Help me decide! Museums and dining! Day trip in NYC!

Hi all,

First post on this board ( so bear w/me if long winded).

Going to NYC solo for a day trip ( via train in the next 2 weeks) and considering doing a museum or 2, 1 maybe 2 restaurants (breakfast or early lunch, and apps or dinner) and a bar or 3.

Considering to do the following tour(s) and need to narrow this down:

Met Museum, MoMa, Grand Central Station, Top of the Rock, Empire State Building,or Madison Square Garden Tour.

Dining/drinks ( I know some of these places dont serve liquor). REALLY need some help here to narrow thing down:

Places i am considering:

Shake Shack, De Rosina, Katz deli,Havana Chelsea lunch, Burger Bar, Big Nicks, Lil Frankies, Acme and Carmines.

I thank you in advance for all your help and AM open to other suggestions (even moreso) if i can combine things that are nearby.

J

Help me decide! Museums and dining! Day trip in NYC!

If you like more traditional/representational art and antiquities - the Metropolitan Museum

(although there is a Jasper Johns exhibit now and some modern art in their collection)

If your taste leans more toward 19th-20th century modern art - MoMA. If you like more modern than that, I%26#39;d go to the Whitney for the Bienniale.

Grand Central is worth a 20 minute stop if you%26#39;re in the neighborhood (take a look at the Chrysler Bldg too, as long as you%26#39;re there)

Of your restaurant list, I%26#39;d go to Shake Shack if the weather is good. Acme is also fun (havent been in years). Havana Chelsea is around the corner and I%26#39;ve never been there.

Help me decide! Museums and dining! Day trip in NYC!

I sense your excitement but you%26#39;ve really got way too much on your plate for a day trip imo. Set some priorities on what%26#39;s most important to you for this trip. The places you list for eating are not near any of the sights you list. So are the sights or the eats more important? Will you have other opportunities for day trips? The things you list are all over Manhattan and some of the tours (like Grand Central) are only given on certain days at certain hours.

If you can come on a Fri. there%26#39;s a free Grand Central tour at 12:30 and both the Met Museum and MOMA are open late. I can really only do 1 museum in a day before reaching overload. MOMA is smaller and in midtown (not too far from Top of the Rock). So on a Fri. you could do Top of the Rock, Grand Central Tour, MOMA and have some food and drink. Carmine%26#39;s serves HUGE portions (family style) so really not a good option if you%26#39;re dining alone. If you meant the Burger Joint, that%26#39;s not too far from MOMA so that%26#39;s an option.

PS If you%26#39;re really into food, a great way to taste a lot of different things, esp. if you%26#39;re alone is to do one of the foodsofny.com walking tours. They not only let you sample lots of things you couldn%26#39;t buy on your own, but you also learn about different areas of the city. There%26#39;s also a lower east side free tour on Sun. mornings that meets at 11 am. in front of Katz%26#39;s deli that might be another idea.

I would drop the MSG tour unless you%26#39;re a diehard Knicks fan. (In which case, my sympathies.) I would also take Top of the Rock over the Empire State Building. It%26#39;s a nicer experience and tends to be a quicker one as well. But I agree with Whiz--it would be hard to do this and go to two museums in the same day.

Will you be coming from Connecticut on the Metro North train? If so, you%26#39;ll get out at Grand Central, so you may as well take the opportunity to poke around a little.

Carnegie Deli is close to MoMA if a New York deli experience is what you%26#39;re after.

If you do want to try both museums on the same day and you take the Metro North early enough, you could get out at Grand Central, ogle it for a bit, then walk up to MoMA when it opens (at 10:30). After a couple of hours there, you could walk over to Carnegie Deli, have a gargantuan, heart-attack-inducing sandwich, then either walk through Central Park to the Met or take the R, W, or E train across town to the 6 train and take that to the Met (86th is the closest stop). After the Met you could take the 6 down to 23rd and go to Shake Shack for dinner (if it%26#39;s nice). Then the 6 back to Grand Central and Metro North home. That would be a long, exhausting day, but it%26#39;s not impossible.

Note that the Met is closed on Mondays and MoMA is closed on Tuesdays.

concealer