A Visit to New York City and a Langenscheidt Map Giveaway

BlogHer is in less than two weeks and I’ve been reading all the #BlogHer10 tweets about what to do, what to see, where to eat, where to go in New York City.  Here I’d like to talk about a visit to New York City and a Langenscheidt Map Giveaway.

I love, love, love New York City.  I’ve been living here a while now, so I certainly know what’s going on.  Here’s my quick hit list of what not to miss on your visit during BlogHer.  (Please note that I made this list with solo travel in mind, thinking that most of you are leaving your kids at home).

What you should see:

Museums to hit:

Metropolitan Museum of Art (currently on exhibit: Picasso), Modern Museum of Art (catch their current Matisse exhibit), the Guggenheim (go see the Kandinsky exhibit), the Jewish Museum (free on Saturdays), the Frick Collection, Brooklyn Museum.

Note: Thursday nights at the MOMA are spectacular!  Jazz in the sculpture garden, glass of wine – don’t miss it!

Great Indie Film Houses:

The Film Forum, Angelika Film Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music


What neighborhoods to check out:

Lower East Side, East Village, West Village, Park Slope, Williamsburg, Fort Green, Red Hook, Upper West Side, Gramercy Park, Astoria, Long Island City, Theatre District, Chelsea, Chinatown, Soho, Meat Packing District, Harlem.

Where you should eat:

For really nice group dinners: Little Giant, Market Table, The Spotted Pig (love this place, great scene, great food), Falai, Peasant, Public, Tanoreen (amazing Middle Eastern food in the heart of Brooklyn), SriPraPhai (the best Thai food outside Thailand), Lucali, Buttermilk Channel, Good Fork, Convivio, Tabla (upscale Indian), Little Owl, Grimaldi’s

For cheap eats: Katz’s Deli (old-fashioned Jewish deli) , Luke’s Lobster (best lobster outside Cape Cod), Momofuko, Shake Shack (best burgers), , the Hummus Place (best hummus), Taim in the West Village (best falafel in the city), Milk & Cookies (ice-cream), Chat & Chew (cheap homemade food), Momofuko Milk Bar (best ice-cream in the city, Bianca, (Italian) Frank (Italian), Max (Italian), Haru (sushi), the Grand Sichuan (best Chinese), Veselka (great breakfast), Tea & Sympathy (for great English fare), Salt & Battery (for supreme fish & chips), Northern Spy Co.


Good bars:

Water Taxi South Street Seaport, Brooklyn Bowl, the bar on top of the Peninsula Hotel (not far from the Hilton), the bar in the Paramount Hotel, the Boat Basin on the Upper West Side, Max Fish, Kush, Pianos, Cake Shop.

Note: Drinks on top of the Rooftop Garden and Martini Bar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the ultimate NYC experience.

Summer events to explore:

Brooklyn Flea, Shakespeare in the Park, Central Park Summer Stage, Rooftop Films, Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center, concerts at River to River Festival, movies in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Bryant Park , Lincoln Center Out of Doors.


Note: The Goodbye Girl is showing on Monday, August 9th at Bryant Park; Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are playing Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Saturday, August 7th at 7pm.  Gates open at 6pm; the Mark Morris Dance Group performs on Thursday, August 5th.  The Arcade Fire are playing on Thursday, August 5th at Radio City Music Hall.

What plays should you see?

Shakespeare in the Park, a Broadway musical like American Idiot, Come Fly Away, In the Heights, A Little Night Music, Next to Normal or a drama like Race (both fabulous) something off-Broadway like Love, Loss & What I Wore (so much fun).


Note: For half-price tickets, go to www.tdf.org – the TDF booth is located in Times Square – or follow the Theater Development Fund on Twitter @tdfnyc for daily updates on what’s available.  After the show, go to Sardi’s for a drink in this legendary theater district restaurant where all the Broadway stars, directors and producers dine.

Need a map for your trip to BlogHer 2010 to help with navigation from one event to another?  The Culture Mom Blog, together with the team at Langenscheidt Publishing, has 15 maps available for the first 15 readers to respond to this post.  All you have to do is leave your contact information (preferably your Twitter address) in the space below.  I will email you and we will decide whether you want the map mailed to you before BlogHer or if you want to meet me at the registration booth on the first day of the conference.  You can choose from the following three pocket-sized, folded New York City maps:

Winners will be announced as they occur on Twitter.

Disclosure: These maps are being provided by Langenscheidt Publishing for the giveaway, but I was not asked to write a review.  The opinions presented above are my own.