Poll: New York State of Mind

Posted by Chad Orzel on November 18, 2009
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Kate has a court appearance in New York tomorrow, and we’re making a long weekend of it. I’m typing this from my parents’ house, where I’m dropping SteelyKid off for some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, and tomorrow, I’m heading down to The City. I’ve got some meetings scheduled tomorrow afternoon, and Friday at lunch, and then we’re going to kick back and enjoy New York.

Of course, one of the paralyzing things about NYC is the sheer variety of cultural options. There’s the AMNH, with lots of geeky exhibits, the Met, where you can spend days and not see everything, and MOMA, for a different sort of art experience. I’ve looked at the web sites for all of them, and none of the current exhibits looked like can’t-miss shows to me. And it’s too late in the year for the Bronx Zoo or the Cloisters.

So, we’ll throw this out to a poll: What should we go see during our free time in The City this weekend?


Please choose only one. We don’t promise to abide by the results of the poll, but suggestions are welcome.

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  1. #1 AliceB
    November 18, 2009

    The Cooper-Hewitt. It’s the Smithsonian’s museum of design, and each time I’ve gone I’ve found something worth seeing. It’s located in a beautiful Carnegie Mansion near Central Park, in a lovely neighborhood. All pluses.

    Second choice, but also excellent, is the Morgan Library.

  2. #2 Jim Thomerson
    November 18, 2009

    I would go to AMNH and hang out in the fish range.

  3. #3 fizzchick
    November 18, 2009

    The AMNH! In addition to all the usual geekiness, there’s golden spider silk from Madagascar, and I’m totally jealous of anyone who gets to see it. Exhibit website

  4. #4 Comrade PhysioProf
    November 18, 2009

    The Whitney Museum of American Art.

  5. #5 John Dupuis
    November 18, 2009

    We really enjoyed the Lower East Side Tenement Museum when we visited it a couple of years ago. You really get a good idea of what it was like living in a tenement in the late 19th & early 20th century.

    On the other hand, can’t go wrong with the AMNH.

  6. #6 bb
    November 18, 2009

    I vote for the Museum of Sex!

    (Followed by the Museum of Natural History)

  7. #7 Rosie Redfield
    November 18, 2009

    Roxy Paine’s Maelstrom is on the roof garden of the Met, only until Nov. 29. It’s gorgeous and very biological.

  8. #8 onymous
    November 18, 2009

    Not nearly enough love for the Met, too much for the AMNH. If you want to see animals, why not go to the zoo instead of looking at stuffed ones?

  9. #9 John Novak
    November 18, 2009

    The Met, definitely the Met.

  10. #10 Remy
    November 18, 2009

    Visit the Frick Collection. It’s inside Henry Frick’s former mansion; he and his successors had good taste in art. (The collection includes that famous painting of Sir Thomas More.)

    As for geeky, the Met’s arms and armor section qualifies.

  11. #11 thm
    November 18, 2009

    If you haven’t seen it yet, see the New York City Panorama at the Queens Museum of Art. It’s a scale model of New York City, at 1 inch to 100 feet, with about 895,000 buildings modeled.

  12. #12 Joe
    November 18, 2009

    The golden spider silk at AMNH is an amazing sight.

    The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden opens Saturday. Get some Italian food afterward on nearby Arthur Ave.

    If you pass by Poughkeepsie I highly recommend the new pedestrian bridge over the Hudson.

  13. #13 Kate Nepveu
    November 18, 2009

    . . . high of 57 on Saturday in the Bronx. That might almost make the zoo possible.

    Anyone got experience of going to the zoo this time of year?

  14. #14 Nathan
    November 19, 2009

    Too late in the year for the Cloisters? Huh?

  15. #15 Jesse
    November 19, 2009

    New Yorker here. Two things: the AMNH is always a good bet. So is MoMa (Museum of Modern Art on 53rd street).

    Also: for eating, if you like a place with a fantastic wine list and a happy atmosphere (and quiet) I will plug for a theater district restaurant called Pomaire. (9th and 46th). You won’t regret it. Romance ensues there. Really. (Dinner for two with wine will set you back $100-150 or so, including 20% tip, depending on the wine).

    If you want to drop some real money and get a wow-view, two places: Rockefeller Center’s Rainbow Room or Asiate (in the Time Warner Center) — both are jacket required.

    Asiate is insanely expensive (dinner for three with a bottle of wine was $350 with the tip) but also has a wine list that is really good — if you want to spend less you go there for lunch or even breakfast. (It’s the restaurant for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel).

    Rainbow Room is much more reasonable and every table faces the observation deck. Went for my anniversary and it was really great.

  16. #16 Micah S.
    November 19, 2009

    If you are at all interested in Buddhist, Chinese, Indian or Himalayan art I highly recommend the Rubin Museum of Art

  17. #17 Captain C
    November 19, 2009

    The Brooklyn Museum is having an exhibit on rock (music not stones) photography, and also has an amazing Egypt collection. It’s easy to get to, also–2 or 3 train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum. Before or after, you can go for a nice walk in Prospect Park or the Botanical Garden, and pop into the big library nearby.

  18. #18 Jonathan Vos Post
    November 19, 2009

    Next to the American Museum of Natural History, perhaps my favorite pair of places to go in the 16 years I spent growing up in NYC, though this is the New Improved Hayden Planetarium which I have not yet seen, except on TV and web…

    Rose Center for Earth and Space (also site of Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate)

    http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/index.php

    The Hayden Planetarium is unlike any other such facility in the world. In the top half of the Hayden Sphere, the most technologically advanced Space Theater in existence will use advanced visual technology (including a customized, one-of-a-kind Zeiss Star Projector) to create shows of unparalleled sophistication, realism, and excitement. With this high-definition system, the Hayden Planetarium is the largest and most powerful virtual reality simulator in the world.

  19. #19 Joe
    November 19, 2009

    FYI – The Rainbow Room is closed.

  20. #20 Mary Kay
    November 19, 2009

    I went to the Frick collection when I was in the City back in August and really enjoyed it. After, I walked down Madison just because that’s a fun thing to do and discovered MarieBelle (762 Madison Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets). I recommend it highly. Chocolate, tea, pastries, also, there’s a bar if you’re after harder beverages. Friendly staff. Great place to sit and recuperate. It’s on the 2nd floor, but there was a sidewalk sign when I was there.

    MKK

  21. #21 Eli Rabett
    November 19, 2009

    The Frick, the Morgan Library, MoMA and the NY Historical Society plus the death march through the Met.

  22. #22 Erica
    November 20, 2009

    I second the Whitney vote – they have an exhibit of Georgia O’Keefe abstracts right now, and it’s less overwhelming than the Met. While you’re on the UES, have dinner at Il Riccio (SE corner of 79th & Lex).