Schedule is too Italian heavy...help!

[KateMW]

Ok, I just posted something about the Scarpetta menu, but now I'm rethinking the choice. We have 3 dinner and two lunch/brunch available and currently all three dinners are Italian. Don't get me wrong, i love Italian and I don't get great Italian at home, but it might be a little much.

The menu that excites me the least is Scarpetta, so what should I replace it with? I know it's last minute (our trip is the weekend of the 19th) We would be happy to sit at the bar, if possible. We do most kinds of food, though no Indian and I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food. Something romantic would be nice, but I also don't mind something super loud. As long as we can talk to each other and we're eating good food, we'll be happy.

Here is the current schedule...

Friday
Land at 6pm
Dinner-Marea

Saturday-
Breakfast- Club lounge at the Ritz
Lunch- Shake Shack. We're going to try and get to the original, but whichever one is closest to wherever we are when we get huny will probably win.
Dinner-Scarpetta-this is the dinner I want to switch.

Sunday
Breakfast- club lounge again.
Brunch/lunch- Minetta Tavern- any recs beside the burger?
Dinner-Maialino

Any snack food type things we have to try? We are going to try and make it to Katz's and Russ&Daughters one of the days. I order from R&D all the time, but haven't ever been there.

[umai]

I've been to both Maialino and Scarpetta multiple times, and definitely prefer the food at Scarpetta. If I were to eliminate one of those two dinners, it would be Maialino. Maialino is fine, but I find the food underwhelming. That being said, the atmosphere is great and the service is fantasic. It just doesn't quite satisfy like a meal at Scarpetta.

[fm1963]

Some favorites, as alternatives to Scarpetta:

Babbo (you can eat at the bar)
Lincoln
Osteria Morini
Aldea
Perilla
Casa Mono

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Perilla
9 Jones Street, New York, NY 10014

Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Casa Mono
52 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003

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

Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[daffyduck]

instead of Scarpetta a few places I like are Degustation, Craft, Wd50, and the Bar Room at the Modern.

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

[kathryn]

For Minetta Tavern's brunch, I have enjoyed the latkes with smoked salmon, shirred eggs with baguette soldiers (buttered toasted slices of baguette), the duck hash, and their bacon. The Bloody Marys are also excellent. The pasta za za is good, too.

Snacks:
Pretzel croissant from City Bakery
Chocolates from Kee's or Bespoke
Macarons from La Maison Du Chocolat or Madeleine Patisserie
Concrete at Shake Shack
Chikalicious Dessert Bar (soft serve, cupcakes)
Momofuku Milk Bar (soft serve, cookies, maybe some cake balls to take home)
Patisserie Claude croissants
Donut Plant donuts, like the Brooklyn Blackout or Tres Leches, stick to the cake donuts
Otto (bar) for olive oil gelato or L'Arte de Gelato
Sigmund Pretzel shop for a pretzel
Crif Dogs for a deep fried (no batter) NJ style hot dog
Xian Famous Foods' cumin lamb "burger"
1/2 a lobster roll from Luke's Lobster
cupcakes at Two Little Red Hens
a slice of cake from Amy's Bread
banana pudding from Magnolia -- avoid the cupcakes!
pizza bianca from Grandaisy or Sullivan St Bakery
chorizo at Despana
Gua Bao at Bao Haus

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Patisserie Claude
187 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014

Despana
408 Broome St, New York, NY 10013

Two Little Red Hens
1652 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028

La Maison du Macaron
132 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

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

Amy's Bread
250 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

Crif Dogs
113 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009

Xi'an Famous Foods
81 St. Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

Luke's Lobster
93 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

Sigmund Pretzel Shop
29 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009

Momofuku Milk Bar
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

[KateMW]

Thanks for the great list Kathryn. Is there anywhere you would suggest for yeast donuts? I'm nit a cake donut fan at all but I love a good yeasty donut and we don't get much of anything beside Krispy Kreme here.

Luke's is on my list. I've never had a lobster roll!

[kathryn]

I'm not sure I can recommend somewhere that sells them retail in Manhattan (if you can, I'd go to Peter Pan in Greenpoint). I'd give Donut Plant a shot if you don't mind a bit of chewiness to your yeast raised donut.

Perhaps a doughnut town cannot be a bagel town and vice versa?

[Jay F]

There's no such thing as "too Italian heavy."

[KateMW]

I usually believe that too, but I feel like it's all going to run into one big Italian meal if I don't watch out. I want Marea and Maialino to stand out, because I know they're fantastic.

[selenster]

oh you'll love marea, though i don't think of it as ITALIAN. it's not red sauce by any means, more coastal, heavy emphasis on the seafood. honestly, i think of it as seafood in the way le bernardin is (only that's french w/ asian influences) - expertly executed and delicious treats from the ocean.

i haven't been to maialino yet but i hope you get the uovo and report back :)

[KateMW]

We've been to Marea before. Loved it! Can't wait to go back.

[princeofpork]

I would swap out Scarpetta for Strip House. You need some steak, its dark and quiet and the food is awesome.

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

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

[KateMW]

So Strip House over Keens? The reviews I've found online weren't flattering.

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

[daffyduck]

I think Striphouse is better than Keens. Where will you be coming from though? Are good steaks hard to get where you're from?

[glutton08]

I like both a lot. It depends on what you're looking for.

I like Keens for a old NYC ambiance, great Scotch list, classic sides, and the mutton chop or porterhouse. Strip House has a more fancier, darker, more romantic feel to it, with modern takes on sides (goose fat potatoes, truffled creamed spinach, etc.), I get the ribeye or the ny strip when I go.

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

[princeofpork]

I went to both in the last 4 months. Strip House was better across the board. Steaks, Sides, Dessert, atmosphere.

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

[daffyduck]

agreed on everything except atmosphere. i prefer Keen's. I've only been to Striphouse once though. But when I went it was a little too loud to my liking. And I thought the tables were a little too close together.

[steakrules85]

I love both Keens and Strip House. Most of the remarks here are spot on, but one thing I will say is the service at Keens is always flawless. At times, Strip House seems to be a litty snooty and you have a chance of getting an attitude. But that still shouldn't prevent anyone from eating at that lovely restaurant.

As for Scarpetta, Marea, Maialino again 3 of my favorites. I would agree Marea is more seafood than Italian for me. Scarpetta is great across the board, and at Maialino you MUST get the Maialino for two. It was one of my top 5 dishes this year and again I do not think you will feel like it is too much Italian because it is something different. None of them are your typical "red sauce" Italian restaurants. They all offer something different and you would love each for different reasons.

But if you are looking to swap one of them for something that doesn't have the Italian label, Strip House and Keens are fine steakhouses. Old Homestead is another of my faves.

Other restaurants you may like are Craft, Gotham Bar and Grill, EMP, and Minetta Tavern.

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Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

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

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

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

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

[KateMW]

We're from Alabama, so I'm not sure that it counts as a great steak city. But I worked as a cook in a steakhouse for awhile, so steak usually isn't on the top of the list for traveling.

We're doing Minetta for brunch on Sunday. Maybe I'll call and see if i can rearrange.

Steak- I hope we can get the maialino, but we won't be there until 9:30. Don't they run out?

[ml77]

If you know you want the Maialino, you can request it ahead of time and they will hold one for you. I agree with steak that it is great, and would be a complement to your meals at Marea and Scarpetta. They really are 3 very different restaurants and I don't think you'll have Italian fatigue.

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

Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[KateMW]

Great. Didn't know that you could do that.

[steakrules85]

Ditto. You can reserve this.

[KateMW]

I did it this afternoon. Thanks for the heads up.