NYC Recessionista’s NYC Favorites

Twitter user @Heather_Nessss recently tweeted to me that she was going to be visiting NYC soon, and wanted to know if I had any suggestions for free and/or cheap things to do. 


I decided to turn it into a blog post of course 🙂 Here are some of my suggestions:

• Follow some NYC-centric sites so you have access to all the best event news – The Skint and NiftyNYC (which both list free and cheap events in NYC), and Newyorkology (a great travel and events guide) are all good.  They also have Twitter handles (@theskint, @niftynyc, and @newyorkology, respectively) if you want to follow them that way.

• Magazine TimeOutNY also has an entire section of its website devoted to free things to do in the city.

• It might not be bad to check out sites like Living Social either, which organizes deals by NYC neighborhood. The offers could be anything from a four-course dinner for two with a bottle of wine for $79 to a nighttime dinner cruise around the island of Manhattan for $10.

• ‘On Location Vacations’ is a good blog to check out if you love movies and television. Every day, they list the movies and TV shows that are filming in and around NYC. It’s always cool to “stumble upon” things like that when you’re in the city 🙂 I remember seeing George Clooney when he was filming Michael Clayton. I even stood next to the late Sydney Pollack while he ate his lunch on set.

• Joanna Goddard, author of the blog A CUP OF JO, has an amazing guide to NYC on her site. Here’s where you can check all the posts. She captures everything that’s wonderful about the city — from streetcorner musicians to trapeze school to her favorite bars and shops. She knows what she’s talking about!

• I don’t get the chance to stay in hotels in NYC very often, but I do know that New York Magazine has a list of the best hotels under $150/night.

• It’s always good to see which museums have free or pay-as-you-wish days and times.

• To eat: 
• Totonno’s – for the pizza
• Cafeteria – for EVERYTHING on their comfort food menu
• Shake Shack, Schnippers, and Bareburger – for their burgers
• Emporio and Supper – for their amazing fresh pastas (and Emporio for their burrata)
• Madera Cuban Grill – for their amazing Cuban food
• Magnolia Bakery – for their cupcakes and blondies
• Babycakes – for their cinnamon sugar donuts (they’re baked, gluten-free + vegan!)
• Lemon Ice King of Corona – for the best lemon ices, hands down
• Junior’s – for the best cheesecake you’ll ever have in your life
• Best Bagel and Coffee – for some pretty darn good New York bagels
• Pasticceria Rocco’s and Veniero’s – for old school Italian sweets 

• To shop:
• Strand – for their 18 miles of books
• Pippin – for their amazing selection of vintage costume jewelry
• Housing Works Thrift Stores – for doing good while you shop
• Beacon’s Closet – for trolling for cool clothes
• ABC Carpet – for daydreaming about my dream house
• B&H Photo and Video – for their amazing conveyor belts
• Pearl River Mart – for their aisles and aisles of cool Asian goodies
• The Evolution Store – for the weirdness!

• To visit:
• The Comedy Cellar – for laughs (adults only, of course)
• Queens Museum of Art – for the Panorama of New York City
• MCU Park – for Brooklyn Cyclones games
• Greenwood Cemetery – for their amazing historical tours
• Museum of the City of New York – for their permanent ‘Timescapes’ exhibit (narrated by the one & only Stanley Tucci)
• 9/11 Memorial – for obvious reasons

• For kids:
• Serendipity 3 – for their legendary frozen hot chocolate
• Grand Central Terminal – especially for their ‘whispering wall’
• The Museum of Natural History – for the giant whale
• Books of Wonder – if you loved those book fair flyers as a kid
• The Museum of the Moving Image – for their permanent Jim Henson collection

Heather – I hope this helps you, and that you have a fabulous time in the city!  Readers – what are your favorite places in NYC?