new year's recomendations in LES

[Eskimolapsi]

Hi!
we are group of 6 girls in our late 20's and early 30's. Coming to New York 30 dec- 3jan.
We'll be staying in Lower East Side. On Rivington st and Clinton. for the 5 of us it is the first time in NYC.

We love good food and cocktails, nothing too fancy and overpriced. As we're from Scandinavia and continuening our holiday in Mexico, so no burritos and swedish meatballs, please! :) we are able to use metro to take us around in Manhattan and perhaps even in Brooklyn. and i know how to use opentable ;)

I would be happy to take any tips from breakfast/brunch to latenight dinner and best partyplaces! And of course where to spend NYE??

[Beau711]

Here's something you won't find in Scandinavia: Katz's Deli on Ludlow Street (which is close to your hotel) Katz's is a chowhound lover's dream for overstuffed hot pastrami sandwiches and other delicious meats.

Oliva on Allen Street (again near you) has excellent tapas.

There are so many places on the Lower East Side like Stanton Social on Stanton Street, Inoteca for Italian small plates, Here is a link to other restaurants you might like:

http://nymag.com/srch?t=restaurant&am...

Keep in mind that you're also close to Chinatown, the East Village and the West Village. Great neighborhoods to explore.

Sorry, I can't suggest any New Year's Eve parties but I'm sure that your group of 6 women from Scandinavia won't have any problem being invited to New Year's Eve parties! Have fun

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Stanton Social
99 Stanton Street, New York, NY 10002

'inoteca
98 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002

Oliva
161 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002

[Eskimolapsi]

Thank you guys! I think that we could spend about 70usd for food excl.tax and on nye we're prepaired to pay more.

[gutsofsteel]

Remember that tax and tip are additional (tip is 15-20%) plus the cost of drinks/wine.

What cuisines are you interested in?

[Eskimolapsi]

well, i'm interested in all cuisines... My previous favos are Veselka, Katz, 5napkin burger, Bistro moderne, shake shack, pastis, balthazar, barrio chino, baby cakes, cafe habana, corner bistro, Grimaldi's and Chelsea market... just to name a few :)

[kathryn]

You might also like brunch at Minetta Tavern (you can try their famous Black Label burger), Butter Lane, Hecho en Dumbo (they do "interior" Mexican which you may differ from the food you eat during your holiday there dependent upon where you are staying), Motorino, Eataly, food vendors at the Brooklyn Flea.

You should also try some Italian while you're here: Scarpetta, Babbo, Locanda Verde, etc.

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

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

Butter Lane
123 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

Motorino
349 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003

Hecho en Dumbo
354 Bowery, New York, NY 10012

Eataly
200 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010

[kathryn]

How much (in USD) do you wish to spend on meal, per person? It's easier to help if you can give a dollar figure, before tax, tip, and beer/wine/cocktails.

Are you adventurous eaters? Are you ok with potentially waiting 1-2 hours for a table, given that 5 is kind of a big group in Manhattan?

The moderators would prefer that we "keep it to the chow" so we can't help a whole lot with party places, BTW.

Since you're not from the USA, I'd encourage you to try some USA-specific foods like BBQ, fried chicken, lobster rolls. Try Hill Country or Blue Smoke for BBQ, The Redhead or Pies 'n' Thighs in Brooklyn for fried chicken, and Pearl Oyster Bar or Luke's Lobster (takeout) for lobster rolls.

For breakfast/brunch: you'll be close to Shopsin's (go on a weekday, check their hours, they may be closed for the holiday), Prune (weekend brunch only, lines are long), Clinton St Baking Company (go on a weekday to avoid a 2 hr wait).

See also:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8050...

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Pearl Oyster Bar
18 Cornelia St, New York, NY 10014

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

Shopsin's General Store
120 Essex St, New York, NY 10002

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

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

The Redhead
349 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003

Clinton Street Baking Co.
4 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

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

[small h]

Shopsin's won't seat parties larger than four, at least according to their online menu. I'll second the recommendation for Chinese - Congee Village is a good option near Rivington & Clinton. And Ed's Lobster Bar Annex, for a sit-down alternative to Luke's and a no-crazy-ass-line alternative to Pearl, is a recent addition to the neighborhood. My review is here:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/805021

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Congee Village
100 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Ed's Lobster Bar Annex
25 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[kathryn]

D'oh! You're right. They should probably skip Shopsin's.

[cambridgedoctpr]

i do not think that mexican food is particularly good in new york city in comparison with Chicago or LA. That said, the chinese food is good and it is hard to find an overly fancy chinese restaurant. i like the ones with fish in the tanks. But this is not my town, and i am sure that others can point you to the best places.