I have old friends in San Francisco who grudgingly tell me that the High Line is everything that's wrong with New York. Well, too bad. To me, it embodies a culture that's constantly reinventing itself: a defunct elevated railway that was becoming a burden to the city ("we used to climb up there to throw garbage bags full of rotting Korean food at the Hasids!", noted a successful photographer's assistant) becoming a startling example of urban greening for the public good. The expert landscaping makes it feel like walking on a Montauk beach - but a stone's throw from some of New York's most progressive galleries and hotels.

NYC's skyline has been drastically changing, and Frank Gehry has added a real masterpiece with 'New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street'. It is subdued compared to Gehry's other work, but also elegant, subtle, and delicate. When you stand directly under it the skin of the building can best be described as reptilian.

Perfect cocktails, chicken fat rice, and a REAL fireplace. One of the coziest spots in Greenpoint, particularly in the winter. Its "off the beaten path" location keeps out the bridge and tunnel goons, so you're likely to meet actual locals. Good for dates, solo thinking, or a small group. 

The crown jewel of the Queens Museum is a nearly 10,000-square-foot architectural model of the city originally built for the 1964 World's Fair.

The reputation of Mission Chinese Food is for being cool, weird, and extremely eccentric, which tends to mean that you either love it or hate it (an assessment that is at least somewhat correlated to your personal tolerance for spice).