Places to visit and eat well in NYC

I get asked often to mention some places to visit while visiting my hometown of New York City and even though I plan to offer a much more comprehensive list this one I came up with rather quickly for a friend of mine. It's a year since I've been back home but my memory is fresh and certain staples will be forever ingrained. You'll also notice that many are places to eat, I think with my belly, it's unavoidable. Aside from that, I'd give the advice to go off the beaten path, in my experience, and this goes for any city, the best places were through wandering and happenstance; there's Fifty-Five bar in Camden that served as refuge during a downpour in north London, there's the food stall along the beach in Bali where we stopped in for a quick bite, there was a street vendor in Kuala Lumpur that sold us pisang goreng fresh fried and there was the time I walked with a friend from Carroll Gardens all the way over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Chinatown. These places and tested, though, and I can usually bet on them.

Burger Joint:

I love this place because it's in the lobby of a very swanky hotel in Midtown Manhattan and yet and once you enter the smell of grilled burger and graffiti on the walls hits you, it's a paradox. The burgers aren't that expensive, the shakes are, but all in all for less than 10 bucks, I think, you can have yourself a damn good burger and remain in Midtown.

http://www.parkermeridien.com/eat/burger-joint/

Williamsburg:

Just go for a walk and take it in, it's one of my favorite neighborhoods even still. Sure you'll cross plenty pf hipsters and trendy, expensive bars but I think it's still worth wandering around, I still do it. Bushwick is what Williamsburg was when I was younger, 2 decades ago, but I only recommend walking around there with a native since some parts are still dangerous. Get out at Bedford Ave on the L and walk down to the river but don't be afraid to zigzag your way there. There are lots of interesting things to do, Brooklyn Bowl has cheap performances with great artists that play there (I caught Talib Kweli and also the Ska-talites there), Brooklyn Brewery has their brewery there and that's a fun time, the iconic Kellogg's Diner and so much more. 

Corner Bistro:

A gem. It's an old bar, one of the oldest NYC has, in the West Village, at a strange intersection where 1st St and 11 St meet, I think, the old Cuban waiter sill works there and has that air of being from another era. It's all cash, the menu hasn't changed, and if you get there past 6pm it'll be packed so perhaps it's best to go during the early afternoon. The burger is pretty big and great for the price, only go to the West Village as in recent years they've expanded and the new places don't have that old-world vibe. 

http://cornerbistrony.com/

McSorley's:

Another old pub, this one is know for it's ale which is made only for that pub. It only comes in 2 types, light and dark, and they give you 2 drafts but it's the price of 1 beer, there's sawdust on the floor, the floorboards creak and the joint is always packed after 6 but it's a good mix of locals, old men and yuppies. A good place to have a beer, a decent cheap one, in the East Village if you're near St. Marks.

http://www.yelp.es/biz/mcsorleys-old-ale-house-new-york

Paris Sandwiches:

Don't know if you've ever had a bahn mi but it's the Vietnmese version of the torta, in a sense. In another, it's just SOOOO damn good and Chinatown has several places to get an authentic like you might find in Saigon or Ho Chi Mihn City, this is one of them. Get yourself a bahn mi, an iced coffee and revel in the greatness, I'm getting hungry describing it! And they're cheap, for about 8 bucks you can have both. 

http://parissandwiches.com/