Check the other NY post that is a bit below if you don't know much about midtown --I posted about what you can easily see in a quick loop around midtown.
John's Pizzeria is in Times Square and is actually really good, if your husband will go for lombardi's-style pizza. If you want slices, sacco's at maybe 54th and 10th is the only legitimately really good slice I've found anywhere in the 40s and 50s (and believe me, I've LOOKED). If he wants a great slice, he'll be way better off finding one in Williamsburg (the places mentioned above are leagues above midtown (excepting Sacco)).
If you have the time, see if you can get a tour of the NYPL. We took one last winter and it was fantastic.
Thanks! Are there any non-pizza places for dinner you'd recommend in that area?
He definitely wants to at least see the NYPL because he's a huge Ghostbusters fan. LOL. We'll see about the tour. We are going in with the attitude of not being able to see everything and not wanting to kill ourselves trying to. So Le Bernadin, Midtown, and a show will be one day, maybe with a morning walk around Brooklyn. One day will be Brooklyn plus the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. And one day will be the Guggenheim and Central Park. Two nights will be Broadway shows, and one night will be dinner with my friends. What we do besides that is up in the air and will depend on the weather (we're not going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in a thunderstorm, for example).. I'm excited!
The only non-pizza place in the Times Square area that I know to be tasty but not fancy and expensive is Pio Pio (Peruvian; specializes in rotisserie chicken). The restaurants in that area tend to focus towards expense account lunches (very, very expensive but in some cases very good -- but I never go to those places when I'm paying!) and tourist exploitation (overpriced, mediocre places). If you head a little west into Hell's Kitchen there's a strip of restaurants on 9th Ave that cater to people who actually live or play in the neighborhood (which is usually a sign of better, more reasonable places) but I just don't know them really. But that's where you probably would want to wander in that area to find good food that isn't over-the-top expensive. sa is the expert on that strip.
The Ghostbusters firehouse is down in Tribeca, if you find yourself around there. Grandaisy Bakery is near there and is excellent. (Speaking of bakeries, if you're near the NYPL around breakfast get croissants at Maison Keyser. Oh my god.)
Check the other NY post that is a bit below if you don't know much about midtown --I posted about what you can easily see in a quick loop around midtown.
John's Pizzeria is in Times Square and is actually really good, if your husband will go for lombardi's-style pizza. If you want slices, sacco's at maybe 54th and 10th is the only legitimately really good slice I've found anywhere in the 40s and 50s (and believe me, I've LOOKED). If he wants a great slice, he'll be way better off finding one in Williamsburg (the places mentioned above are leagues above midtown (excepting Sacco)).
If you have the time, see if you can get a tour of the NYPL. We took one last winter and it was fantastic.
Thanks! Are there any non-pizza places for dinner you'd recommend in that area?
He definitely wants to at least see the NYPL because he's a huge Ghostbusters fan. LOL. We'll see about the tour. We are going in with the attitude of not being able to see everything and not wanting to kill ourselves trying to. So Le Bernadin, Midtown, and a show will be one day, maybe with a morning walk around Brooklyn. One day will be Brooklyn plus the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. And one day will be the Guggenheim and Central Park. Two nights will be Broadway shows, and one night will be dinner with my friends. What we do besides that is up in the air and will depend on the weather (we're not going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in a thunderstorm, for example).. I'm excited!
Unfortunately, the room you would want to see (and have seen, because remember when we almost crossed paths?) is closed because of emergency renovations. But there's still a ton of good stuff in that building even with that main room being closed.
Can't help with fancy restaurants and Brooklyn pizza, we don't do fancy restaurants and Staten Island pizza is better. (devil) Have a great trip!
Thanks! Are there any non-pizza places for dinner you'd recommend in that area?
He definitely wants to at least see the NYPL because he's a huge Ghostbusters fan. LOL. We'll see about the tour. We are going in with the attitude of not being able to see everything and not wanting to kill ourselves trying to. So Le Bernadin, Midtown, and a show will be one day, maybe with a morning walk around Brooklyn. One day will be Brooklyn plus the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. And one day will be the Guggenheim and Central Park. Two nights will be Broadway shows, and one night will be dinner with my friends. What we do besides that is up in the air and will depend on the weather (we're not going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in a thunderstorm, for example).. I'm excited!
Unfortunately, the room you would want to see (and have seen, because remember when we almost crossed paths?) is closed because of emergency renovations. But there's still a ton of good stuff in that building even with that main room being closed.
Can't help with fancy restaurants and Brooklyn pizza, we don't do fancy restaurants and Staten Island pizza is better. (devil) Have a great trip!
But is there anywhere you'd recommend for dinner in the general Midtown-ish vicinity? Nothing fancy since we have fancy lunch planned!
Unfortunately, the room you would want to see (and have seen, because remember when we almost crossed paths?) is closed because of emergency renovations. But there's still a ton of good stuff in that building even with that main room being closed.
Can't help with fancy restaurants and Brooklyn pizza, we don't do fancy restaurants and Staten Island pizza is better. (devil) Have a great trip!
But is there anywhere you'd recommend for dinner in the general Midtown-ish vicinity? Nothing fancy since we have fancy lunch planned!
If you're near Times Square, walk west to Ninth Avenue and there will be a bunch of good places. I worked on 50th St a few years ago and tried a lot of those places for lunch.
Room Service had good Thai lunch specials for around $10-15pp. The Amish Market has good sandwiches, a hot buffet, and interesting candies and snacks. There was an Afghani place near my office that I always meant to try but never got around to it. My coworkers said Mother Burger was good. There was a NOLA- style place nearby (forget the name) where I got takeout from once and I remember it being good.
If you want to grab something quick there's a good supermarket (Food Emporium) on 50th and 8th Ave. with sandwiches and pizza and sushi/rolls, and a hot and cold food case. They had a sit down cafe area or you can take it wherever. The Worldwide Plaza Building's public courtyard has tables and chairs.
And Shake Shack near the Port Authority Bus Terminal is a short walk from the Times Square area.
Did anyone mention Del Frisco's yet? It's by Radio City Music Hall. They have a prix fixe early evening dinner menu that they don't advertise. We had a nice dinner and drinks for around $100.
And there's a late night halal food cart in that area that's supposed to be ridiculously good.
When will you be there? We'll be there Oct. 10/11/12. Maybe I can stalk you.
We are going with kids buy we made a reservation at 5 Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen one night. Nothing fancy but it looks good and I'm glad we could make a reservation.
In Brooklyn I've had Table 87 (coal oven pizza) and it was yummy.
When will you be there? We'll be there Oct. 10/11/12. Maybe I can stalk you.
We are going with kids buy we made a reservation at 5 Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen one night. Nothing fancy but it looks good and I'm glad we could make a reservation.
In Brooklyn I've had Table 87 (coal oven pizza) and it was yummy.
When will you be there? We'll be there Oct. 10/11/12. Maybe I can stalk you.
We are going with kids buy we made a reservation at 5 Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen one night. Nothing fancy but it looks good and I'm glad we could make a reservation.
In Brooklyn I've had Table 87 (coal oven pizza) and it was yummy.
When will you be there? We'll be there Oct. 10/11/12. Maybe I can stalk you.
We are going with kids buy we made a reservation at 5 Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen one night. Nothing fancy but it looks good and I'm glad we could make a reservation.
In Brooklyn I've had Table 87 (coal oven pizza) and it was yummy.
OMG, so good. Really, so good for a fast food burger. Plus I love that it's an open kitchen so you watch them cook the food too. It's the only fast food burger that doesn't make me totally sick after and isn't ridiculously salty.
If you do go, you just get shakes -- a black and white and a blueberry shake, which is fantastic. So delicious.
UPDATE! We got a lunch reservation for Le Bernadin. H is INSANELY excited. I think our plan is to do some Midtown-y stuff after that - Times Square, NYPL, maybe the Empire State Building. And then we are going to a Broadway show that night. So where would you recommend for dinner before a show? We don't mind going a bit away from Broadway for an early dinner and then walking back. Open to cuisine type, but I know H wants to get a NY slice at so,e point.
Many thanks to the recommendations so far! Planning is overwhelming, but H is really looking forward to the trip now!
A lot of my favorite places in that area don't take reservations, but I like Danji, Ippudo, Pure Thai Cookhouse, Wondee Siam, and Ariana.
All but the last will have a wait, but they text you when you're table is ready. If you're in the area early it may be worth checking out.
I will say Pure is probably one of my favorite restaurants in NYC. I always get the duck noodle soup and whatever dessert is being served. H likes the beef noodle soup or whatever the special of the day is. If you get soup, get egg noodles. Delicious. I think about that place at least 4 times a week now that I've moved.
If you haven't visited yet, my rec for pizza is Rubirosa. I would have said Marea for the affordable michelin starred restaurant (though someone mentioned Aquavit and that was really good too), but Le Bernardin is fantastic. Enjoy!
My favorite find in Brooklyn is Yemen Cafe (someone else mentioned that too). Food is delicious - I recommend the Lamb or Chicken Salta. Their soup, which comes with every meal, is delicious and so is their bread. It's not really close to where you are staying though.
Post by tacosforlife on Oct 7, 2015 10:07:17 GMT -5
MORE QUESTIONS.
Still not sure how our itinerary is going to shake out, but we may need to eat one day near the Guggenheim, and we may one day need to eat after walking from Brooklyn to Manhattan (Brooklyn vs. Williamsburg bridges is TBD). Suggestions for those areas?
OK, I am thinking we need a lunch place in Chinatown, the East Village, or Chelsea. (No set plans for that day, so we could mosey toward either neighborhood).
And a dinner recommendation for the Upper West Side, Columbus Circle, or Hell's Kitchen areas.
Preferably nothing too expensive. Between Le Bernadin, taking my friends to dinner (since they're letting us stay with them), and the $335 we just spent on Broadway tickets, I'm getting a little nervous about the cost!
There are SO MANY good restaurants in those areas. I hate to be a PITA, but any ideas on types of food?
My favorite cheapish eats in the East Village (which is my most frequent eating destination:
Italian: Frank, Supper, Lil Frankie's
Fried chicken: Bobwhite Counter (favorite, but remote), The Redhead (pricier), Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken (upscale fast food)
Barbecue: Mighty Quinn's
Chinese: Han Dynasty
But there are 9000 other fantastic places.
In Chinatown, I like Cafe Hong Kong, 456 Shanghai, and Wo Hop, but I always go with Americanized Chinese fwiw.
Parm (red sauce Italian sandwiches and such) is fun and has an Upper West Side location. I also really like Pio Pio also on UWS. Don't know a ton up there though.
But your wandering day might be a good day to mosey into the Village to get pizza at John's on Bleecker St. I think it has the best old school feel of any of the NY pizzerias.
But you've mentioned so many good eating neighborhoods here that there truly are hundreds of great places we could recommend. Hard to make a short list.
Post by tacosforlife on Oct 7, 2015 10:43:44 GMT -5
Thanks, v. No real clue on food. I may just put a list of suggestions in my phone and see what H feels like. I know it's hard to make a short list - it's hard to make a short list of stuff to see! Right now, we are set to see 2 Broadway shows, at least 2 museums, hang out with friends, and wander some neighborhoods. Just SO MUCH else I'd love to do!
Near Williamsburg Bridge: Katz or Russ and Daughters.
Also, Eater can be your best friend -- lots of lists of bests. Download the Immaculate Infatuation app too. They have lots of trustworthy reviews. Might help you find places on the fly.
Sounds like you have great plans -- have a great time!
Post by tacosforlife on Oct 7, 2015 11:21:02 GMT -5
SWEET JESUS, why do our plans continue to get more complicated? Now I could use a recommendation for a bar somewhere within a reasonable distance from Broadway/Times Square to meet up with a friend after a show.
Still not sure how our itinerary is going to shake out, but we may need to eat one day near the Guggenheim, and we may one day need to eat after walking from Brooklyn to Manhattan (Brooklyn vs. Williamsburg bridges is TBD). Suggestions for those areas?
OK, I am thinking we need a lunch place in Chinatown, the East Village, or Chelsea. (No set plans for that day, so we could mosey toward either neighborhood).
And a dinner recommendation for the Upper West Side, Columbus Circle, or Hell's Kitchen areas.
Preferably nothing too expensive. Between Le Bernadin, taking my friends to dinner (since they're letting us stay with them), and the $335 we just spent on Broadway tickets, I'm getting a little nervous about the cost!
Chelsea: Forager's City Table (they have this amazing dumpling sausage soup, mm), Cookshop, Rocking Horse (upscale Mexican, DH and I have eaten at least 500 of their steak burritos and the polenta is so yum), Tia Pol (tapas, plus also the benefit of heading toward the High Line), Soccarat (paella for 2!), Tipsy Parson (modified Southern)
Avoid Red Cat, it's always on lists and I never think it's good
And now I'm sad and miss my old hood.
ETA: My favorite Chinatown spot is Louis Pasteur. It's a hole in the wall, but not too Americanized Chinese and they leave the plum sauce on the table, so feel free to go nuts.
SWEET JESUS, why do our plans continue to get more complicated? Now I could use a recommendation for a bar somewhere within a reasonable distance from Broadway/Times Square to meet up with a friend after a show.
I've been to The Beer Authority and enjoyed it. The Pony Bar is a bit farther away but is a good craft beer bar too.
I'm in NYC this week. The resrurusnts have all been good!
ABC kitchen Cara Mia Burgers and lobster. You get a whole lobster with fries and salad for 20 bucks!!'
Did you have a reservation for ABC Kitchen or did you walk in? I've tried to get a reservation the last 2 times I've visited NYC to no avail. I'm coming again in December, and still would like to go, but I feel like getting a reservation is impossible.
I stalked open table starting about 45 days before my trip and checked every morning. I also messed around with the number of people. We only had 3 people but I found searching for 4 people gave me more options.