NY Top 10 Lists
File this under Better Late than Never. Two weeks ago Charlie at Manhattan User's Guide sent around a compilation of "10 Great Things" about New York lists compiled by a handful of NYC bloggers. I was pretty swamped when the list came out and then got some nasty cold-type virus that has served as my procrastination excuse for not combing through the list properly. If you haven't clicked over to MUG to read the lists yet, you definitely should as they haven't lost any of their freshness. (Part I, Part II) Here's my top 10:

AMY LANGFIELD, amylangfield.com
1. The Subway
The great utilitarian, liberating backbone of the metropolis.
2. Central Park
The eye of the hurricane.
3. The Great Hall at Ellis Island
You can actually breathe in the fear and expectation still lingering in this room.
4. The Strand
Greatest book store in the world. 828 Bway [12th] 212.473.1452
5. Richard Ruben's Greenmarket Class
Takes you from the Union Square farmers market to the Institute of Culinary Education, where Mr. Ruben guides the class in inventing recipes with whatever is in season that weekend. 50 W. 23rd [5th/6th] 212.847.0770
6. Rudy Giuliani
Despite his flaws, his emotional leadership in the wake of Sept. 11 was remarkable.
7. Dog Runs
There's a reason the viewing areas for the dog runs in city parks get crowded with non-dog-owner onlookers.
8. Crème brûlée at Le Cirque 2000
Like sex for dessert. 455 Mad [50th/51st] 212.303.7788
9. Bowne & Co. Stationers
They used their antique letterpress to make our wedding invitations. 211 Water [John] 212.748.8651
10. Bistro Burger at Corner Bistro
Order it with a McSorley's on tap and you'll get all four food groups: beef, pork, cheese, and beer. 331 W. 4th [Jane] 212.242.9502

And here are my favorites from the others' lists:


Andrew Womack of The Morning News: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Cherry Blossom Festival.

Ari Paparo of Everything NY: Union Square - Dog run, two Starbucks-es, statue of George Washington, many public bathrooms.

David F. Gallagher of Lightning Field: Park Slope Food Coop - You need to be a member to shop here, which means working 2.75 hours per month, perhaps hauling boxes of tofu around or slicing cheese. In return you get excellent produce and lots of gourmet stuff, very cheap. Optional: Monthly queer vegan potlucks!

Lockhart Steele: Time Warner Cable's DVR - Rivals Listerine Breathstrips as the technology breakthrough of the decade – for about the same price. (Amy's note: We don't actually own one of these yet. MUG wrote about it on Aug. 14 and I thought, hey, I'm going to get me one of those days. Time Warner has a deal where if you bring in your old cable box and swap it for the new DVR, you don't have to pay the installation charge and then it's only about $6 a month extra for the service. But I got a late start into Manhattan on Aug. 14 and decided to pick up the heavy DVR another day. Of course if I had picked up the DVR that day, I would have been stuck on the subway during the blackout hauling around a heavy DVR box. I've been a little skittish about getting the box since then.)

Jen Chung of Gothamist: The New York Times - In front of my door and on my computer. Enough said.

Rosecrans Baldwin of The Morning News: Walking Around Manhattan - The length of 10th Street; St. Nicholas Boulevard; Riverside Park in spring; the High Line; Chinatown, Little Italy, and Soho at dawn; The park by the U.N. in summer; late night coming home over the Williamsburg bridge.

Remy Stern of New Yorkish: Tourists - Finally, what would NYC be without the non-stop flow of tourists in Times Square? And if they weren't here, who else would we get to push around and snarl at without fearing for our lives?
- posted by Amy @ 3/17/2004 08:46:00 AM