old ladies take manhatten

[dandy985]

Please could you all recommend fun, not too pretentious restaurants ,for four old ladies coming to Manhatten from Florida. We would love to know about some fun little breakfast spots, some great
little lunch places-for a mile high pastrami sandwich and then some other places like bistros for
great salads, soups, etc.... And dinner places. We love good italian food, not too pricey, good american food, french food. We're not about glitz, but we would love great tasting food in a nice,
charming,pretty, cozy, sunny, fun setting. I'm trying to cover all the bases here. We would not mind going to Harlem or the Village, mid-town, etc.. We thought we might try Patsy's Pizzeria in East Harlem for some coal fired pizza, maybe Katz's for the pastrami, but are stumped. Have heard about the spotted pig. Any ideas???? Thank you so very much!!

[TrishUntrapped]

I'm going to recommend places that make me think of my mom.

French: If you like the idea of French onion soup, cheese fondue, steak frites, and all things cheese (and the most luxurious mac and cheese), I would recommend Artisanal. I was just there last week for a contest. I miss the onion soup already. It's a fun place too.

http://www.artisanalbistro.com/

For Italian, I highly recommend Pepolino. Homemade pastas are delicious. It's a down to earth unpretentious spot. The tomato dip they serve with the bread basket is delicious! Get anything with wild boar in it too.

http://pepolino.com/

And yes, go to East Harlem and try Patsy's pizza. It is a real delight and you won't find anything like it in Florida.

[kathryn]

Breakfast:
Locanda Verde - make a reservation if on the weekend
Maialino - make a reservation if on the weekend
Buvette
Clinton St Baking Company - go on a weekday, weekends are slammed
The Breslin (same chef as Spotted Pig) - go on a weekday, weekends can be very busy

Lunch:
Joseph Leonard
Jeffrey's Grocery
Pearl Oyster Bar - wait is much shorter at lunch
Prune
Maialino - very bright and sunny room
Blue Ribbon Bakery - much shorter wait for lunch
Minetta Tavern - not really bright and sunny, but great only in NY atmosphere, dinner reservations can be hard to get
The Dutch - dinner reservations can be hard to get, so do lunch instead
Lupa - dinner reservations can be hard to get, so do lunch instead
Spotted Pig - wait is much shorter at lunch, sit upstairs for more light

Dinner:
Sorella - I like the back enclosed garden room
L'artusi
Peasant - very cozy, nice wood burning stove
ABC Kitchen -- books up 30 days in advance though
Mas Farmhouse -- might be too pricey for you though
Hundred Acres/Five Points/etc.

Drinks/snacks:
Landbrot Bakery