Historic Baseball Tours

The "Five College" area of central Massachusetts combines the buzz of one of America's most stimulating intellectual and artistic centers with the serenity of New England's wooded hills and a genteel aura of yesteryear. The closely clustered campuses of Amherst College, Hampshire College, the University of Massachusetts, Smith College, and Mount Holyoke College offer a smorgasbord of free and low-cost (under $10) lectures, readings, plays, film screenings, and events, not to mention galleries and museums where you can view works by such masters as Claude Monet and Thomas Eakins. Truly world-class performances of orchestral and chamber music, jazz, opera, musical theater, and dance at the University of Massachusetts Fine Arts Center (800/999-8627, fineartscenter.com) cost $15 or less - a third of what you'd pay in the big city. Fortunately, the intellectual and cultural offerings at the five colleges are scheduled mostly during the week, so you can avoid the hassle of getting (and paying double for) weekend reservations and waiting outside crowded restaurants. If you can't visit during the week and don't want to reserve your room long in advance, you should at least aim for a weekend out of foliage season, when there are no graduations, homecomings, parents' weekends, or big conferences (most of the more accessible weekends are between late November and mid-April, so pack that extra sweater!). These campuses are all within ten miles of each other, and here's a nifty budget secret: the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (413/545-0056, umass.edu/campus_services/transit). For more than 30 years, students from Smith (in Northampton); Amherst, Hampshire, and UMass (in Amherst);and Mount Holyoke (in South Hadley) have been taking classes at each other's institutions, mixing socially, attending each other's demonstrations, and performing together onstage. This led to the development of the PVTA, which runs buses at convenient intervals between all of the colleges and nearby towns, free of charge for students, visitors, and locals alike during the nine months of the academic year. However you decide to get around, you will want to visit the campuses - they all welcome visitors, so you shouldn't feel like a trespasser. Think of them, rather, as parks where you can picnic by a waterfall or read beneath a tree, stroll meditatively through gardens, and become a little intoxicated by the atmosphere that emanates from those classic stone towers and ivy-covered walls. College highlights Spend an hour or a day in the main reading room of the Mount Holyoke College Library, which, with its upholstered chairs and tall leaded-glass windows, will make you feel as if you were at Oxford or Cambridge. Although as a visitor you will not be allowed to check out books, there are about six million titles for you to browse, as well as special-collections exhibits where you can view rare illustrated books and original manuscripts and letters by Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost (both Amherst poets). Other free indoor attractions at the Five College campuses include the National Yiddish Book Center at Hampshire College (the world's largest collection of Jewish literature from the last 1,000 years), free concerts and lectures, the flowering banana trees and other exotics at Smith College's Lyman Plant Conservatory (413/585-2740, smith.edu/garden), and the mounted skeleton of a duckbill dinosaur at Amherst College's Pratt Museum of Natural History (413/542-2165, amherst.edu/pratt). By far the largest of the five colleges is UMass, Amherst. Although it may look like nothing more than an overcrowded, high-rise cement-slab public institution, you would be missing a great deal if you never explored its 28-story W.E.B. DuBois Library (one of the world's tallest), its Fine Arts Center and University Gallery (contemporary art), and the Augusta Savage Gallery (multicultural art). You could also attend a practice or game involving one of UMass's several regionally and nationally prominent Division I athletic teams. The very best thing about UMass is its academic vitality. Although you may not be permitted to attend classes, you should still feel free to snoop around hallways and peek unobtrusively into laboratories or lecture halls. You just might get invited in or at least get a peek at Lynn Margulis, the preeminent evolutionary biologist and presidential scholar, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Tate, or O. Henry Award-winning author John Edgar Wideman. The charms of Northampton In spite of its population of only 30,000, the town of Northampton is often compared to San Francisco. That may sound farfetched, but less so if you were standing amidst Northampton's numerous galleries, fine jewelry and crafts stores, cafes, theaters, clubs, and restaurants, all frequented by the area's many artists, writers, activists, academics, and professionals. The town's crown jewel, however, is Smith College, founded in 1875 as one of the first institutions for young women to provide an education that was equal in every way to the best offered to young men. This idea undoubtedly provided the soil for Northampton's highly visible feminist culture (which has rippled out to the rest of us - Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Sylvia Plath all graduated from Smith. All right, so did Nancy Reagan). Smith is also an oasis amid the bustle of downtown Northampton. Pass through the wrought-iron gates on West Street at the western end of downtown, and you'll find yourself walking between the small, gabled Victorian structures of the college's original core. Go beyond the quadrangle and library to the hill above the boathouse and Paradise Pond, and you'll feel totally in another world-just as designer Frederick Law Olmsted intended. Staying smart Affordable lodgings in Amherst include the Campus Center Hotel (413/549-6000) on the UMass campus, which offers double occupancy rooms and free indoor parking for $89 to $95. A bit more picturesque is Allen House Victorian Inn (599 Main St., 413/253-5000, allenhouse.com), a seven-room inn with museum-quality Victorian furnishings and decor, doubles from $85, and five-course breakfast. The best value is probably the Lord Jeffrey Inn (30 Boltwood Ave., 800/742-0358), next to Amherst College, an excellent full-service hotel with 48 rooms, two restaurants, and cozy colonial-style parlors; doubles from $89; the two-night "Weekend Getaway" is $188 with breakfast in bed for two. Two other even cheaper local options are on Route 9 between Amherst and Northampton. The Norwottuck Inn in Hadley (877/667-9688) has 23 good clean rooms (doubles from $55) with a nice outdoor pool next to a cornfield. Bikers, take note: there are nearby bike rentals and trails. Not far north, the Country Belle Motel (413/586-0715) is nothing fancy but has clean, tidy rooms, with doubles starting at just $45. Brainy bargain bites Both Amherst and Northampton boast a plethora of dining, whether fine or more humble. In Amherst, Pasta e Basta (26 Main St., 413/256-3550) serves a wide selection of pastas and sauces and fire-grilled vegetables, meats, and fish. Meals come in huge portions, with a basket of home-baked breads, and cost from $5 to $11. Amherst Brewing Company (24 N. Pleasant St., 413/253-4400) has a pub atmosphere with hearty food and eight home brews and Guinness on tap. Try the German-style, home-baked smoked cheddar "Monster" pretzel ($6 to $7), and one might be all you can handle. There's free jazz Sunday nights at nine. La Veracruzana (63 S. Pleasant St., 413/253-6900) offers burritos, enchiladas, a salsa bar, and more. Stuff yourself for under $5. The Graduate Lounge at the Campus Center of UMass (413/545-0111) is a cozy place to get away from undergraduates, have sandwiches for $2.45 to $3.95, read a magazine, and enjoy a draft beer or a cup of coffee. For a student favorite, on the other hand, try the Hangar Pub and Grill (a.k.a. "Wings") at 55 University Drive (413/549-9464), where an order of 15 of its 12 varieties of chicken wings ($7.95) would stuff an NFL lineman. In Northampton, many of the better deals have an Italian flavor. You'll find the nicest dining room in town and first-class cuisine at incredibly low prices - from just $5 an entree - at Fresh Pasta Company (249 Main St., 413/586-5875). Get large panini sandwiches on home-baked focaccia for $5.50 to $5.75 at Caffe Mezza Luna (7 Strong Ave., 413/584-5040), or the most gargantuan thin-crust pizza slices you'll ever see for just $2 at Nini's La Pazzaria (71 Pleasant St., 413/584-1711). There's admittedly not much seating room, though. For more exotic international flair, head to Amanouz Cafe (44 Main St., 413/585-9128), a haven for students from French-speaking countries which dishes up Moroccan specialties served in traditional crockery for $5 to $10 per entree (pita sandwiches are $3.95 to $5.75). Coming to college Online information sources include gazettenet.com, an online newspaper, and the Allen House Victorian Inn's Web site, allenhouse.com, which gives the most comprehensive set of links for visitors to the area. The Five College Calendar (413/256-8316, fivecolleges.edu) is a single master list of events at all of the campuses for each month. Amtrak (800/872-7245, amtrak.com) stops in Amherst, while Peter Pan Bus Lines (800/237-8747) connects various stops in the area with Boston, Connecticut, and New York City. Valley Transporter (800/872-8752) offers door-to-door service - $32 from Connecticut's Bradley Airport to Amherst or Northampton.

At a strange little village an hour south of Buffalo, talking to the dead is a way of life. Founded by the Laona Free Thinkers Association in 1879, when spiritualism was an obsession of America's elite, Lily Dale attracted legends such as Susan B. Anthony, Mae West, and Harry Houdini. Today, "the Dale," pop. 500, unlocks its picket fences each summer to admit soul-searchers. (This year: June 25 to September 5; visitors pay $7 for every 24 hours they visit; 716/595-8721, http://www.lilydaleassembly.com/.) The mediums More than 30 residents of this tree-shaded town are clairvoyants who purport to help people connect with departed family, friends, and spirit guides. On their gingerbread-trimmed homes, look for signs soliciting private sessions ($50 to $75 for 30 to 60 minutes). Lily Dale Museum In this packed treasure trove, study somber-faced spirit paintings, touch tin trumpets that are said to have materialized during séances, and read a message attributed to the spirit of Abraham Lincoln. Free psychic service Take the gravel path at the edge of the village into the Leolyn Woods, past the tilted, moss-covered gravestones of the pet cemetery, and into the towering old-growth forest where "message services" have been held since 1898. At 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day, mediums "serve spirit" to believers sitting expectantly on benches. Also try the free 4 p.m. service at the tiny Forest Temple nearby. The pamphlet at the Healing Temple on East Street admonishes, "Spiritual healing is not a substitute for medical treatment." But daily at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., men and women in white stroke the invisible energy fields of ailing visitors. Maplewood Hotel The 19th-century inn is the heart of the village; its two-story wraparound porch overlooks Lake Casadaga. Check out the parlor decorated with a huge tapestry supposedly embroidered by a woman who didn't eat for nine years. Double rooms from $69, 716/595-2505.

In a city heavily visited by tourists, the difference between the life of the resident and that of the tourist can be gigantic. The two groups inhabit different areas, patronize different restaurants and shops, pursue their entertainment in different places. And most people would agree that the resident-in cities ranging from Venice to Phoenix to London-makes a far more profound and rewarding use of the city than the tourist does. No city better illustrates that point than New York. In this, the first of a series that will deal two months from now with London and then with Paris and elsewhere, Budget Travel explores the life led by New Yorkers, not tourists, and the institutions patronized by them, all in an effort to suggest a better approach to the city for an out-of-town visitor. The theater The "other New York" starts with theater that challenges the mind-something found in New York and a tiny handful of other large cities, but rarely anywhere else. Especially in America, most theaters are places of pure spectacle, escapism, or soothing music meant only to entertain; in New York, theater is a source of provocative new ideas, lifestyles, and beliefs. Though residents may occasionally go to the same splashy Broadway musicals as the tourist, they also patronize a form of more serious drama rarely seen by the tourist: the 200 or so Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theaters in neighborhoods removed from the low-life glitter of Times Square. At least 80 of those "Offs" and "Off-Offs" are described and critically discussed in each issue of Time Out New York ($2.99), found on all newsstands. Consider, for your own dip into cutting-edge theater, the New York Theater Workshop (it developed the show Rent) at 79 East 4th Street, 212/460-5475, $35 a seat, but students pay only $15, senior citizens (over 65) $28, tickets for Sunday night shows $20; the Public Theater (originated A Chorus Line), 425 Lafayette Street, 212/260-2400, about $50 to $60, $15 rush tickets a half hour before showtime unless sold out; Brooklyn Academy of Music for dance, theater, and concerts, 30 Lafayette Avenue and 651 Fulton Street, both in Brooklyn, 718/636-4100, $25 to $75, student/senior rush tickets $10; P.S. 122 (the city's top venue for avant-garde theater and dance), 150 1st Avenue, 212/477-5288, $15 seats. --Pauline Frommer Nightly events Wholly apart from the theater scene, New York is matched only by London in the number and variety of its free or nominally priced evening events (seminars, protests, celebrity signings, readings, and more) to which residents-but few tourists-flock every night. Time Out New York lists most of them, and just as important is the free-of-charge Village Voice, distributed in red dispensers around town. Bulletin boards at bookstores, cafZs, and visitor centers should also be consulted, particularly those near the city's colleges. Off Washington Square Park, at the NYU Information Center (50 W. 4th St., Room 123, 212/998-4636), windows are plastered with flyers, and free copies of Square Notes list the month's events. Uptown at Columbia University, a similar blizzard of postings is found around Alfred Lerner Hall (on your right through the small gate at 115th St. and Broadway). Or simply go online: columbia.edu/cu/news/calendar and nyu.edu/events. --Brad Tuttle The changing art scene Scores of art galleries supplement Gotham's many museums and are absolutely free. The best time to gallery-hop is Friday night, when many spaces hold new-show openings where you can meet the artists and scarf down classy nibbles and free wine. But you won't find the freshest, most exciting up-and-coming talents in SoHo or on 57th Street anymore. The scene today centers on the industrial buildings of Chelsea (20th to 30th Sts. between 10th and 11th Aves.). First to colonize this area was SoHo stalwart Paula Cooper (534 W. 21st St.) and her blue-chip catalog (think Andy Warhol). Other heavy hitters to set up shop in Chelsea include gargantuan Gagosian (555 W. 24th St.); Metro Pictures (519 W. 24th St.); Matthew Marks (522 W. 22nd St. and 523 W. 24th St.); and for photography Sean Kelly (526 W. 29th St.). Don't miss the DIA Foundation's new spaces (545 and 548 W. 22nd St.), or Printed Matter bookshop (535 W. 22nd St.). Looking for hotter, less established artists? The art world's rising stars are at Cheim and Read (547 W. 25th St.), Marianne Boesky (535 W. 22nd St.), Feature Inc. (530 W. 25th St.), and Derek Eller (530 W. 25th St., #2). To help your art search, The New Yorker magazine lists major shows weekly. Also check out artreach.com or pick up Gallery Guide (which nests on gallery windowsills) and discover the newest spaces in the true starving-artist neighborhoods: Williamsburg (Brooklyn), Harlem, and the Bronx.--Reid Bramblett Ethnic societies As the nation's leading international city, New York enjoys dozens of ethnic societies promoting a knowledge of their cultures and histories through exhibitions, libraries, screenings, lectures, and unusual encounters. At a recent retrospective of Yoko Ono's art at the Japan Society (333 E. 47th St., 212/832-1155, japansociety.org), visitors could speak to Ono herself via a live telephone line to her West Side apartment. The Asia Society and Museum (725 Park Ave. at 70th St., 212/288-6400, asiasociety.org) is among the most active: Its several giant galleries run full tilt with art and history shows, and a busy slate of events. Though it normally charges $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students with ID, free for children under 16, it allows free admission on Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Then, located in a palatial 1908 building-one of Manhattan's grandest-the Hispanic Society of America (Audubon Terr., Broadway between 155th and 156th Sts., 212/926-2234, hispanicsociety.org) has the largest collection of Spanish art and manuscripts outside Espa-a itself, and there are rotating exhibits. It's free. Also try: Irish Arts Center (212/757-3318, irishartscenter.org); Czech Center New York (212/288-0830, czechcenter.com); or inquire through consulates of the country you want to learn about. --Jason Cochran Cool industrial tours Hidden in the Big Apple, in the heart of the city's pumping financial district, are stacks of gold bars, part of the nation's treasure, at the Italian Renaissance-style Federal Reserve Bank of New York (33 Liberty St., 212/720-6130, ny.frb.org). On a free hour-long tour, you'll see multitudes of coins and notes from around the world, some thousands of years old, as well as exhibits on the bank's role in the economy. Or take the free Steinway & Sons tour (1 Steinway Pl., 718/721-2600, steinway.com) in Astoria, Queens, to witness the exquisite attentions of some 300 craftspeople as they sand, saw, rub, voice, and string expensive pianos. New York's beverage industry? At the Brooklyn Brewery (1 Brewers Row, 79 N. 11th St., 718/486-7422, brooklynbrewery.com) just across the East River in Williamsburg, you'll see huge copper vats a-brewin' in a 70,000-square-foot space before sitting down in the 300-seat tasting room for sample brewskies. Tours are free on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. (All of the above tours require reservations.) --Matthew Link Harlem You won't want to miss this dynamic section of New York, up-and-coming and full of life (don't forget Bill Clinton has set up shop here, too). The free Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (515 Malcolm X Blvd. and 135th St., 212/491-2200, nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html) has over five million items like manuscripts, artifacts, archives, photographs, and recordings, many on permanent display. Another must is the famed Apollo Theater (253 W. 125th St., between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Blvds., 212/531-5305, apollotheater.com), especially for its low-cost Amateur Night on Wednesdays, when tickets start at $16. If you love all things African, haggle with the sellers at the daily Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market (52 W. 115 St., 212/987-8131), where you'll find jewelry, clothing, masks, hats, watches, and more. And for food, a good budget choice is Miss Maude's Spoonbread Too (547 Lenox Ave., 212/690-3100), which serves up (many say) the best fried chicken in New York for around $10. --ML Brooklyn Heights Tree-lined streets, stately brownstones (more than 500 homes built before the Civil War), a brick-lined promenade with a magnificent view of Lower Manhattan-all this makes Brooklyn Heights the most elegant neighborhood in the borough, perhaps the entire city, and yet it is a sight scarcely known to tourists. Take just about any subway (N or R to Court St.; A, C, or F to Jay St./Borough Hall; 2 or 3 to Clark St. or Borough Hall), find your way to the cafZs and shops of Montague Street, then meander onto the Brooklyn Heights Promenade for a famous panorama stretching from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to the Statue of Liberty. Stop by the historic Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (75 Hicks St., 718/624-4743)-where Abraham Lincoln worshiped on occasion-on your way down to Old Fulton Street. If your legs aren't wobbly yet, stroll back to Manhattan via the walkers' lane of the Brooklyn Bridge for an old-school commute. You'll walk right into another old, grand relic, City Hall. --BT The Staten Island ferry A harbor cruise, for free! Each year, 19 million people use the ferry for the 5.2-mile, 25-minute trip from Manhattan's tip (beginning at the South Ferry subway station) to the northern end of Staten Island, New York's most suburban borough. Along the way is a world-class view of the harbor that put America on the map, including postcard-perfect views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge, and historic Governor's Island. For the same lineup, tourist tubs charge $13 per spin, but on the Ferry, you see it twice-going and returning. Boats go half hourly (every 20 minutes during rush hour), day and night, but if you time your trip well, you'll enjoy one of America's finest sunset cruises. And are you ready for the best part? In 1817, it cost 25¢ to cross the harbor; since 1997, it has been free. How's that for progress? (718/815-2628; no reservations required.) --JC The Lower East Side The Lower East Side (lowereastsideny.com) absorbed millions of immigrants between 1880 and 1920, and their experience is preserved in the Tenement Museum at 90 Orchard Street (tenement.org). Tours are popular, so book ahead. Of more than 500 synagogues once in the area, survivors include the Moorish-style Bialystoker Synagogue (closed 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) and the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue (eldridgestreet.org), ruinous but on the road to restoration. Though many Central European groups stamped the Lower East Side with their heritage, Jewish life still dominates, from Orchard Street's Sunday market to tiny Essex Street shops selling yarmulkes, tallith prayer shawls, and other religious paraphernalia. Best of all is the food. Sample a dozen different pickles at Guss Pickles (85-87 Orchard St.), nosh candies in the Olde Worlde setting of Wolsk's Gourmet Confectioner (81 Ludlow St.), or sip syrupy Maneschevitz at Schapiro Wine Company (126 Rivington St.). When it comes to baked goods, there's Kossar's Bialys (367 Grand St.) for hot bagels, Yonah Schimmel's Knishes (137 E. Houston St.), and Gertel's Bakery (53 Hester St.) for rugalach and potato kugel. And don't forget the orgasmic pastrami sandwiches at Katz's Delicatessen (205 E. Houston St.), backdrop to Meg Ryan's famous "faking it" scene in When Harry Met Sally. --RB The ethnic restaurants of Jackson Heights Superb ethnic eateries litter all five boroughs, but most New Yorkers agree that the finest concentration is in Jackson Heights, Queens. Grab the number 7 subway for a 20-minute ride from Grand Central to the 74th Street/Jackson Heights stop to partake of Indian, Argentinian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Thai, and Colombian cuisines. North of Roosevelt Avenue, 74th Street comprises a thriving Little India of sari stores, Bollywood video shops, and cheap curry restaurants galore. King of the all-you-can-eat buffets is Jackson Diner (37-47 74th St., 718/672-1232), a multicolored hall with a $6.95 lunch buffet ($8.95 weekends), served noon to 4 p.m., laden with goat curries, lamb vindaloo, and chicken tikka; ^ la carte dinners are equally cheap. At the elegant Argentinian steak house La Porte-a (74-25 37th Ave. at 75th St., 718/458-8111), platters are piled with a sizzling mix of prime rib, skirt steak, pork and blood sausages, sweetbreads, and tripe for $15; wash it down with a bottle of Argentinian wine as red as bull's blood. La Peque-a Colombia (83-27 Roosevelt Ave., 718/478-6528), a cross between a diner and the Brady Bunch den, serves up Colombian home cooking; the massive $10 plato mota-ero swims with beans, rice, ground beef, fried eggs, a split sweet plantain, and a giant pork rind. And throughout the area, you'll find shops selling inexpensive imported delicacies and ingredients that you can't buy anywhere else in the country. --RB Queens for a day Finally, unknown to most tourists, some of New York's museum activity has temporarily moved to former factories in the borough of Queens, the most celebrated being the esteemed Museum of Modern Art (33rd St. and Queens Blvd., 212/708-9400; $12 admission), which will stay there until 2005, when its Manhattan digs will be ready. MoMA's sister space, P.S.1, which is devoted to contemporary art and housed in an old school (22-25 Jackson Ave., 718/784-2084; $5 admission), is almost as important. For lovers of sculpture, the borough offers the serenely Zen Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (36-01 43rd Ave., its own temporary home; $5 admission) and Socrates Sculpture Park (Broadway at Vernon Blvd.; free), which hosts young artists with big ambitions-and projects. For sheer fun, there's no more entertaining (and educational) spot than the American Museum of the Moving Image, dedicated to film, TV, and video games. Interactive exhibits let you edit film, play with sound effects, even dub your voice over Audrey Hepburn's (35th Ave. at 36th St., 718/784-4520, ammi.org; $10). Linking these sites is the weekends-only Queens Artlink Bus (free), which loops from MoMA to P.S.1 every hour on the hour from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Jump on and off at will. -PF And others We haven't the space to discuss still more: the modern-dance scene at the Joyce and City Center; the Russian community of Brighton Beach; Chinatown; lively Williamsburg, shared by Hasidic Jews and trendy artists; inexpensive walking tours of historic areas booked primarily by residents; unexpected shopping areas (lower Broadway, SoHo); and so on. In addition to finding activities in Time Out New York, visitors should check the Weekend section of the New York Times published on Fridays, and its Sunday Arts & Leisure section. The New Yorkers who avidly read every issue of their famed "newspaper of record" are also fascinated by the "other New York"! (Official info: nycvisit.com.)

There are 8 million experts in New York City--and counting. Everyone who has ever visited has a different opinion about what's essential. Some people love the eclectic nightlife at Joe's Pub. Others will only stay at Second Home on Second Avenue. The problem isn't just filtering out what's best, but keeping up with what's new. (Did you know Louis Armstrong's house is now a museum?) It's an impossible task, even for those of us who live here, but we've become hooked on a website, Manhattan User's Guide (manhattanusersguide.com), which sends out weekday e-mails on everything from the latest hot spots to the most reliable plumbers. The man behind MUG, Charlie Suisman, agreed to cherry-pick a few places you mustn't miss. Take our advice: Take his. We've had many wonderful meals at Mooncake Foods and Grand Sichuan; we've listened to concerts at Bargemusic; we shop religiously at SSS Sample Sale and the Strand. New York is a wonderful town. We love it, Charlie and Jorge love it, and whoever is making the T-shirts sold at Pearl River Mart clearly loves it, too. So read on to learn how you'll love it too, on your next visit. --The Editors Eats New York's temples of haute cuisine get so much attention, it's possible to forget that the real pride and joy for locals--who tend to eat out more than other Americans, on average--is the vast array of modestly priced restaurants serving food from all around the globe. We love to eat at Gramercy Tavern and Chanterelle from time to time, but here are some places where you'll find us any night of the week. Although Chanterelle may be out of the question without a special occasion to justify the price tag, its owners have thoughtfully created Le Zinc, a casual, affordable French bistro. A meal of hanger steak, potato gratin, and tarte tatin for dessert may not be Atkins-friendly, but it's fairly wallet-friendly and delicious. Hanger steak, as much as we like it, isn't a true New York cut like porterhouse or a New York strip. Peter Luger serves the slabs by which all others are judged, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying The Steakhouse at Fairway--Fairway is a grocery store--where $40 gets you a strip steak plus an appetizer and two sides. We may be a red-meat town, but we also have a long-standing love affair with the sea. Get your fill of oysters and grilled fish or try a heavenly lobster roll at Mary's Fish Camp, one of the most popular seafood joints in the five boroughs. As a result of that popularity, waits can be long. But in a city that rarely agrees on anything, everyone loves Mary's. There is no agreement on pizza--fierce battles take place when the question arises of who makes the best. So let's sidestep the entire issue by saying Joe's Pizza does not make the best slice in town. You should go to Joe's anyway, because it may be the most quintessential slice. That means a decently crisp, thin crust, a bright tomato sauce, and plenty of mozzarella (but not too much), served in surroundings that won't encourage you to linger. Anyway, it's very New York to grab a slice and eat it on the run. You're also not likely to linger at Celeste, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. It's too noisy and crowded. You'll be glad you joined the throngs, though, waiting for a table (lines are generally short) for marvelous pastas, pizzas, and secondi at extremely reasonable prices. Don't miss the fried artichokes or the cheeses that the owner, uh, personally transports back from Italy. One of the more unlikely hybrids in recent years has been the gastropub in England. Gastronomy and pub grub were once considered mutually exclusive, but not anymore. The first such restaurant to make a splash here is the Spotted Pig. You may find shepherd's pie on the menu and you'll definitely find hand-drawn cask ale, but April Bloomfield also cooks more sophisticated dishes, such as delectable gnudi--sheep's milk ricotta rolled in semolina flour and sautéed. Moving eastward, culinarily speaking, Moustache (with both an East Village and a West Village location) serves terrific Middle Eastern fare: falafel, hummus, and what they call "pitzas"--baked pitas with a choice of toppings such as lamb or olive oil, sesame seeds, and herbs. And so to the Far East. Grand Sichuan cooks up exceptional Chinese food without making you go to Chinatown (there are several locations, though the one at Ninth Ave. and 50th St. is best). Not only are familiar offerings ideally turned out--once you've had their cold noodles with sesame sauce, it's hard to order the dish elsewhere--but they specialize in dishes you don't come across everywhere else. Choose at least one item from the section of the menu called Mao's Home Cooking. You wouldn't happen upon Mooncake Foods unless you were walking near the Holland Tunnel for some unaccountable reason. And while it looks like a diner, you won't be eating anything like diner food. Instead, you'll be treated to simple but vibrant Asian cooking, with Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai predominating. Just about everything costs less than $10. A few other food-related tips. If you're passionate about food and want to visit some of the city's ethnic neighborhoods, take a guided tour with NoshWalks. They explore the Indian community and food of Jackson Heights, Queens; the Russian enclave in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn; and the Irish section of the Bronx, among others. Most tours are $18. For noshing on your own, seek out Chelsea Market, a food concourse in the old Nabisco factory building. Highlights include Amy's Bread, Ronnybrook Farm Dairy, and The Green Table, a small, charming restaurant run by a catering company. Finally, I drop by City Bakery anytime I can. For breakfast, try the superb croissants and rich, smooth coffee. Even if the buffet style doesn't make for a cheap lunch--you're charged by the weight of your plate--you'd be hard-pressed to locate fresher food. Many of the ingredients are from the local greenmarket, which may explain how City Bakery turns vegetables exciting, and there are lovely salads, sandwiches, and a few hot items. Top things off with one of the signature tarts and you just may concede that my New York could, in fact, be better than yours. Gramercy Tavern 42 E. 20th St., 212/477-0777, dinner $72 Chanterelle 2 Harrison St., 212/966-6960, dinner $95 Le Zinc 139 Duane St., 212/513-0001, hanger steak $23 Peter Luger Steak House 178 Broadway, Brooklyn, 718/387-7400, steak for two $74 The Steakhouse at Fairway 2127 Broadway, 2nd fl., 212/595-1888, appetizer, strip steak, two sides $40 Mary's Fish Camp 64 Charles St., 646/486-2185, lobster roll $22 Joe's Pizza 233 Bleeker St., 212/366-1182; slice $2.25 Celeste 502 Amsterdam Ave., 212/874-4559, ravioli $9.50 The Spotted Pig 314 W. 11th St., 212/620-0393, gnudi $11 Moustache 90 Bedford St., 212/229-2220; 265 E. 10th St., 212/228-2022; lamb pitza $8 Grand Sichuan 745 Ninth Ave., 212/582-2288, cold sesame noodles $3.50 Mooncake Foods 28 Watts St., 212/219-8888 NoshWalks 212/222-2243, noshwalks.com Amy's Bread 75 Ninth Ave., 212/462-4338, turkey sandwich $6 Ronnybrook Farm Dairy 75 Ninth Ave., 212/741-6455 The Green Table 75 Ninth Ave., 212/741-6623, sandwich of the day $10 City Bakery 3 W. 18th St., 212/366-1414, tart $5 Shop This is a competitive town, especially when it comes to shopping--we regard it as a sport like any other. Do some warm-up exercises at Century 21 (designer clothes at deep discounts) and J&R Music and Computer World (electronics). Limber up at Broadway Panhandler for kitchenwares. Get your heart rate going at Housing Works Thrift Shop, where the proceeds benefit people with HIV/AIDS. If you're born to shop, though, you'll want to test your game at some of the secret stashes. The city is known for its grandes dames of retail, department stores such as Bloomingdale's and Bergdorf Goodman, all of which can be a fine outing. But the Chinese version, beloved Pearl River Mart, is even more fulfilling. It has a quirky selection of housewares (a lamp in the shape of a take-out carton for $19.50), herbal remedies, musical and writing instruments (calligraphy pens, bamboo flutes), and all kinds of goodies that make creative, inexpensive gifts. If you're prowling for smart-looking, well-designed objects for your home, it's hard to beat--and equally hard to pronounce--Mxyplyzyk (mix-ee-pliz-ik). It's also hard to say exactly what you'll find there, since the stock changes frequently, and Mxyplyzyk specializes in things that you can't get everywhere else. Suffice it to say, kitchenwares, bags, toys. After you've accessorized the rest of your house (or apartment, we New Yorkers being more about the latter) with stuff from Mxyplyzyk, stop by The Bathroom, a store in the West Village with a clear-enough fetish. Savor the fabulous soaps from Europe, as well as towels, skin-care products, and candles, including an alluring cranberry-currant scent from a company called Er'go Candle. Kids and sweet-toothed adults must put Dylan's Candy Bar on their list. A bright, colorful emporium--note the peppermint-swirl bar stools--Dylan's has it all, from old-fashioned Charleston Chews to Dylan's own chocolate truffles. The displays are clever. Order an overflowing gift basket devoted to sugary goodness. No points for decor at the next two spots, but there are treasures within if you're a book, record, or CD collector. Footlight Records specializes in original cast recordings, soundtracks, vocalists, and spoken word. So whether you're clamoring for Rodgers and Hart rarities or an Ennio Morricone film score, this is the place to go. The Strand now proudly boasts "18 miles of books," on every conceivable subject. The basement is the best: In a fairly organized fashion--surprising, since the Strand isn't known for its organizational abilities--are reviewers' copies of new fiction and nonfiction at about half the retail price. And now, a place that even most New Yorkers haven't heard of: On the third floor of an office building, the decidedly low-key 17th Street Photo is better than the better-known B&H Photo. A friendly staff offers great prices on cameras (both film and digital), video cameras, photo printers, and binoculars. If what you're really interested in is clothing, you've come to the right place. New York is full of fashion bargains. The very best way to score designer duds at gentle prices is to hit the sample sales that are held daily. Originally, sample sales consisted of the pieces used in a designer's showroom or on the runway, but the definition has expanded over the years to include a wide range of never-worn merchandise priced to move. Some sample sales are big, well-planned affairs, others are a mess, and merchandise quality varies. But with a little patience and homework--check New York or Time Out New York magazines the week you're visiting for current listings--you can save over 90 percent off retail. One place that hosts sales almost every week is called SSS Sample Sale --it's always worth scoping out. Another terrific source for clothing deals is vintage or consignment stores. Take the word vintage with a grain of salt: You may indeed snag a '60s Dior dress or an even earlier couture piece, but only after looking at lots of clothes from as recently as last year. I like browsing the racks at Fisch for the Hip (the name comes from owner Terriann Fischer), a consignment shop for men and women, because Fischer seems to take in especially sharp pieces, including the usual suspects--Prada, Gucci, et al. Should your purchases need a little extra sizzle, M & J Trimming , in the Garment District, has endless choices of rhinestones, ribbons, buttons, and trim. One last stop before you head home. Flight 001 stocks anything you need to take some of the sting out of travel: onboard amenity kits, games, sleeping masks, luggage, totes, CD players, and noise-canceling earphones. It's almost enough to make flying out of JFK bearable. Century 21 22 Cortlandt St., 212/227-9092 J&R Music and Computer World Park Row, 212/238-9000 Broadway Panhandler 477 Broome St., 212/966-3434 Housing Works 143 West 17th St., 212/366-0820; 306 Columbus Ave., 212/579-7566; 202 E. 77th St., 212/772-8461; 157 E. 23rd St., 212/529-5955 Bloomingdale's 59th St. and Lexington Ave., 212/705-2000 Bergdorf Goodman Fifth Ave. at 59th St., 800/558-1855 Pearl River Mart 477 Broadway, 212/431-4770 Mxyplyzyk 125 Greenwich Ave., 212/989-4300 The Bathroom 94 Charles St., 800/856-9223 Dylan's Candy Bar 1011 Third Ave., 646/735-0078 Footlight Records 113 E. 12th St., 212/533-1572 Strand Book Store 828 Broadway, 212/473-1452 17th Street Photo 34 W. 17th St., 3rd fl., 212/366-9870 B&H Photo 420 Ninth Ave., 212/444-6615 SSS Sample Sale 261 W. 36th St., 2nd fl., 212/947-8748 Fisch for the Hip 153 W. 18th St., 212/633-9053 M & J Trimming 1008 Sixth Ave., 212/391-9072 Flight 001 96 Greenwich Ave., 212/691-1001 Play Start with an unbeatable art world doubleheader--a visit to the Frick Collection followed by a jaunt through the Chelsea gallery district. Inside Henry Clay Frick's beaux arts mansion, 18 galleries of Western art are home to three works by Vermeer, as well as paintings by Degas, Rembrandt, and Gainsborough; then there's what I think of as the "Fun With Fragonard" room. It's a compact, heady spin through the masters. A world away, though only on the other side of the island, is the headquarters for contemporary art in New York: Galleries by the score have made their homes over the last few years on the less and less gritty blocks of far west Chelsea. There are major galleries, including Gagosian, Matthew Marks, Sonnabend, and Paula Cooper, but rather than seek out particular ones, I like to wander through the byways. That means exploring vertically--many galleries are tucked upstairs in nondescript buildings. The city has always enthusiastically put out the welcome mat for musicians, and few have been more welcome than Louis Armstrong. Since last fall, Armstrong's Corona, Queens, home has been open to the public. He and his wife, Lucille, lived there for decades and you'll find original furnishings, his reel-to-reel recorder, and one of his gold-plated trumpets, all suffused with Satchmo spirit. Spirit of an entirely different sort is in evidence nightly at Don't Tell Mama, a piano bar and cabaret in the Theater District. There's no telling what to expect--a musical revue, a cabaret singer, or a Judy Garland impersonator. Joe's Pub, adjacent to the Public Theater in the East Village, is named for the theater's late founder, Joseph Papp. Joe's has perhaps the most exciting roster of singers, musicians, comedians, and assorted offbeat acts anywhere in the city. Crazy ideas somehow work in New York, and listening to chamber music on a barge on the East River is among the craziest. Yet Bargemusic is an absolute treat! Audiences listen with rapt attention to world-class musicians while staring out the window at a view of the Manhattan skyline; as music fills the room, the old barge sways and creaks. After such subtle sophistication, the new Times Square is a sensory overload. Take in a Broadway show by all means, but don't overlook the more intimate off-Broadway theaters. Playwrights Horizons (which sent I Am My Own Wife over to Broadway, winning the 2004 Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actor) always seems to be up to something interesting. You may catch a work from a rising star playwright or even a musical. The first preview of each production has a limited number of pay-what-you-can seats. If you have children in tow, Broadway shows may be too expensive, too long, and not geared to their ages. That's where the New Victory Theater comes in. All shows are meant for kids and their families, running times tend to be on the short side, and the top price is $30. Best of all, productions are generally first-rate. Kids will also have a blast at the American Museum of the Moving Image, in Astoria, Queens. Despite the fancy name, this is a fun place for all ages. There are interactive exhibits, screenings, and a collection of costumes and props that includes the chariot from Ben-Hur. Central Park, which turned 150 in 2003, has never been more beautiful, and it maintains its considerable charms in all seasons. But the big news comes from the string of parks that have sprouted up along the Hudson River in the past few years. They start at the southern tip of Manhattan with Wagner Park--from which you can admire the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island--and continue northward, jutting occasionally onto reclaimed piers. It's still a work in progress, but eventually the parks will extend all the way to Riverside Park on the Upper West Side. Walking along the Hudson, you'll see people of all shapes, sizes, and colors enjoying the city we've all come to appreciate ever more ardently. Going to Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center towers stood, is a pilgrimage for many visitors. The rebuilding is now under way and visible from the viewing area, but also be sure to stop into St. Paul's Chapel--miraculously unharmed in the tragedy--directly across from the WTC site. In the weeks following the disaster, rescue workers and cleanup squads found refuge at the chapel. A permanent exhibit recounts those days. A stroll away, in Battery Park City, is the Skyscraper Museum . It's a fascinating exhibit, irresistible to anyone who loves cities. Even if we all know that no city can possibly compare with this one. The Frick Collection 1 E. 70th St., 212/288-0700, frick.org, $12 Gagosian Gallery 555 W. 24th St., 212/741-1111, gagosian.com, free Matthew Marks Gallery 523 W. 24th St., 212/243-0200, matthewmarks.com, free Sonnabend Gallery 536 W. 22nd St., 212/627-1018, free Paula Cooper Gallery 534 W. 21st St., 212/255-1105, free Louis Armstrong House 34-56 107th St., Corona, Queens, 718/478-8274, satchmo.net, $8, kids $6 Don't Tell Mama 343 W. 46th St., 212/757-0788, donttellmama.com Joe's Pub 425 Lafayette St., 212/539-8778, joespub.com Bargemusic Fulton Ferry Landing, Dumbo, Brooklyn, 718/624-4061, bargemusic.org Playwrights Horizons 416 W. 42nd St., 212/564-1235, playwrightshorizons.org New Victory Theater 209 W. 42nd St., 646/223-3020, newvictory.org American Museum of the Moving Image 35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria, Queens, 718/784-0077, movingimage.us, $10, kids $5 St. Paul's Chapel 209 Broadway, 212/233-4164, saintpaulschapel.org The Skyscraper Museum 39 Battery Pl., 212/968-1961, skyscraper.org, $5