NYC TBT LIST
A running list of my “to be tried!”
Librae bakery
Saturday’s the store
Eileen’s special cheesecake
NYC
Let me tell you about some of my favorite spots in NYC <3
This is not an exhausted list of all the wonderful places and things that I have had the chance to do in New York City over the years, but rather a list of some of my current favorites & travel secrets…. I think of this as an ever evolving NYC journal.
Let’s begin with the most important topic…FOOD.
Russ and Daughters for authentic Bagel and Lox (no seating)
Bagel Pub in The Village - a favorite!
Sarah Beth’s for brunch
Pizza
John’s - more of a tourist spot, but a nice sit down option
Two Bro’s near Broadway
Ray’s near Times Square (has seating)
DO NOT go to champions, nice people bad pizza
any $1.50 nameless pizza place I have popped into has been excellent
Stage Door near 911 memorial (has seating)
Justino’s Pizza on Pear St. near Governor’s Island Ferry & Statin Island Ferry (has seating) - get the spinach artichoke pizza!!
Luke’s under the Brooklyn Bridge for Lobster Rolls (on my to be tried list)
Anthony & Sons for specialty sandwiches in Brooklyn
Juniors for dinner and/or cheesecake (The one by The Lion King show has a separate cheesecake space if you do not want meal) … okay this one is a tourist spot but still good!
Serendipity for frozen Hot Chocolate (a tourist stop for the movie)
Chelsea Market (perfect for a group with multiple options & there’s local shopping)
Dö for ice cream shop style edible cookie dough
Magnolia Bakery (banana pudding on my to be tried list)
Ladureé for Macarons on upper east side
Ferrara Bakery in Little Italy for a cannoli
Levain Cookies (a thick cookie)
Jaques Torres chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie in Brooklyn ( a thin cookie)
Gooey on the inside Cookies (on my to be tried list)
Momofuku Ramen - currently obsessed with their hand rolls and chilled spicy ramen
E.A.K ramen is so so good! West village & Times Square location
Catch Steakhouse (on my to be tried list)
Trattoria Dell’arte in Midtown near central park
Ralph’s Coffee in the Flatiron district (I had the peppermint latte)
Lenwich (the viral chicken caesar salad wrap- its viral for a reason!)
Sunday’s Well - a cute bar in Rose Hill
Aaaaand that’s just a few of the places I have eaten. There are so many great places to try in the city, so if there’s not a recommendation close by search food near me on Apple Maps! That is how I have found so many places!
Must do, not touristy stops:
Friends is a funky little shop in Brooklyn (however, they do have some “unique” things I do not want haha iykyk)
L Train Vintage in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Charm (they have a main location in Brooklyn, but also have on in Chelsea Market) make reservations online before you go!
New York or Nowhere for high end souvenirs
QC spa on Governors Island ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS
C.O. Bigelow Apothecary in The Village for unique hair accessories
Books A Million in the Flat Iron District
Dave’s Clothing
Harney & Son tea shop in SoHo
SoHo is the BEST location for a shopping day!
Midtown has a lot of the same stores, but the crowd is a bit smaller in SoHo! There’s more of the trending stores in this area vs. larger names & typical luxury brands you find in Midtown
I will continue to add to this list every time I go! I have finally had the chance to venture out of the typical tourist stops and these were my favorite trip to date!
Easy ways to see the statue of Liberty without going up close are the Staten Island Ferry, Govenor’s Island (walk past QC spa and around Castle WIlliams and you can see her without any crowds for a $4 ferry ride), and the downtown walking path near the ferries (this is the quickest option if you do not want to dedicate a lot of time).
The Lion King will always and forever be my favorite show on Broadway — but children under 3 are not allowed in the theater.
The Brooklyn Bridge is a must see but walking cross her can be a major feat if you have already walked all over the city - I learned this from experience haha! Not to mention the crowd walking across was a little too much. You can get iconic pictures of the bridge from both sides by taking a subway or uber and avoiding the crowd. If you want THE DUMBO picture be prepared that there will be tons of tourists in your photos.
At 11:57 Times Square takes away all of their current adds and replaces it with Art for a few minutes! If you’re late you will miss it!
Hotel Grand Union is my favorite boutique hotel, but there are great chain hotels to stay in too. If you are here to learn how to avoid the crowds, do not stay in Times Square! If you want to feel a little more local I recommend staying in The Village.
If you are going in the winter around Christmas, keep in mind that their cold is muuuuuch colder than our TN cold….even if the temps do not look that cold, it is cold! And if you go in the middle of the summer heat, it will stink!
My most import tip is to make the most of your time there. Take a moment before your trip to make a list of all your must see spots, and then you can see what is in the same area and do all of those activities together. This will keep you from spending so much of your time traveling back and forth, and it will also help you decide whether you can walk, tax, or subway there. Any chance I get, I typically try to walk because you will get to see so much more of the city this way, and you may discover something fun or unique along the way. If you need to take a car, Ubers, Lyfts, and Taxis are always different prices so check their apps before you book a ride to compare prices.
The airports will have a line of taxis waiting to take you into the city, so that is the easiest way to get to your hotel. Newark and JFK do have a trains that will take you into the city for transfers to subway trains. Taxis & Ubers can run over $100 before tip from the airport to the city, so it is always nice to have an alternative. LGA also now offers an uber shuttle that can save you lots of money!
The subways are complicated but if you pay attention to signs and directions of the train you can figure it out! I always use Apple Maps with the transit option and it will get me anywhere. Citymapper is also a great one for subway travel but I wouldn’t recommend it for walking directions. Have your credit card connected to your apple wallet for easiest subway entrances so you can just tap and go (if you do not have the card on you apple wallet you can also use a tap and pay credit card). You can still currently purchase metro cards if you want that keep sake but those will not be an option for much longer. If you use the same credit or debit card for every entrance you will save money and earn free rides by the end of a week.
There are so many wonderful things to see, do, and eat while you are in the greatest city! Make the trip suit you and your lifestyle, and you are bound to have fun! Your trip does not have to look like every other persons online. Be you. Be unique.
NYC is where my heart is.
Truly, I ❤️ NY.
xoxo,
Danielle
Email contactbemagnifiedco@gmail.com for me to plan your trip!
P.S. Please forgive any grammatical errors this post may have! When I get excited I tend to overlook those things haha