Wow, not too many actual New Yorkers chiming in... I've been working full time or part time in NYC for the last 8 years and can give some good info.
Steak houses in the city are phenomenal.
Sparks is my favorite, period.
Peter Lugers is excellent but the cash only thing is just annoying in 2011 and it's in Brooklyn which makes it slightly more difficult to get to - I'm not saying it's not an amazing steak house, the food is excellent but the logistics make it a slight annoyance.
Smith & Wollensky follows that and the person who said it's the IHOP of steak couldn't be more wrong.
DelFriscos is alright as well but I was only there once so don't take it as gospel.
Burgers are also solid in NY. My favorite place is
burger joint in the Parker Meridian and
Rare is also quite good.
For TexMex food I would go to
El Rio Grande. The food is quite good but I go because they also have the strongest and IMO the best margaritas in the city. I still go to that place several times a year.
Los Feliz has the best Mexican food in my experience but be $$ prepared - it ain't taco bell.
I'm shocked I haven't heard much about PIZZA in this thread.
Little Italy on 43rd and Madison is great and there is another place of the same name on
45th between 5th and 6th that is also great - definitely walkable from Times Sq.
The bottom line on NYC food is that if you're waiting on an hour long line to get into a TGI Fridays or Olive Garden with the rest of the hayseeds just go home because you're doing it wrong.
Times Sq is definitely a trap for rubes - take one walk through but spend your time elsewhere. You could also save yourself a bundle by staying elsewhere but it's actually a nicely centralized location with respect to subway access.
Things to see:
Museums - Definitely hit the
Met and the
Frick is also pretty nice for just paintings but having been to the Guggenheim 3 times, I would recommend just skipping it.
Spend an afternoon walking around the financial district - it's the oldest part of the city and there's a tremendous amount of history tucked between the faceless Wall St facades (Trinity Church, Faunces Tavern, etc).
SoHo is a great neighborhood for shopping and someone already mentioned that Bleecker St is nice for the bar scene at night. Another solid bar area is Bedford St in Williamsburg Brooklyn.
I can go on and on but I'll cut it here... have fun and remember that your primary objective each morning should be to stay far away from Times Sq.