New, New York

CLIMBING to the top of the Empire State Building, going to a Broadway show, taking a boat trip to the Statue of Liberty and walking through Central Park – there are things that you just have to do when you visit New York.

In fact, along with checking out the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, taking in the view from the top of the Rockerfeller Centre and seeing some of the best modern art collections in the world, you’d be mad not to.

This is a city my husband and I love. But, unlike eight-year-old Albert, and 12-year-old Roscoe, we have been several times before. So, as well as introducing them to some of the classic sights for the first time, we wanted to discover something new about this dynamic and constantly evolving city too.

The best way to get to know New York is to walk everywhere. With its familiar block layout, it’s easy to find your way around. Plus, you’re also more likely to stumble across the unexpected, from incredible whoopee pie cafes to weird and wonderful street performers and even actor Kelsey Grammer and his new wife (they’d just got married the day before) strolling through Central Park.

We stayed right in the centre, in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Times Square, with incredible city views from our window. New York was there, right in our face, from the moment we woke. And the bright lights and buzz of the big city was the last thing we saw before we went to bed.

From here, we were able to walk to all the main Manhattan attractions and beyond. But the joy of it was, we could chill out in the hotel swimming pool when we returned, with aching feet, at the end of the day.

It was my desire to experience something new that led us to the fascinating outer borough of Brooklyn. Our four-and-a-half hour tour with the Slice of Brooklyn company turned out to be one of the biggest hits of our half-term break. Too many people come to New York and never cross the bridge to Brooklyn.

This is a big mistake.

Apart from offering the best views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, which has 2.5 million residents and was once a city in its own right, has a distinct character of its own, its colourful, well-defined neighbourhoods a melting pot of different nationalities.

As our tour guide, Paula, a Brooklyn girl, said: “Manhattan? Fuhgettaboudit!” Witty and informative, she entertained us with her incredible local knowledge as we drove round Brooklyn’s famous neighbourhoods, parks and landmarks The striking industrial architecture of Brooklyn’s streets has provided the backdrop for many movies, from Annie Hall to Goodfellas, The French Connection and Saturday Night Fever, and we watched the film clips on the bus as we visited one stunning location after another.

This family-run firm even managed to get us into the famous Grimaldi’s pizza restaurant under the Brooklyn Bridge, without having to queue round the block like everyone else.

(Grimaldi’s refuses to take bookings).

Grimaldi himself, whose photograph with a once regular diner Frank Sinatra hangs on the wall, even came to greet us before we ate the best pizza I have ever tasted. That’s what you call connections.

We also called into the Spumani Gardens pizza house, a true Brooklyn landmark which most out-of-towners don’t know about. The Sopranos cast members regularly call in and our boys declared the Sicilian-style pizza they had here “the best ever”.

We ended up at America’s original amusement park, Coney Island, which has about 35 fun rides along a four-mile stretch of stunning beach. We saw the famous Cyclone rollercoaster and heard about hot dog eating competitions and mermaid parades as we strolled along the legendary boardwalk. It was a great way to round off a perfect day – and walk off some of that pizza.

A few other New York locals introduced us to very different aspects of the city throughout the week.

From the Visitors’ Centre where the World Trade Centre once stood, Mary, whose husband was killed on 9/11, took us on a moving tour of the site and told us her story. This wasn’t at all tasteless or voyeuristic, but a poignant, educational and ultimately enlightening experience.

We opted for a personal tour of the Natural History Museum, too. The building is so big and the collections so huge, it is easy to end up overwhelmed and exhausted. But our enthusiastic and insightful volunteer, Barbara, gave us her personal highlights during a one-and-ahalf hour tour, which was ideal for children.

And the staff at the NBC studios took us on a backstage tour of the building, where everything from Saturday Night Live to the Today show are filmed. The boys even got to make a weather report of their own in a mini-studio.

By our last day, we thought we had seen and heard it all, until another local guide started to regale us with yet more fascinating and entertaining stories about the city during a stunning water taxi boat trip around the bay.

There is always something new to discover in New York.

THERE are so many exciting places to eat out in New York and the Hell’s Kitchen area, on Ninth Avenue, is a good place to start. With lots of classic diners and restaurants from all over the world, it’s much cheaper than nearby Broadway.

But we also picked out three quintessential New York restaurants, each very special in their own way.

Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur

PALMER, the king of New York chefs, is the Big Apple’s Gordon Ramsay. His restaurant, Metrazur, enjoys one of the best locations in the city, on the balcony right under the twinkling, star-studded dome of the magnificent, marble-vaulted Grand Central Station, one of my favourite buildings. It has a lively, vibrant atmosphere, the perfect place to people watch, while you enjoy food which draws on all the best traditions of American cooking, but with a clever, modern twist.

The menu, highlighting local and seasonal quality ingredients, is full of surprises. We couldn’t resist tasting each other’s starters, which included crab cake with mustard aioli and a trio of octopus with squid ink vinaigrette.

This was art on a plate. The veal pappardelle, with caramelised porcini, fava beans and parmesan foam, and the pork tenderloin, with crisp prosciutto and artichokes, was visually stunning. And it tasted as good as it looked.

• Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur, Grand Central Terminal, East Balcony, NY 10017. Tel 212-687-4600.

Keens Steakhouse

THIS has to be one of New York’s best kept secrets. I would advise anyone coming here not to eat all day. You won’t have to eat the next day either. I have never been served such huge, and I mean absolutely enormous, steaks. But these are not just big, they are the best steaks you will probably ever eat. And the house speciality, Keens’ acclaimed and monstrous 26-ounce, two-inch thick mutton chop, is even better. My husband, never one to offer praise lightly, declared it the most delicious meat he had ever tasted.

Keens is nothing like the modern steakhouses we have become used to. Established in 1885, this is one of the originals. But you have to search hard to find it.

We were surprised to discover the array of deep, wood-panelled dining rooms on several floors behind its quite unprepossessing frontage.

Thousands of ceramic pipes belonging to regular past diners, including Albert Einstein and Babe Ruth, decorate the ceilings. In some ways, it looks like a museum piece. But Keens isn’t living in the past. Even on a week night, it is packed to the rafters with a mixed, lively crowd of all ages.

• Keens Steakhouse, 72 West 36th Street, NY 10018. Tel: 212-947-3636. keens.com

The Tribeca Grill

OWNED by legendary actor Robert de Niro and renowned New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent, this stylish former factory warehouse with its high ceilings and exposed brick walls put the once industrial Tribeca district on the map when it first opened 20 years ago, shortly before all the A-list stars moved in.

Situated in the same building as De Niro’s film production company, and with fellow investors including Sean Penn and Bill Murray, this is the place to hang out for celebrity spotting. And the food – fine American cooking with an Italian accent – isn’t bad either. We had a delicious, lazy Sunday brunch with the children.

While we didn’t spot any major celebrities, the Grill attracts quite a crowd and we enjoyed the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. The boys loved their pancakes, (how come New Yorkers always do these better than anyone else?) while my roasted baby beet salad, followed by sweet potato gnocchi with black truffle was delicious. My husband’s hot pork Cuban sandwich got the thumbs up too. And the only problem with the salted caramel ice-cream we shared for dessert was that it was so good we fought over it.

• Tribeca Grill, 375 Greenwich Street, NY 10013. Tel: 212-941-3900. myriadrestaurantgroup.com

FACT FILE

Crowne Plaza, Times Square, Manhattan, 1605 Broadway and 49th. Manhattan NY 10019. tel: (212) 977-4000
Brooklyn tour: asliceofbrooklyn.com. Tel: 917- 678-9733
New York Water Taxi: The Statue of Liberty Express nywatertaxi.com
NBC Tours: nbcexperience@nbcuni.com.
Tel: 212-664-7174
We found the Viators booking site great for all sorts of activities, including express pass tickets for the Empire State Building (which meant we avoided long queues) and our water cruise, useful. Lots of discounted rates. viator.com We saved 45 per cent off combined ticket prices by buying pocket-sized CityPASS ticket booklets which gave admission to six top city sights including the Statue of Liberty and the Natural History Museum. citypass.com/NewYorkCity World Trade Centre Visitor Centre.

visitorservices@tributewtc.org