Sneakeater

As another alternative to Peter Luger's, Keen's. I really think you MUST visit a steakhouse or a chophouse while you're in New York.

Oh fuck I forgot Corton. Yeah, MUST GO. PS -- The person asking the question where to eat IS NatashaH. (But in any event, Katz's IS a MUST.)

Mexican food in the U.S. is almost certainly way beyond anything you have in the U.K. Just not in New York, unfortunately.

DBGB has excellent burgers, and Minetta Tavern's are even better. City Burger on 38th (I think) and 6th (I think) -- but it's only open for lunch.

Totally, agree -- she MUST hit one or more of the cocktail places. Also, maybe Minetta Tavern would be a good idea, if she could get in. I really wanted to recommend Franny's -- but I hate to advise people to schlepp to Brooklyn. (Also strongly agree about not bothering with Mexican in New York.)

I love Hill Country, but somehow the idea of travelling to New York and going to a restaurant imitating Texas seems odd to me. (As opposed to a restaurant imitating Tokyo, which I obviously have no problem recommending.)

I don't think Dom raised his prices for PIES, only for SLICES. So his PIES are still competitive.

Momofuku Ssam Bar Katz's per se WD-50 Jean Georges for lunch Babbo (I hate to say it) Kyo Ya Yakitori Totto Peter Luger's (or Wolfgang's [uptown location] if you don't feel like crossing an estuary) DBGB (because it's now, and because their beer and wine program is SO good)

There is a pizza called "grandma" pizza offerred at many NYC by-the-slice places. It's as slkinsey describes. It's square, but with a thinner crust than sicilian.

Yes they are. And they had a REAL cocktail guy design their menu.

NYC restaurant cocktail programs are better, probably, than they've ever been. But the problems I've tended to have (and I've not yet been to either the Standard or the Hotel Grifou, so these comments don't refer to them) are: 1. The drinks often tend to read better than they taste, which may be because they were ill-conceived (you never know if the person behind the cocktail menu is someone you can trust) or because . . . . 2. The standard of bartending at many restaurants tends to be pretty low. Jiggers, for example, are rarely used. So even if well-conceived, the drinks at all too many NYC restaurants tend to be ill-made. My new favorite exception: Insieme, which has an EXCELLENT cocktail program.

Obligatory shout-out to Rhong Tiam as being near if not at the top of Manhattan Thai (IMO).

Very little realworld chance of seeing the name "Sneakeater" associated with parsley.

But she's so promiscuous with her adjectives and hyperboles.

Just for the historical record, "Blackout Cake" is an old Brooklyn style that I don't think is part of the lamentable trend you and Sam are referring to. I think their "blackout" means something else.

Franny's.

Their new place in Nolita is certainly closer.

Just as a point of information, ALL reserved tables are in the back room. The front room is strictly walk-in (and the full menu isn't served there). So if you have a reservation, you will ALWAYS eat in the back room and NEVER in the unbearable front room.

So in other words, it's a tip, except that nobody reading the notation on their check is supposed to know it's a tip.

I think you're missing the history of the pretzel crisp. The original "deli-style" snack produced by this company, before pretzel crisps, were bagel crisps -- the same idea, but made from pieces of bagels (or some simulacra thereof). Now maybe pretzels aren't deli staples, but everybody knows that bagels . . . aren't, either. Oh well.

You got me beers?

Just to get more general and to pontificate for a moment, what's happened in New York is that as Italians have assimilated, Italian food has moved away from being "ethnic" and into the culinary mainstream. The best Italian places are no longer cheap "authentic" spots in Italian neighborhoods. They're normal mainstream restaurants that could just as well be French, except the food they serve is Italian. The two most celebrated chefs of Italian food in New York -- except for Mario Batali -- are named Conant and White. Some people decry this development. They think the new "mainstreamed" Italian restaurants are "fake" and overpriced. I personally think that you can't moan because social changes deny you the perceived benefits of a bunch of ethnic petting zoos.

Just to be clear, in case the OP is still reading, here's why this thread played out the way it did. It's not clear to us New Yorkers why you want to eat in Little Italy. If your girlfriend thinks that it's like the North End in Boston or the Hill in St. Louis -- functioning Italian neighborhoods that have restaurants that are still recognized as very good, to which locals go when they want to Italian food -- then she's mistaken. If you're looking for a very good Italian meal in New York, don't go to Little Italy. If you're looking to do anything that a native New Yorker would do, don't go to Little Italy. But maybe your girlfriend is looking for a picturesque touristic experience. In that case, Little Italy is fine. I never go there without visiting tourists -- but when we do go, they often have a good enough time. Just don't expect anything "real" -- that neighborhood hasn't been a real residential Italian neighborhood for decades -- and don't expect excellent food. If you're careful (say, if you listen to Steve R.), you can certainly find food that isn't horrible, and can have a good time.

And people who read it are supposed to know that how?

We all want to marry Daisy. Look at all the good it does us.