I'm traveling the country... what should I do?!
 

Starting in July, I'll be traveling for 6-8 months for work. I'll be spending at least 2 weeks in each place that I visit, and there's a good chance I'll be staying the weekend in most of them.

I'm looking for fun things to do, and I'm especially looking for great restaurants where I should eat, as I'll probably be eating out 90% of the time. That's where you all come in... I need suggestions!

Places I'll be visiting:

New York City
Chicago
Philadelphia
Boston
Atlanta
Orlando
Houston
Dallas
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Honolulu

I've been to NYC twice, but there's still so much there that I haven't seen or experienced. I've been to Orlando before, but I've only really visited Disney parks. And I basically grew up in Boston, but I'm curious to see if anyone suggests places that I haven't been to/heard of before.

Help!

Are you visiting Dallas proper, or somewhere else in the Metroplex? And will you have access to a vehicle while you're here (the area is very spread out)?

ETA: Adding this so I can fill it in tomorrow:

Dallas
- Downtown/West End
- Uptown/Knox-Henderson/Oaklawn
- Addison
- Greenville (Above and Below Mockingbird)


Fort Worth
- West of DT
- Stockyards


Arlington
- Arlington Highlands
- Entertainment District

Instead of looking for something to do in Dallas, just head 30 minutes west to Fort Worth. It is a much better city, especially for tourists. The Stockyards just north of downtown has the old west feel, but there are also many great museums in the art district which is just west of downtown.

As far as where to eat while in Dallas, well obviously Mexican. In order of my preference:

Gloria's- a locally owned place with restaurants all over Dallas. The one in Oak Cliff is the original, but any of them are good. One margarita will do ya. Great place for dinner during the week while you are working in Dallas.

Uncle Julio's- yes these have sprung up in various parts of the country, but the food is really good in the DFW locations.

Joe T Garcia's- probably the most famous of all restaurants in Fort Worth. It is near the Stockyards, so could make a nice lunch or dinner while you are out sightseeing. No reservations- you just show up and stand in line, which depending on time of year and day of week could be for up to 2 hours. Dinner choices are fajitas or enchiladas. That's it! But atmosphere, drinks and food are all good. Hopefully you will hit DFW in the fall and not the summer. You most likely will be eating outdoors on the patio- it comprises probably 90% of the seating and is huge, huge, huge. Some sections are covered and have a ceiling fan.

If you are in Dallas over a weekend, then seriously plan for the weekend to be in Fort Worth. I promise there is much more to do, it is much more scenic, and the people are much more friendly. I have lived at least 7 years in each city. I know them well.

ETA: okay, while in Dallas do go to the JFK museum. Just because. I would also suggest a tour of the new Cowboys stadium (aka JerryWorld or the DeathStar) because it is just insane. The stadium is located in Arlington, mid-way between Dallas and Fort Worth.

^^^ Tarrant County pusher :p

To ASTalumna06 - listen to Blondie93. I'll fill in some more Dallas stuff eventually.

When you are in Atlanta, go to Stone Mountain. Stay for the evening lazer show on the lawn. Cafe Intermezzo for coffee and desserts.

By the way... what a great list of cities to visit! What a great experience. Lucky you.

In Chicago:

- Go to Navy Pier. While there, eat a hot dog and have a beer at the beer garden.
- Eat one slice of deep dish pizza at Giordano's. Try one slice - if you don't like it, their NY Style isn't too bad either.
- Stand on the SkyLedge at the Sears Tower and try not to fudge your undies.
- For a nicer meal, try Frontera Grill in the restaurant district. Nice jeans/nice shirt attire can pass but best to be business casual.
- Eat another hot dog at Portillo's.
- Do one of the river cruises. The best is the Wendella. When going past my office building, wave. There will probably be a guy in a brightly colored polo shirt freaking out waving with both arms outside my building, but only if there are kids on your boat.
- Go to the American Girl Store at the Water Tower Place. If you're with a guy, drop him off at the Apple Store down the street.
- Go to North Avenue Beach. You can get hot dogs and italian beef sandwiches there, too.

I second this. It sounds like it's changed since I was there last (I'm sure I had a chimichanga - I wasn't limited to only fajitas or enchiladas). I still have an "Eat at Joe's" T-shirt. :o

In Atlanta, eat at Canoe (on the Chattahoochee).

^^
Ditto agzg's advice about the SkyLedge, Giordanos and Portillos!!

Also visit Millenium Park (check to see if there's going to be something going on when you're here at this website: http://www.millenniumpark.org/)

P.S. I'm so jealous of your trip. I was just realizing that there's a bunch of major U.S. cities that I want to visit. I totally want to visit your list (minus either Dallas or Houston and plus St. Louis!)

Oh St. Louis is such a great, historic city! I'm about an hour and a half from it, but it's great for weekend trips! The St. Louis Zoo, which is free other than parking, is a great place for all ages. Also, Cardinals games are such a huge tradition, and you can find cheap tickets. There's also a really great science center and several great malls. Also, if you do make a trip to STL, I would recommend crossing the river and visiting the Cahokia Indian Mounds in Belleville, Illinois. It's a really amazing place and only about 15 minutes.

Here's some things to do while in Philly:

- If you like History: check out the Liberty Bell and the National Constitution Center.

- If your big on food: check out the Reading Terminal Market. Tons of different cuisine and eat a real cheesesteak. Pat's & Gino's are legendary. Be sure to heed the rules when ordering. Its either "wit" or "wit out". Also, if you've never had one "Eat a Ritas". It will change your thoughts on water ice completely. Also, you could go eat at a Steven Starr restaurant - fun places with good/interesting food: http://www.starr-restaurant.com/

- If your an animal lover: try the Philadelphia Zoo, one of the best in the country. If you still are interested in animals, you can take a quick ride across the bridge into Camden, NJ to check out the Aquarium.

-If you are into art:check out the world famous Philadelphia Art Museum, you can even run up the stairs like Rocky! Other museums, like the Franklin Institute (very cool, but can be over run with kids) or the Mutter Mueseum, owned by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and has very weird medical artifacts (not for the squimish!)

- For sports, you can try to go see a Phillies game or catch a regatta.

There are also cute towns within the city to walk through such as Manayunk (said "Manny-unk"), Old City, and Chestnut Hill.

No kidding!

A lot depends on whether or not you'll have a car at your disposal, and whether or not you want to go tourist or native.

If you have 5 hours in New York, take the Circle Line cruise with a friend. A lot of landmarks are pointed out, plus if it's a sunny day, it's totally relaxing. I always suggest the Forbes Magazine Gallery, especially if you're into bling. It's free, and there's a lot of bling from royal families, antique toys, and more Imperial Fabrege Eggs than anyone but Queen Elizabeth. http://antiques2.iantiquesguide.com/...20550691_1.jpg At 72nd Street W, but in Central Park is Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon. The Lower East Side is full of history, and many times, you'll see a movie being filmed here or there. And of course, there's shopping!

In Chicago, Super Dawgs is my choice for Hot Dogs. http://images.nymag.com/images/2/dai...wg_250x250.jpg It's at 6363 Milwaukee Avenue; Chicago, IL 60646-3726
(773) 763-0660, and is well worth the drive. I don't know when you're going, but Chicago hosts "The Taste of Chicago", where you can try a little bit of many restaurants' offerings. Be sure to try an Italian Beef, and of course, The Billy Goat (from SNL fame) at Billy Goat Tavern Original, Near Tribune Towers and Wrigley Building; 430 N. Michigan Ave at Lower Level: Phone: 312-222-1525. The Lincoln Park Zoo is free, except for parking.

I agree about seeing the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. Just off of SMU's campus is an interesting plaza that has some great restaurants and shops - but we got stalled at the Irish Pub (Tipperary?).

As for the rest, I've either never been or it's been too long to comment. Have a great time!

Since you are going to be in Florida, I recommend you visit Siesta Beach (2nd best beach in America) in Sarasota, and Cocoa Beach. Siesta Bch is 2 hours away from Orlando via the Interstate, and Cocoa is about an hour away.

Cross check the dates you are going to be in Orlando with NASA. If you have the chance to see a shuttle launch, definitely take the opportunity!

As for things to do in Orlando, City Walk is nice as is International Drive. Downtown has a decent nightlife and good food.

If you decide to spend some time in Sarasota, let me know. I'm pretty familiar with the town and I can recommend lots of things to do, great places to eat and drink.

If you're on Twitter, follow PulseJFK (http://twitter.com/pulsejfk) - I think they're on Facebook too. They list crazy free/cheap stuff in NYC.

I'm sure other cities have something like this, but this is one I've stumbled across.

This is an awesome thread! Can we sticky it? It's almost like a mini-guide to the U.S.!

I'm sure that others will give you great advice (or you already know Boston, the only place I "know" well), but I wanted to say that it's an amazing opportunity! It might be a little lonely (missing family), but when will you ever get the chance to spend so much time in those cities? Even if it's afterwork or weekends, it's so cool!!

I second this Philly list. Definately spend a day downtown, walk around, tour the US mint (do they still do that?), visit Chinatown, do the Liberty Bell and Independance Hall. Go out and tour Valley Forge National Park. If you're a shopper, you MUST go to the King of Prussia mall... I am NOT a shopper, and even I loved it there. There are some other cute little small towns around there, I like West Chester (good restaurants and Iron Hill Brewery). Victory Brew Pub in Downingtown is one of my favorites too.

I have some Houston suggestions too... but they mostly involve driving to Galveston and enjoying the beach!


Oh, and definately join Tripadivsor.com. You'll get lots of great advice on places to visit.

I second that. :-)

I love my hometown! So things to do ....

1. Coke! The coca cola muesum that is

2. Little Five Points for some weird fun

3. The Aquarium ... if fish are your thing

4. Six Flags over Ga

5. Stone Mountain Laser Show

6. Shopping - Lenox Mall

7. High Muesum of Art

San Francisco:
The Golden Gate Bridge (pictures do not do it justice)
Chinatown
Alcatraz
Union Square (kick ass shopping)
Fisherman's Wharf
Lombard Street
Cable Car (my favorite line is the Powell and Mason line)

PM me if you have any questions

Ewwww.

Not even taquerias?

Well those are usually only tacos right? Those are probably alright because how badly can people really screw up tacos.


The times I've been to Dallas (shoot even Midland, etc) I've NEVER encountered a good Mexican restaurant. It's Tex Mex which is completely different.


Even on the food network/travel channel (which BTW Bourdain, Laredo is not the 'Capital of the Border' :mad: ) when they go to places like that---like Guy who went to that one "Mexican" restaurant in San Antonio where their enchiladas is covered in chili beans--the food just doesn't look appetizing.


Of course, it's just like the GC Italians who hate it when people say Olive Garden is real Italian food. It's not, but its what people are used to eating. Like my step-dad's sisters who came from NJ and thought they could handle the salsa some the restaurants served because they can "handle the fire sauce from Taco Bell."

I love Mexican but whenever I get to Dallas (4-5 times a year), I always seem to find Tex-Mex, which I don't like and they don't seem to know the difference.

The taquerias up here are usually the closest to "real Mexican food" that I've seen (outside of eating at some of my frat brothers' parents' homes). They're more than just tacos, too.

But co-sign on the Tex-Mex (which I can only stand in small doses).

Didn't catch this earlier, but Gloria's is Salvadorian, not Mexican.

Wait, i think I might be thinking of something different. Are the 'taquerias' you're talking about like an actual restaurant or those RV looking things that drive around town?

I don't have experience with the 'on the go' mobile taquerias but we do have several 'taqueria' shops here, which are just ok...nothing to rave about.

I'm talking about the shops/restaurants, but we have the mobile ones too (RV, trucks, and shopping carts lol).

Of course, with any "trying to be authentic" restaurant, it's going to be hit or miss, but the ones I've visited have been pretty spot-on. The bad ones that I've visited were mostly in Central TX as opposed to North.

1.) I have no idea! haha
2.) Yes, I'll have access to a car.

I know! I'm pretty excited. And if everything goes according to plan, I'll get to visit these places twice! I work for an insurance company and we're going "paperless" and I'm doing the training and support for this new computer system across the company. We're training all of the underwriting staff first, then claims, which will probably start in March of next year.

And I must say, the times that I'm visiting these places is basically perfect (in terms of weather). Approximate time of year for each:

New York City = mid-July
Chicago = August
Philadelphia = August-September
Boston = September
Atlanta = early October
Orlando = October
Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco = November and December (not sure exactly what order these will be in yet)
Honolulu = early 2011

Thank you everyone for your suggestions so far! :D

You are 100% correct. I was referring to Tex-Mex. For those of us who grew up in Texas, but not in a border town or with Mexican relatives, it is pretty much all we know so we like that flavor. It is funny, though, because we do refer to it as "Mexican" even though we know that in the true sense of the word Mexican is different. However, you really don't hear anyone in the DFW area saying "Let's go out for Tex-Mex." We just call it Mexican, even though that is technically incorrect. Oh well.

And yes, Gloria's is El Salvadoran, but there is quite a bit of cross over to the Tex-Mex fare. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

What the heck do you do that you get to travel so much? I'm extremely jealous.

In Orlando I recommend Howl at the Moon if you want to go out. I never at there, but its a dueling piano bar and it was wicked fun. They have on in Chicago I think too.

The one on orlando is on I-drive right next to TOmmy bahamas (which apparently has good food)

Also, eat at Perry's Deli on Franklin while in Chicago. Bring your apetite. You can ask the sandwich makers to split half to eat in and half to go. I usually eat half for my lunch, then half for dinner.

DO NOT get a triple decker there unless you want a side of beef in your sandwich.

Yeah very true. Shoot, even in El Paso we have some Tex-Mex like Fajitas, burritos, etc. I went to Midland once where their idea of a quesadilla, was a big round tortilla chip, covered in Velvetta. It was DISGUSTING!!!!

If you want to do some fancy shopping (or just drool), go to the Mall at Millennia in Orlando. There's a Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, all sorts of fab designers...

Dragging this back to the top because I've been thinking about it and finally have the time to compose something.

There's already some great recommendations for Philadelphia, but you also have to go out for breakfast or brunch if you can. It's really big here (although that might be true elsewhere; I just don't know). The most popular places seem to be in the neighborhoods around the Italian Market, such as Bella Vista and Passyunk Square: the Morning Glory Diner, Sabrina's, Fitzwater Cafe, Royal Tavern, Carman's Country Kitchen, Green Eggs, Black & Brew. Some other well-known places in other neighborhoods are Honey's Sit 'n Eat, Ida Mae's, Ants Pants, and 10th St. Pour House. Warning: Because of popular demand, you can end up waiting a while for a table, even on weekdays (nickname for Honey's: "Honey's Stand 'n Wait"), but it's well worth it. If you have a frittata at Morning Glory, you might not need to eat for the rest of the day.

After you've seen the sights, you might also just like wandering around the "city of neighborhoods," people watching and admiring the architecture. There is a big hipster culture here, and the neighborhoods of Northern Liberties, Fishtown, and Passyunk Square are the epicenters. No Libs is more developed, with trendy shops, restaurants, and bars; Fishtown is in transition from a blue-collar neighborhood and has a lot of artists; Passyunk Square is very international, a mix of hipsters and professionals with Mexicans and southeast Asians as well as the traditional Italian population. The areas in West Philadelphia around the campuses of Drexel, Penn, and University of the Sciences are beautiful (although there is concern about safety), and you could check out their versions of Greek houses. Plus, you might be around at move-in time, and even many years after I graduated, I still enjoy seeing the students catch up with their friends and get ready for the new school year.

Bump.

How's the cross-country extravaganza going, ASTalumna06? Have you visited any of the places suggested in this thread?

I almost committed the sin of replying to a thread that's months old! I'm interested to hear how it all went as well. I'm a travel agent and a foodie, so this was right up my alley.

I will definitely give you all an update, hopefully later today or tomorrow. It's going to be a long one, I'm sure! :)