Restaurant Recommendation

Hello Again!

I was just wondering if people could give us some restaurant recommendations. Places we have to try, that we would actually be able to get reservations at. We are staying at the Iroquois, not afraid to travel around NYC to get there and we are willing to spend a little more for good food. We are staying 4 days, so we would be able to go to a few stops. I have looked at the restaurant hot list post, but there are so many great choices, I don%26#39;t know where to begin.

Tia!

Jodi

Restaurant Recommendation

Are you going to go to a show?

Restaurant Recommendation

We are not planning on going to any shows at this point, although that might change.

I%26#39;ll throw out some things that are in my current non-expense account restaurant repetoire, that you%26#39;d be more likely to find in NYC than Minneapolis...

You cant go wrong with any of the restaurants on Cornelia Street (Village just off 6th Ave between Bleeker and West 4th. Pearl Oyster Bar has the best lobster roll in NYC - get there early or wait! A few doors down, Palma is good and has a beautiful outdoor garden to eat in if the weather is good. Po is also excellent, but hard to get reservation.

For a large, noisy place - China Grill in the CBS Building on 6th at 52nd.

If you%26#39;re up early try to get into Balthazar for brunch. They have small tables next to the bar that are usually available before noon.

In Chelsea there%26#39;s a great strip of restaurants on 7th starting at 22nd heading south. Regional Thai Taste, Sette, Il Bastardo, Le Zie, Le Singe Vert, Elmos. All good neighborhood restaurants. If you head over to 8th, they%26#39;re a little mediocre, but Gascogne at 17th on 8th is excellent and has a nice outdoor garden. Uptown this place would be 3x the price. They have price fixed dinners to accommodate the Joyce dance crowd across the street. Also, Nooch on 16th is cheap and good. People line up at their Singapore location, but this one hasnt caught on.

Markt on the corner of 14th and 9th for Belgian food/beer and a taste of the oh so trendy meat packing district.

I dont know if its considered against the rules to mention another site, but chowhound.com is a great source for restaurant info.

If you like french bistros :Lucien on 1st avenue, Jules on St Mark%26#39;s place which has live jazz, Brasserie les Halles on Park avenue south. They are great and don%26#39;t cost too much.

If you%26#39;d like to splurge, there%26#39;s the Mercer Kitchen in the mercer hotel in Soho.

For fresh and good seafood and also live jazz in the downstairs room, there%26#39;s the Blue Water grill.

Hey Kaza,

Lived hear all my life, heres some good ones in Brooklyn %26amp; Manhattan:

Steak

Peter Luger Steak House

178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 387-7400 (famous, great steaks, but EXPENSIVE)

Italian

Paesano of Mulberry Street (my fav in manhattan)

136 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10013

(212) 965-1188 $10-$25/person

But if you%26#39;re in Brooklyn, This place is even better, Bloomberg eats here whenever there%26#39;s an event in the neighborhood, this is about 45 minutes away from lower manhattan, great italian, but not worth it if youre gonna lose site seeing time.

Gino%26#39;s Restaurant %26amp; Pizzeria

7414 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209

(718) 748-1698 $10-$25/person

Chinese

WO Hop Restaurant

17 Mott Street Basement, New York, NY 10013

(212) 267-2536 dont let the basement fool you, this place is open 24/7 except chinese new year, no reservations, expect a moderate wait if you go on peak hours.

Atmospehere

Red

19 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10038

(212) 571-5900

Even if you dont eat here, definitely go see the area, the South Street Seaport is one of my favorite places in all of the 5 boros. There%26#39;s also several good fish places I%26#39;m told on this block (I dont eat fish) as well as a pizzeria unos overlooking the bay. All of these places are relatively affordable $15-$30/person.

Top Of The Tower

3 Mitchell Place Frnt, New York, NY 10017

(212) 355-7300

Right by the United Nations-the view is one of the best in the city, if not the best, individual tables for two are almost completely secluded, this place doesnt seat that many people, and unfortunately for the atmosphere %26amp; quality comes the price, over $100/person easily.

These are all good spots, %26amp; most are also close to a lot of great tourists spots. Enjoy your trip.

Can%26#39;t agree with Wo Hop... Go with Congee Village, Jing Fong or Yeah Shanghai Deluxe.

For steak: Keen%26#39;s Steakhouse in midtown has very good steaks and ';mutton'; chop and a real NYC ambiance.

Bistro (cheese): Artisanal has cheese, cheese and more cheese, gougeres, fondue, wine by the glass, good.

Bistro (hip): Balthazar, make a phone reservation asap. Delicious French comfort food in a loud, fun atmosphere.

Special Occasion: The River Cafe in Brooklyn is hard to beat for an outstanding view, lovely ambiance filled with flowers, and terrific service. Best food in the city? No, but pretty darn good. Visit therivercafe.com.

Italian: For special pasta try L%26#39;impero or Lupa (a Mario Battali joint).

Can%26#39;t agree with Wo Hop... Go with Congee Village, Jing Fong or Yeah Shanghai Deluxe.

For steak: Keen%26#39;s Steakhouse in midtown has very good steaks and ';mutton'; chop and a real NYC ambiance.

Bistro (cheese): Artisanal has cheese, cheese and more cheese, gougeres, fondue, wine by the glass, good.

Bistro (hip): Balthazar, make a phone reservation asap. Delicious French comfort food in a loud, fun atmosphere.

Special Occasion: The River Cafe in Brooklyn is hard to beat for an outstanding view, lovely ambiance filled with flowers, and terrific service. Best food in the city? No, but pretty darn good. Visit therivercafe.com.

Italian: For special pasta try L%26#39;impero or Lupa (a Mario Battali joint).

I usually agree with Voyagereuse but I ate at Lupa and I had a really bad experience. I came out with the feeling that were so trying to be innovative that they completely missed the mark and the food was not good at all. Batali is trying sometimes too hard to differentiate himself from others and he missed the mark with this one.

I love his other restaurants Casa Mono (spanish tapas) and Otto (italian tapas) where they have quartinos of wine. They are about 2 good glasses of wine and start at 8$ up to .....You can try different wines that you could never do if you ordered by the bottle. The food is really good at the two places and the wine is superb. You can taste a Brunello (relatively expensive wine) for much less because you have a smaller size of it. The ambiance is really fun at the two places. Casa Mono is a bit on the trendier side because it has been opened more recently, but you have to get there early or late or have reservations.

Thanks everyone! These all sound like wonderful spots to dine, I am getting hungry just thinking about it all.

Jodi

ps look at www.opentable.com to make reservations and to see what%26#39;s available. there are quite a few good ones on there.