Hardest question in New York City - all time favorite restaurant that you hope will always be around.
The one question that will have as many opinions as people living in New York City. The trendy, the consistently reliable, the timeless, the hidden gems, the local favorites, the best kept secrets, the most gracious owners.
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I'm probobly gonna get beat up for such a low brow fave but for me there was really nothing to think about on this question. Kinsale on the UES. It's just such a great authentic NY Irish pub. Frank the owner, all the bartenders and Pauline the manager are like your best buddies every time you no matter how far between visits that may be. The Guiness pour is the best anywhere. They have a single malt slection that rivals many much higher priced, much fancier downtown places. And last but not least the shepards pie IMHO is the best in town. The burgers and lamb chop plate rival just about any of the venerables.
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Daisy May's - where else can you get a bbq'ed 30 lb pig in NY?
Mei leh wah (the old version with the old toison guys, not the new version that passes DOH and has 15 year old girls up front)
Jean Georges
Fu Leen - Best $5.50 lunch intown
Hallo Berlin (cart and restaurant)
Big Nick's - home of the 1 lb Sumo Burger for all you low-carb people
Cafe Zaiya - Beard Papa cream puffs and great Japanese fast food -
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i'm surprised no one has said shopsins!
(i'm not saying it, either, simply because i'm incapable of answering this question. there really are too many that i love, all in very different ways. but i am surprised. maybe all the moving about has weakened the foundations of this institution.)
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misnatalie
Jul 10, 2008 11:38 AM
Yes Luger's and Katz's also Patisserie Claude, Osm/b, Randazzo's in brklyn, Odessa on Ave.A and the Waverly diner
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re: y3n0
vvvindaloo
Jul 19, 2008 09:32 AM
oh no, i had no idea. that's too bad. i am happy for him, though. i'll stop in and wish him a happy retirement.
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Miss Needle
Jul 9, 2008 09:17 PM
Oh, I think I'll probably be slammed on this board for saying this. But I'll say the White Castles in Sunnyside, Queens. It was there when I was a kid and it's still there now. Loved to eat it as a kid. As I got older, loved to eat it after drinking. Totally understood Harold and Kumar in that movie about how when you get a craving, nothing else will do. I really don't eat it anymore these days but I still have an affinity for that particular White Castles. If it closes, I'll really be sad. The one in Manhattan does nothing for me.
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re: foodwhisperer
Miss Needle
Jul 10, 2008 08:34 AM
Ha! We should have a White Castle Throwdown -- the one on Atlantic Ave versus the Sunnyside one.
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re: Miss Needle
princeofpork
Jul 10, 2008 10:12 AM
I must throw in the WC on the corner of Bell BLVD and Northern Blvd in Queens. Every 20 years they knock it down and build a new one right in the old parking lot.
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bigmackdaddy
Jul 9, 2008 03:33 PM
The oyster bar at Track's, New Wonton Garden, Taro, David's Brisket House and Gray's Papaya.
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I love this question because you could answer this many different ways. First, I suppose there's the restaurant that has the most history and tradition, the New York-iest of New York restaurants which, if closed, would signal the end of an era, as vonwotan says. That, I think, would be Katz's or Carnegie Deli. Other places that would make New York not quite the same for me if closed (although I admit that since I am young, my New York historical memory is quite short): Cipriani's, Balthazar, Lombardi's, Sarabeth's.
Then there's the restaurant where I've had the best meal. I don't think I've tried enough good food yet to pick just one stand-out meal, but I have had some really great food at Sfoglia and Bouley.
Then there are the restaurants I go to regularly, where I know I'll have good food and good company, where I go to meet up with my friends for the catch-up brunch or dinner. For me, that would be Mercer Kitchen and Nice Matin. And the neighborhood restaurant for minor celebrations and milestones: Chef Ho's on the UES, where we always get the peking duck (not exactly a a renowned restaurant, but I think Chef Ho's has the second best peking duck in Manhattan, after Peking Duck House)
Lastly, and this interpretation is my favorite, the restaurants that will always have a place in my heart because something special happened there, or because they were among the first places I ate when I first moved to New York: The West End, Max Cafe, Deluxe, Koronet's, Tom's, Pinnacle and Strokos (both disgusting but fond memories), Symposium, Meridiana, 'Cesca.
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re: nyc.girl
I know. There are so many ways to answer. Like songs, different restaurants evoke different memories and times. I love Po - from its very beginnings until now. Mas Farmhouse is wonderful, Wallse - wonderfully comfortable. Piccolo Angolo - like coming home. Home - wonderful garden setting. Aperitivo on 56th that has long closed. And the list goes on and on.
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i prefer other food but the feeling i get from peter lugers supersedes all other restaurants. ive been going since i was a kid as it was my grandfather's favorite restaurant, and i take my dad there whenever i can. the food is not only always perfect but is nice to think my grandfather and his friends enjoyed it as much as i do.
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re: steakrules85
Katz's is the first place that comes to mind. But there are some that have their own nostalgia and good for what they do. 17 mott Wo Hop downstairs, for their lo mein and chow fun . Big Nick's for the craziest menu. Nathan's coney island although it aint what it used to be. Peter Luger of course. Don Peppe's as the first family style italian restauarant in new york. And Veselka just because.
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