[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by bvasista

I stayed in Stamford city which is about 1 hour from New York city for close to 2 & half years and used to visit New York very frequently. Myself being a vegetarian, I always found the options in any type of restaurants - Indian, Italian, Ethiopian, Thai or Middle east cuisines and road side food carts as well or quick bites like Taco Bell/Chipotle. The only place where I did not find vegetarian was in steak houses. Hope you visited Lexington Avenue or Jackson Heights where there will be lot of Indian food options - pure vegetarian too

One thing about NY is the cost, vegetarian food is technically the cheapest to make but it costs an arm and a leg over there, even the Gujarati pure veg hotels make food that barely qualifies as typical Indian food.. the raw materials are quite different there in taste (produce). I heard NJ is way better in that department, specially with southern cuisine.

I'm not much of a foodie, I survived there most of the time on candy bars and sugary drinks, some pizza joints customize the meal (or were open to customizing), can scrape through in most diners as well without having some offending food item in them. At my cousins house in Penn it was Indian food as usual (save for the slightly unusual taste of the produce). I cant stand eastern cuisine, same for Israeli stuff (falafels, hummus, pita breads, bagels etc). My niece is a typical Murican kid with the mayo and peanut butter so it was amusing to see.

NY is good to visit but one needs a few years to learn its layout, its so complex, the only ones I remember passing by are 51st street (Rockefeller) and 58th (POTUS tower). Not sure where Lexington was.

For the price of one meal in the Manhattan area I can eat like a king for a whole day here at home at some some great places.. that is for sure.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

The utter lack of good food options (for vegetarians), the general dislike of Indians by local populace

Originally Posted by bvasista

Finding a pure vegetarian is a difficult thing
And regarding general dislike of Indians, I agree with that too. Specially some of the younger generation there, look down upon Indians but out of my 3 and half years of stay in US in different cities, never faced anything in particular.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Not sure where Lexington was.

For the price of one meal in the Manhattan area I can eat like a king for a whole day here at home at some some great places.. that is for sure.

Sorry to hear that both of you had terrible experiences in NYC. Care to elaborate?
Asking because this sounds very strange to me. Lack of cheap Indian vegetarian food & open racism in New York City!

Granted racism exists but not to the open extent you guys seem to have experienced. FYI, the authorities do take racism very seriously here nowadays.

[rovingeye]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

NY is good to visit but one needs a few years to learn its layout, its so complex, the only ones I remember passing by are 51st street (Rockefeller) and 58th (POTUS tower). Not sure where Lexington was.

For the price of one meal in the Manhattan area I can eat like a king for a whole day here at home at some some great places.. that is for sure.

Actually, quite the opposite. NYC is one of the most well planned cities you will visit. The island is like a grid - the avenues run the length of Manhattan and the streets run the breadth. It's difficult to get lost with GMaps on your smart phone. Like someone has mentioned already early on the thread, the best possible way to explore the city is on foot.

Also, most of the investment banks have tons of Indians working for them. The local schools - NYU, Baruch etc are also brimming with Indian kids. Therefore, New Yorkers are very used to rubbing shoulders with Indians - both first generation and more permanent ones. I personally hardly ever encountered racism there in the many years I've spent in NYC both as a student and as a worker.

Lastly, food options for Indians are plenty on the tiny island as well. One Google search will bring up a lot of Desi food joints. Someone rightly mentioned Lexington Ave. Both Lex and Park Ave, starting right from about 28th St - 32nd St have plenty of expensive as well as cheap Indian food options catering to all the Desi folks who work at the investment banks there.

Just one tip for someone visiting, is to stay right across the river in Newport or Hoboken. That way you bring down your expenses towards lodging and can hop on the PATH (subway) and reach Manhattan in 20 mins tops. Once you're in Manhattan, all places of interest are accessible either through the extensive subway network, the Yellow cabs or your good ol' pair of legs. Also staying either in Newport or Hoboken will let you get the best pictures of the NYC skyline with the Empire state building glowing at night.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by rovingeye

Actually, quite the opposite. NYC is one of the most well planned cities you will visit. The island is like a grid - the avenues run the length of Manhattan and the streets run the breadth. It's difficult to get lost with GMaps on your smart phone. Like someone has mentioned already early on the thread, the best possible way to explore the city is on foot.

Agree with you. In fact it is easy to get lost in Bengaluru rather than in NYC. The last time I visited NYC in 2016, I got to explore the city on foot. Met a guy in lower Manhattan, who advised me it was a long walk to Central Park but then I walked all the way till there. Took Greyhound bus to NYC and got down at the Port authority terminal at 8 am. Took the subway to lower Manhattan and explored the city on foot walking all the way till Central park till 6 pm.

Originally Posted by rovingeye

Once you're in Manhattan, all places of interest are accessible either through the extensive subway network, the Yellow cabs or your good ol' pair of legs.

In fact the subway is more complex. But it is just a matter of downloading the map and getting to know the various lines to use to reach the place on interest.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

The utter lack of good food options (for vegetarians), the general dislike of Indians by local populace (I dont blame them) and the Donald..

I can understand the lack of options for Veg stuff.
However, I did not experience any explicit "dislike" for Indians.

###

On the thread:
I would suggest the folks going to Empire Estate building for view from TOP.
Don't - the better options are Rockefeller Tower and One World Trade Centers.
You get to see a better view from these buildings as well watch the illuminated Empire Estate building.

And I found this site to be extremely useful: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/3-days-i...ty-what-to-do/

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

The utter lack of good food options (for vegetarians)

You may not get the exact food that you get in India, since most of the ingridients are what they would get locally.

However, I don't agree with lack of veg options in US. I am vegetarian myself and spent about 5 years during the earlier part of the millenium, when internet was only available through desktops and were relying on Mapquest/Yahoo Maps for navigation. Even then there were enough veg options to eat out. Subway, Quiznos, Chipotle, QDoba are among the better fast food options. Apart from desi restaurants and pizzerias, there are Mediterranean, Tex-mex, Ethiopian, Thai, Chinese that have veg options.

If I were to plan a big trip in India, I shortlist out places to eat (and fuel) and don't go out unprepared and Google Maps ratings is among the metrics I use these days. I rarely go out unprepared even in India, let alone outside.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by rovingeye

Actually, quite the opposite. NYC is one of the most well planned cities you will visit. The island is like a grid - the avenues run the length of Manhattan and the streets run the breadth. It's difficult to get lost with GMaps on your smart phone. Like someone has mentioned already early on the thread, the best possible way to explore the city is on foot.

Agree, what I meant was the locals there know Manhattan like the back of their palms, they know exactly what lies in which intersection, ALL of it.. that takes either long years of staying or some impressive traveling around, I didn't have the luxury of time unfortunately.

Also, most of the investment banks have tons of Indians working for them. The local schools - NYU, Baruch etc are also brimming with Indian kids. Therefore, New Yorkers are very used to rubbing shoulders with Indians - both first generation and more permanent ones. I personally hardly ever encountered racism there in the many years I've spent in NYC both as a student and as a worker.

Originally Posted by alpha1

I can understand the lack of options for Veg stuff.
However, I did not experience any explicit "dislike" for Indians.

I'm afraid this is where many of you misunderstood my post, I never faced racism (never mentioned as such, either), few thought that I spoke Spanish and some even wished me on the Sabbath.. and most simply didn't care.. NY is the real city that doesn't care or sleep, they are busybodies walking about at quick pace.

What I meant was, if one were to become a citizen (like my cousin and her family) there, they sure wouldn't hold the societal position as they would in India, they can be nowhere near as dominant as the majority whites are, in terms of associating with the country, representing it or calling themselves "Murican". Obviously I have much much greater leverage here in India, that's what I meant. Racism does exist there but is much more muted now, again I stress that I never faced it, the restaurant servers were smiling, friendly and talkative as were most of the people I interacted with. As I wrote before, I took to the nation like fish to water.

Originally Posted by narayans80

However, I don't agree with lack of veg options in US. I am vegetarian myself and spent about 5 years during the earlier part of the millenium, when internet was only available through desktops and were relying on Mapquest/Yahoo Maps for navigation. Even then there were enough veg options to eat out. Subway, Quiznos, Chipotle, QDoba are among the better fast food options. Apart from desi restaurants and pizzerias, there are Mediterranean, Tex-mex, Ethiopian, Thai, Chinese that have veg options.

I agree there are, but not enough, or should I say not Indian enough. As I mentioned before, I cannot handle Mexican, Thai or Chinese, even if its vegetarian, hate the taste. I'm not saying I was out there scrounging for dosas or puris (I'm not that insane) but in most restaurants one'd have to be very, very vigilant (speaking as a paranoid veggie- pseudo vegan) as there'd be one offending ingredient or the other even in a diner. They need good options for burgers and pizzas like we do here, no biggie as all the major Murican food chains already have done it in India.

[Soumyajit9]

Been living and working here in NYC since 2016.
Here are some tips for travellers.

Subway users:

If you are at 10/11/12 etc street and want to go to someplace on 20/30/40 - You catch the UPTOWN train
When you street numbers are reducing, catch the DOWNTOWN train.
Try to catch the LOCAL train, because if you catch an EXPRESS, it might skip your stop. Local takes time, but will definitely stop at your stop.
Each ticket is flat fare of $2.75. Be careful before you swipe and enter the direction of train.

Food wise, walk into any of the following type of shops, you will be entertained:

1) Food Truck - For Chicken / Lamb / Falafel (veg kofta) over rice
2) Any decent looking steak selling restaurant - For good pork ribs and steaks
3) Any decent looking Indian restaurant - You will surely get a buffet lunch or a plate of biriyani for $11-$13.
4) Mexican - We found it closest to our Indian taste buds...Chipotle is our lifeline, hopefully others will like it too.
5) Pizza are expensive here. Avoid fancy Pizza shops. Stick to Dominos if on budget.
6) McD and KFC are abundant and can be relied on cheap and filling.

Times Square is supremely overrated. Just go and take pics. Do not engage in any talks with any of the people dressed in Disney / Marvel / DC costumes. If you engage to take pic with them, make the money deal beforehand - $1-2 for each costume person.
Other attractions - Mostly by walking. Take subway to central locations and walk in a radius of 1/2 kms. Uber is hyper expensive. You will be a sitting duck in NYC jams.

Memorabilia - Ask someone how to go to Chinatown / Canal Street, and buy there in bulk for gifting in India. Bargain hard. Do not buy at any random gift shops on Times Square or anywhere else. Only Chinatown / Canal Street (subway station).

NYC as a city can be done in flat 3/4 days at max.

Feel free to ask me if anyone has questions about NYC, will be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

[whateverweather]

I think NYC has restaurants for all tastes and lots of great vegetarian options. One of my favorites was Beyond Sushi - selling vegan sushi, loved it! I'm planning to return to NY this September, and check out some new places. Btw, has anyone been to the restaurants from this list? They are all so appealing!

Regarding places and must-do activities in New York: I loved the trip to the Statue of Liberty, and the 9/11 memorial. So touching. I find it amazing when local authorities memorize history in interactive and deep concepts. My sister sent me another great resource for things to do in New York based on the dates of the visit, I think it's informative, let's check it again in September!

[dsnaveen21]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Feel free to ask me if anyone has questions about NYC, will be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

Hello,
Iam planning to come New York in month of Septemeber, how would be the climate,
Coming first time (myself and wife).
Will be travelling in buses or trains.
I would be there for 4 days, please tell me some staying options, some cheaper options.
Thanks,
Naveen