Not For Tourists Guide to New York City

Frequent visitors and New York City residents will be happy to have the Not For Tourists Guide to New York City in their backpack, purse, desk drawer or glove compartment. Whenever you're looking for something by location -- whether it's a restaurant, bar, pharmacy, hotel, wifi or dog run, the Not For Tourists Guide to New York City will be a tremendous help.

When it's not possible to be online -- that's when I love having the Not For Tourists Guide to New York City around. With over 300 pages crammed full information and maps, it's ideal when you're looking for something by location.

You're meeting a friend for lunch in an unfamiliar neighborhood and want to stop at an ATM -- just look at the Essentials page and find the nearest one. The same goes for listings of all sorts in this handy book -- whatever neighborhood you're in, whatever you need, you can find your options listed here. The transit maps are also helpful, making it easy to find the best subway or bus to get you where you're going.

The tiny book also has a wealth of information about New York City, from details about museums to a calendar of events.

The downsides: maps and listings are on facing pages, however, when you see an icon for a restaurant, you'll need to sift through the list of restaurants based on their addresses to determine which restaurant it is that is there. This may not matter if you're just looking for an ATM, but you might not want to end up at Churruscaria Platforma with your vegetarian friend when you meant to go to Zen Palate. The tiny print can be taxing on the eyes, but you wouldn't want the book to double in size, so this is worth living with.

All in all, this is a great resource to have -- it's compact size makes it an easy addition to your arsenal and one you'll be happy to have when you're looking for the nearest 24 hour pharmacy at 3 a.m.