In time for the second half of the summer, here is the continuation to the Hostess' Guide to NYC Part I. Below is a list I’ve compiled over the last two years for friends visiting NYC. It’s mostly focused on "only in New York" experiences and food recs, sprinkled with some shopping and nightlife (consistent with my lifestyle I guess haha). My friends found it useful, so I'd thought I'd share! It's very long so browse as you'd like with the links below.

NYC Experiences | Food | Nightlife

NYC Experiences

See a broadway show! Lots of ways to see Broadway shows without totally breaking the bank. Here are a couple of ways: Buy tickets online through Broadway Box or take advantage of the TKTS booths. The catch about TKTS is that you have to buy tickets for same day show if you go in Times Square, if you go to the one in South Street Seaport you can buy tickets for next day (this one usually has much shorter lines).

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge: Once on the other side, stop by the world famous Grimaldi's Pizza, then stop by the Brooklyn Bridge Park to take in views of the bridge and the midtown Manhattan skyline (I know lots of people take beautiful panoramic photos here). Make sure the weather is behaving itself – my friends and I walked across once and ended up in a pouring thunderstorm…
Play in Manhattan's backyard: Central Park. You can do everything here! Well almost everything. Here are some fun ideas: Picnic – buy food from Bouchon Bakery or Whole Foods (under the Time Warner Center) at 57th and 8th. Bike – a two hour rental will let you circle Central Park twice. Get a lock and you can drop by Beveldere Castle and other sights. The place I go to is: 57th between 8th and 9th -- Bike Rental Central Park.Rent a paddle boat on the lake: $12 for first hour. For some cheesiness with your lover: rent a horse drawn carriage like my friend Judy did =P
See NY from a very tall building: Empire State Building (18.50 + 15$ if you wanna go to the VERY top) or Rockefeller Center ($25 a person)
Or go to a rooftop bar to admire the very tall buildings: 230 Fifth and others

Museum Hopping: This is something great to do when the weather turns afoul! Also if you work for a big bank/company, usually admission is FREE. The Cloisters (my favorite, but far), MoMa, Museum of Natural History or Met.

Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island: An essential NYC experience for any tourist! Click here for tips on planning your visit ($12 for adult ferry ticket). If you’re really trying to save money, you can take the Staten Island Ferry for free and still pass by the Statue of Liberty!
Go SHOPPING: Something New Yorkers do best... I love shopping in SoHo (esp. the Young Designers Market). Century 21 is where you'll find great name brand bargains if you're willing to put up a fight against all those tour bus tourists! Especially great for guys building up their work wardrobe with tons of designer ties/shirts. For you girls, there is an entire connected store JUST for shoes! Fifth Ave has Saks and all the designer stores, but it doesn't feel very glamorous on the weekends...go on a week night =) The Flatiron area north of Union Square is cool too with my favorites like Club Monaco!

Love Saks during the wintertime =) (photo credit)

Union Square's Farmers Market: Beautiful all year round. I go to see flowers and interesting produce. They also have booths that sell great / unique gifts and souvenirs.

Times Square: I know everyone loves this place – I guess I personally don't get all excited because it’s where I work =X Coolest thing here now are the red steps where the TKTS booth is (Jay Z and Alicia Keyes filmed the video for Empire State of Mind on it). Just don’t eat anywhere here (unless it’s McD’s I guess haha). One cool thing, if you go to American Eagle, you can get your picture up on their huge billboard!

Eat Chinese Food in Flushing: I think there are only certain places in America where you feel like you took a trip to Asia. Most of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area or the San Gabriel Valley near LA, but Flushing, Queens is definitely a winner on the East Coast! Read about my trip there in this post and also some tips for your visit!

Places to EAT

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When people come to visit New York, they always end up eating… a LOT. Here is a list of my favorites in many food categories. As you may already know, I usually prefer non-American food* and this list reflects that. Also, just as a warning, you may have sticker shock when it comes to the food here (when I first moved here from Berkeley, I was amazed that a Korean seafood pancake cost almost $20!).

* My co-workers always make fun of me when I use this to describe what I want to eat for lunch – “non-American food / minority food!”

Ramen: Ippudo is my ramen place. I think it’s the best ramen in New York, if not the best outside of Japan (LA has a few really good ones too). This isn’t your typical ramen joint though -- it’s a huge place, very trendy and pretty expensive (your bowl can be around $18 after you add all your favorite fixins’ like bamboo shoots, poached egg and pork belly). My favorite ramen is the Akamaru Modern (nice and spicy!) and the pork buns are AWESOME to eat, especially during the long wait…it’s so worth it!

Ippudo -- very trendy and chic setting for a bowl of steaming ramen (photo from Gridkipper.com)

Sushi: Sushi Yasuda is AWESOME!!!!! Fresh fish from the Tokyo fish market flown in daily. Very traditional and minimalist type of place that I really like. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time if you want to go! Some others love Sushi of Gari – it’s much more fancy/decorated I think (never been myself since I am a loyal Yasuda fan and would prefer spending my money there =P)

Sitting at the bar is key -- each group gets their own dedicated sushi chef

I think this was Oyster and a special Salmon that rarely gets shipped to the US

My coworker Gregor enjoying his fish -- they encourage you to eat with your hands and even provide finger towels! (Doesn't Gregor look so vintage in here?)

Korean Fried Chicken (KFC): Mad for Chicken (formerly Bon Chon chicken) has delicious KFC in a very trendy lounge/bar setting. Never had KFC before? Imagine chicken that is marinated in yummy Korean spices and then triple fried. Oh man, you can’t beat that… This has remained king in my mind even after Kyochon opened across the street – I heard that place sucks and the atmosphere is like McD’s

Asian BBQ: For BBQ, Gyu Kaku (2 locations: Midtown East and St. Mark’s) is my favorite Japanese BBQ place and Don’s Bogam (Ktown) is my favorite Korean BBQ place. To be honest, not really sure what the difference is between Japanese/Korean BBQ (please don’t take offense!), but both places have a nice environment where you can bring big groups. Food is delicious, service is good. If you / your friends are from LA or Hawaii though, don't take them to Gyu Kaku since it's a chain that started there.
Brazilian: My friend Veronica introduced me to her favorite neighborhood Brazilian restaurant – Casa. I am in LOVE with this place. It’s very small with large windows facing a picturesque West Village street. And the food – delicious! I love the pumpkin shrimp dish and this seafood curry one (menu)

Fancy French restaurant: I think this is a great place for a first time New York foodie to check out -- Jean Georges is a 3 Michelin star restaurant that offers a special $29 prix fixe weekday lunch that is TOTALLY worth it.. I took my friends when they visited and I had a day off

Cupcakes: Cupcakes get their own category because New Yorkers are obsessed with them. For good reason too! Baked by Melissa has the cutest and most delicious mini cupcakes (think size of a quarter width). Two locations: SoHo (South of Houston where all the shopping is) and Union Square. Everyone likes going to Magnolia's since it's famous, but IMHO I don’t think their cupcakes aren't so great. However, I do keep going back for their heavenly banana bread pudding (I don’t even like banana, but this is delicious). Two locations as well: Midtown and the original in Greenwich Village. They also have cute tshirts that say "I (picture of cupcake) NY". (warning: I was told that the village location of Magnolia’s AC is broken all summer! =X) Another great place is Sugar, Sweet Sunshine in the LES – I haven’t been here, but my friend got a dozen delivered to me before! (thanks Judy!)

Baked by Melissa cupcakes... I can eat them all! Esp. <3 the rainbow, red velvet and oreo flavors

This would be a great souvenir for cupcake lovers!

Brunch: Just like cupcakes, New Yorkers LOVE brunch. I tried to quit brunch after my first year here though, because it was just getting way too expensive! Okay onto the list. Norma's in the Parker Meridien hotel I categorize as glam Midtown brunch. You can make reservations (which is much better than waiting) and the menu is amazing (and expensive). Downtown, I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try Clinton Street Baking Company – maybe I will this weekend when my friend comes into town! Also, Blue Ribbon Bakery is delicious and had the most wonderful bread I’ve eaten. Other places are Balthazar (people LOVE this place) and the Little Owl is supremely famous, making is impossible to go, but if you are on vacation you have time to wait right?

Hamburgers: Shake Shack is NYC’s famous burger place – now with 3 locations. If you want to beat the line (do you see the recurring theme here? You’ll have to wait for everything haha), go a little earlier for lunch (11am ish) and avoid the weekends… I know coming from the West Coast, In-and-Out is awesome, but now that I’ve eaten Shake Shack here and gone back, I do think there is something to all the hype out here (read my entry here about the comparison) Another option is Burger Joint. It’s kind of cool because it’s the “SECRET” burger joint, but honestly I don’t remember how good the burgers actually were (mixed reviews on yelp). It’s located in the lobby of the Parker Meridien hotel behind the brown (or red?) velvet curtain… I actually stayed at this hotel twice before I knew about it!

Pizza: I think most of the pizza in New York is pretty good… just stand on a street corner and use your Yelp app and do “nearby” pizza places… if you want to go to the famous places, then try Grimaldi's or Lombardi's.
Chinese: People love soup dumplings / shanghai dumplings at Joe's Shanghai... The one in Chinatown is the most authentic, but there’s also one in Midtown if you don’t want to make the trek. If you go to the Chinatown location, be sure to visit the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory! Ice cream in all these diff crazy flavors like black sesame, red bean, wasabi and they make the traditional flavors very well (mint chocolate chip! my favorite).
Italian: There are a ton of good Italian places. I recently discovered a super cute/delicious/surprisingly affordable place called Malatesta Trattoria. The best gnocchi I've ever had! 'inoteca in LES is also good.

Malatesta Trattoria. Super cute! Sit outside =) unless it's 95 degrees like today..

Dessert: Chickalicious is a great dessert place for serious desserts eaters. The Dessert Bar has 3 course dessert tastings (2 ppl can just share one if you want a taste) and across the street is the Dessert Club that is more café style. I highly recommend trying the Dessert Bar! Nearby is Momofuku’s Milk Bar, which serves interesting soft serve ice creams that taste like cereal and the famous Crack Pie and Compost Cookie

Chicklicious Dessert Bar (Photo from puff & choux)

Late night drunk food: Chicken and Rice cart on the NW corner of 53rd and 6th is a must do at least ONCE during your visit here…(make sure you go after 7:30pm). In NY form, you will wait in line, but it will be an exciting kind of line since it’s combined with anticipation for the yumminess of the food. Be careful with the hot sauce though – only put droplets on! If street cart food (in this case FAMOUS street cart food) isn’t your thing, then head to K-Town to any of the 24 hour establishments! My favorites include Kunjip, BCD Tofu House (the LA chain), and Pocha 32 (watermelon soju served IN a watermelon).

Chicken and Rice Cart (photo by Inga Chen)

Pocha 32's watermelon soju (Photo from alwayshungry.com)

For all the foodies:Laconda Verde, some restaurants listed on San Pellegrino’s World’s best restaurants. For the ballin’ foodies: Per se.

Nightlife

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I love the nightlife in Manhattan because it can be whatever you make of it. You can go crazy and buy bottles at a club in the Meatpacking or you can relax and eat desserts and drink wine in a neighborhood bakery / bar. So, here is a list with a mix of touristy things that I loved doing / taking my visiting friends to do and some clubs we regularly go to. Usually if you want to have a good time, you can just follow your friends to any random place and you’ll end up having a great night.

Comedy Cellar: I have been here SO many times and I love it. A bunch of famous comedians started out here – once Chris Rock even stopped by randomly (I think he was very stoned). You can stay here ‘til 2am drinking and laughing your ass off. A great night!
Café Wha: Right next door to Comedy Cellar is this place. It’s an underground cafe bar type place where there is an awesome live band. We’ve been a couple times and it’s always so fun, great music and you can dance if you want to!

It's a pretty small underground cafe, but so fun!

Speakeasy Style Bars: I love hanging out at speakeasy bars – you get a table, sit with your friends, order delicious drinks and just relax. The low-key secret theme of it is pretty cool too. My favorites in New York are Little Branch, Pegu Club (usually okay to get into), Death and Co. is also a cool place in the East Village (unfortunately the last time I was there, I forgot my ID so I only tried their food…pretty good!). Angels Share in St. Mark’s is supposed to be cool too, but they only allow parties of 4 or less and usually a long wait. My friend Steph introduced us to Apotheke too, a bar that’s themed like an apothecary. Take your pick! A lot of people love PDT because you get to walk through a phone booth from a hot dog store to get in, but I despise their drinks =X (if you want to go here, you may want to try calling for res or just walking by to check it out).

Apotheke -- old school awesome looking (photo from luxuryinsider.com)

Jazz Clubs: This is a fun way to spend a night if you don’t feel like getting drunk at a club =P The most famous club in NY is Blue Note, but also heard good things about Iridium Jazz Club
Rooftop bars:230 Fifth and others (Hotel Gansevoort, ink 48, etc.)
The Meatpacking: This area is SUPER sceney… like imagine all the fancy places that they go to in SATC or like West Hollywood. I don’t even know if an area like this exists in SF. Anyway, I am no expert in any of the Meatpacking scene, but I’ve been to Tenjune a few times and it’s always fun (mostly because of my friend Seung though). Kiss and Fly is pretty cool if you like house music (or at least the night we went it was all house music!). The Gansevoort Hotel has a nice rooftop bar that’s fun. There is also a more low key underground place called 675 Bar that is a no cover/frills place where you just wait in line to get in. They have little rooms with tables and games like Jenga, Scrabble and other board games!

Hotel Gansevoort's rooftop bar is pretty cool

Lower East Side (LES): This is my favorite place to go out -- more chill and laid back than Meatpacking although places can be semi-divey (think SF's mission district). Some regular places: R Bar, Fat Baby, People's Lounge, Stay Lounge, Ella. They are all within the same 3 square blocks so you can go from place to place. Oh yea I forgot to mention: most have no cover (yay!) NYMag LES Bar Guide.
Midtown area: This is not most people’s preferred area to go out at night, but my friends and I love to go to this Korean club called Circle. It’s somewhat of a cultural experience, but fun if you just want a place to dance to good music. Ladies be warned though… this place is a “booking club” where well dressed escort guys will ask girls if they want to meet guys at the tables upstairs and chat in return for drinks, etc. Haha like I said… a cultural experience. Aspen Social Lounge is also surprisingly cool for midtown!

Hope you guys find this useful -- please comment with any additions or questions!

NYC: The Hostess' Guidebook (Part II)

NYC Experiences

Places to EAT

Nightlife