Coming to Time Square next Thrusday

[scny5]

Alright, im originally from the Poughkeepsie, NY area and left 9 years ago when i joined the Air Force. We have been back a few times and this will be my Texas wifes second time to NYC. THe first time was Christmas season 2009. She loves Time Square, so thats where we will be staying. Im interested in getting some insight on good NY style pizza, pasta, local bars and sushi in the general area around Time Square. If we need to take the subway a little, thats fine. The wife has never rode on the subway so that is a viable option. We do not want anything commercialized / tourist traps. (She was sucked into ESPN Zone and thought it was the greatest place till we found a nice dive bar) Im not looking for anything expensive, just authentic, NY style food(She will spend plenty on all the street vendors). We are both in our mid 20s so we like fun over extravagent. We will be there next Thursday, 8 Dec.

[Motosport]

Take the shutttle/subway from Times Sq to Grand Central before you head out to dinner. Check out Grand Central station and it's beautiful ceiling. Before you head to dinner have a dozen oysters and or some chowder at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Sit at the Oyster Bar and not at a table. Just get oysters or chowder. The rest of the menu is not memorable. Think of it as an appetizer. Before you go into the restaurant check out the "Whispering arches". Ask someone if you can't find them. After dinner and the dive bar and midnight head on down to Chinatown and have a snack at The Great NY Noodle Bar. It will be bustling @ 2 AM. Enjoy the experience. Katz's Delicatessen is another after midnight place to hit on Thurs-Saturday. Split a nice Pastrami on rye sammich and a Dr Brown's Cel Ray soda.

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Katz's Delicatessen
205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002

Great New York Noodletown
28 Bowery, New York, NY 10013

Grand Central Oyster Bar
89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

[iluvcookies]

No need to take the subway from Times Square to Grand Central... it's about a 5 block walk. Walk across 42nd, past the NY Public Library and Bryant Park (there is a 'wichcraft stand on 42nd and 6th at the edge of the park for coffee/cocoa, or a Starbucks across from that if you are so inclined) and see the skaters. Very nice.

[scny5]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. We know that you need to get away from Times Square to experience real authentic food and we are up for that. We just like to stay near Times Square seeing as the wife likes the Christmas scene around Rockafeller Center.

[Motosport]

Make sure you check out the window display at Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Av and 59th ST. Amazing!!

If you want to ice skate go over to Bryant Park. It's a bigger rink without the lines of Rockefeller CTR.

[Phil Ogelos]

Times Square [named after the newspaper] is about as inauthentic a place as you can find in a city full of that quality -a venue where Donald Trump goes to eat pizza with a fork. So if you don't want anything to do with "commercialized / tourist traps" you'd best go elsewhere.
Others will chip in about places to eat on Ninth Avenue, of course, but I have to throw in a good word for "Jimmie's Corner" as one of the last remaining (and certainly threatened) truly good spaces in that neighborhood: on 44th just east of B'way, on the south side of the street.
It's a bar with an insuperable jukebox, and barely enough space to flex your wings -a good place to end your night.

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Jimmy's Corner
140 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036

[owlwoman]

If you walk over to 9th Ave - 10th Ave you will find more "neighborhood" places, stop in Rudy's (9th Ave between 43rd-44th, I think) one of the kitchiest dive bars in NY (there's a pig outside), you can get a free hot dog with your cocktail. There are a lot of good restaurants in this neighborhood, all pretty reasonably priced all different types of cuisine.

You should take your wife down to the East Village on the subway for some real fun people watching and also a neighborhood filled with fun, reasonable places.

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Rudy's Bar & Grill
627 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036

[Db Cooper]

As a boxing fan, I couldn't agree with you more. If Jimmy is holding court, he'll share stories with you about being in Ali's corner for all those fights against smoking Joe Frazier. The photos and fight posters that decorate the place are priceless.

[Cheeryvisage]

Sushi - Sushiden or Shimizu

NY Style pizza - Angelo's Pizza, John's Pizzeria

Neapolitan pizza - PizzArte (they also have fried pizza, Montanara!)

Italian - Trattoria Trecolori

Mexican - Toloache

Chinese - Szechuan Gourmet

Japanese - Yakitori Totto for yakitori; Menchanko-Tei, Totto Ramen (1 hour+ wait though), or Sapporo for ramen; Katsu-Hama for fried meat cutlets.

Thai - Pam Real Thai, Wondee Siam

Dessert - Kyotofu (Asian-influenced), Momofuku Milk Bar

Korean - Madangsui, BCD Tofu House

A bit more expensive, but worth it -

The Modern Bar Room, fantastic French/Alsatian food, wonderful desserts

Ma Peche - David Chang's French-Vietnamese influenced Midtown restaurant

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Yakitori Totto
251 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

Sapporo
152 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019

Kyotofu
705 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Shimizu
318 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019

Toloache
251 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10019

The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019

Trattoria Trecolori
254 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

Madangsui
35 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001

Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018

Menchanko-Tei
43 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

John's Pizzeria
260 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036

Wondee Siam
792 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Pam Real Thai
404 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019

Sushiden
123 W 49th St, New York, NY 10020

Angelo's Pizza
1697 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

BCD Tofu House
17 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001

Szechuan Gourmet
244 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

Ma Peche
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

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

Totto Ramen
366 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019

Katsu-Hama
43 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

PizzArte
69 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019

[kathryn]

Great list!

Check out also MidtownLunch.com for all sorts of eats under $10.

I'd add the Times Square Shake Shack, too.

I'd note that Szechuan Gourmet excels at traditional Szechuan dishes, less so Americanized Chinese ones. You'll need to order carefully there.

For dessert/pastries/chocolate, nearby in Rockefeller Center is Bouchon Bakery, La Maison du Chocolate, Magnolia Bakery, 'wichcraft, and Jacques Torres.

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La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020

Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018

Magnolia Bakery
1240 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Shake Shack
691 8th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Jacques Torres
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112

Bouchon Bakery
1 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112

[Cheeryvisage]

Thanks for the additional recommendations, Kathryn. Shake Shack totally slipped my mind. And I do adore La Maison du Chocolat's macarons and enjoy Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding.

My first instinct is to tell the OP to take the subway to go to some other neighborhood. But then, I thought about it some more and came up with the above list. Nowadays, I think there are actually a number of viable options in that neighborhood. So all is not lost, if people prefer to stick with the Times Square / Theater District area. :)

I marked the places you mentioned so they appear on the side of this page.

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La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020

'wichcraft
11 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018

Magnolia Bakery
1240 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Shake Shack
691 8th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Jacques Torres
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112

Bouchon Bakery
1 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112

[purplescout]

This post was really helpful to me, a solo traveler staying near Times Square. I had a great dinner tonight at Yakitori Totto. Loved the chicken meatball skewer and the nasu eggplant in particular. And the Totto soup was wonderful, too. Thanks!

[foodyum]

Shorty's is a bit of a dive bar that serves philly cheese steaks and it is on 42nd and 9th. I think they import the rolls every day from Philadelphia. I thought of it immediately after reading your post.