I'm going next month and this is what a friend sent me today. Hope this helps
Food ---
1. Peter Lugar Steakhouse* (Brooklyn) - very good steak but more of a NY hotspot, everyone in NY swears by it. definitely want to make reservations way in advance
2. The Chocolate Room (Brooklyn) - cute place with really yummy original desserts - no reservations
3. Joe's Shanghai* - (Chinatown) - good dumplings, chinese place - no reservations
4. Peanut Butter Company - (Greenwich Village) - very cute/interesting menu/casual - go if you're a fan of Peanut Butter or if you're in the area
5. Pearl's Oyster Bar* - (Greenwich Village) - lobster roll is really good - and it's not sushi. lobster on a bread roll. we didn't make reservations but you may want to
6. Momofuku - (East Village) - fusion jap food - very hyped up & busy, good food but not sure if it's worth the wait nor the price but there were a ton of restaurants in the East Village that looks good too
7. Chickalicious* - (East Village) - 2 locations across the street from each other. We went to take out location cuz there was a line for the 3 course sit down dessert location
8. Magnolia Bakery* - (Greenwich Village) - long line but gotta try their Red Velvet Cheesecake
9. Taim* - (Greenwich) best falafel ever - small spot, no res.
10. Ninth St. Espresso* - (inside Chelsea market) -very yummy coffee
11. Serendipity3* - (Upper East Side close to Omni) really cute place but long long line. put your name down and go shop
12. Carmine's* - (Times Sq.) - really good pasta/family style so dont order too much
13. Katz Delicatessen* - (East Village/Soho/Lower East Side border on Houston) - best Pastrami EVER
14. Dean & Deluca - (SoHo) - good coffee
15. Forty Carrots - (SoHo inside Bloomingdales) - if you guys like yogurt and taking a shopping break, try it. I crave their yogurt so bad.
Shopping ---
1. Greenwich Village area*- Marc Jacobs Accessories Store - (tiny tiny place and line to get in but their wallets are like $20, I bought a ton, loved it
2. SoHo area* -
TopShop's first shop of this British Chain in US but pricey for H&M-like clothes but very cool,
Muji - cute Japanese lifestyle store,
Uniqlo - Jap brand of simple basics clothing, good quality
3. Chelsea Market (Chelsea)* - cute indoor market w/coffee shops, groceries, butcher shops, bakeries - good place to see
4. Upper East Side - near Omni - there are lotsa name brand shops
5. 5th Ave* - should check out Henri Bendel dept store & Takashima
6. Macys - Orginal Macys, huge and carries better things than ones here
7. H&M/Zara - I believe the East Coast has better coats - may wanna check it out
To Do --
1. Rockerfeller Center - we went Ice Skating but the rink in Central Park looks bigger if it's open by then
2. Empire State - you should go in the day, we went at night and you can't see much
3. Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
4. Take the hop-on/hop-off Open Top Buses, they give you a good little tour of the city and it's the best way to see Harlem w/o being in Harlem lol
5. Ground Zero - there's really nothing going on so swinging by on the bus is a good idea
6. The Met
7. Central Park
8. Little Italy - Ferrera has good desserts