Grand Central is big and beautiful and it also periodically hosts free cultural events - poets at typewriters custom-composing poems on demand - or Alvin Ailey dancers performing in Artist, Nick Cave's horse suits!

Delicious soft scrambled egg, cracked pepper and speck for breakfast or lunch :-)

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.

Offering 20% off on current “indie bestsellers” (and 10% off picks from their well-read staff), you can still get a good deal while supporting one of the city’s last independent bookstores. They also carry an impressive selection of magazines and literary journals that you can flip through in their café. McNally’s event calendar is packed with appearances and readings by authors like Zadie Smith and Chris Kraus, but they're perhaps best known for their in-store printing press and self-publishing services.

Manhattan's Chinatown is my second favorite neighborhood next to Fort Greene. It's full of people, odors, bars, clubs, cafes, and restaurants. There's always something going on here.