New York City

I'll be staying in Harlem but I'll be traveling to see some grad schools; I want to make sure I'm also taking in a great side of the New York Food. If you guys could help me find some great food it would be greatly appreciated or if you could point me in the right direction as far as websites I would greatly appreciate that as well.

1. I'm looking for good places in Harlem. I'll be staying near 125th and Lenox, I already know about Sylvia's Soul Food, is there any other awsome place around here?

2. I'll also be heading to New York University and Columbia University, any recommendations for those locatioins would be great.

3. The last big locations will be Time Square, I'll be near the Theatre District.

-Carlos

For Harlem, Amy Ruth's is the place to go:

http://amyruthsharlem.com/

There are plenty of other places, but if you're looking for landmarks, that's a good one.

As for the NYU area, I'm afraid I could recommend about nine-hundred-thousand places. Is there something specific you'd like? Price range? Cuisine? Landmark status?

And -- to my chagrin -- I could probably tell you a lot about the grad schools here too....

By all means, skip Sylvia's. It is the standard by which overrated is judged.

I'm a native southern boy who spent nearly ten years in NYC. When I needed a fried chicken fix, my place of choice was Miss Mamie's Spoonbread on 110th.

Crispy fresh fried chicken, excellent macaroni and candied sweets that will just make you stop dead in your tracks and swoon.

The host is Norma Jean Darden, a truly gracious South Carolinian by birth who just knows how to cook great food, too.

http://www.spoonbreadinc.com/miss_mamies.htm

Down in the Village, you'll find so many excellent options. You're only a short walk from Union Square where there's a great farmer's market on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

In the west Village, I Loved A Salt and Battery, a traditional Scottish fry shop that deep fries everything from cod to Mars Bars.

One of my favorite brunch options was a big stack of lemon ricotta pancakes at Good on Greenwich Avenue.

Over on Eighth Avenue, straddling Chelsea and the West Village is La Taza de Oro serving great, home cooked(and cheap) Puerto Rican fare.

The Italian Bakeries of West Bleeker deserve your attention. Rocco's makes the city's best black and white cookie with a touch of apricot jam under the icing. Bruno Bakery, over on Laguardia Place has fantastic Italian Pastries and coffee, too

artichoke wrote:As for the NYU area, I'm afraid I could recommend about nine-hundred-thousand places. Is there something specific you'd like? Price range? Cuisine? Landmark status?

I'm looking for something I can't get in chicago, something unique to NY, cuisine doesn't matter, but price range, no more than $20 per-person.

-Carlos

Carlitos,

If you have enough time before your visit to New York, let me suggest that you get your hands on Robert Sietsema's The Food Lover's Guide to the Best Ethnic Eating in New York City. The book was published in 2004 (and there are earlier editions) - so that everything may not be up to date, but it is a real treasure trove, particularly if you do go to grad school in New York. It is exactly what you want.

In Harlem let me suggest Africa Kine, which is Senegalese, on 8th Avenue and 116th Street (256 West 116th Street). It is a lovely space, the people are very nice, and it has great food (somewhat more upscale than most African restaurants), and it is inexpensive, although it will cost you a little more than $20/person, not much, certainly under $30.

You might also find a Guyanese restaurant. I like Flavored With One Love (1941 Madison Avenue, just south of 125th Street). Guyanese food is a lovely blend of Indian, African, Caribbean, and Chinese cuisine.

As for Times Square. The best cupcakes in the world are at Casa Cupcake, which is now on the west side of 9th Avenue, near 39th Street (545 Ninth Avenue). Manganaro's (the older one) has very good hoagies (on the east side of 9th avenue between 38th and 37th - there are two Manganaro's, this is the one to the south of the other - the other stays open later - the two restaurants result from a family split. Both Casa Cupcake and Manganaro's stay open until 7:00 p.m.

In the Village, there is so much, but Katz's deli would be the first place to suggest (on Houston at 2nd Avenue).

I could happily eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Inoin the Village. There is absolutely nothing like it in Chicago. Though my travels are more limited than others', I'd venture to say there's nothing like it anywhere outside of Italy.

A tiny, super-casual place serving world-class made-to-order panini with fresh, seasonal ingredients and a small but excellent wine list. If you go for breakfast, do NOT miss the truffled egg toast. It's a rich, decadent, oozing combination of textures and flavors. NB: Ino gets very crowded, so go at an off hour or be prepared to wait a bit. Either way, accept that the cramped seating will require you to cozy up to your neighbors. It's worth it.

Thanks for narrowing the parameters! That helps a lot. Here are some ideas for places unlike what you might find in Chicago:

Caracas Arepas
93 1/2 E. 7th Street (between 1st and A)
-- I'm not sure there's a large Venezuelan population in Chicago, so this might be a NYC treat. I could probably eat the Guasacaca arepa every day for every meal and never tire of it. The yo-yos are pretty special too.

Veselka
2nd Avenue and 9th Street
-- This is an old-school Ukrainian restaurant from the days when the East Village (formerly known as the Lower East Side or East Side) was actually Ukrainian. I recommend getting a Meat Combination Plate. There's also a Veselka outpost in one of my favorite parks at 1st Avenue and 1st Street. You can watch the hipsters step off the F train and eat a pierogi at the same time.

The Cafe at 10th Street Baths
E. 10th Street, between 1st and A
-- The food is good here (I like the chicken cutlet and beet salad best), but this is mostly great because of the bathhouse/schvitz atmosphere. You can detox for a bit, grab a cutlet, detox more, and then go out on the town.

Dumpling House
118 Eldridge, between Canal and Broome
-- I used to not eat pork and now I just avoid it. But not here! Their pork dumplings (which are still, I think, $1) are pretty breathtaking.

Hummus Place
St. Mark's between 1st and A or MacDougal between W. 3rd and Bleecker
-- Not sure there are too many places in Chicago that specialize in different kinds of hummus. This place does. It's owned by Israelis.

I could probably suggest many other destinations, but these are good places for a potential grad student -- on the inexpensive side, but still satisfying.

By the way, Kennyz, I absolutely agree with your assessment of 'ino. It's one of my favorite places! If you find it too cramped, though, they have another outpost on the LES called 'inoteca at Rivington and Ludlow. A different crowd, but the same food in a larger space.

Hope that helps! Have fun on your trip, Carlos!

Artichoke

I'm currently in NYC on business. I've not had much experience eating north of Midtown, but in the theatre district, I recommend Becco. They feature a $21.95 special, consisting of an appetizer plus any or all of 3 pastas, all you care to eat. The night we were there, I believe they offered fettucine with three cheeses, pappardelle bolognese and tortellini with tomato sauce. All were excellent. Also, there's a full-page list of Italian wines, all priced at $25 per bottle. It's a great way to experience a popular theatre-district restaurant without busting your budget.

Becco
355 W. 46th St. (bet. 8th & 9th)
212-397-7597

If it's inexpensive and ethnic you're looking for, another mainstay of mine is Mandoo Bar, in Korea Town east of Madison Square Garden. They turn out delectable little Korean dumplings by the thousands, both fried and steamed, filled with pork, seafood, vegetables or kim chee. There's also a limited selection of soups, noodle and rice dishes. The place is small, crowded and fairly cheap.

Mandoo Bar
2 W. 32nd St (just west of Fifth Ave)
212-279-3075

artichoke wrote:Veselka
2nd Avenue and 9th Street
-- This is an old-school Ukrainian restaurant from the days when the East Village (formerly known as the Lower East Side or East Side) was actually Ukrainian. I recommend getting a Meat Combination Plate. There's also a Veselka outpost in one of my favorite parks at 1st Avenue and 1st Street. You can watch the hipsters step off the F train and eat a pierogi at the same time.

Veselka is a really interesting place. A lot of locals tend to go there, including several members of my family who live (or have lived) in Manhattan and Brooklyn. A truly memorable experience is to have dinner at Veselka, then walk up to Veniero's on East 11th Street for some outstanding pastries.

Thanks to all of you!

I'll let you know how it goes.



-Carlos

I lived in Manhattan, UES, for several years and actually just moved here in June.

One of my all time favorite places is off of Broadway and 85th Street, UWS, called the French Roast. Also, one in the West Village off of 6th Avenue (Ave of Americas) and 9th Street.

Very good and reliable french food served 24 hours a day and the prices are reasonable as well AND do not need a reservation.

http://www.frenchroastny.com/

The The Diamond Dairy of New York is a great sort of hidden restaurant in the heart of the diamond district. It's upstairs in a diamond showroom, so you have great views of the merchandise. The cheese blintzes are simply the best.

I've honestly never been impressed by Veselka. Caracas was fine but definitely Manhattanized. But I prefer pupusas to arepas anyway.

I definitely second Dumpling House and Hummus Place. Katz's is a no-brainer. I'd also recommend a visit to any of the Momofukus (although I've not tried the newest one, Ko). Other than that, the usual stuff: pizza, bagels, delis, Chinatown.

I'm surprised no one has said this, and it just hit me as I watched a rerun of top chef last night, but how about Wylie Dufresne's WD-50?

The prices are not too out of control and the restaurant is amazing.

WD-50
http://www.wd-50.com/
50 Clinton St.
NY, NY

As fond as I am of WD-50, it will not be close to the $20/person price range.

It's worth consolidating the money of the others in your group and getting lost alone.

Just wanted to report on 2 great meals I had this past weekend in NYC. The first was at the famed Babbo.
http://babbonyc.com/home.html
The b.f. made the reservations months ago, so it was a highly anticipated meal...and did not disappoint. With the exception of a somewhat apathetic waiter, we had a wonderful time. And, with entrees in the $20s, it was reasonable by nyc fine dining standards.

We started with the house made salumi (you can also choose salumi made by Batali's family in Seattle)
and the grilled octopus with spicy vinaigrette. Both excellent.
We decided to stick with pastas and ordered the Beef Cheek Ravioli with Crushed Squab Liver and Black Truffles and Batalis's signature dish, Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage. I actually found that dish a little too minty, but I recognize that it was just my taste and not a fault of the dish. In fact, Time Out New York put it as one of the best things they ate this year.



Great meal #2 was at Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village.
http://www.momofuku.com/
This restaurant has also gotten some great write-ups (lth thread http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6588) and we were really looking forward to it.)

We started with the famed steamed buns with pork, a delicious combination of juicy, sweet pork and a perfectly cooked bun. usually I find buns a little spongey, but these were almost like blinis.


Then we had grilled beef tongue with pickles and mustard sauce. I remarked that it almost tasted more like something I'd find in a jewish deli than an asian place, but it totally worked. A combo of 2 kinds of tongue - hot and cold - with frisee and a punch of mustard.


Finally we shared the special house ramen with pork and poached egg. Total comfort food, and since the restaurant is open late, I predict this would be a great end to a long night.

Nice post, Guff.

Two oft-overlooked cheap eats in neighborhoods not far off your path:

Shang Hai Cuisine
89 Bayard Street at Mulberry
New York, NY

http://www.yelp.com/biz/shanghai-cuisine-new-york

This is written Shanghai Cuisine in some places and Shang Hai Bar and Restaurant in others. Decor is 1930s, service is usually very friendly, and the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) are excellent, exactly what we're missing in Chicago. The fish-flavor (garlic) eggplant rivals Lao Sze Chuan and Ed's.

Djerdan
221 W. 38th, in the basement
New York, NY

http://djerdan.com/

To me, the burek here is a whole different realm from Deta's: flakier, meatier, and less cigarette-flavored. Their dumplings and home-made sour cream are fantastic. Staff couldn't be nicer and the room, while dark and cavernous, has considerable character. I can't vouch for their other locations.

GAF wrote:You might also find a Guyanese restaurant. I like Flavored With One Love (1941 Madison Avenue, just south of 125th Street). Guyanese food is a lovely blend of Indian, African, Caribbean, and Chinese cuisine.

According to this blog post, Flavored with One Love is closed. I was up in Harlem yesterday and was thinking about trying it, but then found the linked blog. I didn't do too much eating up there; I had a very good everything bagel from Absolute Bagels (and a good sesame one this morning); I had a serviceable beef patty from Lowe's, but it suffered a little from sitting under a heat lamp, instead of in the heating cases like they use at the Caribbean Bakery in Rogers Park. (Other stuff there looked and smelled promising, but I was on my way to a rendezvous so didn't have time for more) I was thinking about trying Dibiterie Cheikh (Sietsema column from Village Voice) but we didn't get the timing right and were saving space for dinner later (I'll try to write that up somewhere else before I forget it!)


Absolute Bagels‎
2788 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
(212) 932-2052

Lowe's Caribbean Restaurant‎
164 W 116th St
New York, NY 10026
(212) 864-6684