If you're around the Upper West Side, here's some spots I recommend you check out:
To get to the Upper West side, take the 1 or 9 train to the 110th Street / Cathedral Parkway station.
From the train walk one block East and have a freshly baked croissant at The Hungarian Pastry Shop (1030 Amsterdam Ave between 111th and 112th Amsterdam Avenue).
Peter and Wendy, who also run the P&W Sandwich shop next door
and have been welcoming neighborhood residents and countless Columbia students with their no-frills pastry shop for years.
Order at the counter, give your name, and then sit down. Within a few minutes your name will be called out and one of the waitresses will bring your order over. If it's a beautiful day, score an outdoor table and admire the Cathedral view (more on the Cathedral in a moment). If you're in the mood for something more substantial, order a sandwich at P&Ws and bring it over. Free coffee refills are available right next to the counter. When you're ready to leave, bring your check back up to the front.
When you're done with breakfast, go across the street and visit St. John the Divine - the largest cathedral in the U.S.
Located at 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, one block east of Broadway. (Highlights include the Commons, 13-acre oasis in Manhattan with free-roaming peacocks. If you're lucky you'll run into a rare albino peacock.
Inside the Cathedral you'll find the world's largest Rose window and some amazing works of stained glass. The Cathedral is truly a twentieth century gothic work of art. Outside the Cathedral you'll find pillars that depict modern skyscrapers (including the WTC, DNA, Media, a child being born, and the end of the World [?])flanking the main doors.
Inside stained glass continues the modern motif and has windows dedicated to sports bay, and American. There's even a depiction of the sinking of the Titanic! Tours are conduced on Sundays. Call for info.
[as of February 2007 - a good portion of the Cathedral is closed for repairs. The grounds with peacocks are still open to the public.]
Next comes a late lunch. Have pizza and wine at V&T's Pizza - a local favorite. Not the best pizza but it's a true New York site and a local favorite or walk on down to Broadway.
Seinfeld fan? Suzan Vega fan? Tom's restaurant is right down the street at 112th and Broadway.
Here's a hint - it sucks. Take a picture and eat elsewhere. My favorite spot is 107 West (located, obviously enough, at 107th Street).
Al Yeganeh - the original Soup Nazi, just opened up "The Soup Man", across the street from Tom's (on the east side of Broadway between 111th and 112th). $7+ for soup. Can't say I've tried them.
[closed 01/2007
Father uptown you could try The West End. A former classic New York Jazz Bar, its closing later this year. Have a brew in memory of college years gone by.
[closed. now a Cuban Resturant]
A little farther north at 116th and Broadway you'll find Columbia University.
