I love getting lost in cities too, but if I'm in a rush nothing beats the simple "streets go this way, avenues go that way" grid of NYC. (that's just what I say in my head with matching hand motions)
That's only actually true between 14th and 187th streets in Manhattan. The other (80%? 90%?) of NYC has locally consistent, but globally inconsistent, street layouts.
Wow I never knew that. Very interesting... It seems to be a global thing. Guess not!