Near Hotel Giraffe

[chrisinroch]

Any recs for dinner places near the Giraffe (flatiron)? Like french and italian. Like thoughtfully prepared and well executed food. Willing to pay, but hate feeling ripped off by the emperors new clothes type hot restaurant. Small place would be nice. Tasting menu would be nice. I'm pretty serious about food, especially authentic Italian, but Babbo scares me a bit with the feeling that I'm paying too much of a premium for the Mario name.

Thanks, Chris

[Lucia]

For a tasting menu, I believe the nearest place would be Eleven Madison Park. I haven't been since the new chef came on board this spring, but I've read nearly uniform praise. It's French/French-influenced. I'll also second the brasserie Artisanal and La Petite Auberge, which is more traditional.

[Deenso]

Don't forget La Petite Auberge - cozy, little traditional French place on Lexington, between 27th & 28th. It's had a lot of nice smention on this board.

[chrisinroch]

Thanks folks!

[xavier]

Il Trulli on 27th and lex, high-end italian non-pretentious

[Jim Leff]

This was an appropriately savvy final posting from a great chowhound and an even greater guy. I'll miss Xavier (aka John Higgins) a lot, and this site will miss his postings and general support. He did a lot behind scenes to help.

For more info on this very interesting character (and, oh, what a character he was), see: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/arti...

[dkstar1]

oh wow. That's awful. I liked his comments very much. Thanks for the info about him.

[cricri7]

If you are staying at the Giraffe, you will be having a nice time because I loved that hotel! It is a nice hotel, without being pretentious, which is rare in NY when hotels are that price. There's a nice Italian place near there where I go every time I am in town, Campanile on 29th between Madison and Park avenue south. The owner makes you feel welcome and the linguine frutti di mare are the best.

You can have dinner at Les Halles also. It is a nice place and not too snobby. There is Sushi samba near there on Park avenue south also. I would pass on Dos Caminos. The service is not the best and the margaritas are not the best.

There are a lot of restaurants on Park avenue south getting mixed reviews like Porcao where the quality is not supposed to be the best. There is Houston's....Maxie and Angelos, a nice steakhouse....Wolfang's...

Have a nice stay at the Giraffe...lucky you!

[dkstar1]

Les Halles and SushiSamba are to be avoided. Especially Les Halles. Blech. Houston's is a chain that likely has an outpost in the city the original poster comes from. Angelo and Maxie's is okay, but really not a destination of any kind.

That being said...
French bistro - Artisanal
High End Spanish - Urena
Italian - I think Babbo is worth it. If you don't want to travel for it, but pay about the same for almost the same amount...consider I Trulli. Not my favorite place, but its a bit pricy. Cozy though.
BBQ - Blue Smoke
Burger - Shake Shack or Blue Smoke or Molly's or Waterfront Ale House
Indian - Copper Chimney (non veg) or Pongal (vegetarian)
Brunch - Penelope
Super high end meal - Eleven Madison Park
American/India fusion - Tabla

[jenniebnyc]

Beppe for Italian is a good choice in your area. Their pastas are great.

Artisanal for french/great cheese.