N'Awlins / NYC and some tunes

A few months back we made plans to head to New Orleans for Jazz Fest this weekend...but as the airline prices crept up we cancelled and are headed to NYC instead for a short trip next week...Jazz Fest is amazing if you ever have the chance to go...the food is unbelievable (get the Cochon de Lait Poboy) the people super friendly and the eclectic lineup is usually out of this world...I like to skip the headliners and head for the smaller stages...trad jazz is always fun with it's umbrella parade, the zydeco stage is a party, the gospel tent raises the roof...just wander around and you always discover something new...I'm also a huge fan of the city having been many times before and after Katrina - it'a without a doubt a national treasure and has the most character of any US city...I guess I'll just listen to some Preservation Hall instead...

On to NYC - I've been dozens of times for buying trips and to hang with my friends but never with my husband...never visited most of the major tourist attractions as I generally prefer to hit the pavement and just wander, eat and drink...and I've rarely left the lower Manhattan/Brooklyn area...my only visits uptown have been to Barneys ;), the Moma, and the Neue which I loved...what would you do with a weekend in New York? where to eat? stay? shop?  I want to stay at the Ace but I think Chris will roll his eyes at paying $250+ for a "cheap room" to be in hipster haunt...

PS - This was just on the radio and totally reminds me of Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins, no?
and I'm really digging this Jakob Dylan/Neko Case CD even though I always thought the Wallflowers were pretty bland...very beautiful!