NYC on the cheap! Part One
Written: Mar 29 '02
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Pros: You can have a good time in Manhattan and not go home broke.
Cons: You have to do some homework first.
The Bottom Line: Spend 1 hour talking over your itinerary. Spend 1 hour online researching it. Save a LOT of money.
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| thom413's Full Review: New York |
This review is dedicated to 4-1-1, as he inspired me with his comment on my last review. Some buddies and I did some serious and expensive pampering and partying in Manhattan, and 4-1-1 observed that his experience of New York is that it can be an expensive place to visit.
This can be true, especially on a spontaneous visit. But with some advance planning and a little homework, you can have a blast on a budget. Here's how:
A. Getting there and getting around... Nikjdog covered this in copious detail in his recent excellent posting. To sum up, anyone planning a visit should use mass transit wherever possible. It's cheap, safe, and fast. Driving and parking are to be avoided. Taxis are plentiful, but during rush hour the subway is always your best bet.
B. Dining out in NYC on the cheap... I will post some specific reviews under Budget Restaurants, but here I offer you some tips I've learned from Jack, my intrepid partner in all kinds of No Good. Jack is a cop, which means that he has a limited amount of time to eat when he is working, and his meals can be interrupted with no warning at all. His mid-shift meal is almost always "to go" and is usually consumed hastily outdoors, in a police car, or on a park bench. As a native New Yorker with 16 years on the job, he has perfected a system of restaurant evaluation that can be done quickly and get you a good meal for little $$$. Jack will NOT eat chain fast food, except for Wendy's chili or one of their new salads. This is his special patented One Minute Cop Restaurant Analysis.
1. Choose your neighborhood well. Upscale residential spots like the Upper East Side and Gramercy Park are great for fine dining, but be logical. Economical eateries will be found in areas that cater to working folks, students, and public service types. Therefore, business districts, schools, the courthouses, hospitals, and yes, police precincts are likely to have good cheap eateries nearby.
2. Most restaurants post a menu near the entrance. Check prices first. A budget guide - $5.00 for an appetizer, $8.00 - $10.00 for an entree, $3.00 for dessert. Discount these by 20 to 30 % if the meal is lunch. Next, proofread the menu. Jack says, "If they can't spell it, I won't eat it." He makes allowances for ethnicity, but believes that if you're German and you can't spell "spaetzle", chances are you shouldn't be cooking it either. Makes a crazy kind of sense to me!
3. At "ethnic" restaurants, ethnic people actually eating there is a good sign. Lots of Italians happily munching away in an Italian restaurant usually means that the tortellini is worth a try.
4. Ask a departing patron what he or she thought of their meal. Jack usually just inclines his head in the direction of the door, smiles and asks, "Any good?" You'll be amazed at how much they'll tell you. One woman kept him on the sidewalk for five minutes while she enthused about her delectable chimichanga. Okay, he looks very sexy in uniform, but keep your taco to yourself, sister, he's all mine!
5. Cleanliness is critical, but don't stop at the dining room and rest room. Peek into the kitchen if you can, and check out the garbage area. Current Department of Health licenses should be on display. Clearly, cops get a lot more leeway in wandering into non-public areas, but Jack suggests playing "lost tourist" to gain entry. The waitstaff and kitchen help should be neat, clean, and in clean clothing. Their hair should be restrained in the manner described by the Dept. of Health. Most of all, check their hands. They should be clean, manicured, and gloved if they handle food directly. Officer Hygiene says, "A manicure is 8 bucks in this town. No excuses."
6. Salad bars are to be avoided in NYC despite their tempting array of "healthy" treats, unless you know the place. You just don't know how long the stuff has been there, or who touched it last. Even in a nice neighborhood, people still get the flu. A better choice at these places is a made-to-order sandwich, and some fresh unpeeled fruit that you can handle with your own clean hands. Sidewalk carts are scary, but if you must have a "dirty water hotdog", a gyro, or a pretzel, do a mini-inspection on the cart and its owner.
7. Never, ever eat at "Curry In A Hurry". Jack explains: "It's in a hurry all right. Runs right through ya like the downtown 2 train."
With a bit of practice, this One Minute Cop Restaurant Analysis should only take a minute or two. If your eatery candidate fails any part of your inspection, move on. It is Manhattan after all, you can find something else within a block or two that will pass. Another budget tip: spring is here and summer's on the way. NYC's parks are perfect places to bring a picnic lunch. Just DON'T LITTER, especially in Central Park, or Jack will ride up on his snotty rotter of a horse and issue you a ticket. As he's writing it up, the horse will invariably poop, making you really regret your transgression. And God help you if you commit a crime in his presence that requires him to abandon his lunch in order to arrest you. Talk about police brutality! THWACK!!! "You like stealing little kids' bicycles? Huh?!" WHACK!!! "And that one's for makin' me leave my tuna maki for da freakin' squirrels! Here's your bike back, kid; the Bad Man is sleeping."
Sheesh. He makes that guy on "The Shield" look like a prancing Backstreet Boy. So speaks the finest of New York's Finest on budget dining and other things. On to...
C. The Arts...
Make no mistake, there is some serious entertainment available for the budget-conscious here. Let's start with The Julliard Concert Series. Julliard students usually perform at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center on Friday nights. The cost? FREE - or sometimes $5.00. I used to go after work with friends, and I have to tell you that these kids are simply amazing. They never know when a talent scout or agent will be there, and their hearts are in the performance in a way that is lacking in many of their adult counterparts. I have seen chamber music that moved the audience to tears, a comic opera that had the place roaring with laughter, and a jazz horn solo that made me wonder if the kid was channeling the spirit of Louis Armstrong. The seating is comfortable and the acoustics are perfect. At little or no cost, it leaves lots of $ in your pocket to spend on other things! Send a stamped, self addressed envelope to: Julliard Concert Series, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, or call 212-769-7406 for more info. Alice Tully Hall is located at 1941 Broadway between 65th and 66th streets, and can be reached via the #1 or #9 subway lines.
Budget Broadway Shows Bargains can be had at the TKTS booths at midtown and downtown. TKTS sells unsold tickets on the day of the performance for 25 to 50% off the box office price. The pros of this method: spontaneity and romance, the price, and some adventure. The cons: long lines, shows sell out, poor customer service. Here's how I would do it. Pick three shows you want to see. Download a seating map for each theatre so that you can see where your tickets are BEFORE you buy them. Go early to avoid the lines, and have a backup plan in the event that your shows sell out. Another tip - matinees are almost always cheaper than evening performances. (Main location info: 47th Street and Broadway -(212) 221-0013. TKTS takes cash or traveler's cheques only.)
Outdoor concerts... Often free and sometimes for a nominal charge, Bryant Park and Central Park are the usual venues. Check The Village Voice or The New York Times - Arts and Leisure Section for upcoming events.
Film... The only real bargains are matinees. But to get more bang for your film viewing buck, I suggest a visit to The Zeigfeld. Located at 141 West 54th Street, this throwback to a more gracious era of movies is huge, with red velvet seats and crystal chandeliers. It can only be described as posh, and the big screen is three times the size of your local megaplex. Phone: (212) 765-7600. The New York Film Festival in May is an opportunity to see foregn or independent films downtown. Check out Digital City on MSN for details.
Museums... The city's art community is fiercely relentless in making sure that the museums have the proper funding, making them among the most magnificent anywhere. I've been to Rome, Milan, Florence, Chicago, Boston, and Washington DC. All of those cities have incredible museums. But for sheer variety and educational value, nothing beats New York. From The Cloisters at Columbia, to The Museum of Natural History, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to MOMA and The Guggenheim, from The Whitney to Ellis Island, it would take a solid 10 days to tour them all from one end of Manhattan to the other. The best part? They are very inexpensive to visit, especially for members. Memberships are usually tax-deductible, and many entitle you to private exhibit previews, cocktail parties and concerts. Check their websites for details. If I can ever get Jack out of The Met's "Arms and Armor" exhibit, we may actually get to see some work by my favorite artist, John Singer Sargent.
D. Outdoor / Sporty Fun... The Botanical Gardens and The Bronx Zoo are fun, but for me there are three main outdoor spots in NYC:
1. The West Side Esplanade, or Hudson River Park. Currently a work in progress, this $130 million waterfront reclamation project is simply beautiful, public, and free. It is complete from Battery Park at the south end of Manhattan to The West Village. Curving walls and 19th century style streetlights mark a path along the river. Wide lawns, rose gardens, wildflowers and playgrounds dot its length, and it is extremely pedestrian friendly. It is so peaceful and English-looking that you can forget you are in New York - until you look around and see the skyline.
2. Central Park, or Jack's office. If you see a big, handsome cop on a snotty-looking horse, smile and wave because it may be he. He works hard to keep it safe, and offers some tips for visitors - be aware of your surroundings, travel with a friend, and walk as though you know where you are going. Oh, and don't litter. Crime is down significantly, but these are good ideas for anyone visiting an unfamiliar place. Bring a book, a kite, a frisbee, a football, and some lunch and you can have a nice afternoon - for free!
3. Chelsea Piers - West Side Highway between 18th and 23rd Streets (212)336-6000. This sports megaplex offers golf, skating, softball, rock climbing, and every other sort of athletic activity there is. It is a fitness junkie's paradise, and by coincidence, the Esplanade's running paths go right past it. It is not expensive to use the facility here - but check the website for fees and hours. Also factor in the cost of a taxi - it's a good half mile from the nearest subway.
Part II will cover lodging...
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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thom413
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Member: Thomas Tronolone
Location: Long Beach, New York
Reviews written: 121
Trusted by: 176 members
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"Those friends thou hast ... grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel." Hamlet
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