Poll: New York State of Mind

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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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.

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

By Jim Thomerson (not verified) on 18 Nov 2009 #permalink

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

By fizzchick (not verified) on 18 Nov 2009 #permalink

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?

The Met, definitely the Met.

By John Novak (not verified) on 18 Nov 2009 #permalink

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.

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.

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.

. . . 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?

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.

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

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.

By Captain C (not verified) on 19 Nov 2009 #permalink

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.

FYI - The Rainbow Room is closed.

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

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).