What makes you say "I Love NY"?

[canucklehead]

Hey Everybody

I 've been through the forum a number of times and there are lots of threads recommending the "best of" different things in NYC. Frankly - it is an embarassment of riches that you guys have.

Some of my friends are heading over to Manhattan during the middle of June and are interested in checking out some of the local eats. So I am fishing for some recomendations. A couple of caveats - no big artillery eating (i.e. La Bernadin) and they need to stay on Manhattan.

But what place makes you think - "I f-king love this city" or "Only in NY baby..."

For example - in Vancouver - I would always recommend the little Izakaya restaurants that have sprouted all over to service the many language students who come to study here. The are a unique Vancouver phenom.

What makes NYC special to you?

[tryska]

the subway. but that's not necessarily food-related.

[oakapple]

But what place makes you think - "I f-king love this city" or "Only in NY baby..."

←

I'm afraid my answer won't help you: It's not any one restaurant, but rather the profusion of such a wide variety of restaurants, that makes me say, "I Love NY."

[eatpie]

Not a food style and Im not sure if your friend's will even appreciate this but, something I miss everytime I leave NYC is our incredible late night dining scene. We have better choices between 10p-4am than most cities have during prime time. Florent, Odeon, Schiller's, Blue Ribbon Brasserie are quintessential ny style bistros. If you want asian, NY Noodletown in chinatown can satisfy a weekend craving for Soft Shell crabs until 4am and Kang Suh is amongst numerous places in Koreatown (32nd st) open 24 hrs. Grab a pastrami sandwich from Katz's at 2am, a slice at Joe's on Bleeker at 3am and a falafel sandwich at Mamouns on MacDougal at 4am...u r right, we do have it good :)

[Gastro888]

The fact that any type of cuisine can be found in the city.

It's a mecca for foodies. Seems like you can pretty much find any "authentic" food there.

Love it, love it, love it.

Just need a sugar daddy to live there...LOL!

[OPJK]

The Grand Central Oyster Bar - eat at the counter, order oysters, some crisp white wine, and a pan roast or chowder. Check out the rush of locals, tourists, commuters. Quintessential New York.

Gramercy Tavern - Eat at the bar, have a Ginger Tonic, and share a few plates of yummy food.

Barney Greengrass - Get a basket of bialies, some excellent coffee, and and omelette made with sturgeon, salmon, and onions.

Tal Bagel, the New York Times, Central Park - Grab a bagel with sable, the Times, and coffee (purchased somewhere other than Tal), head to the Sheeps Meadow, and watch everything there is to see.

Enjoy!

[Gastro888]

I guess to be specific: Chinatown, Grey's Papaya, street cart food and bagels.

Oh and good Italian food. Summer street fairs! Can't forget those.

[Varmint]

Patsy's

Gray's Papaya

Olive oil gelato at Otto

[SuzySushi]

Zabar's.

A good New York bagel (none of that soft stuff!).

Cheese Danish.

Lunch in Chinatown, then over to Little Italy for espresso and dessert.

[alacarte]

anyplace the tourists don't know about

[mpav]

variety, variety, variety in dining!

Also, great shopping. Anyone know when Broadway Panhandler has their yard sale? I emailed to them and never got a reply.

[mpav]

Ooops! Just saw the answer to my own query. June 11th & 12th.

Edited May 27, 2005 by mpav (log)

[Pan]

About a year ago, I started an "I love the East Village" thread. What I love about the East Village is how you can get food at any hour of the day or night and there are several good places that are often open into the wee hours of the morning, and also that you can get delivery of good Chinese food, good Polish food, good Madrasi food, etc. A lot of this stuff is less applicable to other areas of the city, like the Upper West Side where I grew up, and where the city does sleep in the wee hours, for the most part (and has fewer diverse, high-quality food offerings). But Lee, in terms of a specific thing for your friend, Katz's pastrami is something that makes me love being in New York. It's too rich and filling for me to have more than once every 1 1/2 or 2 months, but being within a 10-minute walk of the place? That's a blessing.

[canucklehead]

Thanks for the responses so far - it makes me a little teary eyed that I have not been back to NYC for so long now. (I love the subway answer BTW - useful in its own way) I've lived in a number of cities in North America and Asia - but I think that NYC is best food city in the world.

Anyway - any further advice is always appreciated.

[Chris Amirault]

But Lee, in terms of a specific thing for your friend, Katz's pastrami is something that makes me love being in New York. It's too rich and filling for me to have more than once every 1 1/2 or 2 months, but being within a 10-minute walk of the place? That's a blessing.

←

Michael took the meat... I mean, words (sorry, fantasizing again) right out of my mouth.

I used to work at Broadway and Houston in the mid-1980s, and a group of us from work would wait for the absolutely worst day of the month -- snow if possible, rain, sleet, hail, and driving wind if not -- and walk the many blocks to Katz's. And there we would eat the amazing fries (with schmaltz -- Michael, do they still have schmaltz available?), great pickles, and simply astonishing pastrami sandwiches that our trek had earned us.

I am quite literally tearing up at the memory.

You must, must, must go to Katz's.

[emmapeel]

Some the food related reasons I love NY have been mentioned (Katz's, Zabar's, or any place that has good pastrami.) The ability to eat a great meal at 1am or later, like (Blue Ribbon). Our Pizza is great, great hot dogs, great burgers (but you can have equal or better anywhere in the states - although maybe not pizza -- or bagels for that matter.)

Now I realize your friends want the Manhattan experience, but I have to answer the question from a native's standpoint. For me the real New York offerings are based on cultures. People from other countries come here to live and think "let's open a restaurant on a shoestring" and their offerings are so good, cheap yet authentic, but they can't afford to be in Manhattan, so you will find them in places like Queens and Brooklyn. Outside Manhattan there are surprises that happen, like a Jamaican restaurant in Queens where 3 people eat 3 courses for $30 and the food is really good. (Sorry, I can't even tell you how to get there it's so complicated and it's on the border of Long Island.) There was a time when Greek cuisine was really cheap in Astoria, Queens, but the real estate boom ended that because it's so close to Manhattan. But it is still very reasonable and I feel Astoria offers some of the best food shopping around. So if you consider that New York is comprised of many neighborhoods and that cultures cling together, if you were to visit an Arab neighborhood in Brooklyn (Atlantic Avenue) you could eat fantastic Middle Eastern cuisine, or if you were to visit Flushing, Queens, your Chinese eating experience might be more authentic. I cannot think of where the Hispanics' (non-Mexican) best offerings are (probably East Harlem and Northern Manhattan), but the Italians offer Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

All of these cuisines can be had in Manhattan also. The South Asian population has a hold on E. 6th Street for Indian, the Koreans are all over 32nd Street (east and west) and you can find Japanese there also, and great soul food in Harlem (but don't go to Sylvia's.) Harlem also offers a few spots for African cuisine such as La Marmite (Senegalese) (2264 Fredrick Douglass, at 121st Street.) Some of the best bread I've ever had is from the Sullivan Street Bakery in Soho. If your friends like Greek cuisine, they can go to Uncle Nick's on 9th Avenue, but expect to be rushed. (It's reasonably priced.) If your friends want French cuisine, they might consider these recommendations.

In my current life I love NY because of my telephone..."Hello, delivery please!" (Talk about being jaded. )

Edited to say...I want to be in Maine!

Edited May 28, 2005 by emmapeel (log)

[M. Lucia]

A good New York deli.

This has been the consensus among most exiled New Yorkers I've talked to, particularly expats. To be a ble to walk around the corner and get whatever little item you desire at any hour of the day (sushi, bagel, Japenese candy, curry, all kinds of beer, halwa, carrot cake, batteries). A good deli, the one at 2nd Ave and 9th street comes to mind, is like a microcosm of the city's diversity.

[Pan]

[...]I cannot think of where the Hispanics' (non-Mexican) best offerings are (probably East Harlem and Northern Manhattan)[...]

←

Jackson Heights is a possibility. Mexican, but also Central and South American.

The South Asian population has a hold on E. 6th Street for Indian[...]

←

Less and less. On the block between 1st and 2nd Avs., there's now an Italian place, an Ethiopian, a Cajun, a Moroccan, and also a genuine Bangladeshi. Besides, the Bangladeshi-owned "Indian" places on 6th with the mythical common kitchen (an apocryphal story, of course) were never good. Madras Cafe, on 2nd Av. between 4th and 5th, however, is a consistently good restaurant.

The best neighborhood for Indian food, though, is Jackson Heights around 74 St. and Roosevelt.

[emmapeel]

...Besides, the Bangladeshi-owned "Indian" places on 6th with the mythical common kitchen (an apocryphal story, of course) were never good.

The best neighborhood for Indian food, though, is Jackson Heights around 74 St. and Roosevelt.

←

I agree with you about the Bangladeshi food on 6th street not being good. But I have enjoyed Haveli on 2nd Avenue (one time it was off). Thanks for the update ... I have heard about Jackson Heights also, and plan to go, for Indian, Central and South American places. I've heard good things about them as well.

[tryska]

to give a non-subway related answer, well, even then I lie - i second the experience of grand Central Oyster Bar - and Gray's Papaya.

and yes the sheer diversity is what for me, makes this a very difficult food question to answer.

But take advantage of that diversity. That would be the ultimate NYC eating experience.

on at least one day, start your day by stopping at a corner store, and getting breakfast - your order will be easy:

"Coffee regular and a butter roll, please."

Edited May 28, 2005 by tryska (log)

[Josh]

But what place makes you think - "I f-king love this city" or "Only in NY baby..."

When you say "hmm, I'm in the mood for Italian" the last place you think of going to is Olive Garden. The fact that one can even get enough business in Manhattan to remain open perplexes you to no end.

When you say "hmm, I want to call up for a pizza", it never enters your noggin to call Dominos. Furthermore, you probably don't even know where one is, although you can name at least a dozen pizza places in multiple boroughs that have "the best slice".

When you order a pastrami sandwich, you never ever ever run the risk of the counter guy asking you if you'd like it with mayo.

"Going out for chinese" involves hundreds of choices.

Gastronomic bliss can be found in the form of five-for-a-buck dumplings at Fried Dumpling, or a $150 tasting menu at Per Se.

Always something new to try.

Specifically-speaking a suggestion:

A Lower East Side/Chinatown/Little Italy grazing tour involving some combination of: a stop at NY Noodle Town; soup dumplings at Moon House or Joe's Shanghai; 5-for-a-buck dumplings at Fried Dumpling on Mosco Street or Tasty Dumpling on Mulberry Street while eating them across the way in Columbus Park; egg cake nuggets from a cart on Canal Street near Mulberry; jerky at New Beef King on Bayard Street or Jung's dried beef on Mulberry Street; a nosh at Fay Da bakery on Canal Street; a rasberry and cream tart at La Bella Ferrara on Mulberry Street; a knish at Yonah Schimmel's on Houston Street; gelato at Laboratorio Del Gelato on Orchard Street; candy stop at Economy Candy on Rivington Street; pastrami sandwich at Katz's on Canal Street; Gus's Pickles at the Tenement Museum; a you-know-what at Donut Plant on Grand Street; Roti Canai at Nyonya on Grand Street; and peeking into the endless ethnic markets and food stores that dot the area. *warning: do not attempt to eat all these things on one trip or you won't be able to fit into the subway!*

Edited May 28, 2005 by Josh (log)

[lia]

For me, I think it's delivery. Having a craving for whatever and having it at your door in a half hour (and usually MUCH less.)

Unfortunately the down side of that is how i've so lost my cooking touch. I have cookbooks up the wazoo....I especially love to bake and I always wanna get down and dirty with some bread or brownies or a difficult cake or something....but there's SO many great places nearby to buy great bread, and there are great bakeries all over...and as many mentioned, the asian food options are so plentiful that i choose my restaurant based on the dish I'm in the mood for...We're so spoiled here.

[emmapeel]

When you say "hmm, I want to call up for a pizza", it never enters your noggin to call Dominos.  Furthermore, you probably don't even know where one is...

←

Josh, you're right, I don't know where my Domino's is, but I know it exists because in a blizzard we had, I was looking out the window at the snow and a Domino's guy was struggling with his bike through the snow. (It was so funny, I felt so sorry for him, but I'm still laughing years later.) I hope he got more than a decent tip. I'm also sure the customers couldn't get food from anyone else (except Chinese) that day. btw, your specific suggestion sounds great, I might try it. I've never been to Fay Da bakery on Canal.

Edited May 28, 2005 by emmapeel (log)

[victornet]

I love that there is something worthwhile around virtually every corner. After work yesterday I decided to stroll through the lower east side on the way up to Toy Tokyo near St. Marks Place. After resisting a strong dumpling temptation on Grand St. (and declining to wait on line at DiPalos), I passed Gus Pickles on Orchard St. and bought a quart of good sour ones. Continuing north I came upon Il Laboratorio di Gelato, and had a wicked chocolate gelato/ peach sorbet combo cup. Trying to keep my burden light I did not go into Russ and Daughter when I hit Houston, but it was tempting.

[SuzySushi]

But what place makes you think - "I f-king love this city" or "Only in NY baby..."

When you say "hmm, I'm in the mood for Italian" the last place you think of going to is Olive Garden. The fact that one can even get enough business in Manhattan to remain open perplexes you to no end.

When you say "hmm, I want to call up for a pizza", it never enters your noggin to call Dominos. Furthermore, you probably don't even know where one is, although you can name at least a dozen pizza places in multiple boroughs that have "the best slice".

When you order a pastrami sandwich, you never ever ever run the risk of the counter guy asking you if you'd like it with mayo.

"Going out for chinese" involves hundreds of choices.

Gastronomic bliss can be found in the form of five-for-a-buck dumplings at Fried Dumpling, or a $150 tasting menu at Per Se.

Always something new to try.

Specifically-speaking a suggestion:

A Lower East Side/Chinatown/Little Italy grazing tour involving some combination of: a stop at NY Noodle Town; soup dumplings at Moon House or Joe's Shanghai; 5-for-a-buck dumplings at Fried Dumpling on Mosco Street or Tasty Dumpling on Mulberry Street while eating them across the way in Columbus Park; egg cake nuggets from a cart on Canal Street near Mulberry; jerky at New Beef King on Bayard Street or Jung's dried beef on Mulberry Street; a nosh at Fay Da bakery on Canal Street; a rasberry and cream tart at La Bella Ferrara on Mulberry Street; a knish at Yonah Schimmel's on Houston Street; gelato at Laboratorio Del Gelato on Orchard Street; candy stop at Economy Candy on Rivington Street; pastrami sandwich at Katz's on Canal Street; Gus's Pickles at the Tenement Museum; a you-know-what at Donut Plant on Grand Street; Roti Canai at Nyonya on Grand Street; and peeking into the endless ethnic markets and food stores that dot the area. *warning: do not attempt to eat all these things on one trip or you won't be able to fit into the subway!*

←

You're making me weep....

An ex-New Yawka homesick after 14 years away.