New York City

I'l looking for a decent non-touristy Italian place for Monday night in NYC. Staying at the Sheraton on AoA but open to a not too long cab. I don't land until 7ish so dinner would be around 8:30 - 9:00 PM.

Any suggestions.

Frankies Spuntino

There is a Manhattan location but get brave and take the subway to Brooklyn.

You cannot go wrong ordering anything on the menu. Braciola. Check. Brocolli Rabe. Check. Homemade pasta. Oh Yeah!

This place is a great spot in a great part of brooklyn, Plus the subway/f train is nearby

http://www.frankiesspuntino.com

Frankies Spuntino
457 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY
718.403.0033

p.s. I am pretty sure they are open late during the week like everyplace else in NYC/Brooklyn

Forgive my ignorance of what AoA stands for, so I don't know how this is for location, but I've always been quite fond of Cafe Fiorello. A huge selection of spectacular antipasti and a Vitello alla Milanese that I dream about. It's kind of situated smack dab in the center of the cheap/expensive casual/upscale spectrum. Very warm and comfortable.

Avenue of the Americas, aka Sixth Avenue.

Mike G wrote:Avenue of the Americas, aka Sixth Avenue.

Ah, bonus, then it looks like Cafe Fiorello is a short walk up past Columbus Circle.

We were in New York last week, also at the Sheridan (though perhaps the one across the street on 53rd Street). There are a number of relatively inexpensive restaurants on 9th Avenue near there. We ate at one Italian restaurant, La Locanda, at 9th Ave. near 50th street, on the west side of the street. The food was quite decent and fairly reasonable. We had the rabbit, which was overall moist and very nice -- roast rabbit can be terribly dry if not done properly. We were quite pleased. The gnocchi were good, too, with sides of spinach and broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic (very tasty). We had grilled octopus as an appetizer (as I remember) and a nice bottle of Orvieto which I would recommend. There are a number of other ethnic restaurants nearby; Rice n'Beans across the street, a Brazilian restaurant, has a good brunch on weekends, particularly the Brazilian frittata (ask for Portuguese sausage rather than bacon) and a delicious passion fruit mousse for dessert.

For my mother's 85th birthday last August, we arranged for a family reunion dinner here: http://www.trattoriatrecolori.com/ All of it was arranged via the internet, after considerable searching and seeking Chowhound advise. We had an incredible experience there: the food was really wonderful -- I would say upscale traditional Italian, if there is such a thing; the service truly gracious (from owner Marco Gonzalez and the staff); and the upstairs party room, if anyone here is ever looking for one in Midtown Manhattan, was elegant but comfortable and very private. And all that for $35 a person, I might add, which utterly astounded me given that we were in NYC (and the price was the reason that I wasn't convinced, before we got there, that it would all work out so well). Trattoria Trecolori should be close to where you're staying (Times Square is a few blocks away) and, as I said, it's a NYC Chowhound favorite. Of course, we didn't eat in the main restaurant downstairs, but it looked lovely and the food should be even better. Say hello to Marco if you go!

I like Lidia Bastianich's Becco restaurant in the theater district. Consistently good and pretty reasonable

If you're near Columbus Circle, there's the jacket-required San Domenico at 240 South Central Park. I'm not sure if they're still doing brunch on the weekends - it's not on their website, but it was less formal and you got a big carafe of Prosecco, a basket of basket of italian pastries and bread -Zeppole, Bombolini, Cornetti, and Pizza Fritta with a very nice menu brunch.

Of the many Mario Batali places, I like Esca, his seafood-focused place at 402 West 43rd Street (9th ave). His other places are loud and busy or sedate and absurdly expensive (Del Posto).

I'm going to attempt to get into the Spotted Pig next month, if nothing else but to get a beer, they got a few interesting thing on tap.

http://www.sandomeniconewyork.com/
http://www.esca-nyc.com/
http://www.thespottedpig.com/

If you are feeling adventurous and want to check out a different neighborhood I can recommend few fantastic places in the east village. Granted, they aren't your east coast "red sauce" style Italian, so not sure exactly if they fit the bill.

The first, is Supper, which is a small and very casual place. It has a great atmosphere with an open kitchen in the middle, as well as the option to eat at long rustic communal tables. The pasta's are prepared simply and freshly, with a hearty rustic flair. Supper was a Sunday night staple when I lived in NYC. My favorite pasta was "priest stranglers" with dad's Sunday marinara and fresh soft ricotta.

For something slightly more upscale, you might want to check out Frank, which shares the same owners as supper. Dishes at Frank tend to be a bit more complex and interesting (and a little pricier).

Last, my favorite Tuscan place in New York would have to be I Coppi. Extremely authentic preparations in the Tuscan style. I had a some fresh made pasta with a wild boar ragu there that was the best Italian dish outside of Italy I have yet to encounter.

The east village shouldn't be more than a 15 minute cab ride (about ten to twelve dollars) from Midtown. It will also give you a chance to visit a vibrant, exciting part of NYC. It's not the East Village of the old days, these days it's safe and full of fantastic food, bars and boutiques.

Supper
156 E 2nd St
New York, NY 10009
(212) 477-0823
(212) 477-7600
(212) 477-2732

Frank
88 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 420-0202

I Coppi
432 East 9th street
new york, NY 10009
Ph 212 254 2263

Dmnkly wrote:Forgive my ignorance of what AoA stands for, so I don't know how this is for location, but I've always been quite fond of Cafe Fiorello. A huge selection of spectacular antipasti and a Vitello alla Milanese that I dream about. It's kind of situated smack dab in the center of the cheap/expensive casual/upscale spectrum. Very warm and comfortable.

Went here. Short walk from the hotel on a beautiful late October night.

Deja Vu all over again. This is the place my wife and I wandered into on Thanksgiving 2004. After a morning of parade watching, we wandered around looking for an open place for a light lunch before dinner at Jean Georges. I didn’t recognize the name but as we walked up Broadway, I started remembering and sure ‘nuff, I’ve been here before.

Great selection of antipasto to nosh along side my martini. Wonderful Tagliatelle Bolognese. Saw Fantasia (SP) I don’t know her but my co-worker says she’s on Broadway in something and is a ex-American Idol.

Next night was a completely forgettable steak at Gallagher’s.

Dmnkly wrote:I've always been quite fond of Cafe Fiorello. A huge selection of spectacular antipasti and a Vitello alla Milanese that I dream about.

Hell yeah, their antipasto selection is an awesome sight to behold. They told me at the end of the night, all of that food goes to either a homeless meals program or goes in the garbage. I saw them removing all of it one time.

They said that since most of it is vegetables, it's not really that big a cost to an operation that size with a budget that big. Everything is made each day fresh. Their rent there must really be high in that location.

I'm going to NYC in a couple of weeks and will have a free afternoon on Monday, January 21. I was hoping to revive this thread for ideas about where to get a great lunch.

I curious about the Spotted Pig, as well as Grammery Tavern. Most of the real high-profile places don't serve lunch, but that's to be expected, I guess. I know some of Jean Gorges' places serve lunch, but they're a little beyond my price range (also, I'm not planning on packing a suit, and would prefer not to if the only reason to wear it is over lunch). I know, too, that a number of places might well be closed since it's a Monday.

Is there a place like Blackbird, Topolobampo, Naha, Spiaggia, etc that I should look at? Somewhere a little high-end, reliably tasty and worth a special trip? I'm staying in Manhattan, and while I know the importance of seeking out neighborhood restaurants, I'd prefer not to travel too far since I don't have that much free time.

Thanks everyone!

Two places that have been on my list for NY that may please you (and both serve lunch) are BLT Market and Aquavit (both have menus online).

I've eaten at neither, but both of these places are high on my list.

BLT Market
http://www.bltmarket.com/

Aquavit
http://www.aquavit.org/flash.html

Best,
Michael

I can't speak to the lunch menu, but we did Aquavit for dinner a number of years ago. I thought it was very good and my ladylove thought it was fantastic. It's been long enough that I don't recall the specifics, except that the foie gras ganache was amazing and could not be more highly recommended. Think molten chocolate cake, but with foie gras instead of chocolate. One of the best foie dishes I've ever had.

I've always enjoyed the harriosn down in Tribeca. Off the beaten trail. But, there is some really innovative cooking goiung on there.

http://www.theharrison.com/harrison.html

bryangodwin wrote:Last, my favorite Tuscan place in New York would have to be I Coppi. Extremely authentic preparations in the Tuscan style. I had a some fresh made pasta with a wild boar ragu there that was the best Italian dish outside of Italy I have yet to encounter.

I might be going to I Coppi for either my birthday or a Valentine's Day dinner with my GF (we are trying to fit in two dinners out that weekend to celebrate both days). If we go, I'll definitely post back on the place. I just looked at their Web site. Looks really nice!

I'd suggest Five Points (which, for those of you who know your New York history, is located absolutely nowhere near the actual "five points" neighborhood.)

It has a strong menu, isn't exorbitant, and is located near enough to Soho and the East Village if you have any extra time for people-watching and sightseeing:

Five Points Restaurant
31 Great Jones Street between Bowery and Lafayette (near the 6, F, V, B, and D)
http://www.fivepointsrestaurant.com/

They also used to have -- and may still have -- a fantastic happy hour starting at 5pm with cocktails and oysters for very low prices.

Have fun!

While I appreciate everyone's advice here, I wound up eating at two places that went un-mentioned: craftbar and Grammery Tavern.

I had dinner at craftbar, and it was wonderful. My understanding is that Tom Colicchio, of Top Chef, owns a number of craft restaurants -- this one is his slightly casual, more moderately-priced bistro. My family enjoyed a selection of starters -- the pecorino-stuff rissoto balls, sausage-stuffed sage leaves and their sweetbreads. All were excellent, with the sweetbreads standing out. Lightly battered and fried, they were delicate and delicious.

We all ordered different entrees -- the lamb shank, short rib, hanger steak, veal ricotta meatballs and the baby chicken. The beef dishes were good, if not unspectacular. The meatballs and lamb shank were very tasty. As was the chicken, though it wasn't as exciting as some of the other dishes. Some of the sides that came with the entrees seemed a lot like after-thoughts. The lamb had some boiled potatoes that were completely flavourless and a little dry. Maybe it was an off-batch, but they didn't really add anything to the dish.

Desert was a real highlight. Everything was great, especially the butterscotch pudding. I tried a selection of cheeses myself -- a strong blue and a lovely pungent, spreadable goat cheese from Spain (La Serena, as listed on their website's menu).

Service was good, though I felt a little slow. My sister pointed out that the server was just reading the table, and didn't want to rush the meal. Fair enough, I guess. I was also really impressed with the price-point of the meal -- none of the entrees topped $25. That puts it in the price-range of other favorites like Hopleaf or even Lula's -- and craftbar was miles ahead of these two in terms of sophistication and polish. The portions were, maybe, a touch small, but maybe we all eat too much anyway.

The wine list, too, was really interesting. A lot of wines I don't see too often (which I mean in a good way).

I strongly recommend, and would definately consider going back next time I'm in NYC.

Grammercy Tavern was a real treat, too. I understand that Colicchio is no longer working there, and that the chef is now Michael Anthony. His food was superb. My plan was to eat lunch in their Tavern, the less upscale part of the restaurant. Little did I know that Monday (ie. yesterday) was the start of New York's restaurant week and lots of other people had the same plan.

The hostess was rather unhelpful -- telling me that the waitlist had topped 2 hours when I showed up at 1pm, and that they weren't taking any more names. She did not tell me that the bar was keeping a different waitilist, and that I could try there instead. Fortunately, my cousin, with whom I was eating, thought to ask the bartender, and we were seated at the bar in about 30 minutes.

The unexpected wait time was well worth it, however. Whereas entrees in the Tavern typically run $18, it being Restaurant Week allowed me to eat 3 courses for $24.07 (they had an option for a $24 bottle of wine, too, but I opted to purchase only a glass). I started with their house-cured pastrami and my cousin had the carrot soup. The soup had a good, clean flavour, but I felt it was a little thin. I would have preferred more body. The pastrami was excellent, shaved paper thin and served with some pickled watermellon rind. If there's such a thing as Pastrami Crack, this would have been it.

I opted for the stuffed meatball for an entree, while my cousin went with the pulled pork. The meatball was excellent -- much more than the lowly name, 'meatball' would suggest. Very tender, moist and stuffed with fontina. The pulled pork was good -- nice, smokey flavour, good spice -- but it was also a little dry. I don't think it was dressed with any sauce, not even a NC-style vinegary sauce.

For deserts, I had the chocolate bread pudding and my cousin picked the quince cheesecake. The bread pudding was good, served warm, but it didn't really say, "bread pudding" to me. It might as well have been a molten chocolate cake. Certainly tasty, but not really a bread pudding, in my book. The cheesecake was good, too -- nicely tart, and a good way to finish the meal.

Our server/bartender was extraordinarly helpful even though he was running the bar and providing service for the 20 or so diners who were eating there. The room, too, is gorgeous -- lots of wood, and yet the dining room was not distractingly noisy. Considering the price we paid -- again, $24.07 for a 3-course lunch -- and the stellar quality of the food, this was easily one of my favorite meals. I look forward to going back some time for dinner in the main restaurant.

Both restaurants were in the Flatiron district, a short, $8-ish cab ride from Midtown.