NYC - networking dinner suggestions

Hi,

Feb 17-21 I'll be in NYC. On the 17th, I'm trying to arrange (at a distance) a networking dinner with a bunch of people in the NYC area with whom I would like to catch up (mostly on MeshForum the conference on Networks I'm organizing here in Chicago May 1-3).

One thought I have is a Thai restaurant I've heard about in Hell's Kitchen (have a menu from them somewhere - will update this when I locate it and remember their name - supposed to be good and one of the more authentic in Manhattan) but other suggestions are welcome.

Criteria:

- should be conducive to group discussion - i.e. not too loud, not too crowded, not to boxed in

- should be affordable - ideally letting people eat (and perhaps drink though that may be pushing it) for <$20/person

- should be near subways and probably in/near midtown, though other parts of Manhattan could work, many people will be meeting after work so I don't want it to be too obscure or hard to reach, and it is mid-February weather is a factor to consider.

Any other suggestions?

Also, on a non-large group basis - any recent finds in NYC which Julia and I should try to get to while we're in town over the weekend? Especially places around Central Park as our main purpose for the weekend is to experience Christo's Gates in Central Park - great brunch, lunch and cafes around Central Park would be very helpful - perhaps even dinner spots.

thanks! A report or two will certainly follow,

Shannon

Shannon, the place you mention in Hell's Kitchen (now Clinton to the politically correct types) is Pam Real Thai Food. My experience is that you will find it far inferior to Chicago's Thai option.

It does have a large room, however.

Will (and all)

Do you have any other suggestions for interesting, reasonably priced food in a space that could accommodate a potentially large crowd? Here in Chicago I would probably favor Reza's for holding an event of indeterminate numbers for business networking - large space, low prices, willing and able to rapidly accommodate parts of nearly any size.

I called Pam Real Thai and they said they don't usually take reservations, I was supposed to hear back from their manager but haven't yet (does anyone reading here go there regularly and would be willing to help me organize this?)

or offer any alternatives?

thanks!

Shannon

If you need room for a big gathering, your best bet may be to go corporate in terms of your restaurant choice. Carmine's in mid town may be able to help you or Tony's of Napoli. Both are family style Italian American places that deliver a boatload of food for your dollar. They are within a couple of blocks of each other in midtown west (slightly east of hell's Kitchen).

I actually think that Carmines is pretty good. But, I'm a schmuck. What do I know?

There's a very good Argentinian Steakhouse on Eighth Ave at 43rd called Chimichurri Grill. Call to see if they are serving Argentenian beef still. You may need to reserve the whole restaurant. If they are not serving Beef from Argentina, skip it. Entrees will run $20-30 there.

Whatever you do, stay away from Heartland Brewery at 43rd and the Avenue of the Americas. The food there is simply revolting.

A good idea may be to go across town to Oyster bar in Grand Central and have everyone belly up to the bar.

At one time, there was a very good Sri Lankan place on 43rd. I'm not sure if it is still there or not. It always seemed empty when I visited. Sorry, the name is escaping me.

There are tons of good ethnic places on Eighth and Ninth between 42nd and 59th. Unfortunately, most are very small.

Will,

Thanks. I personally am not a big fan of red sauce italian - so that's not my first choice, but I'll keep them in mind. Grand Central, while a fine location, wouldn't have the layout I'm looking for - a bar means a long line of people - I want people to be able to mingle and talk with their neighbors - a family style meal at an ethnic place could work.

Here in Chicago there's also a lot of bars and restaurants which have back rooms or party spaces - any suggestions for ones in NYC that might have such a space?

I'll call Pam Real Thai again this afternoon, hopefully the manager is on duty and I'll know if it will work or not.

Shannon

I'd recommend the Typhoon Brewery. It's a pan-Asian version of Reza's: large, roomy, can always get in and find a table, but the food is not stellar, but not awful either. I used to work around the corner, and I could always count on meeting people there. I haven't been back since I stopped working there in 2001, so you might want to call first.

Typhoon Brewery
22 E 54th St (SE corner of 54th/Madison)
New York, NY 10022
(212) 754-9006

Someone should shoot me for actually recommending this place; if I could I would have posted this anonymously so my good name would not be tarnished by someone going there and tasting their food. But...

<suggestion erased by the author for un-chow-worthiness; if you ate there you wound understand>

It's basically like a LEYE restaurant: huge and bland. Consequently you can always get a table. But don't say I didn't warn you about the food...

Rich,

Thanks - I'm hoping to find a balance - space yet good food. I'm a firm believer that a good meal helps significently in enjoying a good discussion - not looking for 3 stars here as then the food becomes the discussion and entertainment, not the company, but also don't want bland and loud.

One thought I've had is perhaps one of the Indian restaurants near Grand Central? I've eaten at a few of them in the past, pretty good food, large fairly quiet spaces and it looked at least like some of the could handle a crowd - and Indian food works well for ordering family style, yet accomodating the full range of people's food requirements (vegetarian, etc)

Any suggestions along those lines?

In Soho I'm a huge fan of Cendrillion, however I'm not sure if they could accommodate the size of crowd we might be, and the food there is more each orders an entree and appetizer - which can get tricky when splitting the bill between perhaps 20 people. Ideally for me would be somewhere where with advance notice I can negotiate a simple pricing for the meal and just tell everyone something like $25 + your drinks etc.

thanks!

Shannon

Any suggestions along those lines?

In Soho I'm a huge fan of Cendrillion, however I'm not sure if they could accommodate the size of crowd we might be, and the food there is more each orders an entree and appetizer - which can get tricky when splitting the bill between perhaps 20 people. Ideally for me would be somewhere where with advance notice I can negotiate a simple pricing for the meal and just tell everyone something like $25 + your drinks etc.

thanks!

Shannon

Sorry I don't know of any Indian restaurants near Grand Central.

Another tactic you can take is one of the restaurants on or near restaurant row in the theater district, as most of them are virtually empty after 8:00pm when the shows start. Most of those restaurants are rather cavernous and reasonable, while not great food. I imagine they'd bend over backwards for a large group there during their dead hours of 8-10.

How about Newark? Lots of options for large groups, low prices, and great food...

No chance on Newark. I'm flying in Thursday morning, staying by the UN. I want to have the dinner somewhere where I can then get back to my hotel at a reasonable hour and get to sleep - will be a very long day for me. Newark from past experience is costly in time and money to get to and from - most of the people I'm inviting are already in Manhattan.

Shannon

Another option could be one of the Greek places in Astoria, Queens. A short cab ride or subway from the East side of Manhattan, and definitely in your price/ taste/ group range. Just seems funny to go from Chicago to New York for Greek food though...

I'm not up on the latest in Astoria. I remember some grumblings on CH that the venerable Uncle George's has slipped. Try CH or Zagat in that area.

There are also several large Korean restaurants on 33rd St that could handle your group. Unfortunately I do not have any specific recs for you there either...Sorry.

For Indian, you can always go to Indian restaurant row in the East Village (E 6th St between 1st & 2nd Ave), which easily matches your price range but you would probably have to call ahead and reserve a large table, which I imagine they would accomodate. Ask to be in back away from the (loud) sitar players. Cheap, good for a group, and good food. But I'm not up on recent recs for that area either. Try CH or Zagat.

Good luck, and eat well...

Shannon:

Being the generally swell guy that I am, I took the liberty to run a Zagat search of restaurants in the West 40s with meeting facilities. I excluded all American and Italian Places per your previous posts. All of the places have a Zagat Food Rating over 20 Here are the places that I came up with:

Chez Josephine: French 22
Churrascaria Plataforma: Brazilian 22
db Bistro Moderne: French 25
Jewel of India: Indian 20
Jezebel: Southern 20
Shaan: Indian 22
Sushiden: Sushi 25
Triomphe: French 23
Wu Liang Ye: Chinese 21

Shannon Clark wrote:One thought I've had is perhaps one of the Indian restaurants near Grand Central? I've eaten at a few of them in the past, pretty good food, large fairly quiet spaces and it looked at least like some of the could handle a crowd - and Indian food works well for ordering family style, yet accomodating the full range of people's food requirements (vegetarian, etc)

Any suggestions along those lines?

Not quite near Grand Central, but Angon on the Sixth in the East Village -- Indian restaurant row as Rich mentions -- should be a good option. I have yet to go to Angon, but chef Mina Azad used to have a place in Queens called Mina Foods, where I had four very flavorful and intricately spiced meals. Menu can be found at:
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdeta ... antid=5479

If that link doesn't work, just go to menupages.com and search for Angon. Much discussed on CH Outerboroughs from mid-2003 through early 2004 and on the Manhattan board since the second half of last year.

To fill in some of Rich's other leads, I would recommend Han Bat for non-barbeque Korean dishes. Laid back and generally not too crowded. For grilled items I would suggest Won Jo or Kang Suh, though with reservations. Won Jo is reportedly the only place in Manhattan that still uses coals, but I think the food is slightly better at Kang Suh. The service at both of the grill places, however, is overbearing, brusque and rushed. All three capably handled groups of 15 or so when I've visited.

As for Astoria Greek, I would recommend Philoxenia. Feels like you're eating in someone's open living/dining room. Not for a 20+ networking group, but a good option that hasn't been discussed much on the major boards. The Village Voice reviewed the place several weeks ago, but I can't seem to fish out the full write-up.

Happy eating,
Mumon


Angon on the Sixth
320 E 6th St (btw 1st Ave and 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-260-8229

Han Bat
53 W 35th St
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-629-5588

Won Jo
23 W 32nd St (btw Bway and 5th Ave)
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-695-5815

Kang Suh
1250 Broadway (@ 31 St.)
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-564-6845

Philoxenia
26-18 23 Ave
Astoria (Queens), NY 11105
Phone: (718) 626-9162

Thanks! Some great suggestions and I'll probably try to check many of them out my other evenings in NYC!

What do you think about Pongal (http://pongal.org)? It was suggested as one option to consider by one of my co-organizers (who keeps kosher so really likes that Pongal is kosher, would just have to order all vegetarian elsewhere). Reports on Chowhound and elsewhere seem generally favorable.

Shannon

Wow. You're really narrowing your choices down now with the Kosher thing. There is a place in midtown called My Most favorite Dessert Company. It is Kosher. I can't say that I care for it. I'm not much for Kosher Continental Cuisine.

Will - to be clear, he eat vegetarian - so the kosher thing is not a restriction at all - basically the same as just making sure that anyplace we pick can accomodate vegetarians - usually not a big deal these days and a factor I would take into account for any large group dinner I was planning.

Shannon