Nobu, in TriBeCa, is still a sushi mecca for downtown investment bankers. For great Italian fare, the recently opened A Voce features rustic food and modernist decor (Eames swivel chairs, leather-topped tables). Farther south, in the West Village, Mario Batali's Babbo is a modern trattoria tucked inside a cozy two-story town house. Manhattan's late-night crowd flock to Blue Ribbon, a SoHo hot spot serving haute comfort food. Reservations are not accepted, so expect to wait for a table. Celebrities and off-duty chefs dine here, and the kitchen is open late.

Where to Be Seen
The A-list media and publishing crowd still beat a path to Michaels, in Midtown, for lunch. Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, and other network news luminaries enjoy the clubby atmosphere, along with Ralph Lauren, Time Inc. editor in chief John Huey, and News Corp. president Peter Chernin.

For dinner, the hottest table in town right now is the Waverly Inn, partly owned by Vanity Fair editor in chief Graydon Carter and frequented by glitterati: Everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jack Nicholson has been spotted. Just as hip-but slightly easier to get into-is the nearby Spotted Pig, where Bill Clinton was recently seen dining with Jay-Z and Bono. For after-dinner partying, the Pink Elephant, in Chelsea, is a sumptuous celebrity hangout offering house music, a sunken dance floor, and, ahem, a scent machine.

Where to Close a Deal
If you are a member or know one, a handful of private clubs in the city put the a in august, starting with the Metropolitan Club, the grand palazzo on Fifth Avenue commissioned by J. P. Morgan; the Lotos Club, a former Vanderbilt mansion; and, for sporting types, the New York Yacht Club. More accessible, and with an undistilled old-school New York feel, is the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel. Order a Red Snapper-a Bloody Mary, which is said to have been perfected here. Financial high-rollers sip martinis and ogle the stock ticker from the mahogany bar at the Bull and Bear restaurant in the Waldorf-Astoria.

Local Codes
New Yorkers are fanatical about the Next Big Thing. Mention a hot new restaurant, hotel, movie, or even deal that they haven't heard of and watch them get fidgety. If you're not the teasing type, let them fill you in on the news and trends. They love being first.

Airport Intelligence
The AirTrain service, available at both Kennedy and Newark Liberty, is the best way to beat rush hour traffic, but both require switching trains before you reach Manhattan. If you prefer door-to-door service, queue up for a yellow taxi (about $50 from Kennedy, $60 from Newark, an $35 from LaGuardia). Look for authorized dispatchers, and ignore the many transportation touts ready to greet you after you come through customs.

The Three-Hour Tour
Pay tribute to the beneficence of the city's past titans of industry at the newly and gloriously renovated Morgan Library and Museum (a glimpse of the vast holdings in the industrialist's private library is reason alone to visit); the Frick Collection (the mansion of the despised turn-of-the-century robber baron and now a deliciously ornate museum); and Carnegie Hall (tours of the world-famous concert hall are conducted three times daily Monday through Friday during the season).