MLSsoccer.com's resident team of New Yorkers, past and present, give their tips on what to do while visiting the Big Apple for the AT&T MLS All Star Game. Help us out and leave us your own suggestions, too!
• Go to the Chinatown soccer field. Located at the corner of Chrystie and Grand streets right in the heart of Chinatown, this little patch of artificial turf is busy day and night, with pick-up games and organized leagues. On any given day, you might catch a World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff or Iron Chef winner Marcus Samuelsson. The field is also home to Steve Nash's famous celebrity event, "The Showdown in Chinatown." But it's the "fans" along the fence — a mix of quiet Chinese men, vagrants drinking out of paper bags, and curious tourists — who make it the coolest soccer spot in the city. They enjoy the shade of the trees, take in the action, and aren't afraid to let you hear it when you miss an open net. — Editor-in-Chief Greg Lalas
• Eat a street hot dog (with onions) after midnight. — MLS Insider Shawn Francis
• My advice for an NYC must-do is easy as pie: They gotta go get a slice at Sal and Carmine's. Best crust in town, game over, drive home safely. — Greg Seltzer, American Exports
• Trips back to my old stomping grounds are short these days, so I pack in all my old favorites as quickly as I can: a run in Central Park, coffee in Soho, clothes shopping on Smith Street in Brooklyn, dinner at Mario Batali’s divine flagship restaurant Babbo, drinks in the Lower East Side and a late-night slice at Ray’s Famous. Then a long nap. I recommend it all. — Managing Editor Jonah Freedman
• I lived in New York for about a year-and-a-half, and though I loved walking through Central Park in the fall and Christmas time at Rockefeller Plaza, I find myself missing the pizza from Angelo’s just a little bit more. Tucked under the David Letterman Show sign on Broadway, it’s always my must-stop spot whenever I visit the Big Apple. — New Media Editor Fidencio Enriquez
• No place on earth has the diversity and quality of cuisine that NY boasts. And the best-of-the-best is what they do in the old Italian neighborhoods in the boroughs. Hit up La Piazzetta in Williamsburg for pasta and seafood, then DiFara’s in Midwood for a legendary slice. — Armchair Analyst Matthew Doyle
• On long hot summer nights, nothing beats people-watching from the stoop of a Brownstone with a cold beer (preferably Brooklyn Lager). — New Media Editor David Agrell
• Visit any one of the scores of museums and art galleries that NYC has to offer to take in the unique and diverse culture that thrives here. — MLSsoccer.com contributor Ryan Krasnoo
• Eat a hot dog from a street vendor. Visit Times Square at 1 am. Ride in a taxi cab at rush hour. Eat pizza at Patsy’s Pizza. Ride in a NYC subway. Play a pick-up game at Central Park. Buy an I ♥ NY t-shirt. Take a photo with NYC police officer. Jog down Fifth Ave. Pick up Red Bulls jersey at the adidas store. Visit the World Trade Center site, Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Eat a bagel soaked in butter. — ExtraTime Radio's Simon Borg
