9 Ave, Times Square

9th Avenue starts off in Times Square at the Port Authority Bus Station. It's the biggest bus terminal in the world and though I'm not a fan of the bus (I think they are slow as all get out in the city), it is an easy way to get to the tri-state area if you don't own a car. A number of my friends use this terminal to go home to Boston, Connecticut, etc. It's quite convenient but a little depressing. And, all of the eateries surrounding it on this block are equally depressing.
The next block at 41st isn't any nicer to look at but it does boast a lovely little farmer's market and a great coffee shop.
The block at 42nd holds Manhattan Plaza and there is nothing that could make me live in this part of town aside from Manhattan Plaza. It's a massive, luxury "project" that is specifically for performing artists. The rent is on a sliding scale so that when you're not working, your rent goes down and when you are in a play, you don't pay any more than a percentage of your paycheck. It's a wonderful way to keep the arts alive in a very expensive city. And, the apartments are beautiful but the wait list is upwards of about five years. The block at 43rd doesn't have any grand sort of apartment buildings but it does have a lot of little eateries which I have never tried but I guess it's good that they're there.
The next couple of blocks hold some great little neighborhood finds for a very non-neighborhood neighborhood which I think is lovely. Piccinini Brothers is a great little meat shop that has been in the area for nearly 100 years. It is at 45th with a great Greek bakery a couple of doors down. I'm mildly obsessed with Baklava so when I was in Grad School this was a place I frequented. There are two lovely little Italian spots at 46th and 47th, another great bakery at 46th and a not too shabby Mexican place called Hell's Kitchen that I believe is also on 46th. This amount of cool neighborhood places to grab food is nearly unheard of in this neighborhood and even rarer on an Avenue so well done 9th. Well done.