If you at all love french fries and think you've had the best... you need to visit:

Pommes Frites
123 Second Ave.; (212) 674-1234

I know its "just french fries" but its not. Its really the best fries in the entire country. Seriously, if you at all think you've had good french fries in your life, or want the best... Its a real treat.

Be prepared to wait on a line, but the line moves fast, and dont just eat them with ketchup. Try all of their sauces. It really is an amazing place to eat.

If you're interested in a burger, check out Jackson Hole. There are two that i know of in the city.

But as far as food in general.... you can get an amazing meal anywhere in the city. Its the food capital of the world i think. There is just so many great places too eat.

>best fries in the entire country

Sorry Fan - I grew up within walking distance of the original Nathans in Coney Island - I still think they are far and away the best fries anywhere!

j razz - In fact - if you have some time - Coney Island is still a hoot - And be sure to get a couple of hot dogs and those great fries at Nathans (Surf Avenue - you can't miss it).

If you need anything while in the city drop me a line (send me an email and I'll give you my phone number).

Bruce

Thanks guys and Bruce, I will do that just in case we get stuck or need some help deciphering New Yorkeese.

Thanks again guys

j razz

Jeremy - if you haven't left for NYC yet, send me an email:
steve at mmdv

Check your inbox Steve.

j razz

Vicmilt,

Do you have a web address for the World Yacht. I've done some searches and plenty come up, just not sure which one you are referring to. I also saw some sights offerring coupons and/or discounts. Just not sure which is which and where to get the cheapest price.
Thanks,

j razz

Don't bother going to see the Empire State Building.

It is just listed as a "tall office building" and bundled in with the anonymous rest by the DHS. Nothing special according to them, and they know best.

Course,

I have to agree with the report- can't be too careful when it comes to protecting the city that has the Cardinals in it :)

Oh, and don't worry, we are bringing a lot of duct tape, plastic sheeting and can goods just in case :)

j razz

http://www.worldyacht.com/

My friend just had her parents visit and they took a tour on the Circle Line which also has boat tours around the city. World Yacht, is a dinner cruise and more of an event. Circle Line should be cheaper, and is a good alternative, if you don't want to do the cruise at meal time. They enjoyed the Circle Line trip and said the guide was very entertaining and informative.

Are you in New York yet? If not bring your raincoat. Summer thunderstorms have rolled in early this year.

rjazz -
so when is the big trip taking place??

yeah the circle line is nice, fer sure - but in a four day vacation, the world yacht is a big "touch of class" for not too much dinero. I was suggesting it as an alternative to the rash of steak houses that was being proffered at the time.

Here's the link:
http://www.worldyacht.com/sitecontent.cfm?page=dining

Have a great trip.
v

so when is the big trip taking place??

We will be flying out this Monday from Nashville and staying through Friday night!

j razz

Tuesday Night Suggestion

I know where we will be Tuesday night! :)

Thanks man!

j razz

"Sorry Fan - I grew up within walking distance of the original Nathans in Coney Island - I still think they are far and away the best fries anywhere!"

Nathans fries are very good. I know them well.....

But you really need to try Pommes Frietz before writing them off.

They are freshly made right in the shop straight from the potato. They are similar to Nathans fries but crunchier.

The sauces there are amazing.

Belgian Frites are the original French Fries. They were mistakenly attributed to the French. They are fried, drained and then fried again at a higher temperature. It makes 'em extra crunchy.

Okay, we made it back to TN :)
We had a wonderful time in NYC. The hotel was located in the upper west side and lots of local shops all around that had fruits and juices and bagels etc. Never walked into a bad one- they all were good. We went to the firehouse grill and got the nachos for lunch on our first day there as it was not far from our hotel. Great suggestion- cheap, good and PLENTY on the plate! We went and saw the blue man group and skipped out on a broadway show. The blue man group was amazing- not just b/c they "make music" with odd conglomorations, but b/c they have an underlying message with their show- about art and music and performances and what consitutes such. Very good and one of my wife's favorite events during the trip. We also went atop the Empire State Building and a beautiful day when you could see for about 12 miles. Great view of the city. We went to Tiffany's just to say we went. We also went to schwarz- the toy store, the new underground Apple store and walked the Brooklyn Bridge to Grimaldi's (That day we walked to B&H from 77nd and Broadway to the Empire State Building to China Town, to the Brooklyn Bridge and then to Grimaldi's- that equals tired feet :)
Thanks to Bruce ie birdcat- we would have never found Grimaldi's had it not been for his help. We spent a lot of time asking people on the Manhattan side were Grimaldi's was and no one ever heard of it, we later found out it was on the Brooklyn side and well worth the trip. The Pizza was great- we got half cheese and half pepporoni and barely finished that along with a canoli. We took a cab back after that, which was good for our feet. We thought the Tuesday night mile long Musuem Tour was going on, but it is this coming week :( So we walked from there back to the hotel as it was getting late. The next two days it rained, so we picked up some umbrellas and went out in it. We went back to B&H b/c while we where there the day before the credit card system went down as we were in line to check out. I went to withdraw from the ATM and found got back in line only to discover that their cash system went down shortly after the credit card system did. They said to come back or order online and they would give free shipping. I came back and picked up some windjammers I was wanting and looked in awe at most of the things I would like to have and can't afford. The guy behind the information desk was a little strange- if he wasn't a hesitic jew, I would have sworn he was checking out my wife... and then me! But moving on, we went went to Ellis Island and the statue of Liberty- the rain let up right when we got to the island and were able to enjoy our time at both places.
We also went to the pasta place that has the imported cheese where the owner will come over and tell you about each piece. It was good and we enjoyed it, even though we couldn't understand the bulk of what the owner was saying- you wasn't kidding about the thick accent.
We tried to get into Luger's but it was booked up; we did find a little Italian restauarant on the upper east side that was fantastic- expensive, but great. They served breaded, fried olives along side of the bread and oil. Their meals were exquisite. I don't think we had a bad meal while we where there.
The subways were feet savers and a whole lot cheaper than cabs. After we figured out the map (10 seconds) we used them regularly. We took a ton of pictures and a lot at night. We found out that there is way too much to see and do in NYC than can be crammed into 5 days. We were only a few blocks from Central Park and only managed to make it there twice and both times were at night. We will have to come back and pick up where we left off.

Soho, little Italy and China town were fun places... China town reminded me of every overseas trip I have been on- Kenya, India, Honduras, Tansania... always people wanting to sell you something for a high price b/c you are American (or percieved as a tourist) and finally you barter them down until it is a fair price (if there is such a thing). Off subject, but when I was in Kenya staying with a missionary family, we would go to Nairobi, an hour from where we lived to buy groceries and the such for the week. They were well known by the people in the shops and well respected for the work they were doing as well as supplying the locals of Kijabe with jobs. They always got the local's price. Me on the other hand, if I wondered off from them, they would say, "just for you, I give you this price". I would tell them I was with the missionaries and that just for me price was cut down by over 75%. After about the 3rd week there, they knew me and would not offer me the "just for me price" anymore, just the local's price. Anyways, the "Just for you" prices of China town reminded me of that.

Anyways, my wife and I loved the trip and wished we could have spent more time following up on the suggestions of this thread, but that just means we will have to go back. Thanks for all your help on making this trip fun and helping us to be informed while enjoying it.

If anybody ever wants some insider information on Jackson, TN (a city of 70,000 with 140,000 surrounding) shoot me an email and I can tell you the best places to eat, how to utilize the 50 cent city bus and I can even score you some tickets to see the diamond jaxx minor league baseball team for the Cubs :)

Thanks again,

j razz

Glad you had a good time! I can't believe I forgot to tell you to call far ahead for Luger reservations. Sorry about that.

Fred

Hi Jeremy -

Glad to see you got home safely - We should have warned you about Central Park at night (haven't you seen the movie "Death Wish"?).

I'm happy you and wifey had a good time - So when's your next visit planned?

Bruce

haven't you seen the movie "Death Wish
Or the movie The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3? Your subway could have been hijacked by Robert Shaw and a gang of dangerous men?

Or the movie The Warriors? Any time you take the subway, you could have run into the The Baseball Furies or the Turbull A.C.s or that guy keeps clicking three coke bottles together and asking you to come out and play?

Or the movie Manhattan? My goodness, you were staying on the Upper West Side! You could have found yourself at pretentious cocktail parties where people mispronounce Van Gogh, or you could have started an affair with a high-schooler from an expensive East Side private school who would will turn out to have more sensitivity and integrity than any of your adult friends. Heck, have you seen your vacation videos yet? Your whole trip could have been in Black and White with a wall-to-wall Gershwin score! How would you explain that to your relatives?

Glad you had a good time. You get points from me for visiting Brooklyn.

I think our biggest fear was that Jason would take Manhattan again... we were vigilant in looking out for a guy in a hockey mask :)

j razz

I dunno Buster.... I have been a NY'er just about all my life and even at 6 feet tall and 270 (with a really mean looking face to boot) I won''t venture into Central Park at night!

And this is from someone who roamed Harlem in the early 70's with multiple cameras dangling from his neck asking for directions! (Not to mention growing up within walking distance of the Cyclone!).

Subways - not a problem for me - I've even taken the G and L lines end-to-end! I've just heard too many stories from personal friends (not to mention the evening news) to gamble with the whole stack of chips!

But you're right - jrazz gets bonus points for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge! Now if he had only gotten to Coney Island......

Here is a link to some of the pictures that I took while I was there:

NYC

Odd as it may be, we felt completely safe and there were still people out walking their dogs in the park and we stayed on the lighted path. I would have liked to have went to Hell's Kitchen- I don't know how safe it would have been but I watched a movie that was filmed there and thought it to have a lot of character- Hell's Kitchen that is.

j razz