First Bite of the Big Apple - Taking teenagers to NYC

City breaks seem to suit our family extremely well. The teenagers are quickly bored on the beach (spoilt) and the hustle and bustle of a foreign city is a great contrast to our sleepy Cornish home town. New York City is an ideal destination for teenagers for as well as feeling like a huge movie set, the jet lag created by travelling west means that they will actually get out of bed before lunch. Prior to leaving we all wrote down the things that we wanted to do resulting in a contented balance of modern art and fried chicken. Our boys (aged 15 and 17 years) are at an ideal stage to enjoy the city and could manage their subway passes, hecklers, late nights and improvising on the fly.

Brooklyn

Our days booking a hotel room with a fold out sofa bed are long gone. Hotel rooms in Manhatten for four people are prohibitively expensive and tiny. We opted for more space and booked a lovely Air B n B in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Our appartment was a brisk five minute walk to the Subway Station (Grand Street) and a 10 minute subway ride to Manhatten (Union Square). There were plenty of affordable food options and coffee shops on our doorstep including Three Legged Cat (best coffee in NYC) From Rome to Brooklyn (pizza) and the fabulous Kellogg’s Diner serving American and Mexican food in a tradional Happy Days- style setting. We attended the Sunday Service at Love, Fellowship Tabanacle (Brooklyn) where we were made to feel very welcome and enjoyed listening to their fabulous gospel choir.

Central Park brrrrrrr.

Activities

Our Go City Pass included access to five major attractions in New York City. One of the unexpected highlights was the American Museum of Natural History. Who knew that the teenage boys were still so enamoured by dinosaurs? We were all impressed by the Hayden Big Bang Theatre and the scale of the exhibits. I enjoyed the rather niche tour of Art Deco friezes at the Rockerfella Centre although I am not sure that my enthusiasm was shared. The story of immigration was well told at Ellis Island and a great insight into the melting pot of cultures within the city.

We snagged some last minute tickets to watch Moulin Rouge on Broadway (TodayTix) which was spectacular and more fabulous than the film with the addition of contemporary bangers that were familiar to the teens. We pre booked tickets to see the Knicks vs Bulls at Madison Square Gardens (Ticketmaster). I am not a sport enthusiast but thoroughly enjoyed the basketball (apart from the awful honking) it’s a much more wholesome family affair than watching the football. (less c bombs more giveaways). A visit to the National Stonewall Memorial Centre was eye opening and felt timely given the current US political climate.

Gay Liberation’ statue by George Segal (outside Stonwewall Inn)

Food

Food is a very high priority on our family holidays. As well as some rather grim fried chicken affairs (the kids loved Raising Canes and Chick-Fil-A) we were excited to find some great Jewish Delis. We enjoyed chicken soup and Reuben sandwiches at PJ Bernsteins on the Upper East Side (close to the Met and Guggenheim). The more famous Katz Deli was worth the queue but you’ll need sharp elbows to grab a table. We found the best bagels at Bagel Bobs in Grenwich Village : popular with the students at NYU, these bagels were loaded and very budget friendly. We ate gorgeous Italian food at Nizza and Bea in Hell’s Kitchen. These fun restaurants were bursting with atmosphere and their menus had all the regular crowd pleasers as well as more creative offerings.

My last visit to New York was in 1996 when I seemed to spend most of my time sunbathing and smoking on the steps of the Met (I did go in briefly). I had forgotten that the Subway was edgy and makes the London Underground look like the Orient Express. Our teenagers were definitely exposed to the more grubby side of the city, in fact they were absolutely thrilled to witness criminal activity (Tasor anyone?) All in all, New York City blew their minds and I don’t think they’ll ever forget their first bite of the Big Apple.

Delicious Reuben Sandwiches with no queue at PJ Bernstein.