had a pina colada. The hot dogs are pretty cheap too.
White Castle - Who watched "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle"? Well, White Castle is down the street from Gray's Papaya and was another place my cousin recommended. White Castle was pretty good. I had a cheeseburger and a jalapeno burger. I like the jalapeno one better. You can order suitcases (ok, they're actually cardboard boxes that are shaped like suitcases) of White Castle burgers in increments of 30, 50, or 100.
Subway System - I saw one rat walking on the tracks, but that was it. I didn't ride the subway that much but I can say that I know my way around it pretty well! I got a chance to study the maps. :) Speaking of rats, the Taco Bell was invested with rats at a NYC Taco Bell. I passed by it after it had been closed. How gross is that?! Rats were doing chin ups on the Taco Bell sign inside the store. :X Seriously. The news footage showed a rat doing chin ups.
Shopping: Manhattan Mall - Steve & Barry's is inside. Need I say more?
Century 21 - I didn't get to go to this department store, but I was told it's a really good store and has a lot of designer brands for cheaper. I saw a lot of people carrying the shopping bags.
Brooklyn - I hung out with my cousin one of the nights, and he showed me around Brooklyn. If anyone is interested in having some of the best NY pizzas, eat at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. It was rated number one by Zagat.
This entry is long enough.. I will post about D.C., Pennsylvania, Niagara Falls, and Boston later.
No problem for the review/information. I just want to be able to pass on the information to other visitors. I was very happy with the recommendations/information I got from others.
