[erikzen]

You guys have touched on a lot of the great places. Keep in mind that many of the high end restaurants will require reservations. You'll have trouble getting a table at Le Cirque. You'll have trouble getting a table at Po for that matter.

Post House
I will agree that Peter Luger is the best place for steak. A close second is the Post House. The Post House has the best Ceasar Salad I've ever had. They also have a lemon pepper chicken that is fantastic! I went there once with four other guys and believe it or not we all ordered the lemon pepper chicken. None of us were disappointed. 28 E 63rd Street.

Katz Deli
Someone mentioned delis. If you're in New York and you want deli, got to Katz Deli. The best corned beef in the city. It's a real New York classic down on Houston Street. It opened in 1888. I don't know about their chopped liver though. 205 E. Houston Street.

Vong
If you want to try something a little different in fine dining, check out Vong. Dining at this French-Thai Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant is an event. 200 E 54th Street.

Zarela
The best margaritas (and the Mexican food is damn good, too) can be found at Zarela. The non-cliche menu is filled with all kinds of goodies. I can live off of the Salpicón de Pescado (snapper hash) and Chilaquiles (nachos at a whole new level). And that's just the appetizers. 953 Second Avenue.

Dominick's
If you're feeling really adventerous and you want a taste of Southern Italian/Italian American food, head to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. My favorite restaurant there is Dominick's. This restaurant is known just as much for what they don't have as for what they do have. What they do have is great classic Italian food - baked clams, mussels marinara, stuffed artichokes, linguine a la Gian (with chopped clams and shrip), chicken scarpariello, stuffed veal are some of my favorites.

What they don't have are reservations, private tables, menus, or even bills. If it's crowded you're given a number and you can go upstairs for some drinks. (The funny thing is that the upstairs cocktail lounge seems to have more room than the seating area.) You'll wait for your number to be called while imbibing cheap red wine or your choice of beverage or cocktail. Once called you'll be seated at a communal table. The waiter will ask you what you want as there is no menu although there is a price list on the wall in the back. They will bring you out tons of delicious garlicky delights.

When you're finally stuffed beyond belief your waiter will go over to the bartender and have a little conference; then he'll come back and give you your "number". You won't be presented with a bill or even a scrap of paper. The waiter will just come up to you and say "83" or whatever they think you'll pay without a fight. If you're the type that has to check the bill this isn't the place for you. If however, you want a meal worthy of a Goodfella, you've got to check it out. This very well may be my favorite restaruant in the world! 2335 Arthur Avenue, Bronx NY.

 

[jjcha]

If you can't get reservations at Lugers for steak, try Wolfgang's. Somewhat easier to get reservations there. I think most would still say Luger's takes top cake as the absolute best, but if you're in the mood for a fine porterhouse, it's nothing to turn your nose up against.

Best,

-Jason

 

[cazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong i'll take these over Magnolia's any day.

yes, magnolia's is terribly over-rated! they are good but definitely not great.

 

[ken36]

Nedicks: The best hot dog and orange drink ever.

 

[Jahn]

Here's my super secret place - Nha Trang (i think that's how it's spelled) in chinatown, on Centre st. just south of canal. there's a sister place on baxter, but this one's cleaner. This place makes the best Pho Bo Satee noodle soup i've ever had, and it's only 5 bucks! I even took my folks there last saturday and they loved it, even though the place is a bit divey. My sister had the Vietnamese coffee and was in love, and my folks had the pork chops and they were skewered to perfection, with a great vinegar/salt dip thing that was great on a hot day. Best Cheap Eats in town!

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cazoo yes, magnolia's is terribly over-rated! they are good but definitely not great.

i'm so glad i'm not the only one who doesn't buy into the Magnolia hype! they taste like duncan hines to me.

for sushi, my favorite place for the past decade has been and remains Blue Ribbon Sushi. at a certain point, any of the quality sushi restaurants will serve comparably delicious fish. but Blue Ribbon's real homemade wasabi and thick, aged soy sauce make the flavors even more dynamic. it makes such a difference over the stock wasabi and soy sauce at most other places (even top-notch ones). they also have a fantastic sake list, but that's not as unique nowadays as it was a few years ago.

also, they don't take reservations... and while the wait can be long, they'll take your cell phone number and call you when your table's ready, so you can bop around Soho or grab a drink at a nearby bar.

 

[VicAjax]

oh, and my favorite Italian place is Esca, one of Mario Batali's joints (all of his restaurants are pretty superlative). Esca serves "crudas," which is basically Italian sushi... raw cuts of fish topped with various exotic olive oils and sea salts. also, a brilliant wine list.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn love, and my folks had the pork chops and they were skewered to perfection, with a great vinegar/salt dip thing that was great on a hot day.

Good lord that sounds delicious. I am going there next time I have to be in court.

 

[cazoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax oh, and my favorite Italian place is Esca, one of Mario Batali's joints (all of his restaurants are pretty superlative). Esca serves "crudas," which is basically Italian sushi... raw cuts of fish topped with various exotic olive oils and sea salts. also, a brilliant wine list.

italian sushi?! i am intrigued. this may very well be my next fine dining experience.

 

[Jahn]

my wife swears by ceviche, which is another form of raw fish best served cold. sushi hasn't cornered the raw fish market just yet!

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn my wife swears by ceviche, which is another form of raw fish best served cold. sushi hasn't cornered the raw fish market just yet!

ceviche isn't technically raw. the acids of the vinegar marinade essentially "cook" the fish.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax ceviche isn't technically raw. the acids of the vinegar marinade essentially "cook" the fish.

bah! my wife was cheating! curse you, leche de tigre!

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cazoo italian sushi?! i am intrigued. this may very well be my next fine dining experience.

be sure to tell me what you think.

Dave Pasternack, co-owner and executive chef, actually goes out to catch some of the fish himself.

here's the brief ny mag write-up.

oh, and here is the wine list.

 

[daveDerek]

enough with luger's let's get down to real everyday food!

other notables:
best bagels are most definately NOT at H&H. you gotta go to ess-a-bagel (1rst ave at 21rst St). get whatever is hot - just out of the oven.
for bialys there's a place on the south side of grand st - can't think of the name.

for pizza go up to the italian section of harlem and look for a little hole in the wall on the west side of 1rst ave (iirc @ 117th st) called Patsy's. not the sit down restaurant a couple of doors south but the hole in the wall with the charcoal (or is it wood?) fired oven.

for hummentashen all year round (ck out the unusual nut ones) and other baked goodies go uptown near columbia university to the hungarian pastry shop, right across the street from the world's largest, if still incomplete, gothic cathedral, st john the divine. (i picked up a few on the way home from last wknd's meet). you can sit down and sip your espresso, read some tolstoy and oogle some columbia and barnard coeds.

for cheap chinese food away from china town when we still lived on the upper west side we used to go to the broadway cottage. enjoyable food with unlimited soda or jug wine and the price was right. there's one next door to the aforementioned hungarian pastry shop. they have branches scattered about town, but i'm not sure they're all created equal.

for italian food in the arthur ave section of the bronx, an alternative to the aforementioned dominick's is roberto's.

if ya gotta blow some bux and want a nice view there's the river cafe at the base of the bklyn bridge - on the lawn gisland side of da bridge. save some room afterwards for the little ice cream joint next door on the ferry pier and get a really thick malted. there was a high end audio shop within walking distance of there (help me out guys - i'm blanking out the name right now). dunno if they do any headphones but they were big on linn tables, and used to have spectral and wilson (a combination that i wouldn't necessarily expect to work but i actually heard it sound rather good there), levinson, and bunch of other pricey gear - if you haven't blown your hi-fi budget on steaks and sushi!

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveDerek best bagels are most definately NOT at H&H. you gotta go to ess-a-bagel (1rst ave at 21rst St). get whatever is hot - just out of the oven.

Wise words. I grew up eating H&H. Then my wife showed me the light. ess-a is the best.