Decent NYC restaurants we never post about

[Fat Guy]

Tonight I had dinner at my neighborhood pretty-good Japanese place, Isohama (1666 Third Ave., Btwn. 93rd & 94th Sts., 212-828-0099, http://isohama.com/ ), probably for at least the 20th time in the past several years. Over dinner, my mother's friend asked "Will you be reviewing this place on eGullet tomorrow?"

I get asked variants of this question so many times, I've learned that it's not worth the bother to explain to people that I'm not really a restaurant reviewer and that my eG Forums posts (as well as those of most members who post about restaurants) are more along the lines of reports and discussion than what many people have come to think of as restaurant reviews. I simply replied, "I never post about this place."

"Why not?" asked my mother's friend. I confess I didn't have a simple, convincing answer. I mumbled something about our members and readers not being interested in neighborhood "utility" places. Later I thought maybe I should have said it was because there wasn't much to say about the place. But chatting about it with my wife on the way home I realized the real reason was the perception that we were, in her words, "eating below the level of eGullet."

I did a search through my zillion eG Forums posts and learned that I've mentioned Isohama only once, when somebody asked about grabbing a bite near Mount Sinai Hospital. Then I realized there are several other restaurants in my life that are like Isohama: they're close to home, my son's school, my mother's apartment, etc., and we eat at them fairly often, but I don't post about them. Next, I concluded that surely I'm not the only one -- many of you probably have a similar list of places that you don't bother posting about. And, while posts about such places are not going to be as interesting as posts about El Bulli or even Hawaiian Tropic Zone, they still serve a purpose.

I'll start.

Near my home, Isohama is a major standby. It's a better-than-average Japanese restaurant like you find all over the United States: there's sushi, tempura, noodle soups, etc., on the menu -- all the foods that in Japan would have specialized, focused restaurants. The American-Japanese equivalent of a diner, albeit a bit more expensive. Nothing is as good as what you'd get at 15 East, Sushi Yasuda and the other top places. But it's substantially better than the sushi and Japanese food being served at a lot of Chinese restaurants and the like. We usually eat dinner early, and from 5-7 there are "early bird specials" for $15 that are quite generous: a full-size portion of an entree item (sukiyaki, katsu, sushi platter, et al.), plus soup, salad and ice cream. 1666 Third Ave., Btwn. 93rd & 94th Sts., 212-828-0099, http://isohama.com/

Also in the neighborhood, Chinatown East is a place we rely on heavily. I won't say it's a great or even particularly good Chinese restaurant. But they make better-than-decent renditions of the American Chinese standards. Occasionally I'm eating something from there and I say, hey, this is pretty good. But it's not competitive with the good Midtown and Chinatown places. It's just the reliable neighborhood place. Better than in some neighborhoods. 1650 Third Ave., Btwn. 92nd & 93rd Sts., 212-987-3500, http://www.chinatowneastnyc.com/

A couple of blocks down, also on Third Avenue, is Naruto Ramen. I've posted about Naruto Ramen on the aggregated ramen topic. It's not as good as Ippudo and its ilk, but it's surprisingly good for the Upper East Side. 1596 Third Ave., Btwn. 89th & 90th, 212-289-7803, no website.

By far the best pizza in the neighborhood comes from Nick's. This is the Manhattan offshoot of the famed Nick's of Forest Hills, which was never one of the very best but was always quite good. Nick's on the Upper East Side, in turn, may not be quite as good as the original. But it's a lot better than the average slice shop and as good as anything except the very best places. It's an asset to the neighborhood, to be sure. Nick's Restaurant & Pizzeria, 1814 Second Ave., corner of 94th, 212-987-5700, http://nicksnyc.com

I'm a little ashamed to admit how many times we've had weekend brunch (and other meals) at Sarabeth's on Madison Avenue. It's basically across the street from where we've lived for the past 18 years (the other places I've listed are a bit of a walk east from us), so even though it gets crazy-busy on weekends it's easy enough to walk over, give a name, get a time estimate, go back home, then arrive when the table is ready. The food is always quite good, and the baked goods are destination-worthy. 1295 Madison Ave., Btwn. 92nd & 93rd Sts., 212-410-7335, http://sarabethseast.com/

I wish we had a branch of Hummus Place near my home, but in lieu of that Falafel Express serves acceptable Middle Eastern fast food. 1406 Madison Ave., Btwn. 97th & 98th, 212-987-6185, no website.

The best Mexican in my neighborhood is El Paso, on 97th Street (they have two other branches uptown). Not fantastic, but very serviceable. 64 E. 97th St., Btwn. Madison & Park Aves., 212-996-1739, http://elpasotaqueria.com/

Those are just the decent places near my home that I never post about. I'll cover a couple of other clusters of dining activity in later posts.

[Emily_R]

I think this is a great topic Steven!

I'll chime in to add my own. Even though I no longer live in NYC, I visit my mom in the East Village often. On Avenue A between 10th and 11th is my favorite E. Village utility restaurant -- an italian place named Orologio. I actually really love this place. It is completely reliable -- they are just very consistent, so you know exactly what you're getting. The sauteed spinach is the perfect level of garlicky. Their pizza bianca with prosciutto and arugula is always nicely blistered and satisfying. Salads are generally excellent, always fresh. The specials -- especially the branzino that is often on the specials menu -- are delicious. Prices are totally reasonable, service is friendly... Oh, and the tiramisu is AMAZING.

And yet... Its not flashy, the menu isn't particularly innovative... At times I thought of writing about it over on Chow, but feared that someone accustomed to higher-end dining would try it and find it too pedestrian. Its just a good, reasonably priced local Italian restaurant that is perfect when my mom and I are wiped and can't bring ourselves to walk more than two blocks.

Edited January 25, 2010 by Emily_R (log)

[oakapple]

I think the way Fat Guy once described these kinds of places was, “You’re glad to have it, but if you moved out of the neighborhood, you would probably never go there again.”