Boston and NYC - What to do?
 

My boyfriend, who grew up in Texas and now lives in Hawaii, is coming to visit me in NJ next month. He's never been anywhere even remotely close to the northeast before. We have 2 mini trips planned while he's here - 2 nights/3 days in NYC, and 1 night/2 days in Boston.

What should we do?! He's more of the "adventurous" type, but also enjoys having a beer at a low-key bar and going to comedy shows. He doesn't want to spend all day in museums and on tours.. And neither do I. But if there was something of this nature that was fun/unusual/interesting, we might consider it.

I just moved to NJ a couple years ago, and I only go into the city on occasion, so I'm still kind of a tourist myself. I don't really know all of the "must see/do!" things in New York. And I grew up around Boston, and I've pretty much seen it all, so I need to know what people would recommend for someone who has never been and has less than 48 hours to see it all!

I've been looking online for weeks trying to compile a list of things we can do, but what would you all recommend?

Restaurant suggestions (especially for NYC) would really help me out, too!

Thanks!

If you like Italian food I would defitnaly suggest http://www.carminesnyc.com/. I've been there once, but it was amazing. I can probably come up with more restaurants if I know what kind of food you like.

Food is actually where he's lacking an adventurous side, but anything that's not too crazy (and not strictly seafood) we can do.

^^ The Intrepid also has the Enterprise.

What kinds of things do you/ he like? If you give me approx dates I can search what might be going on around the Boston area. I have ideas, but it'd depend if you'll have a car or not, etc.

YAAAAAAY big props to Carmine. This was the only place my friend and I could get fed after 11:30 at night in Times Square on a Saturday (that wasn't McDonald's). It truly is amazing.

If he likes beer I will suggest http://www.bohemianhall.com/en/Index.php. It's not in Manhattan but easy peasy to get to on the train.

There's a really good pizza place in Alphabet City called Two Boots. It's amazing and has pretty unique pizza. Also look up Mexique. It's a barbeque/mexican fusion place on the Lower East Side. As for bars, check out some of the speakeasys if you want good drinks and a cool vibe. Death & Co is a personal favorite of mine. Maison Premiere in Brooklyn is pretty amazing, too.

For NYC: walk around times square or central park. The tour at NBC studios is always fun. Maybe try to get tickets to a taping of the late show. Rockefeller Center, twin towers memorial, eat at the stage deli.

We'll be in NYC Oct 21-23 and Boston Oct 25-26.

We will have a car in Boston, but I was hoping to take public transportation while we're there. I don't know if I want to end up outside the city.. unless maybe there's something to do on our way into the city or back out.

And thank you to everyone who has given me ideas so far!

Is it just too ridiculously touristy to suggest Faneuil Hall Market in Boston? I loved walking through it, but it has been a very long time since I was there. Might be too Corporate American now...

Definitely check out the area around City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge; and Battery Park at the lower tip of Manhattan has some pretty nice views. If you want a good boat ride, there's a line that goes from the financial district up to 34th Street in Midtown, with some stops in parts of Brooklyn and Queens along the way.

As for restaurants, the only one I can really recommend is Watawa, a Japanese restaurant over in Queens. I'm not sure if you're willing to cross the East River, but it's a quick subway ride from Midtown. Then again, I live in city limits so I'm more comfortable going around outside of Manhattan.

I would severely restrict what you are going to do. There's just too much! I loved loved loved Ellis Island, and if you can get tickets to SNL that's really fun. But if he's never been there and you have hardly been there, I'd buy a 1 or 2 day pass on a hop on/hop off tour and just ride around and see what's up. There's great food everywhere so you can just stop and find something whenever you feel peckish. If you can afford it I'd stay in a hotel to make it convenient, and stop at the TKTS booth and get some discounted Broadway tickets. But that's me.

Our hotel is overlooking Faneuil Hall, so we can't exactly avoid it. Haha. I feel like it's one of those things you HAVE to do. Again, I grew up there, but every time I'm in the city, I always stop there first, even for just a short period of time. And we'll have a nice view of it, even if we're not standing in the middle of it :)

You can't "do" either city in just a couple of days.

Boston: Beer snob -> hit the Sunset Grill in Allston. 110 beers on tap. Also, the walk along the Charles River is one worth taking.

NYC: Manhattan has everything - museums, expensive restaurants, hole-in-the-wall restaurants ... and don't overlook the other 4 boroughs.

Have fun!

Oh, trust me.. I know. This is my dilemma! Haha