8 Days of Eating in NYC

[KLD1967]

Not that I want to plan my trip around food, but I really think I'm going to...Really need to narrow down my restaurant lists....I'll be in NYC from Sept. 23-30 and I'm staying in the East Village and would love to get a list of local places.

I'm on a wait list for Per Se and am thinking EMP as my back up for my one really expensive dinner.

Debating between Mario Batali restaurants or Daniel Bolud for another meal.

On my list of want to try....

Amy Ruth's
Momofuku (not sure which one)
Rhong-Tiam Express
Falai Panatteria
Chickaliscious
Blue Smoke
Katz's (only because every time I've been to NYC I've never been and am staying around the corner from it)

On the 25th, we're going to a Red Sox/Yankees game and would love to go to a restaurant in the Bronx.

I love good food whether it's from a hole in the wall or a higher end restaurant. I know everybody has different ideas but I've always gotten some great ideas from these boards so I know that you'll not steer me wrong!

I would love to go to a really great Italian restaurant while I'm here. I'll be doing pizza quite a bit - (Grimaldi's has been my nemesis in that every time I've been to NYC, something has stopped me from getting in there but not this time!) and have been to Lombardi's, Joe's and John's over the years.

I have 8 days of eating to do on this trip and tend to take advantage of every minute of it!

-----
Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Amy Ruth's
113 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Blue Smoke
116 East 27th Street, New York, NY 10016

Rhong-Tiam Express
31 E 21st St, New York, NY 10010

[woganaga]

skip mario batalli's restaurants... You will have an experience at Il Mulino like no other.

+1 for Katz's

-----
Il Mulino
86 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012

[wpfoodie]

For dinner in the Bronx, head over to Arthur Avenue (Little Italy). The top
pick, and one of the best Italian restaurants in NYC, is Roberto's. They do not
take reservations here though, so plan accordingly - upwards of an hour wait at
peak hours. Otherwise, I would go to Roberto's sister restaurant, Zero Otto
Nove, which is very good in its own right - they take reservations. It is a
little more casual than Roberto's, but they also have great pizza there.

[sgordon]

Why Falai Panetteria and not the flagship? Just curious...

Near where you'll be staying is WD-50. If you need to pick one "splurge" place, I'd put them at the top of your list. It's one of those "you have to go at least once" places. It's so unique to itself - you'll find good Thai elsewhere, you'll find good pastrami sandwiches, you'll find good BBW, etc etc etc. You can find Haute French and High Italian anywhere, to some degree. But you'll never find Wylie Dufresne anywhere but the kitchen of WD-50. So I'd put it above Batali or Boulud.

But between the two Big Bs... Del Posto and Babbo are both great, no doubt, you can't go wrong at either. As for Danny-boy, I'd pick Cafe Boulud over Daniel any day. Actually, I wouldn't even go to Daniel in the first place, I find it a bit boring for the price point.

For High Italian there are other great options outside the Batali empire these days, too - Scarpetta is excellent, as is the aforementioned Falai, and of course there's "Midtown Mario" Michael White's mini-empire.

Blue Smoke: good. I lean towards either Hill Country or RUB BBQ, myself. But that's personal taste, to some degree. But given Danny Meyer's franchising dreams, you'll probably have a Blue Smoke in Toronto before you know it.

Momofuku: no reason not to do both. Go to Noodle Bar one day for lunch, try the ramen, pork buns, maybe a couple things off the seasonal menu. Do Ssam for dinner another night, share a bunch of plates. They have their own identities, and are both worth trying.

Pizza: add to your list Harlem Patsy's (ignore all other Patsy's) and Totonno's at Coney Island. And after your pizza at Totonno's you can hit Nathan's for hot dogs and soft-shell crab sandwiches. Two culinary birds with one stone. Which is what it's going to feel like in your stomach after eating all that.

-----
WD-50
50 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

Cafe Boulud
20 East 76th St., New York, NY 10021

Hill Country
30 W 26th St, New York, NY 10010

RUB BBQ
208 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Del Posto
85 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Falai Panetteria
79 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[daffyduck]

what's a bbw, did you mean bbq?

[sgordon]

Yep. That would have been a mis-type. I think for BBWs, though, they could check craigslist...

[MacTAC]

Mis-type... or freudian slip ;-) ?

[KLD1967]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'm coming from about an hour outside of Toronto and this isn't my first trip to NYC but it's been 2 years since I've been there and have 8 days there this time which is far more than I normally do so I intend to eat my way through the city!

[SamanthaNYC]

Chickaliscious serves amazing desserts, but it's a small place so try to go early if you can to avoid the lines.

[2961883]

I was researching a few months ago also, made this map, mostly base on researching from chowhound. feel free to use.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF...

jim from toronto

[ellenost]

Definitely do EMP (don't think of EMP as a "back-up" to Per Se; I've dined at both, and while I love both, I'd give an edge to EMP for their service. Also EMP is about 1/2 the price of Per Se).

If you can get a reservation for Momofuku Ko, definitely take it (7 days in advance for dinner; 14 days in advance for lunch); reservations are available on their website beginning at 10 a.m. each day. Since there are only 12 seats, reservations are gone within 30 seconds.

I enjoy Chikalicious Dessert Bar for their wonderful cupcakes.

[steakrules85]

Well you have certainly opened yourself up to a lot of possibilities. Seems like you do not have much of a price restriction. One thing I would ask if where are you coming from? You probably would do yourself well to try some things that are unique to NYC that you cannot get while at home. Anyway, here is a quick list of some of my favorite places.

To answer your last question first, here are my recs for great Italian- Babbo, Alto, Scarpetta, Marea, Convivio, Maialino, Il Mulino

If you are into steakhouses we have some of the best in the country. If you want a truly New York experience I strongly encourage you to venture out to Peter Luger in Brooklyn. The rave reviews of this instituion are definitely warranted. Here are some of my other favorites- Keens (truly a NYC treasure), Strip House (fun atmosphere, modern take on classic steakhouse), Old Homestead (another classic), BLT Prime (one of the "nouveau" steakhouses), Quality Meats (ditto BLT Prime).

For "special" over the top meals I have had some of the best meals of my life at EMP, Daniel, Gotham Bar and Grill.

For incredible American cuisine I strongly recommend Craft, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. But again, if you live in a city like Dallas or LA that already has it I could see you skipping it.

Some other places I like- Amy Ruth's as you mentioned, Katz (definitely go), Shopsin's (located in the Essex Market--incredible menu and quirky place.

For Breakfast/Brunch- Clinton St. Bakery, Jane. (Basically just look up Kathryn's list of brunch places)

For snacks, little bites, desserts, etc.- Pommes Frites (belgian frites shop), Sundaes and Cones, Grom, L'Arte Del Gelato, Lula's Sweet Apothecary, City Bakery, Levain Bakery (best cookies in the universe wow)

This is just a REALLY quick rundown off the top of my head and I know I am leaving out TONS and TONS of great places but here is just a quick start. I'll let the other people add more.

-----
L'Arte del Gelato
75 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014

Sundaes and Cones
95 E 10th St, New York, NY 10003

Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Amy Ruth's
113 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026

Il Mulino
86 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012

City Bakery
3 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

BLT Prime
111 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010

Pommes Frites
123 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Gotham Bar and Grill
12 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003

Quality Meats
57 W 58th St, New York, NY 10019

Old Homestead
56 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Levain Bakery
167 W 74th St, New York, NY 10023

Grom
233 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Convivio
45 Tudor City Place, New York, NY 10017

Lula's Sweet Apothecary
516 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019

Strip House
13 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010