Please help me avoid touristy food!

[mmm_chocolate]

Hello,

I'm a Philly e-gulleter coming up to Manhattan with my husband (who has a job interview) to spend the night this Thursday and the day Friday (6/8 and 6/9). I am having unsettling visions of choosing dining destinations based solely on the fact that we happened to stumble across them in a state of hunger.

Our hotel is here-

Ramada Plaza & Inn - New Yorker Hotel

481 8th Avenue

New York City , New York 10001

Apparently it's right next to Madison Square Garden and Penn station and close to the Empire State building.

If there is anyone who knows the city well and can point out a few foodie-favored restaurants/cafes/late night snack options within walking area of this location, I'd be much obliged!

Thanks!!!

-Michelle

[Dryden]

Little Korea is very accessible to there and provides lots of non-touristy options.

[Megan Blocker]

Little Korea is very accessible to there and provides lots of non-touristy options.

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FYI, Little Korea (or "Koreatown") is generally thought to be 31st through 36th Streets, from 6th to 5th (or Madison, even).

Here's a link to some Korean food recommendations: click!

And here's a Wikipedia page on Little Korea: click!

[plattetude]

You won't be all that far from the Flatiron/Gramercy areas, which could put you firmly in Danny Meyer Land. There's Table/Bread Bar at 25th and Madison, Eleven Madison Park at 24th and Madison, the Shake Shack in spitting distance of either. Blue Smoke a little further east at 27th and Park. Any of these would give you a lovely meal, and there's a good variety of cuisines and price points. I'd say maybe a 10 minute walk to any of them from 34th and 8th.

I'm sure others can and will have other suggestions....

Happy eating!

Christopher

[Megan Blocker]

And Les Halles is right there, too - Park and 28th...

[TrishCT]

Artisanal at Park & 32nd Street. A lot of increcidble cheese creations, french onion soup, cheese fondues, cheese plates, mac & cheese, decent enough entrees like steak frites, rabbit and skate, but cheese is king. Very nice selection of wines by the glass.

[raji]

I would definitely hit up a Danny Meyer's restaurant like Tabla. Haters post here!!

Koreatown is great, but that list the Megan posted a link to is not.... I'd hit Woo Chon, Kin Jup, or Seoul Garden....

Something else you are definitely not getting in Philly is true South Indian, which is over a bit @ Lex, Madras Mahal still being my favorite despite poor service -

[mmm_chocolate]

These all sound great, I'm going to start googling and map-questing...thank you so much for your input! The south indian sounds enticing...we're big fans of indian cuisine, so it would be great to try something different.

I'm guessing that Danny Meyer's is the Steven Starr of NYC? I'll have to do some research...

[raji]

Starr is a 4-letter word here <<ducks>>

[mmm_chocolate]

Starr is a 4-letter word here  <<ducks>>

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Does Starr have any involvement in NYC?

I've been to 2 or 3 of his Philly restaurants, and while they are very much concerned with creating an atmosphere to attract swanky hipsters above all else, I have to say that the food I had was not bad. But I much prefer frequenting the tucked away, cozy little BYOBs that our city is becoming well known for. And with any luck, they'll continue to do well enough so that Steven Starr can't buy them all up and turn them into modified food circuses.

[Megan Blocker]

Starr is a 4-letter word here  <<ducks>>

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Does Starr have any involvement in NYC?

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Yup. We just got a Buddakan and a Morimoto, both in the Meatpacking district. There are eG topics on both:

Buddakan

Morimoto

[Megan Blocker]

I'm guessing that Danny Meyer's is the Steven Starr of NYC?  I'll have to do some research...

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Ummmmm, I think a lot of people would disagree on many counts. Yes, Danny Meyer is an extremely successful restaurateur here in NYC, much like Starr is in Philly, but Meyer's restaurants are more consistently known for their food and service than their "hip" scenes. At least, that's what I would argue.

Edited June 7, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[raji]

Ramada Plaza & Inn - New Yorker Hotel

481 8th Avenue

New York City , New York  10001

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I just re-read - that's the New Yorker! Just recently they "re-lit" their huge neon sign - that hotel has a lot of history!

http://www.signweb.com/index.php/channel/12/id/1598

Anyway, just don't eat anywhere in the vicinity of that hotel, and you will be just fine. to the south, southeaast, east, and north, you are very good

Edited June 7, 2006 by raji (log)

[H. du Bois]

I didn't realize that was the old New Yorker, either!

You'll be within walking distance of a very good area to eat - 8th Avenue between 14th street and 23rd street (Chelsea) is a minefield of good food. Just walk up and down that stretch and enter whichever place catches your fancy - they're all a pretty high standard.

If you need to go north, you're within walking distance of Hell's Kitchen, an area that's up and coming. I've eaten lunch at HK, which is at 39th & 9th - very good, very New Yorky.

Just avoid Times Square like the plague - it's a tourist ghetto, really (food scaled down accordingly).

[Sneakeater]

Somebody's gonna have to mention Keen's, which (aside from being near the hotel), manages to score the trifecta of being "touristy", authentic, and very good.

[JohnL]

NY is a great city for walking.

Try walking over to ninth avenue.

Then head north.

Above 42nd street (mostly) are myriad small ethnic places

and shops.

Manganeros to Amy's bread to Uncle Nick's (pretty good inexpensive Greek food--try the taverna ---etc etc (by the way you will pass Tony Luke's)

Before you know it you will be in the upper fifties and close to the Time Warner Center.

[mmm_chocolate]

Ramada Plaza & Inn - New Yorker Hotel

481 8th Avenue

New York City , New York   10001

←

I just re-read - that's the New Yorker! Just recently they "re-lit" their huge neon sign - that hotel has a lot of history!

http://www.signweb.com/index.php/channel/12/id/1598

Anyway, just don't eat anywhere in the vicinity of that hotel, and you will be just fine. to the south, southeaast, east, and north, you are very good

←

Well that's cool historical news...and as a plus, the newly lit sign will definitely help us find the hotel when we make the walk from Penn station Thursday night!

Thanks again to everyone for the recommendations, I feel well informed now about eating choices!

[Pan]

[...]Koreatown is great, but that list the Megan posted a link to is not.... I'd hit Woo Chon, Kin Jup, or Seoul Garden....

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I'm unfamiliar with Kin Jup but agree with your other two recommendations. I'd also recommend Cho Dang Gol, Kang Suh, and Han Bat. Cho Dang Gol is known for its artisanal tofu, Kang Suh for its barbecue (though only gas is used there nowadays), and Han Bat is just a really good cheap Korean diner. I love Woo Chon, but I've been thinking lately that Seoul Garden may be the best all-round Korean restaurant in Manhattan.

There are threads on all of these restaurants, I do believe. Since you can't do a site search for 3-letter words, search for "Hanbat" rather than Han Bat, and search for "Dang" in order to get the Cho Dang Gol thread (if there indeed is one).

[raji]

[...]Koreatown is great, but that list the Megan posted a link to is not.... I'd hit Woo Chon, Kin Jup, or Seoul Garden....

←

I'm unfamiliar with Kin Jup but agree with your other two recommendations. I'd also recommend Cho Dang Gol, Kang Suh, and Han Bat. Cho Dang Gol is known for its artisanal tofu, Kang Suh for its barbecue (though only gas is used there nowadays), and Han Bat is just a really good cheap Korean diner. I love Woo Chon, but I've been thinking lately that Seoul Garden may be the best all-round Korean restaurant in Manhattan.

There are threads on all of these restaurants, I do believe. Since you can't do a site search for 3-letter words, search for "Hanbat" rather than Han Bat, and search for "Dang" in order to get the Cho Dang Gol thread (if there indeed is one).

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Kun Jip that is which is prettty lame of me as I try to correct any mistaken Japanese I see on here...

beware the midday rushed posting!

[mmm_chocolate]

I had a nice mini-trip to NYC, and the food was terrific based on the reviews I discovered in the egullet NYC forum.

Thursday night I was dining alone and so walked from the hotel to Zen Palate and ate in the cafe. The food was really good, fresh, flavorful and healthy. I had the "Tofu Delight" which was tofu, zuchini and tomatoes sauteed in black bean sauce and served with spring rolls and brown and red rice. I ordered a takeout rice noodle stir fry for my husband, and this had savory smoky undertones which brought the dish to a higher culinary level than your average asian take out. The cafe seems like a great place to grab a quick and healthy dinner for a casual eat in or take out. And they do have a proper restaurant there as well, which I would imagine is just as nice.

Thursday night we walked down to the Flat Iron Lounge for cocktails...it was a pretty swanky place, but I didn't get any sort of "snob" or hipster vibe. I'd be interested to get the local feedback about this lounge. The drinks were very strong, I couldn't actually finish the lichi lemongrass and gin combo. The gin was so heavy that it covered up alot of the subtle citrus flavors of the mixers, which was unfortunate.

Friday we ate lunch at Otto, sharing the buffalo mozerella margherita pizza and roasted eggplant pasta. The pizza crust was outstanding; very thin, with the perfect balance of crispy AND chewy. The tomato sauces were obviously made from the freshest tomatoes and contained a hint of sweetness which was quite enjoyable. We tried the caramel, coffee and olive oil gelati for dessert, and I was in heaven. The olive oil gelati was such an interesting treat, I loved the sea salt sprinkled on top! When we ate a bite of the caramel (which had that burned sugar, REAL caramel flavor) with the salted olive oil, it tasted incredible like caramel popcorn. And all three flavors combined tasted like the best (most fattening) cup of coffee ever invented. Kudos to Otto, they managed to improve my mood immensely after a terrible stay at the New Yorker Hotel.

Don't ever EVER stay at The Ramada New Yorker Hotel under any circumstances. You can go to trip advisor where I will have a review up shortly if you care to hear the details.

And that was it for the food...a short and sweet trip to NYC. I can't wait to come back to try a Danny Meyers restaurant, which just wasn't in the cards for this trip. My husband's interviews went quite well...so I may become a much more frequent visitor to these boards if we make the move to NY!

Thanks for all of the input,

Cheers,

Michelle

[Noodlebot]

The Flatiron Lounge is one of my favorite bars in town, especially when some of the mob scene starts to disperse later on in the night. Great drinks, and incredibly friendly servers.