If you want a great steak, there's only one answer: Peter Luger in Brooklyn. It is out of the way, but un-paralleled. The best steak I ever put in my mouth (including the best in Kansas City, not to start a culture war). Be warned: they take only cash and debit cards, no credit.
This place would seem to meet all your needs at once.
Peter Lugers. It's overrated (fuck the onion and tomato side), but it's the best you'll find in NYC.
What explains the "Ruth's Chris" in "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse"?
I've never even been to New York as an adult, and I could tell you to go Peter Lugers.
Since nobody's mentioned it so far, Peter Lugers. I hear it's pretty good.
What explains the "Ruth's Chris" in "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse"?
They are an extremely co-dependent pair, Ruth & Chris.
Not steak, but this establishment looks positively sinful.
The magic of the Google:
Ruth's Chris Steak House was founded in 1965 when Ruth Fertel mortgaged her home for $22,000 to purchase the "Chris Steak House," a 60-seat restaurant located near the New Orleans Fair Grounds racetrack.
Not steak, but one of my favorite meals was at Gramercy Tavern.
A tip for people who like a deal -- one of the best values in NYC is L'Ecole, the teaching restaurant of the French Culinary Institute. The food is easily half the price of what it should be and every time I've eaten there they've even thrown in some comps.
I find myself wondering if the headline to the previous post might not have been more properly used for this one.
Is NYC known for its steaks? I wouldn't think so, although with modern refrigeration and transportation I guess I don't see why not.
Peter Luger is (clearly) the best steakhouse, but you'll probably find a better meal elsewhere if you're willing to compromise on the steak issue.
But you can buy a prime steak yourself, and cook it the way you like it, with little effort. Baked potatoes are pretty easy too. (If you can't buy prime meat where you live, you can buy it at Fairway or Citarella in NYC, Broadway at 75th St.) Plus, with steakhouses, the draw is often the unnaturally huge portion size, and you end up throwing it away. Steak doesn't make a good leftover.
If you're going to spend a fortune at a restaurant, get something you couldn't possibly make yourself. I'd recommend Daniel. It's more about the food than seeing and being seen.
I think you're missing the joy of NY eating - the awesomeness of NYC eating isn't in the high-end eating, but in the variety and quality of a lot of low- and mid-cost eating. In your place, I'd be asking for rec's on the best shwarma, chowder, nan, ladkes, pizza, etc. Or where the hotties congregate. (Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions on such scores.)
I guess I agree with the comments above, and that is what I was getting at with my steak comment.
When I travel I like to try what I can't get at home.
I'm in total agreement with SCMT -- I've had a number of $20 meals in NYC that were significantly better than $100 ones.
Tomoe is excellent, though the guarantee of waiting on a line sometimes dissuades me from going. I hear all of the Blue Ribbon restaurants are excellent, the only one I've tried certainly was. If you're considering Gramercy Tavern (and you should), let me also put in a plug for Union Square Cafe out there.
If you want the kind of info SCMT is talking about in 17, I can do some of that too.
SomeCallMeTim: Anybody's who's been raving about Peter Luger's tomatoes has some seriously mis-placed priorities. But the steak is not overrated (and does reheat well, Shamhat) and the french fries, bacon, creamed spinach (I'm told), and hot fudge sundae are all top shelf.
Shamhat: You don't have access to sides of beef or broilers of the quality at Peter Lugers, trust me.
SomeCallMeTime (again): good point.
Best schwarma/falafel: Mamoun's (Thompson St.)
Best pizza: Da Faro (way out in Bklyn), John's or Lombardi's (try the clam pie)
Best brunch: Blue Ribbon (Bedford St.)
Best banh mi (don't ask, just try): Ba Xuyen (8th Ave in Bklyn)
Best expensive New American: Gotham (12th St.)
Best expensive Italian: Babbo (Waverly Pl)
Any others?
For Italian, Lupa
http://www.luparestaurant.com/restaurant.html
Best Brazillian-themed sushi is Sushi Samba...
there's one of those in chicago, with translucent bathroom stalls, rather out in the open.
1. Try one of the prix fixe lunches at the fancy restaurants. $25-30ish for an appetizer, entree and dessert.
I've been to these at:
Jean Georges (New American, southwest corner of Central Park)
Gotham Bar and Grill (New American, Union Square)
Picholine (Mediterranean, near Lincoln Center)
Vong (East Midtown.)
All excellent, though I'd put Vong after the others. If I had to pick a favorite probably Jean Georges, but it's a toss up between that and Gotham. Picholine is just as good but more expensive.
I've also heard good things about the one at Aquavit if you're into Scandanavian food. And there's tons of others.
2. My very favorite restaurant in New York City is Noodle Pudding, on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. Northern Italian. Entrees run from $14 to $25ish, with the regular menu cheaper than the specials. No reservations though.
I have never been to Lupa, but my meal at Gennaro (Amsterdam between 93 and 94) made me cry before I even tasted it. Sometimes basil can be very moving.
Doyers Vietnamese is yummy (11 Doyers, in Chinatown) and if you follow Doyers street to its outlet on the non-Canal st. side you'll see a good vegetarian dim sum place; not sure what it's called, something like Vegetarian Dim Sum House.
I am fond of Bali Nusa Indah, 9th between 45th and 46th, for Indonesian.
Some of my friends are really into Aliada, 29-19 Broadway in Astoria (near the NW), though I can't recommend it from personal experience because whenever I go with friends I'm always consiged to the veggie wrap, which, needless to say, is not there specialty.
For something more expensive, everyone loves Blue Hill and I think I even ate there once a long time ago; we called ahead and they made a vegan version of everything, plus all the animals have been slaughtered with lurve because they come from Stone Barns, a lovely farm I visited once with a sweet city chihuahua named Peanut, who for a few glorious moments there came into his true doggy nature--when we, the dogsitters, defied his mother's orders and took off the very undignified sneakers his mother forced him to wear when he went outside, which caused him palpable shame and greatly inhibited his ability to walk, after standing stock still for twenty minutes shivering from cold and agoraphobia Peanut the chihuahua slowly began to walk, and then run, with his bare paws touching the earth for the first time.
But I digress.
Another one that once made me cry once was the eggplant shireen palow (pumpkin is also good) at Khyber pass on St. Mark's Place (Afghani), although all the vegetarians who eat there think it's transcendent, all the omnivores just okay, so maybe that suggests something about the quality of their meat dishes.
I'd say right now Freemans is my favorite place for brunch. It's a great space, hidden at the end of an alley. And Florent is an interesting scene in the wee hours of the morning on weekends. I go 'ino a lot, too.
I've never been to Babbo but my in-laws looked down their nose at it compared to the Noodle Pudding place.
John's Pizza not a big favorite of mine. I like Grimaldi's (Brooklyn Heights), Totonno's (Coney Island & Upper East Side), & Joe's of Bleecker Street (Village, Park Slope) better.
Assorted other recommendations:
Dim Sum--Noodle Pudding
Vietnamese--Pho Viet Huong, Mulberry St., Chinatown
Sushi--Ginger, East Village. Above average, cheap sushi & some interesting combinations in the rolls. Some of which (tuna & mango, banana cruch roll) work much better than others (eel & peanut butter).
Middle Eastern--Zaytoon's, Cobble Hill. Also Sahadi's but that's just takeout.
Indonesian--Java, Park Slope. Cheap, delicious rijstaffel.
Ethiopian--Meskerem, theater district. There's a lot of crap in the theater district. This is my favorite place before a play.
Bali Nusah Indah is also good for pre-theater but not as good as Java if you're actively seeking out Indonesian, IMO. Hell of a lot more convenient though.
My in-laws like Moutarde, in Park Slope, for steaks, because while the meat isn't as good as Peter Lugar it has much better sauces & sides--a French Bistro type place--and is cheaper. But I've never actually been there.
Oh and Haveli's is good Indian but I feel like there's better to be had for the price.
The best Indian is Jackson Diner in Queens. And I'd second whoever said Doyers for Vietnamese.
8's link was supposed to lead here. Not sure what went wrong.
Babbo is friggin' awesome. Also you should go to the Pegu Club, just to make me jealous.
If you want a not-necessarily-culinarily-exciting but definitely pricey and status-y and probably delicious meal, you could go to Le Bernadin, where you'll be able to eat food prepared by my sister and her boyfriend.
They also recently had a reportedly fantastic meal at that restaurant where you're not allowed to tip run by Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. I can't remember the name, though. Ah, it's Per Se. They got a fucking amazing deal on a wine pairing for a 20-course meal—professsional courtesy and all that.
You can scratch the pegu club rec if you want—I thought this post was by ogged, who might have more interest in making me upset.
(It was the circumlocutory reference to "meeting of my profession" that done it—I only ended up figuring it out because of the non-capitalized "d" in the post title.)
Sam linked to the future! He wins.
I second Meskerem, at least I've eaten there and liked it. For Chinese outside Chinatown, I've always liked Grand Central Szechuan at 9th and 23rd or 24th--you can get tendon and sea vegetable and stuff, and the menu used to have a long explanation of the moral acceptability of a menu section called "Chairman Mao Cuisine." And it's really good. (I may be getting the name wrong.)
It hadn't even occurred to me that outer boroughs would count. Within Manhattan the answer is probably Smith and Wollensky.
I also agree with 17.
Some really good stuff that I haven't seen mentioned: Thai: Sripraphai (woodside, queens)
Hamburger: Shake Shack (23rd and Madison)
Indian: Banjara
Tia, Gennaro is great, and I also had the impression of Khyber Pass that your omnivorous acquaintances reported.
I've never been entirely satisfied by Mamoun's falafel, nor have I been able to find a falafel joint I like better.
for a burrito, go to cosmic cantina (somewhere on the lower east side). You should do this drunk, at 3:25 a.m. eastern standard.
In keeping with FL's update, cosmic burritos are some of the more expensive burritos around.
Not to get all chowhoundish, but if it's good food you're after, you've got to go to the so-called "outer boroughs." Namely, to the fine borough of Queens.
Indian: Jackson Diner (Jackson Heights, 7 train)
Italian: Trattoria L'Incontro (Astoria, N or W train)
Greek: just about any hole-in-the-wall in Astoria (N or W train) will be better than anything you can find in Manhattan (or anywhere else on this side of the Atlantic).
But none of it will be all that pricey. And the ambience will be, well, chowhoundish (as in, the very lack of self-conscious hipness is what makes this place hip).
I might have put in a Manhattan plug for Smith and Wollensky's until they became a national chain. But Peter Lugar is the classic NYC steak experience. THe service in now spotty, and the tomato with steak sauce hasn't really aged well as a concept. But the steak itself can be a transcendent experience.
39:
Smith & Wollensky is mediocre. If you want a steakhouse in Manhattan I'd go with Sparks.
Second the recommendations of the Jackson Diner. To Weiner's Grand Szechuan suggestion I would note that I've had better experiences at the Chinatown branch on Canal and Bowery. Joe's Shanghai is also excellent and has option (i.e., the soup dumplings) somewhat off the beaten Chinese path. I never had better Ethiopian than Meskerem in NYC, but DC has several places which are much better which makes me think New York's just not a good spot for Ethiopian.
Kebab cafe in Astoria has very good Middle Eastern food and a wacky atmosphere. A curse upon Katherine and her family for speaking ill of John's Pizzeria.
I think that even a Chicago-style partisan would admit that John's Pizzeria is fantastic. Leave it to country bumpkins like Susan and I to rush over, thinking that because we'd arrived in NYC at midnight it would be closed.
Masa.
Excellent sushi and VERY pricey.
Tia,
my meal at Gennaro (Amsterdam between 93 and 94) made me cry before I even tasted it. Sometimes basil can be very moving.
Interesting. Onions do that to me.
But - pumpkin and eggplant?! Shudder. It is amazing what people can learn to like.
I went to New York this summer. The banana ricotta dessert-whatever at Balthasar somewhere in SoHo was the best thing I have ever put in my mouth.
I'd also like to recommend Molyvos, which is on Seventh Avenue, not steak and maybe not pricy enough all you profligate gluttons, but I enjoyed the lamb ravioli very much, and I happen to still have the card in my wallet so I can specify that this place is on Seventh Avenue and the seventh digit of its fax number is 7, if you start counting at the beginning of the area code. It makes me feel in the know.
Balthazar is a great great place to have breakfast on a weekday morning. They're really only doing coffee and pastries at that hour but the big, beautiful room is all yours then, and they lay out a large selection of daily papers for you to read. It's extraordinarily civilized. I used to meet a friend of mine there regularly at 7.30 am.
How's Minnesota, L.? (Aside from the local yokels who don't get the joys of pumpkin and eggplant, I mean.)
My dear ac, there's nothing civilized about meeting anyone anywhere at 7:30am.
Union Square Cafe. Or any Danny Meyer restaurant, really, but Union Square especially. I have never had anything but a great meal there, the menu is fucking great all around, and it's not outrageously pricey compared to some other places. Buy the cookbook on the way out: it's probably the most heavily used of all my cookbooks.
Balthazar. Esp. breakfast or brunch.
Molyvos, absolutely. When I'm up in NYC by myself for a meeting, I often have a dinner by myself there, and I don't even like Greek cuisine that much (the cheaper kind). The grilled baby octopus first course is fantastic.
Aquavit I don't like so much; that's maybe just because I don't care for the basics of the cuisine.
I agree on the diss of Smith & Wollensky, but I haven't been to Sparks, can't speak for it. Nor Peter Lugar, actually, but I think that's better than Smith & Wollensky, I suspect.
There's nothing civilized about meeting anyone anywhere before 9:00, which isn't stopping the U of M philosophy department.
I know PL's is getting a lot of props here, but I've never known their steak to be anything special. I've had far better steak in Texas, for far less money. But I suppose if we're going for the best steak in New York, PL's is as good a place as any.
Also, I hate their atmosphere/ambiance, which is a big part of my dining experience, so take that for what it's worth.
That's terrible, L. You should transfer.
Ah, but if you have a leisurely breakfast before work it gives you the illusion that you don't have to go at all, and could sit around all day sipping coffee and perusing the paper instead. Sometimes, later, in the office, you can pretend you're still there.
Also, Labs, for what it's worth, my favorite restaurant in New York is The River Cafe, but again, it's as much for ambiance as it is for food (which is still first-rate).
I ate at Supper last night, the veal scallopine (sorry tia and others) and the mozzarella appetizer were delicious. Oh, and I was taken to Del Frisco's as part of an interview by a law firm, their steak (Del Frisco's, not the firm) was really good, but apparently it's a chain, which loses them some cachet. And the firm didn't give me an offer, so screw'em.
59: Agree completely. That's what I meant to say (though I had the better steak, IIRC, in OK). PL's is probably the best you'll do in NYC, but not anything special.
57 and Union Square Cafe: People keep mentioning this, but unless (a) I'm mis-remembering the place, or (b) something has dramatically changed in the last few years, the only reason one goes to the Union Square Cafe is the wait staff. IIRC, it runs towards very attractive, very supercilious actresses and models. The service is, at best, spotty. If you go without a woman's influence to restrain you, expect to tip at least the cost of the meal. I don't remember anything about the food at all.
I haven't been to Union Square for a year and a half, but I've eaten there about seven times and it's always been really satisfying. YMMV.
I've always preferred the dim sum, myself, but, then, I hate steak (icky gawdawful hunks of yuk), and have never had much money to toss at anything.
As ever, I don't fit in.
I hate steak
Ok Gary, now you're banned.
I grilled a two-week-dry-aged, grass-fed, lightly smoked ribeye from a local specialty butcher shop a couple weeks ago. I shit you not--the inside, rare so raw that it was still a little cool in the center, was like eating the pure essence of what beef should be. The outside, with a nice thick crust, had the same tender, sumptuous texture, but tasted like bacon.
Did you know that when you search for "Minnesota Philosophy Schedule" the first hit is for the University of North Dakota? Anyway, another Mineshaft philosopher! Hooray! And it looks like Mineshaft Midwest may be moving from Greater Chicago to Minnesoteo. Neither of the classes you might be taking are taught by this person, but she's very cool.
48: Good tip, I should mention that one of the appealing things about the Chelsea branch is it was two blocks from my Grandma's apartment.
And the second hit is for something called the Challenge Incarceration Program.
CIP goals established by state statute are to:
* punish and hold the offender accountable;
* protect the safety of the public;
* treat offenders who are chemically dependent; and
* prepare offenders for successful reintegration into society and reduce their risk of reoffending.
This is about as diametrically opposed to expensive steak as you can get, but if you find yourself in Washington Square during the day, on the Washington Square South toward the west side of the park, Thiru the Dhosa man has a green and white umbrella cart. IMO, the idli lunch (not on the menu; ask for it) is the most, best food you can get for four dollars in NY. Medium spicy should be enough for any white man, but then, I may just think that because he purposely jacked the spice up on me because I was a regular. I realized he was doing it one day and confronted him, and he just laughed. Thiru is a character.
I have a fond memory of Aquavit, but that may have been because we had to walk really fast to make our reservation, and then we drank lots of aquavit.
I stole one of the glasses; it's nice.
The Minneapolis branch of Aquavit had the best cured salmon I've ever had, and the lobster bisque was pretty damn amazing.
I want to know where Gary gets hunks of yak. Sounds good.
I was going to be surprised that there's a Minneapolis branch of Aquavit, but I suppose it actually makes a lot of sense.
Is Porcelli & Mahoney's still going? Back in the bull market, that was v. definitely the place to go to show everyone how well you were doing and it was pretty damn good for steaks.
Pastis. really. yes, really. TRY Pastis.
Wow, only one person has mentioned Sparks. Luger's is very good but a little difficult in terms of logistics (notice my picture is hanging in the foyer when you walk in). I have a monthly "Steak Night" with some friends and our favorites in Manhattan are Sparks and Old Homestead in the meatpacking district. You can't go wrong at either. For very good steak but strange decor you can also try Strip House in the Village (not an actual stripper house). Enjoy.
Hmm. I was away from a computer all weekend (kids, Disney), and most of what I would have suggested has been mentioned. For giant stupid hunks of beef, I like the Palm (the original on the East Side) -- Peter Luger's is objectively better meat, but I like the decor and atmosphere better at the Palm. Another enthusiastic yes to Gramercy Tavern, and I'm very surprised no one's mentioned Nobu yet -- the kind of food that makes you feel like a better, purer, more spiritual person after eating it.
I also just had a wonderful meal with a client at L'Impero; Italian, in the haute cuisine sense of the word. This might be a good place if you want to show off your local knowledge, too -- the location, while right in midtons, is hard to find.
If you're hanging around the East Village for any reason after dinner, and you have a sweet tooth, Veniero's, on 11th west of first, is an Italian bakery that has a sit-down section serving coffee and pastry. I've never had better.