Valerie
Los Angeles
Heading to New York City and I'm looking for the best restaurants to try while I'm visiting. Open to all types of food! What are your top places to eat?
The Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side has a a great oyster happy hour, and excellent seafood generally.
For cool atmosphere and very good, inexpensive food, try Sweetwater in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.
If you're looking to dress up and spend A LOT of money:
Per Se, Daniel, Annisa, Eleven Madison Park Restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, Asiate Restaurant (inside Mandarin Oriental), Del Posto
If youre looking for the best bang for your buck:
The Smith, The Mermaid Inn, DBGB Kitchen and Bar, Jacob's Pickles Community Food & Juice, Almond, ABV
Some of my favorite restaurants that are not contemporary American:
SriPraPhaii (Best Thai in NYC, in Queens), Jaiya(Best Thai in Manhattan), Nha Trang (Vietnamese in Manhattan), ilili(Amazing Lebanese in Manhattan, is also very sexy), Sushi of Gari 46(Manhattan), East Harlem has wonderful mom and pop shop Mexican restaurants, any of the Momofuku restaurants
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Best Thai you'll ever have: SriPraPhai in Woodside Queens.
Best raw vegetarian/vegan: Quintessence in the East Village.
Seafood and fun: Mary's Fish Camp in the West Village.
Bahn Mi: Bánh Mì Saigon on Broome.
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I love Aquagrill for great seafood, Bistango for gluten-free Italian, Fatty Daddy Tacos for fast, cheap, amazing tacos and Pye Boat Noodle for delicious Thai.
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When in New York, try a deli! Nothing like it anywhere in the world...food prepared on site and they aim to fill you up twice with one meal!
Carnegie Deli and do the strudel for dessert!!!
Here are some of my favorites:
1. Five Senses Korean Restaurant in Koreatown for Korean food.
2. Ippudo Westside for Japanese ramen.
3. Curry Express on 29th Street for Indian food.
4. Taiwan Pork Chop House in Chinatown for Taiwanese-style rice and pork chop.
5. Soba Totto on 43rd Street for Japanese set lunches.
6. Boulud Sud in the Upper West (close to Lincoln Center) for Mediterranean food.
7. Kopi Kopi in Greenwich Village for Indonesian nasi goreng and coffee.
8. Ellen's Stardust Diner (touristy but great New York experience) in Times Square.
9. The Halal Guys halal food cart on 53rd Street and 6th Avenue (near the MOMA) for chicken on rice.
10. Los Tacos No.1 in Chelsea Market on 9th Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets).
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Casa Mono and Traif have been my favorite for years! But here is the list of my favs:
For Italian..
- L'Artusi
For Happy Hour...
For Korean/Chinese/Vietnamese...
For French...
Buvette
For Brunch...
For Dessert...
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There are so many, it is difficult to choose. One of my favorite "go to" restaurants is Crispo. They set the bar for Spaghetti Carbonara and it's outstanding. They also have great back patio (all the way in the back) which is a nice respite from the busy city.
One if by Land, Two if by Sea! Always amazing food, service, cocktails, pianist, and lovely historical setting!
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Hola Valerie!! Mine are Maisonand Le Pain Quotidien. Maison is a brasserie type restaurant and an excellent choice for a special dinner, good ambience, excellent food at a very affordable price. Le Pain Quotidien offers an outstanding cuisine (bakery) having the best menus for breakfast or lunch ever. I would like to add 2 places that I like a lot which are Fresh & Co and Shake Shack. These options are in case you want to grab a sandwich, a salad or a burger. Ingredients are very fresh, healthy and well cooked.
Hope this helps!! Saludos.
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for reasonable, well prepared and authentic Chinese, check out Sammy's Noodle Shop & Grill in the Village. 453 Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave to locals) 212 924 6688
Benny's Burritos on Greenwich St is great! I've never gotten anything bad and the portions are good. Its busy, ALWAYS, but earlier is better if you don't want to wait too long. But a busy restaurant in NYC is a good thing.
Brew
Valerie
