One of the many misconceptions travelers have of New York City is that Midtown Manhattan in general - and Times Square in particular - is the best place to go to get a true sense of the city. This is incorrect. Real New Yorkers spend time in Midtown because they have to. That's where their jobs are located, and certain business and schmoozing simply must be conducted between 34th and 57th Streets. But when the workday is over, most of my friends and colleagues instinctively head downtown, or to Brooklyn, to hang out, hook up, shop, eat, and drink.
There are exceptions. Two weekends ago, we wound up in Times Square to meet a couple of friends who had ridden the bus in from New Haven. They had taken their young daughter to see the Little Mermaid on Broadway, and had only a couple of hours to kill before catching the bus home. We decided to press the easy button and met them at Ruby Foo's on Broadway and 49th. You know what? It was pretty good. ]]>