I am visiting the USA next week.

Hey, Goz, have a great time! I wish you were going to be in northern California.

It's been 30 years, or so, since I've been to Denver. And, although I do get to NYC from time to time, I don't know the hidden gems among the gazillion eateries. The last time I was there, in early 2018, we had a lovely dinner at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for a friend's birthday celebration.

If you don't mind my invading your post, I'd like to ask Klawrencio79 for his favorite deli, for Corned Beef/Pastrami sandwiches. I used to love Carnegie Deli, but they closed.

Why we can't get great deli fare on the west coast is a mystery to me. But, nothing in SF comes close to NYC.

Welcome to the US. Australia is still high on my list.

Thank you, so much.

I've made a note of Katz Deli, and, on last year's trip someone suggested 2nd Avenue Deli. I had hoped to make it there, but the short stay, combined with b'day festivities didn't allow for it.

I suppose that it would be lovely to be able to get exquisite fare from all categories, everywhere. On the other hand, it's kind of nice to have certain "specialties," for a given region. New Orleans is magic!

Awesome! I sit at a computer all day so take your time.  Traveling, even exploring my ever-evolving NYC which has been just outside my home for most of my years, is my favorite thing in this world, and sharing the awesome things I’ve found with others makes me genuinely excited and happy.  With Denver so fresh on my mind, I got a little giddy at the prospect of just talking about it on a message board.

I love tennis too!

I lived there too! Went to undergrad at Tulane and have been back about a dozen times since graduating.  Love New Orleans.  I'd answer the "what would your last meal be if you could choose" question with seafood gumbo and blackened redfish.  

I thought the same thing, oddly enough, about a week or so ago.  No_Socks_Here was always good for some NOLA conversation.  I also hope he's alright.  You around buddy? 

if only she was visiting the south and got to have a publix sub!

Apologies, work has gone a little haywire in recent days.  Cooper Square is a great location, well done!! 

For food, you're pretty close to both Momofuku Noodle Bar (Momofuku Noodle Bar) and Momofuku Ssam Bar (Momofuku Ssam Bar).  Ssam Bar (on 2nd Avenue and 13th Street) is my favorite of the Momofuku restaurants.  It's a great take on upscaled Asian street food and the atmosphere is perfectly emblematic of that of New York.  Busy yet comfortable.  Lively but not loud.  Bustling but not uncomfortable.  One of my top recs for the city. 

After you eat there, walk literally around the corner to Milk Bar (Milk Bar), Christina Tosi's dessert place.  She has an episode of Cheft's Table on Netflix and if you watch it, you'll want to eat there.  The Crack Pie is insane, and I'm not a big sweets guy.  

Also not far from where you'll be is Hearth (Hearth) on 1st Avenue and 12th Street.  This is Marco Kanora's place, he was in the running to become an Iron Chef a few years back.  He's kind of a dick (we actually saw him berate his entire staff) but the food was A+.  Upscale Italian, but not Italian in that it's pizza and chicken parm.  Think Tuscan.  Great seafood and carefully crafted dishes.  Love this place. 

For cocktails, I recommend Angel's Share, a speakeasy that can be tough to find, I don't think they even have a web site but you can find info about it if you google it.  It's on Stuyvestant Street (near the corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street) and it's on the second floor of a crazy crowded Chinese restaurant.  If you can get a seat, it's definitely worth it as the bartenders are true craftsmen and their drinks are truly something special. 

For a more diverse day of food, I recommend heading over to Chelsea Market (Chelsea Market)and taking a walk on the Highline, which is an entirely elevated mile (or so) long park that sits about one story up off the ground.  Really cool place to soak in some fresh air above the chaos below.  Then head into Chelsea Market and take a lap through an iconic NYC foodhall that is always rotating its options, in addition to the mainstays (like Fat Witch Bakery, Mokbar, and my personal favorite Amy's Bread Company).  Walk into Amy's, get whatever is the freshest thing that just came out of the oven.  You're welcome. 

Another great spot is Dead Rabbit down in Battery Park (Dead Rabbit), which is also a cool little area as it sits on the river and the park is really nice.  Dead Rabbit was recently rated the top bar in the world (2, maybe 3 years ago) and they just expanded so it's easier to get a table or a seat at the bar.  One of the best cocktail menus you'll ever find and the food is excellent.  If you're planning on visiting the World Trade Center site, it's pretty close to that so I'd recommend walking down to grab dinner.  After that, take the 10-ish minute to Black Tail (Black Tail), which is this weird little standalone building in the middle of the park and then you walk inside and the place is enormous.  I was also bombed when I was there, so I could be wrong.  

At some point, you'll probably find yourself passing through Penn Station.  If you do, take the short walk up to W. 42nd Street to visit the Polynesian (Polynesian).  Great drinks that come in tiki mugs and apps that are to die for.  They have a rooftop patio so if you get there early, or catch it at the right time, it's the place to be.  Careful though, if you happen to head there when a broadway show happens to be letting out, you're pretty much guaranteed not to get a spot. 

Katz' deli is definitely worthwhile for the pastrami sandwiches mentioned earlier in the thread. They're not like anything you get anywhere else and you're staying fairly close to where it's located.  Also, you have to grab pizza.  Avoid "Famous Ray's" or any chain pizzas.  You see a dingy little shithole on the street corner, that's where you want to go.  

If I'm being honest, I'd say avoid Times Square in general, unless you're visiting the Polynesian or it's on your bucket list of things to see.  It's crazy crowded, the food is all touristy garbage (even the pizza places) and it's just a loud sea of obnoxiousness.  To each their own but I only head to Times Square if I have meetings in the area.  Beyond that, stay away.  

Another great thing you should do is check out this site: Eater NY.  Here, you'll find a great compilation of lists that can help you find something specific that you may be into.  Plus, there are constantly new restaurants and even an avid food and cocktail snob like me can't visit them all.  This site will help you navigate all of those new ones.  In fact, any time you go to any city, you should visit that site; they have tons of information about new restaurants, the hottest restaurants, cheap eats, etc. for most major cities in the US and others around the world.  

Hope this is helpful! 

You are most welcome, and of course you can print that out.  I hope you end up hitting up any of those places and I hope I didn't steer you wrong!