I get asked for recommendations for where to go in NYC on a weekly basis, esp from friends visiting from out of town. And, I figured, if I was going to put the time into producing a "guide to NYC" for friends and family, I may as well get some GofG mileage out of it. Note, this guide is not, by any means meant to be an "expert" one. Rather it's a "from the top of my head" list of places that I like to hit up broken down by categories. Today, we'll start with Breakfast...

There's a certain kind of romance to waking up in a city like New York. Most of us take it for granted as we hurry to our morning obligations. Others perhaps, will never even know that there is something else out there (in the form of drab morning radio talk shows in a car, say) that exists at all.

Sure Paris has it's charming cafes, but New York! Oh! The hustle and bustle of a New York City Morning is really something. I remember the countless mornings my boyfriend (now husband), would drive me to work from the West Village to the Bowery, through the heart of Soho, on his old motorcycle and I swear to God I would pretend I was in a movie, it was that cinematic. In reality, the world surrounding me was better than any film has reproduced. And that, that is New York in the morning for you.  If I were visiting the city for just a short time, I would start by putting down my guidebooks, and breathing in the magic that happens on a New York City block before 10am.  The main event is the journey, of course, however here are some quick breakfast suggestions for your destination:

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Grand Central Station• Balthazar• Keith McNally• Bowery Hotel• The Smile• Cafe Gitane• Gemma• The Breslin• Carlos Quirarte• Cafe Grumpy• Cook Shop• The Ace Hotel• Dean and Deluca• Giorgio DeLuca• Matt Kligman• Morandi• Sarabeth's• Shopshins• Ceci-Cela• Ninth St Espresso• Rachelle's Picks