Dining in New York?

[Jessica]

I thought we had a thread on this but I did a search and could not find it. We are going to be in Manhattan for a few days and are looking for some fun and interesting dining experiences. We would like reasonable prices--we are not on a shoestring budget but we are not on an expense account, either. Also, anything in or near Midtown is a plus, since we are staying near Times Square.

We are pretty adventurous and enjoy all kinds of food.

Thanks for your ideas.

Jessica

[Vanessa]

When we went to Manhattan in early May or late April we stayed across WTC and for dinner one night we tried Chinatown another night Little Italy. We took the subway and just walked and when we saw a place stopped (we were adventurous :) We wanted to eat at a place near the theater one day but the wait was 3 hrs thats when we went to Little italy. After dinner we went to an Italian bakery for sweets. Near the hotel there was a deli where we stopped for cheesecake to go (very big pieces).

[emilycat]

Here they are: :)

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4402&highlight=NYC

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12098&highlight=NYC

[jjsooner73]

When I'm in New York, I always eat at a Chinese Place called Our Place; it's at 141 E. 55th Street in Midtown-between Lexington and 3rd Ave. It's very good and the service is always outstanding.

I've also eaten at a few very good places in Little Italy. Il Palazzo is one that is very good and probably my favorite-it's on Mulberry Street. Also Puglia's is a fun place to go. I wish I could remember the name of it, but there is an awesome bakery in that area--maybe Ferrara's?

[Jessica]

Thanks for the suggestions, and for the links, emilycat. I tried all sorts of searches for New York but never tried "NYC." :)

[Leslie w]

There was a great Indian rest. where you could stuff yourselves for about $20/person that I use to go to in lower Manhattan but since the attack I don't know if its still open. Check out www.Zagats.com. That's where I check before venturing in Manhattan. Type in New York City. Their reviews are pretty up to date and it gives a price for an average meal.

[Don]

I was in NYC about three months ago and a couple of meals stand out in my memory. One of my favorites was a Korean/Japanese restaurant called Jeollado (212-260-7696) located at 116 E. Fourth Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in the East Village. The food was both delicious and reasonably priced (at least it was very reasonably priced for Manhattan). There was a short wait to get a table (early on a Tuesday night). The sushi is supposed to be good, although we stuck to the Korean side of the menu. Another place that was good for an adventurous meal was the Afghan Kebab House (212-768-3875) at 155 W. 46th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues near Times Square. Here again, the prices were reasonable and the food was delicious if you are willing to try something new. The food was Middle Eastern with a few unexpected flavors (mostly citrus if I remember correctly). Unfortunately, two of my favorites, both Thai restaurants, were near Ground Zero and probably are no longer open or in existence. I would definitely check www.zagat.com (http://www.zagat.com) for recommendations. They have rarely given me bad information. Have fun!:)

[laughsandlaughs]

Jessica,

There are SO many restaurants in the city it might be easier to give recommendations if you let us know what kinds of food you like...

[Jessica]

laughsandlaughs--

Sure, ask the hard questions. :)

We already are going to Chinatown with a Chinese friend, so I guess we can leave that out. We really do like everything, but some of our favorites are:

Japanese (sushi bargains??)
Middle Eastern
Indonesian
Anything unusual

[laughsandlaughs]

For sushi our absolute favorite place is Yama, which has the biggest, freshest sushi known to man. So it is a bargain because you DEFINITELY do not need to order as much as you normally would. We've seen newcomer couples make that mistake and end up with enough food for 10 people!

http://www.zagat.com is far and away my favorite resource for restaurant hunting, and this is what they say about Yama:

YAMA
26-Food (30 is the highest, anything over 20 is good)
13-Decor (you're not going there for the fancy digs)
16-Service

Gramercy Park,Greenwich Village 122 E. 17th St. (Irving Pl.) New York, NY, 10003 (212) 475-0969

92 W. Houston St. (bet. La Guardia Pl. & Thompson St.) New York, NY, 10012-2529 (212) 674-0935

38-40 Carmine St. (bet. Bedford & Bleecker Sts.) New York, NY, 10014-4432 (212) 989-9330

"Yamazing" oversized sushi ("Moby Dick on rice") explains why crowds endure "killer" waits and "spotty service" at the "cramped", no-reserving Gramercy original; Houston Street is less of a mob scene and "thank goodness" they reserve at the pretty Carmine Street branch.

[AdGirl]

i would take a look at emilycat's threads, i know alot of us New Yorkers have posted our favorite restaurants there.

if you like korean food (or haven't tried it!), i HIGHLY recommend going to a restaurant called Kum Gang San. it's in little korea, which is in the area around the empire state bldg and macy's. alot of the restaurants there are pretty good but this one is incredible. if you go, you have to get their specialty, which is their table barbecue (bulgogi and the like). when they say "table barbecue," they're not kidding! there's actually a grill IN your table and they come cook it for you. highly entertaining... hehe and all the little "side dish" things they give you are so yummy.

i took my sister there when she visited from texas and she was a little leery of going to a korean restaurant (she's not really that adventurous hehe) but she loved it!

you also suggested middle eastern food. i really like salaam cafe, which is around 6th ave and 13th st (i think!). their eggplant is so yummy and it's very romantic inside. another really good place is turkish kitchen. yum!

if you are a meat eater and are hungry (and adventurous), you should try churrascaria plataforma. it's brazilian barbecue and not only is it incredibly yummy, it's an experience in itself! :)

[amcleod]

I am coming to NYC this weekend so I have been reading this thread too! My parents live in NYC and I grew up around there so I know some places near them.

AdGirl and other NYCers, what is a good place in the theatre district? I rarely hang out around there. My parents got my DH tix to Proof for his b-day, and we're seeing it Saturday night. Any post-theater place you can recommend?

AdGirl, my parents live near Little Korea so I am definitely going to force the DH to go to the place you recommended. We've never had Korean before and I have been dying to try it. My parents are going out of town and we're using their place...other wise if we were going to visit them, they'd never want to try it as they are not as adventurous as we are. Sad seeing they are in NYC. Oh well!