I'm coming to New York for the weekend. Where should I eat?

[BabyBao]

I'll be in New York for a long weekend. Do you have any suggestions on how I should plan my meals? I'd like to do one amazing fancy dinner, one less-fancy dinner and then casual for lunch/brunch the rest of the weekend.

Thanks in advance for your help!.

[IsaacLiMuli]

If you visit the Village, for an an inexpensive dinner that is always consistent and delicious, try Good on Greenwich Street (corn. Bank); or for Italian, try Marinell'a on Bedford Street and Carmine. Small places--nothing fancy, very local crowds. Also, when in the mood for super thin pizza, try John's Pizzeria on Bleecker St.

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John's Pizzeria
278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

[kathryn]

John's on Bleecker has gone considerably downhill.

[jdbeck]

I, too, would like to compliment and thank Kathryn for her knowledge as well as her willingness to share it with fellow chowhounds. You walk on water!!

As Bob said, straight to heaven....first-class!!

[kathryn]

I hope heaven has a good restaurant or two!

[kathryn]

This weekend? A different weekend? What's your price range for the "amazing fancy" "less-fancy" and "casual"? Make sure you account for tax, tip, and wine/drinks (if you drink). The popular restaurants book up fast. Just one or a larger party? Any preferences re: atmosphere? Neighborhood? Any preferred cuisines? Avoids? Allergies or other dietary considerations? Where are you coming from? Any other considerations like pre-theatre dining or planning around sightseeing, shopping, family commitments, etc?

Your request is much too broad for us to really help you without knowing price range, neighborhood, cuisine, or any other parameter to narrow down the literally thousands of restaurants in Manhattan. Have you searched the boards for recommendations? Did anything catch your eye? You'll also get more responses if you plan a rough itinerary and have people comment.

Previous threads that may help:

Don't leave NY without eating these foods
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/610739

Pizza in NYC
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/692820#5454962

For cheap eats, try out some street food:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/701278

I highly recommend RGR's self guided Lower East Side Gustatory tour:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/493333

Best brunch:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/598414

Best foodie shopping:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/585538
http://www.chow.com/lists/edit/33
http://www.chow.com/lists/edit/924

Best mixology / bespoke cocktails:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/609073

Top Ten Bars for Beer Snobs
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572919

Manhattan for 5 days over New Year
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/676209

Recommendations for "an adventure"
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/672614

Other hounds' itineraries/reports:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/611116
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/597021
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/604369
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/609656
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/589834
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/610739
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/623860
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/679481
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/686791

Additionally, you can peruse the menus of many restaurants on menupages.com. And OpenTable.com is handy for making reservations. However, not all restaurants are on Open Table, and for the ones that are, they don't put up every single available table, so call if you can't find the time and date you want. The good ones will try to accommodate you or put you on the wait list.

Restaurants in NYC take reservations usually 31, 30, 28, days in advance or similar. Sometimes restaurants take them by phone 28 days in advance but ALSO limit OpenTable to 27 days in advance. So the OT limit might be different from the phone limit. It's not a perfect tool but extremely helpful if you're not dead set on the MOST popular places.

The most popular places will book up the day they open up their books. BUT you can ask to be put on the waitlist or call day on the day of and ask about cancellations.

The hardest restaurants to get into are Babbo (one of the most popular in the city), Momofuku Ko (they only take reservations online and have only 12 seats), Rao's (every table "belongs" to a regular), Waverly Inn (did it ever officially "open"?), Minetta Tavern (non VIPs usually get stuck with the 6pm or 10pm slots), Gramercy Tavern (democratic but VERY popular), and Union Square Cafe (ditto). Places that recently opened and have gotten good reviews can also be hard to get into if you don't call early enough (like 4 weeks in advance or 10am on the dot 1 month in advance). Also, there are only a handful of places left in NYC that are jackets required, and none require ties (planning o packing the right clothing can sometimes be difficult for travelers).

Restaurants that require jackets:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6857...

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Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003

Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Momofuku Ko
163 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

Waverly Inn
16 Bank St, New York, NY 10014

[Bob Martinez]

At the end of your life you're going straight to heaven.

I, on the other hand, .....

[kathryn]

Are going to Mars 2112? Ninja? :)

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Mars 2112
1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

[Bob Martinez]

You're familiar with my work in all it's forms.

[RGR]

I generally avoid using the word "awesome" because it has become so wrongly overused. However, when it comes to Kathryn and her encylopedic information, the lady truly is awesome!

P.S. And I'm not saying that because she graciously includes my tour. LOL