I think you should hit a Malaysian place while you are there. Chinatown has a couple of good ones and its something you can't get easily in Chicago.

I really like Skyway which is at 11 Allen in Manhattan (Allen & Canal), on Allen just south of Canal on the West side of the street.

Nyonya is also good and offers some quirky decor that is quite unique. It's like being in a Malaysian bamboo forest (I think). Nyonya is at 194 Grand Street in Manhattan.

Both of these places are in Chinatown and are cheap and delicious.

For cheap lunch in midtown, there's always Ess-a-Bagel (very good whitefish salad, too) but lately I can't stay away from the new(ish) omusubi place. It's a fantastic and fairly inexpensive lunch that's filling but doesn't make you feel loaded down. The lobster salad is particularly tasty and don't miss the corn chowder(!).

That omusubi place looks so interesting! Thanks for the tip!

The Hays family will be heading to Manhattan to visit my brother in a couple of weeks. We aren't limited exclusively to Manhattan, but will be limited to public transportation. We are looking for inexpensive, kid-friendly but adventurous places to go - Chinatown is a definite - is Little Italy worth going to during lent, and where? I like all the food carts, but am concerned we might need places to sit down, rest, and warm up while we chow.

As you know, Sparky is partial to the foods of Asia (except Indo-pak) but will eat pretty much anything. I was thinking Little Italy because it comes up in kids' literature and, so far as I know, we don't have something comparable, at least not in the sense that it's all in one place.

Also, any of our LTH New Englanders who might be available to gather in Manhattan for a group lunch or dinner on a weekend (we won't have a car, but that's hardly limiting in NYC) we'd love to see you. At this point, our travel arrangements are a bit loose, but it's looking like there will definitely be a weekend in there.

My impression is that Little Italy has crossed over from "nice ethnic neighborhood" to somewhat of a tourist area. It is next to Chinatown, so it is easy to visit both at the same time. But my guess is that you won't be blown away by the experience or the food (and there are certainly better options for Italian food in the city).

If you like Greek food and feel like taking a short subway ride on the N or W to Queens, you might check out the great Greek places I wrote about here: viewtopic.php?p=268621#p268621

Two other threads about Astoria, Queens (the second of which you recently posted to):
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4695

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=27388

Katz Deli is kind of an experience (though not really adventurous). It isn't cheap, per se, but the portions are so big that it is cheaper than you'd think by looking at the menu.

Indeed, what's left of Little Italy has largely been engulfed by Chinatown at this point. Don't go with high expectations. As with Chicago, the best of NY Italian-American is dispersed and more vibrant in the outer stretches of the city. That said, Lombardi's is a safe family bet, it's in a nice family-friendly neighborhood that retains a small bit of urban grit, and is near Little Italy and Chinatown. Further to what has already been suggested, getting to Queens on the subway is easy like falling off a log. I recommend it.

Thanks, Darren - Greek isn't something I thought about, we had an only so-so experience in Chicago thus far, sounds like this is a good way to go.

At this point, we're tourists, so I don't mind touristy to a degree as long as it isn't extreme-faux-Disney tourist. If it were just us grownups, I'd be more inclined to insist on authentic, off-the-beaten path stuff, but with Sparky I don't mind a bit of show for the sake of show.

Thanks for the direction in terms of what's reasonable to get to; that's helpful, also - it's good to know that Queens is a subway ride away - we'll be staying in Midtown, not far from Grand Central. I've been poking around in other threads as well, and had thought of that one and of dansch's recent Japanese blow-out. In particular, soup dumplings are a must for this trip, since we eat the frozen ones at home so often - and yakitori, since our experience here has been subpar.

Little Italy is really shrinking, something I find a bit sad, but some landmarks remain. I always try and stop in at Ferrara Bakery when I'm in Manhattan. It is my habit to take an afternoon break here with a coffee and a bakery treat. If they're busy, they'll open the upstairs room. It is a little quieter than the main dining room but the main room is a great place to people watch. On warm days, they sell gelato on the sidewalk outside the main door.

Ferrara Bakery and Cafe
195 Grand Street
between Mulberry & Mott St.
(212) 226-6150

Mhays wrote:Thanks, Darren - Greek isn't something I thought about, we had an only so-so experience in Chicago thus far, sounds like this is a good way to go.

At this point, we're tourists, so I don't mind touristy to a degree as long as it isn't extreme-faux-Disney tourist. If it were just us grownups, I'd be more inclined to insist on authentic, off-the-beaten path stuff, but with Sparky I don't mind a bit of show for the sake of show.

Thanks for the direction in terms of what's reasonable to get to; that's helpful, also - it's good to know that Queens is a subway ride away - we'll be staying in Midtown, not far from Grand Central. I've been poking around in other threads as well, and had thought of that one and of dansch's recent Japanese blow-out. In particular, soup dumplings are a must for this trip, since we eat the frozen ones at home so often - and yakitori, since our experience here has been subpar.

I've been to Bon Chon Chicken a few times, if you're interested in korean fried chicken. I was at the one in Flushing [as a friend lives near there], but they have a few locations in the city.

This article lists a few locations around Manhattan:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/dinin ... yt&emc=rss

As for deli fare, while Katz's is the most well-known, I've grown to like Second Avenue Deli [no longer on 2nd Ave].
2nd Avenue Deli
162 East 33rd Street [Lexington Ave]

I've been to a Malaysian place in Chinatown that was excellent; don't remember the name, though. The entrance was in a passageway in the middle of a building. Sound familiar to anyone?

I'll be in NY in a couple weeks for a friend's wedding.

AaronSinger wrote: I've been to a Malaysian place in Chinatown that was excellent; don't remember the name, though. The entrance was in a passageway in the middle of a building. Sound familiar to anyone?

Sounds like New Malaysia to me. Never been there but walked past it plenty of times.

I really like Skyway on Allen and Canal for Malaysian.

Skyway Malaysian Restaurant
11 Allen Street
New York, NY
(212) 625-1163

Hi,

When I was in New York recently, I walked several days in a row along Lexington Avenue from the subway at 51st Street. I didn't notice until the very last day, I was passing the Waldorf Astoria. I had admired the architecture, just never looked at the awning.

I was often at least an hour early to the program I was attending. This allowed me time to get breakfast. At the hotels along the way, I saw a simple two eggs, potatoes, bacon and cup of coffee for $12 and up. I wasn't too thrilled paying for a breakfast worth no more than $5 to me.

I passed Oxford Cafe, which seemed to be a sandwich shop. I stepped in to see a sign for breakfast in the rear. There was a large griddle with a guy making a breakfast sandwich to order. I found it was less than $3 for single egg breakfast sandwich, which at least was in the right price range. I ordered a two egg breakfast sandwich with bacon plus a Dr. Pepper (my version of coffee) for a total cost less than $6. A plate of two-eggs, homefries and toast was around $3.50. If you wanted coffee and bacon, it was still not going to approach the $12. plate offered less than a block away.

It wasn't really a breakfast worth getting too excited about, though it offered value in a high rent neighborhood. If I had eaten anywhere else on this stretch, I would have been mad at myself for spending so much for so little.

Oxford Café
591 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022
(212) 826-0302
Opens at 6 am everyday

There's a breakfast cart in front of the Seagram's Building right there that's the best cheap option in my experience. Not a great stretch for cheap eggs, obviously.

Habibi wrote:

AaronSinger wrote: I've been to a Malaysian place in Chinatown that was excellent; don't remember the name, though. The entrance was in a passageway in the middle of a building. Sound familiar to anyone?

Sounds like New Malaysia to me. Never been there but walked past it plenty of times.

I really like Skyway on Allen and Canal for Malaysian.

Skyway Malaysian Restaurant
11 Allen Street
New York, NY
(212) 625-1163

Thanks, that's definitely it. Might check out Skyway next weekend, although have pretty limited time.

Mhays wrote:The Hays family will be heading to Manhattan to visit my brother in a couple of weeks. We aren't limited exclusively to Manhattan, but will be limited to public transportation. We are looking for inexpensive, kid-friendly but adventurous places to go...

For kid-friendly, I'd suggest The Burger Joint, which is a divey little burger place with excellent burgers. The fun part is that it's located inside the fancy-schmancy Le Parker Meridian hotel. It's just a couple blocks from Central Park, so if the weather is nice, you can always get your food to go and have a picnic in the park.

Ah yes, the Most Contrived Resaturant on Earth, the Burget Joint. I knew the Tru burger place was knocking off something. Despite my truthful but mean-spirited comment, I like the food at the Burger Joint -- which looks like the Billy Goat reconstructed in the lobby of the Meridien (Chicago one is similar), behind a sheer curtain.

Since you're in midtown, you may want to try Ben Benson's for those steaks. I always liked it and frequented it for special dinners out when I lived there. Big steaks. Big sides. Big Wine List. Big Desserts. Big Check.

JeffB wrote:Ah yes, the Most Contrived Resaturant on Earth, the Burget Joint. I knew the Tru burger place was knocking off something. Despite my truthful but mean-spirited comment, I like the food at the Burger Joint -- which looks like the Billy Goat reconstructed in the lobby of the Meridien (Chicago one is similar), behind a sheer curtain.

Yes, I knew I would get some flack for this suggestion. The burgers hold up, however...and are much better than the Billy Goat. I'd rather see someone hit up the Burger Joint than end up at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. or some other Midtown disaster.

Looks like Billy Goat (cheap wood paneling, beer signs, etc). The burgers are clearly better and should be for the price.

I am going to be in NYC next week for several days of meetings, and am looking for a place for dinner Tuesday night. I'll be staying very near the Empire State Bldg. I have only been to NYC a very few times, and not recently, so welcome any thoughts, as well as recommendations of what street food I should eat, which pizza to buy if I get a slice as I run to my plane on Friday, and almost certainly a bagel in the morning.

What I am looking for on Tuesday for dinner: something close by (five or six blocks?) and not expensive. That's really the criteria -- what's the most delicious food of whatever variety nearby and not over $35 or so. The top three places that attracted my attention in this thread were the 2nd Ave. Deli, Bon Chon Korean chicken, and Djerdan's, all of which look to be in proximity. Any good noodles in the area?

Do they still sell knishes on the street? My husband spent some years living in NYC a long time ago and still talks about the knishes. Any tips on what to look for? (The gyros photo upthread also looked very delish, are the trucks out at dinner time as well as lunch time?)

I will actually have a hand in ordering food for the meetings (probably this Friday, from Chicago)-- 20 people, 2 lunches and one dinner (hmm, that means I am free for dinner also on Weds, forgot about that). We'll be on a tight budget. Most people will not be from NY. Does the 2nd Ave. Deli cater lunch?? Wow, that could be great. (Is there anything from the 2nd Ave. Deli that a vegetarian would eat? We will certainly have a couple of vegetarians.) pause Okay, just checked out 2nd ave website, not sure it is veg friendly, but if I go there for dinner, any suggestions what to order, ie, what they do best?

Okay, that's already way too many questions. Any thoughts appreciated.

Habibi wrote:
I really like Skyway on Allen and Canal for Malaysian.

Skyway Malaysian Restaurant
11 Allen Street
New York, NY
(212) 625-1163

Diverting plans from two-hour wait Ippudo (which we saved for lunch the next day) and heading southbound, I remembered this rec. for Skyway (easy to remember that name). What a treat it was. We were seated right away by our sweet and attentive server. A classic Chinatown hole in the wall with a bus stop for one of those cheap east coast coaches out front. Definitely a warm and and tidy space, though. This was our first go at Malaysian, but certain dishes jumped off the menu (many with the telltale double chile symbols). Achat, most likely etymologically related to achar, was indeed pickled veggies- cukes, carrots, cabbage, though dressed in a peanut sauce. Refreshingly sweet and sour with a slight chile burn and seductive contrasting play of crisp and light pickled veg with thick and rich peanut sauce. $2.50 rounds of roti, not to be missed. Flaky and rich roti ideal for scooping up chicken curry- a rendition much thinner in consistency than found on Thai menus but incredibly complex redolent with aromatic fresh turmeric. The roti and achat alone would have been a perfectly acceptably sized lunch for under $10. My dining partners were a bit less intrepid than I, wanting noodles and not fish guts, so we ordered "Indian Mee Goreng" which by my estimation was a sort of cross between pad thai- with sprouts, shrimp, and egg and Singapore noodles- vermicelli and curry. I had a few bites of this fine, but not titillating dish. Fried squid, I must say, was awesome, chile and garlic enhanced batter, fried to crisp perfection. Chinese broccoli was just that, a fine rendition of perfectly stir fried greens with garlic slivers and a splash of stock. My big entree order was Assam Fish Head Casserole, which my dining partners insisted on subbing non-head fish flesh- which I was amendable to. Really incredible dish, a giant bubbling casserole filled with delicate fish chunks (sole?), fried tofu pieces, fried eggplant, string beans, really great okra, and tomato in a sweet/sour curry base, again with discernible fresh turmeric notes. We did our best on this dish- the sauce was enhanced with rich-as-can-be thick coconut milk and we ended up carrying out another 2-3 portions. This was really a delightful feast, new flavors- fresh and complex. A great deal and ready-to-be seated service in Manhattan at 8 pm on a Friday. Way recommended!

Big brush, guys - we need an easy, good place for tired persons with kneebiter to go where we can reconnoiter between Central Park museums and the financial district. Chinatown and Little Italy have been scheduled, still looking for inexpensive (hubs has a crazy idea that we can go to Momofuku, but it scares me that the price for the prix-fixe isn't listed on the website) Something sit down - maybe in the Kips Bay/Turtle Bay/Murray Hill area?

TNX!

For more on Skyway on an older LTH thread see Skyway

OK, take two - let's hope this post doesn't get eaten by the &^*% compatibility view!

Manhattan eating - Day 1

So, we flew into JFK without incident, found our way to my brother's place and crashed (sadly, our last meal in Chicago was McDonald's largely due to the long hallways in our terminal, but Sparky managed to charm extra cookies and even some decent brownies off our flight attendant) We'd sent out a general shout-out to our New York peeps to meet us at Shang Hai Cuisine for lunch, which our local friends confusingly called "Joe's Shang Hai," a completely different place. However, wanting to get our grub on early, we headed towards the Little Italy side to see what we could find.

Emerging from the subway into a beautiful, if cold, morning, we found ourselves at one of Manhattan's ubiquitous playots - right across the street from Rice to Riches, an all-rice-pudding restaurant. While we had overly grandiose plans to visit the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, the Laboratorio del Gelato and the Brooklyn Ice Cream factory that afternoon, proximity and mild curiousity won out over desire...we stopped in, and it was about what I expected - kinda gloopy, overly fatty but in an extremely trendy setting - (although the tart cherry topping was good, and did I like the free tupperware.)



We then wended our way through what was left of Little Italy: it's cute, still has the old-fashined street decorations - but at every Italian restaurant stands a street hawker telling you their place is the best, most authentic, most...whatever. However, a display of cannoli and sfogliatelle made us stop for dessert again. And no, I'm not sorry, and I have no idea where we were.

Crowds at this store made us stop in - I wish we'd had a reason to buy stuff, the cheese case alone made me happy:


We finally headed towards our soup dumpling destination - we ordered a variety of dim sum, including a "drunken" raw crab which was interesting (esp. the maraschino cherry topping you can just barely see in this pic) I'm glad we tried it, but it wasn't my favorite (though I kind of liked the raw tomalley and roe.)


Soup dumplings were terrific, light and gingery


Chive pancake was a little bready and greasier than I'm used to


Steamed duck dumplings were BBQ duck in a steamed dumpling - mixed reviews at our table, but I liked them


Mini-buns were tiny pork buns that had been fried crisp on the bottom - these were good in a greasy-diner sort of way. Pork filling was a bit plain. I'd have really enjoyed these if I drank more.


We finished the day off at another Italian bakery, had some zeppole (they had a funnel-cakey kind and the traditional pastry kind,) cheesecake, a fruit tart, and espressos. At this point, I was beyond stuffed, so we gave up on the idea of ice cream and instead went for a long walk to visit Chelsea Market and the High Line

Trendy New York Cookies and a trendy fountain at Chelsea Market



Eventually, we got hungry again, so we headed to my brother's local Yakitori place, East. My experience with yakitori is admittedly limited - I don't really consider Joy Yee Noodle Plus to be a benchmark - but I was very, very happy with this meal, which was pretty inexpensive considering we kept ordering over and over.

Sparky liked his first skewers so much we had to order them again just to try them, he woul dn't share:
bacon-wrapped quail egg, chicken skin


shishito peppers wrapped in bacon, garlic


Chicken hearts, chicken cartilage, shishito peppers straight-up


Chicken gizzard, scallop


All were fairly plain, lightly seasoned and grilled quickly with very high heat - I liked this approach. A lot. We also got to try their special sort-of maki, I forget what it's called, but it's a tube shape of takoyaki (which I quite liked, it was a bit starchy, but with tender chunks of octopus - they also offer ball-shaped takoyaki) buried in tempura crumbles topped with spicy mayo. Hidden inside the tempura crumbles is a "prize" that Sparky found - a tiny, candied crab. He pronounced it good.


We had numerous other skewers, all of which we liked, and also sides of shiso onigiri (I liked mine, but couldn't finish it, it was huge) and green beans with really teeney anchovies - delicious.


East
(212) 687-5075
Midtown East
210 E 44th St
New York, NY 10017

Shang Hai Cuisine
89 Bayard St
(between Mott St & Mulberry St)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 732-8988

The next day, after a pit-stop at a nearby arty playlot, we spent almost the entire afternoon at the Intrepid, where I was thrilled to get a call from GAF, who I hadnt realized was in NYC simultaneously, and we arranged to have dinner the next evening along with Hammer.



We could have left and gotten food elsewhere, but the food at this floating museum was an Au Bon Pain, which beats the heck out of the usual museum fare, and we were starving after climbing through portholes and hatches and climbing fo'c'sles. I decided was good enough for the lunch. The gracious friends who met us at the Intrepid invited us to dinner at their neighborhood pizza joint, a place I quite enjoyed called Delizia.




Sausage Pizza, interesting prep on the sausages


Pizza Margharita


The evening's special, I think it was some kind of frutti di mare


Side of rapini - very good, garlicky.


The pizzas available in the dine-in area are individually made, had a nice, chewy but not particularly bready crust. I don't know how typical this place is for NY pizza, but I liked it very much - I have to say, I prefer this kind of crust to the cracker-style that's more prevalent here.

Delizias
1762 2nd Ave
(between 91st St & 92nd St)
New York, NY 10128

(212) 996-3720
http://www.delizia-ny.com/

I spent last week in NYC and will heartily recommend a trip to Xi'an Famous Foods (relatively) new branch in Chinatown. Unfortunately, there is no seating but the Lamb "Hamburger" and the Li Piang noodles were great. The two combined were a total of $6.50 and would make a great meal. We ate on the street. Hete is a link to their web site: http://www.xianfoods.com/index.php .

It was a little difficult to find (it's in the building located at the address but not really at the address) but well worth a trip. You can also find pics at Pigmon's excellent post about the Queens branch:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=27388 .

Wish I could find this here.

Manhattan Chinatown
(no seats, counter only)
88 East Broadway #106
New York, NY 10002
(outside of building, on Forsyth side of bridge) Everyday 11:00AM-8:00PM

For a quick, cheap stop between bars, we popped in to Excellent Pork Chop House in Chinatown




In the foreground is a rather disappointing rice cake with pickled vegetables dish. It was fine, but not was I was hoping for. In the background are wontons in spicy oil which had really delicate wrappers and a nice little hit of heat.

While the "pork chop over rice" for $5.25 seems like a horrible deal in comparison to the lone "fried pork chop" (only $2.50!), I'm glad we didn't do the math. The minced pickled vegetable and meat mixtures that were between the pork chop and the rice were fantastic.

Excellent Pork Chop House
3 Doyers St # 1
New York, NY 10013-5116
(212) 791-7007

-Dan

Bumping this thread in the hopes that some of you have some recommendations for me. Heading to NYC for a 4-day trip, primarily to go to a 3-game Yankees/Rangers series in a couple of weeks. For those of you not familiar, I am traveling with picky eaters--in particular, 2 teenagers who don't venture beyond typical kid food--yes, I do mean chicken fingers, French toast, pizza, hot dogs and fast food style burgers. Much as I'd like to expand their horizons, I'm not going to do it on this trip so any recs for great pizza, burgers, dogs, breakfast spots and places with grown up and "kid" menus--particularly steakhouse or gastropub-style, would be much appreciated. I know about Shake Shack so no need to mention that one. I'll really only have 1 dinner to deal with--we'll be at the stadium for 2/3 nights. So breakfast /lunch spots will be the main focus. The "cheap" part isn't really that much of an issue given the above. Thanks in advance!

germuska wrote:

jpschust wrote:I apologize in advance for this. The essential, but cheap manhattan is made with Maker's Mark.

No, don't apologize... every time I see this thread I think it's about the cocktail, even though I've been reading it all along!

I also thought it was about the cocktail! And I can't help suggesting that the best "cheap" Manhattan is made with Evan Williams, a perfectly acceptable bourbon in a Manhattan on the rocks, if you like them as I do, with a strong shot of sweet vermouth and a bit of maraschino cherry juice. I'm loving all the NYC suggestions though. Haven't been in much too long.

boudreaulicious wrote:Bumping this thread in the hopes that some of you have some recommendations for me. Heading to NYC for a 4-day trip, primarily to go to a 3-game Yankees/Rangers series in a couple of weeks. For those of you not familiar, I am traveling with picky eaters--in particular, 2 teenagers who don't venture beyond typical kid food--yes, I do mean chicken fingers, French toast, pizza, hot dogs and fast food style burgers. Much as I'd like to expand their horizons, I'm not going to do it on this trip so any recs for great pizza, burgers, dogs, breakfast spots and places with grown up and "kid" menus--particularly steakhouse or gastropub-style, would be much appreciated. I know about Shake Shack so no need to mention that one. I'll really only have 1 dinner to deal with--we'll be at the stadium for 2/3 nights. So breakfast /lunch spots will be the main focus. The "cheap" part isn't really that much of an issue given the above. Thanks in advance!

Though it's now been some 13 years ago, my porterhouse at Peter Lugar's was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Plus, cool old school experience too.

Darren72 wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Bumping this thread in the hopes that some of you have some recommendations for me. Heading to NYC for a 4-day trip, primarily to go to a 3-game Yankees/Rangers series in a couple of weeks. For those of you not familiar, I am traveling with picky eaters--in particular, 2 teenagers who don't venture beyond typical kid food--yes, I do mean chicken fingers, French toast, pizza, hot dogs and fast food style burgers. Much as I'd like to expand their horizons, I'm not going to do it on this trip so any recs for great pizza, burgers, dogs, breakfast spots and places with grown up and "kid" menus--particularly steakhouse or gastropub-style, would be much appreciated. I know about Shake Shack so no need to mention that one. I'll really only have 1 dinner to deal with--we'll be at the stadium for 2/3 nights. So breakfast /lunch spots will be the main focus. The "cheap" part isn't really that much of an issue given the above. Thanks in advance!

Though it's now been some 13 years ago, my porterhouse at Peter Lugar's was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Plus, cool old school experience too.

I've never been but am tempted--just not sure they're the best group to go with