New York: Nora's Birthday

G's sister Nora is one of those people who lights up a room without trying. Their mom Iris wanted to come too but couldn't make it work, so the trip was the three of us. When it was Nora's birthday in late March, there was no debate about where to celebrate. New York.

We flew in from Toronto and checked into the Park South Hotel on East 28th Street, right on the edge of the Flatiron District. The Park South is a JdV by Hyatt property in a prewar building that has that old New York warmth without the self-conscious boutique thing that a lot of Manhattan hotels lean into. Exposed brick in the hallways, leather furniture in the lobby, a ground-floor bar called Rafter's that locals actually drink at (always a good sign when hotel bars aren't exclusively populated by people in bathrobes and conference lanyards). The rooms aren't big. Nothing below 50th Street is big unless you're paying four figures a night. But the beds are comfortable and the location is the real sell.

You're two blocks from Madison Square Park (go in the morning when the dog walkers own the place and the light through the trees is perfect). You're five minutes from Koreatown on 32nd Street, which is its own food destination and open way later than the rest of Midtown. You're walking distance to Union Square, the Village, and Gramercy. And subway access puts you anywhere else in 15 minutes.

You don't need to be near Times Square (you don't, trust me, nobody who lives in New York goes to Times Square) the Flatiron/NoMad area is one of the best neighborhoods to base yourself. It's central without being hectic, it has the densest concentration of good restaurants in Manhattan, and hotel rates are typically 30-40% less than comparable properties in Midtown.

The trip was about Nora. Walks through Central Park because she wanted to see it before everything bloomed. In late March, skip the southern entrances (Columbus Circle and Grand Army Plaza are tourist magnets) and enter from the west side around 72nd Street. Walk south toward Bethesda Terrace and the Bow Bridge. Fewer people, better angles, and a stretch of the park that feels more like a period film set than a public space. The other hidden spot, one that almost nobody visits, is the Conservatory Garden on the Upper East Side. Enter at 105th and 5th Avenue. It's formal, quiet, immaculately maintained, and almost always empty. One of the best-kept secrets in the entire city.

We ate at Gramercy Tavern one night, maybe a ten-minute walk from the hotel. Here's the thing you need to know about this place: there are two restaurants inside the same building. The back Dining Room is prix fixe, five courses, $175 a person, jacket suggested, reservations needed weeks out. It's fine. It's polished. It won't change your life. The front Tavern room is walk-in, à la carte, same kitchen, and this is where the real experience happens.

Sit at the bar if you can. Order the burger. This is important. The Gramercy Tavern burger is a thick, pink, bacon-cheddar thing cooked on the wood-burning grill that has become one of the most legendary off-menu items in New York. People in the Dining Room, paying three times more, stare at it with visible envy. Nora ordered the burger without looking at the menu because someone at the next table had one and she pointed at it and said "that." G and I followed. Three burgers, three people who had planned on ordering something more sophisticated for a birthday dinner. No regrets. The seasonal vegetable starters rotate constantly but are always the best part of the menu. If you see anything with mushrooms (hen of the woods, maitake, whatever's in season from the Union Square farmers' market three blocks away), order it without reading the rest of the description. The bread is baked in-house multiple times a day and served warm with cultured butter that somehow tastes better than any butter you've ever had. It just does.

Dinner for two in the Tavern with wine: $150-180. Dinner in the Dining Room with pairings: $500+. Same kitchen. Same ingredients. The Tavern is one of the best food-per-dollar experiences in Manhattan if you know to go there instead of the back room. Gramercy Tavern has been open since 1994, has nine James Beard Awards, and is still Danny Meyer's best restaurant. Not Eleven Madison Park. Not the Modern. This one.

If you still have room after dinner and you're in the neighborhood, walk to Daily Provisions on 26th Street (also a Danny Meyer spot) for a maple cruller that people lose their minds over. Or grab a nightcap at Dear Irving on Irving Place, a cocktail bar that does time-period-themed rooms (the JFK room is the one to sit in).

New York in late March is unpredictable. Pack layers. Bring a rain jacket that doesn't make you look like a tourist. And book restaurants for the cold, ugly days because walk-in lines are shorter when the weather is miserable outside. That's a real New York hack: bad weather days are the best restaurant days.