lisa's beginner's guide to nyc (for irene and all):

first, get a map. nyc is really easy--there's uptown (higher number streets) and downtown (lower number streets). streets go east to west (east streets are east of fifth ave., west streets are west of fifth ave.), avenues go north to south. avenue blocks are MUCH longer than street blocks, keep that in mind when planning your trips!!! make sure your subway map is up to date since they've made a lot of recent changes to subway lines.

bring good walking shoes, since you'll be doing lots of walking. also, bring your nicer clothes--everyone is really stylish and it's easy to feel like a grubby tourist everywhere you go. trust me, you won't look out of place in your nicer stuff.

not sure how long you're going to be there, but buying a subway day-pass (it might be called a funpass) is ALWAYS cheaper than buying individual rides.

things to def. do on your first trip to nyc:
museums:
-the met (be sure to see the temple of dendur, of "when harry met sally" fame); this place is really overwhelming, focus on what you want to see, you'll never hit it all
-the natural history museum is pretty nice, if you're into that stuff; if you're into modern art, go to the MOMA (it's in queens while the manhattan one is under renovation); the guggenheim is really cool (the building is a spiral), but expensive admission
-the lower east side tenement museum is off the beaten track, but i liked it. you get to tour actual tenements that they've renovated to look like how they were at the turn of the century. it's a good tour, you learn a lot about immigrants.

other tourist shit:
***must do***times square at night--will take your breath away. be like my friends who bought me one of those 100 sexual positions booklets for $1 there. go before 5 PM if you want to be on the street outside TRL (mtv studios are there, you can't miss it)
-central park--i like strawberry fields and the "imagine" mosaic (if you're a beatles fan); also check out "the mall" (pretty tree-lined walkway) and bethesda fountain (in lots of movies); lots of walking to be done in central park, don't go there if you're tired
-empire state building--i'm not a big views person, so i've never done this, but i've seen pics and it's very nice, though it looks really windy
-i'm not sure if you can go to the statue of liberty since 9/11. i think it's cool enough to see it from the ferry, instead of actually going up it. you can see it for free if you take the staten island ferry.
-chinatown--oh smelly chinatown. go and be with your peoples. shop for fake louis vuitton and kate spade purses on canal (good for gifts for friends back home), or get (my favorite) chinese slippers at pearl river mart (477 broadway), they have the best selection. also, canal is the place for fake rolexes and bootleg CDs and DVDs (the quality is usually pretty good). oh if you know chinese, haggle with them for lower prices, it works. chinatown is also the place you should buy all your souvenirs--you can buy 5 of those "i heart ny" shirts for like $5, and shotglasses, and everything is much cheaper in chinatown. EVERYTHING.
-rockefeller center--there's probably the ice skating rink and xmas tree up there by now. i've never seen it (never been in nyc in the winter), but i'm sure it's lovely. the nbc studio is nearby there, if you want to take the tour, it's pretty good, and also radio city hall is close for a photo op. while you're around there, i'd stop by the flagship h&m by there, i think it's on 55th, but you should double check (hm.com).
-south street seaport: shopping here is the usual chain stores (gap, jcrew, express, american eagle), but there's also a beautiful view of the brooklyn bridge (go at dusk, or at night, very romantic) if you go into the mall and find the patios at the back on the second or third floors. also eat a crab sandwich while you're there (see below).
-grand central station main hall--everything moves so fast!
-you'll probably want to do ground zero. i've never done it, it's a little too heavy for me, but you should go if you want to....

other famous movie/tv stuff:
-the seinfeld resturant is near columbia: broadway and 112th or so (you can look it up online), never ate there, i hear it's ok
-the when harry met sally "orgasm" scene was filmed in katz's deli (e. houston and ludlow st.), they've got great corned beef sanwiches, but PRICEY!

misc. hangouts:
-if you're into spoken word, the place to go is the nuyorican cafe in the east village. 236 e. third st. betw. ave. b and ave. c

shopping:
my favorite shopping stretch (not for the weak) is on broadway from around 21st ALL THE WAY DOWN to canal street. from 21st and broadway going downtown, you will pass jcrew (actually i think the jcrew is on 5th ave.), express, banana, nine west, express, victoria's secret, the strand bookstore (12th and broadway, the biggest used bookstore on earth, i swear), urban outfitters, virgin megastore in union square. below the virgin megastore, you'll hit the nyu area, where there are tons of shoe stores with good prices, a gap, a barnes and noble, nyu bookstore near washington square park. keep going until you get to houston (pronounced "house-ton"), and once you cross houston, you've entered soho, aka shopping heaven. if you stick on broadway, you'll hit zara, club monaco, dean and deluca (where's felicity?), more nine wests and victoria's secrets, the soho h&m, banana, old navy, steve madden, cute little boutiques, a cool store called yellow rat bastard. about h&m, my favorite one is probably the one at 34th street/herald square (i hear there are actually two there now). it's HUGE.
a funkier place for browsing used cds and funky accessories is st. mark's place. to get there, turn east when you see the gap on east 8th street and broadway, pass fourth and third aves, and you're there. you can eat at village mingala, a good burmese place while you're there (see below).

all this shopping is making me hungry! all these recommendations are cheap and good.
-ok you're tired and broke. get a hot dog special at gray's papaya (check online for locations). good cheap hot dogs.
-must have dunkin' donuts coffee, everyone drinks it there, and it's really good.
restaurants by area:
Union Square
Chat n' Chew: 10 e. 16th st., between union square and fifth ave., comfort food, good mac n cheese and coleslaw
Republic: on the west side of union square (37 union square west between 16th and 17th streets), a trendy, but only decent japanese noodle bar.
Yama: 122 E. 17th Street at Irving, this is the best sushi i've had in nyc

East Village/near NYU
Village Mingala--21 E. 7th st. between 2nd and 3rd aves, burmese food, get the mango salad as a starter, it's TO DIE FOR, noodle dishes and beef curry are also really good
Around the Clock--open all night, good food, typical american food cafe stuff
Veniero's--342 e. 11th street; old style dessert place, good cheesecakes, they close at midnight or 1 am on the weekends.
Dojo--24 st. mark's place between 2nd and 3rd aves., cheap cheap japanese food

West Village:
Moustache: middle eastern food, 90 bedford street, get the naan bread and ouzi, it's really good, very filling, share if you're not too hungry.

Near 34th Street/Herald Square:
Pongal: 110 Lexington Avenue, between east 27th and east 28th. good indian food, all vegetarian, the dosas are so good, they're big ass crepes filled with onions, rice, etc. whatever you want.

Chinatown:
Joe's Shanghai: 9 pell street, between bowery and mott. good dim sum, get the soup dumplings, so good. you'll probably share a table with other diners, it's popular with the tourists.
Nha Trang: 87 baxter street, get the steak cubes!!!!!!!!!!!!! vietnamese food, everything is good and cheap

South Street Seaport:
crab sandwiches at south street seaport, the best place is at this stall in the food court in the mall called "simply seafood". go to the top of the mall, it's at the end near the tables, get the soft shell crab sandwich with fries. SO GOOD. my mouth is watering right now.