My good friend Brian was able to demolish the #1 thing on the list of what I wanted to do by the year 2020: Watch a Broadway show in New York . Beauty and the Beast was beyond amazing and I loved being able to sing along. New York is an awesome city (after S.F. and L.A. , of course) and here are the Top 10 reasons why:

1. Transportation:   I didn't get to make use of the subway system, but it beats BART any day.

2. Nature:   Where else can you fully indulge in the four seasons? You got your snow in the winter, humidity in the summer, normal weather in the spring, and Richard Gere & Winona Ryder’s famed autumn in New York .

3. Food:   Filled with ethnic enclaves, you get your choice of which gourmet ghetto you want to whet your appetite in. New York thin-crust pizza is yummy, even if you don't care for pizza like myself (Zachary's Chicago-style pizza is still the best pizza anywhere!).

4. Fashion:   A mecca for fashion, New Yorkers do live up to the hype. The Queer Eye staffers and I give them two thumbs up.  And NO sales tax on clothing FTW.

5. Entertainment:    Be it gawking at Van Gogh's work at the Met or catching a Broadway play, you are guaranteed excitement. I didn't get to see the Naked Cowboy though.

6. Sheer elegance:    The Plaza Hotel (now defunct) may be overrated, but there are so many posh buildings that New York can make even a post office look sophisticated and classic.

The frozen chocolate souffle is the best part of the Plaza Hotel :p

7. Nightlife:   Everything's bigger in the City that Never Sleeps, including its clubs.

A former bank, Capitale shows folks a good time till 4 in the morning.

8. Man-made Nature:  Central Park is awesome. Whoever thought of putting an 843-acre park smack in the heart of the Big Apple was one smart cookie.

Whoever thought of putting up 15,000 brightly orange gates in Central Park should have his or her eyesight checked. Modern art, my butt.

9. Romance:  New York has many hot spots for singles, where sparks could fly even in a dessert parlor.

Serendipity serves up sweets that can make anyone's heart melt.

Brian can slam dunk these rookies. Dang, maybe I should have interviewed Yao Ming ... but at least I get my fill at the NBA Store on 5th Avenue.

10. Shopping:  With 34th Street and 5th Av, I'm in flagship fairyland. A shopaholic's dream come true indeed.

I couldn't lug this puppy on the plane with me, but I did nab small Patrick from FAO Schwarz.

New York is the hub of pop culture with the MTV building and NBC Studios within a taxicab ride's reach. However, I would add that it brews a special blend of authentic culture that mixes it up with the aforementioned 10 items. To sum it up in one word, New York is an experience.