The jetties along Rockaway Beach are one of my regular destinations when I can get out there. I grew up in a Coast Guard family and spent a fair amount of time around the ocean and surfing. I still like to get in the water and this is the first Atlantic-exposed beach on Long Island as you start to get out of the city. When it comes to the environment, constructions like these can be contentious things but they also make for a series of interesting surf spots. Its got a lot of New York metro qualities you might expect including the Subway making its stops a couple of blocks back from the water.

7 months before moving to New York I visited for the first time. I was immediately enraptured and felt a deep connection to the city that I had never experi- enced. It was in this massive hall at The Met that I decided I would be leaving Los Angeles and coming to NYC as soon as I possibly could.

You need to make a reservation for L'Artusi years in advance... or at least the week before, if you try a walk-in then ask to be seated at the bar, as always in New York that is the best seats at any of my favorites restaurants.

Cute and eclectic, The HiHi Room serves a variety of comfort foods with vegetarian options in a chill atmosphere on a bustling street in Brooklyn. 

Webster Hall is a solid venue, and a frequent stop for many great bands on their rise to glory. If you've only got a few nights in the city, chances are a great act will be playing here.