A favor to ask if you have NYC history

[jfoxcpacfp]

I'm going to be in mid-town Wed - Sun this week for an annual conference and looking for suggestions for good local restaurants. Nothing fancy, preferably ethnic (Indian, Korean/Vietnamese, Italian, Greek) and I've been to most of the touristy places - not interested in "names". I know a lot of you either lived or trained in NYC - any favorites you can share? Manhattan, Brooklyn, or anywhere the subway will take us. Taking along a friend who has visited the city only once before and we're both adventurous.

If you are a lurker and prefer not to post here, pm's welcome.

TIA!

Ex-New Yorker. Lived there for little over 10 years. Keep in mind, I am a Vegetarian so no idea about meat dishes. Also, I used to visit these about 4 years ago so there might be some changes to place or taste.

Meals:

Indian food:

1) Vatan- 409 3rd ave (vatanny.com)- Authentic taste of Western state of Gujarat, India. Vegetarian dishes only. Good amount of oil and portion size. Decor is one of a kind. You will not find similar cuisine elsewhere (I am still looking).

2) Bukhara- 217 E 49th Street (U.N area)- Authentic taste of North Indian cuisine. Yes, you may have eaten same dishes elsewhere but this is the difference between a peanut and an almond.

3) Sarvana Bhavan- 81 Lexington (at the corner of 26th ave)- Good choice for South Indian eatery (dosa, idli).

4) Chennai Garden (formerly Tiffin Wallah)- 127 E 28th St-Good place for all of the above cuisines. I hope the food quality is the same despite name change.

5) Hampton Chutney (multiple locations)- Known for twisty fusion foods with roots to India. Weird selection of chutneys.

 

Fusion food:

1) Franchia- 12 Park Ave (very close to Empire state building)- Great fusion east asian (could be spicy to some)

2) Quantum Leap- 226 Thompson St- Mainly vegan but with some experiments (their salads are great)

3) Gobo- 401 6th Ave- Asian accented Vegetarian fare

4) Budhha Bodai- 5 Mott st- Small place in busy Chinatown- mock meat, dim sum, vegetarian, good oil and portion size.

 

Mexican/American:

1) Rosa Mexicano-$$$-multiple locations-I used to go there mostly for guacamole that is made fresh in front of you in an iron skillet.

2) Junior's- multiple locations- American cuisine, well known for NYC Cheese cakes.

 

Italian:

1) Grimaldi's- 1 Front Street- Mostly for Pizza- Be prepared to stand in a long (by New York standards) line for a table.

2) Del Posto- Mostly for meats- $$$$

 

Greek:

1) Maoz Falafel & grill- Multiple locations.

2) Estiatorio Milos- Mediterranean fish etc.

 

Dessert:

1) Veniero's- 342 E 11th St- from coffee to cakes, biscuits, pastries, open late

2) Cafe Lalo- 201 W 83rd St-$$$-pastries with just the perfect level of sugar

3) Amorino-60 university place- Italian Gelato scooped gently.

4) Grom- Multiple locations- $$$-Italian Gelato with ingredients flown from various parts of the world.

5) Brooklyn ice cream factory- the corners of old fulton and water street- Very limited flavor selection, generous taste, long lines.

6) Pop bar - 5 carmine st- Gelato on a stick with multiple twists to the taste.

7) il Laboratoria Del Gelato- 188 Ludlow st- Factory in front of you. They make over 200 flavors of Ice cream that is rotated throughout the day, open late.

8) Serendipity 3- 65 E 60th St- Well known after the movie. Huge portions for Ice cream and chocolate desserts. I would go there only for their $1000 Ice Cream dish that requires a pre-order a few weeks ahead and comes with a gold plated spoon that you can keep.

 

Others:

1) Max Brenner- 841 Broadway- Baldy man's restaurant for burgers, waffle sandwich, omelets, chocolates and desserts.

2) La Maison Du Chocolat- Multiple locations- $$$- Chocolates imported from Paris, their hot chocolate is thick enough to choke you.

 

Enjoy!

[jfoxcpacfp]

Wow, wci, I'm reeling from that list. You must be a true foodie. Thank you! The nearest Indian to me in KY is about 125 miles (Nashville) and I always anticipate enjoying Indian food when traveling. Il Laboratorio - I stumbled onto it a few years back, it is amazing. Will visit once or twice, nothing like it. Went to La Maison Du Chocolat in Paris and was happy to find in NYC. And I've gotten black and white cookies at Junior's as there is one across the street from the conference venue - sure I'll be bringing some home to my office buds.

Other than that, the rest of the list is virgin territory for me. Thinking Vatan for Indian and to see the decor.

Thanks again - I really appreciate the time you took to put this together. Will keep this list for future reference, too.

(Fortunately, it is too late to order the $1,000 ice cream dish, but I don't think I would be tempted. Was it good?)

About the $1000 ice cream- Now Being a WCI, I wouldn't invest in it, would I?! I have seen the picture of it but haven't tried it.

 

You are welcome. Some of the places are open until 1 am and couple are 24 hours. We used to go for very late night deserts in NYC a lot. Miss these as most shops in the Bay area close by 9 pm and the rest serve grossly sugary material. This change however brought a new avenue of making my own deserts at home where I control expense as well as ingredients!

[jfoxcpacfp]

wci wrote:

About the $1000 ice cream- Now Being a WCI, I wouldn’t invest in it, would I?! I have seen the picture of it but haven’t tried it.

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Honestly, I was really wondering about that. lol.

[conniebird]

Been here (not continuously) since 1995. Have tons of recs. I eat almost everything. Here are a few to get you started.

Japanese ramen (also lots of non ramen items on menu) - Ippudo (has a midtown loc, also one in the east village), lots of other ramen recs if you desire

Korean - ktown 32nd St and bway area, it's like 2 blocks big. If you want BBQ, check out Kang Hodong Baekjeoung; Kang Suh is also very good

Vietnamese food isn't great here in NYC....lemme know if you make it southern CA - that's where the good stuff is.

Italian - TONS of recs. I am basically an italian stuck in an asian body. A few of my favs that I return to - Il Buco Alimentari, Bar Pitti (cash only tho).

I live in Brooklyn and can give lots of recs here - Bistro Petit (tiny tiny place, korean-french fusion cuisine, amazing chef). Roberta's - amazing pizza and italian inspired cuisine. St Anselm (mostly steak). So much good pizza and italian food here. DO NOT go to little italy in Manhattan .

[conniebird]

I really like Hampton's Chutney stated above - that would be good for breakfast/lunch.

 

Also Greek - Taverna Kyclades, in east village and original in Astoria (where all the good greek food is).

[Docbeans]

This post is worth saving for reference )... thanks wci and conniebird!

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

1) I’ve gotten black and white cookies at Junior’s as there is one across the street from the conference venue – sure I’ll be bringing some home to my office buds.

2) Thinking Vatan for Indian and to see the decor.

 

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#1- Check out Veniero's before you buy stuff for the office. They've a selection as well. The folks at Veniero's have been baking since 1895....Enuff said.

#2- Go empty stomach and stay awake & upright for a few hours after the meal. That place was 5 miles from my home and I went walking to and fro just to get hungry and then to digest!

[The White Coat Investor]

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

I’m going to be in mid-town Wed – Sun this week for an annual conference and looking for suggestions for good local restaurants. Nothing fancy, preferably ethnic (Indian, Korean/Vietnamese, Italian, Greek) and I’ve been to most of the touristy places – not interested in “names”. I know a lot of you either lived or trained in NYC – any favorites you can share? Manhattan, Brooklyn, or anywhere the subway will take us. Taking along a friend who has visited the city only once before and we’re both adventurous.

If you are a lurker and prefer not to post here, pm’s welcome.

TIA!

Click to expand...

My wife and daughter swear by Shake-Shack after their recent Broadway trip out there.

[VagabondMD]

Docbeans wrote:

This post is worth saving for reference )… thanks wci and conniebird!

Click to expand...

I agree! I have bookmarked it to my travel section for my next trip to NYC, whenever that happens to be. ?

[conniebird]

The White Coat Investor wrote:

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

I’m going to be in mid-town Wed – Sun this week for an annual conference and looking for suggestions for good local restaurants. Nothing fancy, preferably ethnic (Indian, Korean/Vietnamese, Italian, Greek) and I’ve been to most of the touristy places – not interested in “names”. I know a lot of you either lived or trained in NYC – any favorites you can share? Manhattan, Brooklyn, or anywhere the subway will take us. Taking along a friend who has visited the city only once before and we’re both adventurous.

If you are a lurker and prefer not to post here, pm’s welcome.

TIA!

Click to expand…

My wife and daughter swear by Shake-Shack after their recent Broadway trip out there.

Click to expand...

Shake shack blows in'n out out of the water for "fast food" burgers. I lived in CA for 6 years and I honestly don't get the in'n'out obsession except that it's fast and everywhere.

Other notable burgers in NYC:

Black label burger at Minetta Tavern (also a GREAT resto)

Burger at Peter Luger's (only available during lunch)

Kobe burger at Bistro Petit in Brooklyn

[Zaphod]

conniebird wrote:

The White Coat Investor wrote:

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

I’m going to be in mid-town Wed – Sun this week for an annual conference and looking for suggestions for good local restaurants. Nothing fancy, preferably ethnic (Indian, Korean/Vietnamese, Italian, Greek) and I’ve been to most of the touristy places – not interested in “names”. I know a lot of you either lived or trained in NYC – any favorites you can share? Manhattan, Brooklyn, or anywhere the subway will take us. Taking along a friend who has visited the city only once before and we’re both adventurous.

If you are a lurker and prefer not to post here, pm’s welcome.

TIA!

Click to expand…

My wife and daughter swear by Shake-Shack after their recent Broadway trip out there.

Click to expand…

Shake shack blows in’n out out of the water for “fast food” burgers. I lived in CA for 6 years and I honestly don’t get the in’n’out obsession except that it’s fast and everywhere.

Other notable burgers in NYC:

Black label burger at Minetta Tavern (also a GREAT resto)

Burger at Peter Luger’s (only available during lunch)

Kobe burger at Bistro Petit in Brooklyn

Click to expand...

I like The Habit in CA for fast burgers, but thats as fast food as I'll eat. Prefer Eureka! for burgers here. Never had Shake Shack, the lines are just like In n Out in CA, ridiculous. I dont get the In n Out craze either, its fine and certainly a bit unique, but doesnt explain the cars out the drive through and into the parking lots at all hours.

I'll keep this list for Indian in NYC for my next visit, sad I didnt go to any of those last time, I think I went to a place called Nirvana, cant remember where it was.

[nymd]

Agree with Shake Shack, though there are locations everywhere now.

Minetta Tavern is also an excellent spot.  Fantastic burger and steak (and bone marrow if you are a fan).

JG Mellon on the upper east side also makes a good burger and solid waffle fries.  Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridien Hotel is also pretty good.

For non-touristy, under the radar, but reliably good Italian, I would recommend Masseria Dei Vini in ************************'s Kitchen.  A surprisingly good new addition to the area.

For Japanese, check out Yakitori Totto in Midtown West.  Thomas Keller (Per Se, French Laundry) once said it's his favorite spot in NYC.

There's also Totto Ramen (2 locations) in the same area.  Ippudo is excellent for ramen as well.

I agree with Kang Hodong Baekjeoung for K-town BBQ.  It's relatively new, and a stand-out spot.

Rather than black and white cookies from Juniors, I would recommend swinging by Levain Bakery on the upper west side for some of their colossal cookies.