heWho's Profile
Afgan restaurant in Manhattan....
I love Bamiyan. The handmade noodles are to die for. As are the fried dumplings. Definitely give this spot a try.
-----
Bamiyan
358 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016
I'm from Boston, NY Wife says: "NY Pizza is the best." So where is it?
I'm a Boston transplant, been living in NY for about 2.5 years now. First let me say, your wife is right. The pizza down here is on another level. In Boston (and New England in general), greek pizza is tolerated. Greek pizza wouldn't last a day down here. Even bad pizza in the city is good.
Next, as much as I love DiFara, if you're visiting NY, it's not worth the hassle (and it IS a hassle) to get a good Sicilian pizza. The line is always long, but call in an order to Artichokes on 14th St (order a whole pie, take the leftovers back with you... you can't get pizza like this up there). It's nearly as good as DiFara's with a fraction of the time commitment (when I've gone to DiFara's it takes nearly an hour to get there by train, and then the wait for a pizza is at least an hour unless you go at an off time. 3-4 hours is a bit much to ask for pizza).
Motorino and Keste (as mentioned here) are both fantastic. Honestly, even the slice joints will satisfy a craving for pizza that can't be itched up in Boston. My wife and I can't go a week without eating pizza down here, it's just too good. We'd go months up in Boston without eating a slice. Enjoy!
-----
Motorino
349 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003
Best inexpensive restaurants in Manhattan
In order to expense (lowest to highest)
:
Xi'an Famous Foods
Go Go Curry
Szechuan Gourmet (also has a nice dining room, unlike the others)
The Redhead (probably comparable to Red Cat)
There... is that so hard? Do you really need a dollar range to offer inexpensive suggestions?
-----
Go Go Curry
273 W 38th St, New York, NY 10018
Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Red Cat
227 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Recs for Private Dining Room - 25 people in Midtown
Thanks for the suggestion on Patroon. That's actually much more convenient for us, our office is near Grand Central.
Red Eye has actually got a good setup for private dining rooms. They can squeeze in two of them or create one really large room. Both configurations have a private bar area. Unfortunately the food is pretty boring.
Anyone else have any suggestions? c'mon!
Recs for Private Dining Room - 25 people in Midtown
Looking for new suggestions for restaurants with a private dining room that can hold 25 people, in Midtown, with good food, but not TOO uptight. We've held these dinners at Red Eye in the past and are looking for a change of pace. Something along those lines would be good... maybe with food that's a bit better/more interesting.
Right now we're thinking maybe Churrascaria Plataforma, but we're completely open to suggestions. I've got a pretty good lay of the land regarding restaurants around town, but I don't have a clue who has private dining rooms. Any suggestions appreciated!
Jean George restaurants for lunch
I'd highly recommend the Nougatine pre fixe lunch. Great food in a nice setting at a reasonable price... how can you go wrong?
-----
Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023
We got soft shell crabs yet, or what?
I saw them for sale at Wild Edibles in the GC Marketplace on Monday. They were ludicrously expensive ($9 a crab I think!!), but that means they're starting to roll in.
Where can I get a good soft shell crab sandwich?
-----
Wild Edibles
Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY 10017
Chinatown fruit report [Old]
Apparently the strawberry crops in California and Florida are coinciding right now so Strawberries are super cheap. Buy buy buy!!!
Where to buy preserved lemon?
It sounds like you've already found your answer, but for other readers, you can find preserved lemons at Kalustyan's as well.
-----
Kalustyan's
123 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016
Picky parents coming!
I'd recommend The Redhead (plenty of drinks and "normal" food like fried chicken) or Otto (very win-centric with straight forward pastas and pizzas).
And you can't go wrong with Les Halles since they like steak houses and french (Les Halles is a little of both)
-----
Les Halles
15 John Street, New York, NY 10038
Goodburger, Five Guys and Shake Shack
I like Burger Joint's more than any of the three listed here, but otherwise my vote would be for Shake Shack
-----
Burger Joint
118 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
Shake Shack
Madison Ave and E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010
Dylan's Candy Bar
You should be singing the praises of Dylan's for keeping tourists away from places like Economy Candy. How annoying would it be if you couldn't get near Economy on a weekend because it was overrun by tourists?
If I'm ever in the neighborhood and get a craving for some hard-to-find candy I'll stop into Dylan's. I picked up a few packs of Willy Wonka's Bottle Caps a couple of weeks ago because I had the oddest craving on my way up to Central Park. I might've paid what, 50 cents over retail? Well worth it imo
-----
Economy Candy
108 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002
Baogette Maiden Lane
Has anyone else had a banh mi from Baoguette with thai chillies? I've only been to the one on Lexington Ave, but I've been at least a dozen times and always get jalapenos when I order mine "spicy".
Brunch in Murray Hill
My favorite brunch in the neighborhood is Les Halles. The prices are a bit steep, but the meal comes with fresh squeezed orange juice and a fantastic croissant. I'll also take Les Halles french fries (served with the meal as well) over just about any other breakfast potato I can think of. There usually isn't a wait for a table either.
Where can I buy menthol?
I was shopping at the fantastic NYC spice shop Kalustyan's and just happened upon a package of menthol crystals there. Most of the packages are pretty helpful at Kalustyan's, telling you how to use the ingredient, but this package had nothing on it. Still, it's proof that you can buy menthol in a food store.
Here's a link where you can buy them online: http://kalustyans.com/catalog.asp?menucategory_id=172&category_id=14
They should show at the very bottom of the list. The description might leave you a little queasy though: "Relieve Symptoms Of Bronchitis & Sinuses. Not FDA Evaluated."
Cafes near UN
Not a cafe per se, but Jittery Joe's on 45th between 2nd and 3rd has the best coffee in the area hands-down. They french press all of their coffee... I don't know of any other spots in the city that do that (restaurants not included).
They have a few tables in there that are usually available and they get pastries from Sullivan Street Bakery, but it's kind of a dark spot.
Where can I buy menthol?
When I visited Thailand last year I was really surprised to find they ate menthol flavored candies. It was kind of like a sweeter version of a Hall's cough drop. Menthol sorbet would be interesting to say the least, I'd definitely try it.
Recommendations near NYU medical center
One that hasn't been mentioned yet is Cosette. It's a great little french bistro on 33rd St near 3rd ave.
Sammys Romanian--How Much Will I Spend?
There are some serious sticks in the mud here. Yes, it's overpriced. No, the food is not going to blow you away. But, if you follow this formula:
a.) go with a big, fun group of friends (sounds like you've got that)
b.) suspend all disbelief (of course it's cheesy, that's the point)
c.) have a few more drinks than you normally would
... I dare say you'll have a more memorable time than you ever would at yet another boring, typical New York steakhouse. You'll be entertained for hours.... you'll laugh... you'll take pictures... you might even dance. For my money, that's a hell of a lot more fun than eating a strip steak with a side of creamed spinach in a stuffy, pretentious dining room.
Stop complaining and just have some fun!
Asian or other near E. 34th and 2nd ave for lunch?
Pio Pio was my first thought for lunch as well. Either that or hit up one of the Indian buffets in Curry Hill.
Chinese Takeout in Murray Hill?
Szechuan Gourmet (arguably the best Chinese restaurant in the city) delivers to Murray Hill. I doubt you'd find better delivery above 14th St.
$10 - $15 Entree Challenge!
Ah, didn't realize you're from the UK. In that case, I'd recommend Dinosaur more than other spots of been to... but mostly for the chicken wings, which are really excellent. Hill Country has great brisket if you don't want to trek all the way out to Dinosaur.
Suggestions - Chinatown Dumplings around Orchard St.
Prosperity is good and closer to where you'll be than my favorite Chinatown dumpling spot which is on Mosco street (between Mott and Mulberry)
Beer @ Burger King
I don't think it's absurd at all. What's wrong with having a beer with your burger?
Maybe eating at a Burger King in NYC (when there are so many other good burgers to be had) is a bit absurd, but selling beer in one is not imo
$10 - $15 Entree Challenge!
I wouldn't say it's the worst, but unless you live somewhere that you can't find BBQ, I'd avoid BBQ joints in NYC. None of them are particularly good... there's much better food to be found around the city, BBQ is kind of a waste of a meal here imo
Need restaurant rec for Gramercy / Murry Hill area!!
Good recommendations for the neighborhood so far. For atmosphere I love Cosette.
Your 2010 "Must Try" List
Great thread! I've got a google map saved that keeps track of all the places I've been meaning to hit. Here's the short list in no particular order:
Porchetta
Co
The Jamaican Dutchy Cart
Blue Hill
Little Owl
Cookshop
DBGB
Ippudo
Sigiri - Sri Lankan
Pampano
Awash - Ethiopian
Corton
Laut - Malaysian
La Lucha Tacos
Xian Famous Foods
Balthazar (feel I need to go there at least once)
Spotted Pig
Keste
Fatty Crab
A Voce
Shopsin's
Locanda Verde
Maialino
$10 - $15 Entree Challenge!
Koreatown is a stones throw from MSG. My favorite spot there is Mandoo Bar. Mandoo are Korean dumplings, but they also have really excellent Bulgugi Dolsot Bi Bim Bap and other entrees. You could easily walk out of there stuffed for $15 a person... and beer/wine is cheap to boot.
