Exile Upper West Side

[Luckylies]

Hi all! As a few of you know I'm bivouac'd on the Upper West side for a bit (90th st), in training for my bbq comp. I'm unfamiliar with these strange and bohemain surroundings and have little knowledge of the ways and customs of the culinary set up here. Insofar I've ordered both Chirping Chicken (tasty) and Giovanni's - less tasty (though their canolli was notable). I also went to Telepan which had formerly been less of a pop-in option and now sits in the back of my mind as a good place to go for a bite.

Any suggestions? I'd cook but everything I touch tastes like hicory

[Daniel]

Indian and a little expensive is Indus Valley..

Thai food I go Lan

Vietnamese- Saigon Grill

Italian I go to Celeste no delivery and more expensive is Spiga no delivery.. I havent been but, Gennaros is talked about too and they deliver..

I just went to this yakitori place on 103rd called Sun-Chan..

Barney's Green Grass delivers!

Citarella's Delivers in case you need more meat.

Spanish food I get from Cafe con Leche and for a cheap half a chicken Flor De Mayo..

There is a soul food/southern place called rack and soul that I have heard about.. I dont know if they deliver or not..

Sushi my girl will order from Haru..

I rarely have food delivered but, these are some of the places I have liked..

[Dorie Greenspan]

Welcome to the UWS -- I'm on 91 St.

I think Telepan's a fabulous addition to the neighborhood, but when you're looking for something more casual, look at Daniel's list -- I think it's a good one.

My three go-to-them-way-too-often places are Saigon Grill (I like to go there for lunch), Land Thai Kitchen, where the cooking and presentation are really quite elegant (the chef is a Jean-Georges alum), and Celeste, where Carmine, the owner, brings in cheeses from Italy and puts together a cheese plate that rivals those at fancy midtown restuarants -- the wines at Celeste are also interesting. The two drawbacks to Celeste are: no reservations; and no credit cards.

Let us know if you find something terrific in the 'hood.

[Luckylies]

Indian and a little expensive is Indus Valley..

Thai food I go Lan

Vietnamese- Saigon Grill

Italian I go to Celeste no delivery and more expensive is Spiga no delivery.. I havent been but, Gennaros is talked about too and they deliver..

I just went to this yakitori place on 103rd called Sun-Chan..

Barney's Green Grass delivers!

Citarella's Delivers in case you need more meat.

Spanish food I get from Cafe con Leche and for a cheap half a chicken Flor De Mayo..

There is a soul food/southern place called rack and soul that I have heard about.. I dont know if they deliver or not..

Sushi my girl will order from Haru..

I rarely have food delivered but, these are some of the places I have liked..

←

Thanks, D, I knew I'd never starve (a physical impossibility) with you guys around!

Um, please no more meat.

Barney Greengrass delivers? huh. When I was a kid and used to go to sleep away camp I'd get so homesick my dad would send me bagels and nova. It was, to this day, the most thoughtful thing anybody has ever done for me.

I'm not sure if you remember Moe, but he used to run the register, and generally shoot the shit with the outgoing cutomers. He was legendary, all I knew when I was a kid is that he gave me free candy . Years ago I was in with my then boyfriend, and we were paying our bill I asked him how much a bag of m&m's cost. His repy as he shoved the bag into my hands?

"sweetheart, we get you on the fish"

I don't hate the Upper West, I'm just out of my niche.

edited because I don't always form whole thoughts.

Edited August 7, 2006 by Luckylies (log)

[Dorie Greenspan]

The Barney Greengrass story is perfect!

[Sethro]

Pizza: Pizzabolla

American Chinese: 88 Noodle House

Brunch: Nice Matin

Italian: Nonna or Celeste

Seafood: Neptune Room

Japanese: N/A (maybe the UWS Gari if you have money to throw away)

Burgers: Nice Matin or Friehouse

Wings: Blondies

Mexican: Great Burito

[Daniel]

I'm not sure if you remember Moe, but he used to run the register, and generally shoot the shit with the outgoing cutomers. He was legendary, all I knew when I was a kid is that he gave me free candy  . Years ago I was in with my then boyfriend, and we were paying our bill I asked him how much a bag of m&m's cost. His repy as he shoved the bag into my hands?

"sweetheart, we get you on the fish"

←

That is great. Absolute Bagels might deliver to you..

[Pan]

You've gotten some good recommendations, but no-one's mentioned El Malecon yet. I think that when you get pollo a la brasa from them, you probably won't go back to Chirping Chicken anymore, even though their chicken is good. El Malecon is on Amsterdam Av. between 97th and 98th Sts.

Also, try Turkuaz on Broadway and 100th St. for Turkish food. I haven't been there lately, though, so if anyone has found they've deteriorated, please speak up.

[Sethro]

Oh, another good little find is the Capital Market on 88th and Columbus, where Mon-Sat a little old Dominican woman make KILLER chicken soup and good fried chicken, plantains, et all.

[Mulcahy]

Gennaro is excellent, but their delivery is terrible.

Rain is good pan-asian, with excellent delivery.

Ouest is great for a drink at the bar and solid food.

Haven't been to new 'Cesca, but might be worth a stop in at the bar.

Roth's Westside Steakhouse has excellent burgers, only available at the bar.

Shun-Lee delivers (and is sort of on the Upper West Side).

Haru is the best sushi, unfortunately, other than Gari.

[Daniel]

Rain delivers? I had called them about a year ago and they said they didnt.. I have yet to try them, thats exciting.

[Mulcahy]

Rain delivers?  I had called them about a year ago and they said they didnt.. I have yet to try them, thats exciting.

←

Yep. Just checked the menu and they deliver from 6-10 M-F, 5-10 S-S from 72nd to 92nd street. Their delivery packaging is really excellent, so the food shows up in good (and hot) shape.

[Live It Up]

I grew up on 110th and broadway, but most of the restaurants I used to like are no longer there. The Mill on 113th and bway was my introduction to Korean food, so maybe it wasn't really all that great, but I loved it. Also, I've been known to schlep all the way up there to go to Popover Cafe on amsterdam and 86th. The decor is cheesy as hell, but they have great sandwiches and of course popovers. Also, I remember that my family used to like V+T pizza on amsterdam and 110th, but maybe that's just cause it was close to home. Hmmm...maybe this wasn't so helpful for you, but it brought back some memories for me.

[larrylee]

Super Tacos! Look for the silver van on the SW corner of 96th and Broadway after 5 PM. The tacos seem to be bigger if you get them to stay, rather than to go. Delivery minimum is $10.

A little blurb I wrote:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/R4L19kfjFVoJoiRw_nXmqg

[Sethro]

Whoawhoawhoa...

Supertacotruck delivers???

[ChefNYC]

Whoawhoawhoa...

Supertacotruck delivers???

←

They've been delivering for a while. For their menu/info, go here:

http://menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp...d=0&cuisineid=0

[Cpalms]

- another good delivery is Pio Pio salon for Peruvian roast chicken...huge amounts of food relatively cheap...

- Grom gelato if you can deal with the line/prices

- Grays Papaya

- Rack n Soul fried chicken, make sure they make the chicken fresh...

- I hear good things about Thai Market on 107th and Amsterdam

- Dean's Pizza is pretty good but soulless pizza

- Sal and Carmine's pizza for slices

- Love Celeste, the only worthwhile UWS Italian, AVOID Genarro

- Kefi is the best cheap greek in the city, long lines however

I CAN'T believe supertaco truck delivers, WOW!

[slkinsey]

Between 100th and 110:

Thai Market is good for Thai

Awash has very good Ethipopan

Carne is good burgers, steaks, etc.

Henry's has plenty of good things.

Rack & Soul has already been mentioned

I like Flor de Mayo for delivery roast chicken and cilantro rice

El Malecon is also no slouch in the roast chicken department

A, up on columbus and 107th is interesting and eclectic

Tokyo Pop is good for "fusion sushi" rolls.

Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana is one of the two best Mexican places on the UWS

Between 90th and 100th:

Regional is good Italian

Noche Mexicana is the other best Mexican place on the UWS (Sundays they have posole!)

Interestingly, it would appear that the West 90s comprise the most desolate stretch with respect to good restaurants on the UWS.

Edited August 20, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[Pan]

El Malecon is below 100th St., and in fact, between 97th and 98th on Amsterdam. I had lunch there today -- Mondongo with white rice, red beans, maduros, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Since the last time I was there a few months ago, they've done an excellent renovation which created a more spacious room and more tables, though the few stools at the counter (where I was sitting) are uncomfortable. The food is the same as always.

I also like Indus Valley, just south of 100th on Broadway, which Daniel mentioned. They share the defect common to Indian restaurants in New York (and not only in New York) of using too much ghee, oil, and cream, so their food can be tough on the digestion, but in my experience, it's consistently tasty, a good value, and arguably one of the better neighborhood non-vegetarian* Indian restaurants in Manhattan (that is, not including really top places that are much more expensive).

For the 100th-110th area, Jerusalem Falafel, Broadway between 104th and 105th Sts., should be added to the list, for their very good falafel sandwiches, which are also cheap and an excellent value.

*(Of course vegetable dishes are available, as has always been my experience in Indian restaurants everywhere.)