@Julie, with organising hundreds of volunteers to go to Haiti, how on earth do you have time to visit back and comment here? I’m stunned — and kudos for all your hard work.

That’s a lovely restaurant–not so much for the food (which, as you mentioned, is pretty pricey), but mostly for the view. When you’re tucked away deep in Central Park, gazing at the water from the enormous porch, it’s easy to feel like you’re somewhere in the American South. Thanks for adding that idea.

There are a couple of other restaurants in parks in the city. Though also pricey, they each have their draw. My very favorite is The New Leaf, just near the Cloisters in Ft. Tryon Park at the northernmost tip of Manhattan. All the proceeds from the restaurant (which has very good food) go back to the park. There’s also a restaurant right on the waterfront in Brooklyn, the name of which is utterly escaping me at the moment. It’s right next to Bargemusic, which is a visit-worthy stop in and of itself.

@Chris: Exactly- Long Island City is a neighborhood in the borough/county of Queens (which, more confusingly, happens to be almost exactly on the border between the borough of Queens and the first county in Long Island)! Living in Long Island City, I can’t tell you how often people get confused about its location, confounding it with what we’d call Long Island proper. “I’m not coming to visit you! You live out on Long Island,” they say. And thus a conversation ensues about geography, history, and this utterly bizarre borough system.

My go-to hostels in NYC are the two Jazz locations in Harlem, Jazz on Lenox and Jazz on the Villa. They’re a little out of the way, but the price reflects that – dorm beds go as low as $15 per night (including breakfast and wifi) in the off season, and $18 per night in the summer. It’s easy enough to hop on the 2/3 or 4/5/6 downtown, and it means you see a part of the city that most visitors don’t get to.

Lately I’ve also been a semi-regular at The Jane, the pod hotel in the West Village. Last I checked, it was $79 on weekdays and $99 on weekends for a teeny tiny room in a great location.