New York Quickie

Recently spent two and a half days in N.Y., and hit the following places:
Tia Pol-fried chickpeas, chorizo, stuffed piquillos, fried fried fish nuggets, sherries and cava. Great place, great service.
Slaughtered Lamb-friendly, mixed blue&white collar bar
Spotted Pig-fries, rapini, and other things I can't remember-again careful preparations, great service
Chumbley's-old hidden bar with good beer
Parea-lobster dolmades, roast chicken, crispy sweet pork, zuke fritters and the best version of upscale donuts I have had. Nice spot for Greek with a twist.
Payard-still good for coffee&pastries
Cafe de Alsace-nice beers, smoked duck plate, sandwiches, and braised meats
Grand Central Station Oyster bar-always worth going to just for the atmosphere-oysters were a little too warm and creamy for my taste
D.B.A.-great scotch bar
Una Pizza Napoli-great traditional Italian pizza-"no-nonense" service
Angel's Share-a gem of a "hidden" cocktail bar
Burp Castle-decent 'hood bar
Blue Ribbon-pierogies(fried & steamed), marrow bones with oxtail marmalade, grilled sardines, grilled shrimp remoulade, cold&slick oysters.
A true culinary palace.
Congee Village-great congee, dumplings, and noodles
Inoteca-great straighforward Italian flavors-chickpea fritters, paninis.
Katz's Deli-best pastrami in our galaxy, and good fresh pickles
I skipped mentioning 3 or 4 bars, but you get the picture.
Itching to go back already, never seem to come close to biting enough out of the Big Apple.

Interesting story about Chumley's...it used to be a speakeasy during Prohibition, and the bar still shows signs of that (it has no sign out front, you have to go through a curtain to get into the bar, it looks like it's part of an apartment building, etc.).

I've been there on rather crazy nights where the people who live above the courtyard (which is accesssed through the side door) yell down at patrons to tell them to be quiet. The whole thing is a bit of a surreal experience.