New York City Like a Local: What Tourists Always Get Wrong

50 million people visit New York City every year. Most see the same New York: Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Empire State Building. It's fine. It's also not New York.

What New Yorkers Want You to Know

Times Square is a tourist trap. No New Yorker goes there voluntarily. It's bright, loud, expensive, and has nothing to do with the city's actual culture.

The best pizza is in Brooklyn. Di Fara (Midwood), L&B Spumoni Gardens (Bensonhurst), Lucali (Carroll Gardens). Not Joe's. Not Sbarro.

The best food is in Queens. Jackson Heights has the best Indian, Nepali, and Colombian food in the Western Hemisphere. Flushing has better Chinese food than most of China. Astoria has Greek, Egyptian, and Brazilian all on the same block.

Where Locals Actually Go

Prospect Park — Brooklynites prefer this to Central Park. Less crowded, more diverse, better farmer's market.

Washington Heights — Dominican culture in NYC. Mangu for breakfast, merengue from every window, the Cloisters museum at the top.

Bushwick — Street art, warehouse parties, dive bars, tacos. Brooklyn's creative edge.

Governors Island — Ferry from Lower Manhattan. Free on weekends. Biking, art installations, views of the Statue of Liberty without the tourist boat.

Red Hook — Waterfront neighborhood with food vendors (Salvadoran pupusas, Mexican tacos) and views of the harbor.

The $1 NYC

• Dollar pizza — 2 Bros and other $1 slice joints. Surprisingly decent
• Free ferries — Staten Island Ferry (free!) passes the Statue of Liberty
• Free museums — MoMA (Friday evenings), Met (pay what you wish), many others
• Central Park — Free. Obviously. But go to the North End (Harlem side) where tourists don't

Why a Local Friend in NYC

New York has 27,000 restaurants. Google can't filter that. A Local Friend who lives in Bushwick takes you to the taco spot under the train tracks. A Local Friend in Jackson Heights takes you to the dosa cart that has a 45-minute line of Indians — which means it's incredible.

Browse Local Friends in New York on Roavi.