Go-To Neighborhood Restaurants?

[r0cc00]

I make my semi-annual Manhattan visit for the holiday season the second weekend of December.
Last Dec09, we had an enjoyable meal at Luna Piena Ristorante - Midtown East.

However on Valentines night Feb09, our meal at Savoy in which the cozy fireplace & window seat couldn't compensate for the disappointing, cramped, snooty serviced & overpriced meal.

So my request is for some of your go-to restaurants where you locals go to get quality food in a relaxed atmosphere over & over.

I am following requirements:
OpenTable.com's Price rating of below up to $$$ = $31 to $50.
Seafood, american, modern american, fusion, italian, chinese, vietnamese, french.
Any neighborhood in Manhattan from the 80's on down.

[UES Mayor]

Upper eastsider here. My go to places:
Spigolo-I east here at least 4xs a week.
Cafe D'alsace
Mr. Ginger (Korean/w sushi bar)
Wa Jeal-Schizuan
V-Note-tried only recently-extremely good vegan!!

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Mr. Ginger
1572 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028

[Pan]

I usually live in the East Village, and my go-to restaurants in that area are:

Xian Famous Foods (not a full-service restaurant but a great value!)

Grand Sichuan St Marks, for a bunch of things, all Sichuan or Hunan

Stage Restaurant (long lunch counter, Polish food) for soups and pierogies

Baoguette St Marks for reliable Vietnamese sandwiches, Bun Bo, etc.

Supper, for reliably good Italian food made with good ingredients

Cacio e Vino for good-priced wines, pizza or schiacciate, and some pleasant appetizers and nice ambiance.

Katz's a few times a year for great pastrami!

Kamui Den for good-value, tasty full-service Japanese food.

And further afield, Arturo's for pizza and jazz

Lupa for a thoroughly pleasant dining experience when I can get in (your mileage may vary)

and various restaurants in Chinatown (particularly Noodletown and now perhaps Noodle Village will supplant it somewhat, for solo or couples dining and South China Garden for banquets) and past Union Square (Laut for Malaysian food and some of the South Indian places in Curry Hill).

Lately, I've been spending most of my time in the West 90s. My go-to places around here are:

El Malecon and Flor de Mayo, mostly for tasty rotisserie chicken

Jerusalem Restaurant for tasty falafel, shawarma, and grape leaves.

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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

South China Garden
22 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

Noodle Village
13 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

El Malecon
764 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025

Grand Sichuan
23 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

Stage Restaurant
128 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Flor de Mayo
2651 Broadway, New York, NY 10025

Supper
156 E 2nd St, New York, NY 10009

Cacio e Vino
80 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

Kamui Den
186 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Jerusalem Restaurant
2715 Broadway, New York, NY 10025

Baoguette Cafe
37 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

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

[sgordon]

My hood is the LES / Chinatown. Personal favorite neighborhood joints:

Italian: Falai Panetteria (the casual off-shoot of the $$$+ flagship), The Orchard (could stretch the $$$ slightly), Apizz (I find the secondi a little lacking - but it's great to make a meal of apps & a bottle of wine), Frankies 17 Clinton Street Spuntino

American: Alias, Prune, JoeDoe, Little Giant

Japanese: Sachiko's

Vietnamese: Cong Ly, Pho Grand
Chinese: Fuleen, Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle, Ah Ping Snack Bar (okay, those last two aren't exactly "cozy" - but they are relaxed....)

I'm also fond of Schiller's - with the caveat of weeknights only. Weekends are too much of a mob scene.

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Cong Ly
124 Hester St, New York, NY 10002

Frankies 17 Spuntino
17 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Apizz
217 Eldridge St., New York, NY 10002

The Orchard
162 Orchard St., New York, NY 10002

Little Giant
85 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002

Alias
76 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Fuleen
11 Division St, New York, NY 10002

Pho Grand
277 Grand St, New York, NY 10002

Schiller's Liquor Bar
131 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002

Lam Zhou Handmade Noodle
144 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002

Prune
54 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003

Ah Ping Snack Bar
2 E Broadway, New York, NY 10038

JoeDoe
45 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10003

Falai Panetteria
79 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[r0cc00]

You all eat so well in your respective hoods! Luv it.

[loratliff]

I ate at Prune for the first time last Friday. It was *so* good and quaint! Definitely add it to your list.

[loratliff]

I'm in the West Village, but my boyfriend and I regularly eat all over downtown. We eat a lot at Risotteria (cheaper than your requirements, but still good), Public (in SoHo), The Breslin, La Esquina, Pinto (good Thai food on Christopher Street), and a few other places I know I'm forgetting...

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La Esquina
106 Kenmare St, New York, NY 10012

Risotteria
270 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014

The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001

[r0cc00]

loratliff - cheap is never a bad thing when it comes to prices!

& may I say your list is exactly the vibe I am looking for from the natives.
Thanks!

[ellenost]

Since I live on the UES, my "go-to" neighborhood restaurants are: Cafe d'Alsace, Hiedelberg and Wa Jeal (all in the E. 80s).

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Cafe d'Alsace
1695 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10128

Wa Jeal
1588 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028