Where is the one place to eat in NYC that shouldn't be missed?? We prefer little places that aren't fancy!

Answer 1

Here are some of my favorites - none of them is expensive and no high heels required:

A restaurant with the real "flavor" of New York is Katz's Deli on Houston Street near Ludlow on the Lower East Side interesting area to walk through (note: we prounounce this Howz' ton not like the Texas city). There are two areas at Katz's - one is self-service and one is waiter service. Definitely sit in self-service - you go up to the counter, order your sandwich and, tip the counterman a dollar or two. He, then, will put much more meat in your sandwich than a waiter will bring you. (A few years ago several reporters went to Katz's with a small scale - some sat in waiter service and some sat in self service - all the self service sandwiches had at least a quarter of a pound more meat).
To add to the New York experience, drink a cream soda or celery tonic with your meal. Sandwiches are big enough to share - get an order of fries and you're all set. My favorite there is tongue and corned beef on a club roll.
Read about Katz's

http://www.katzdeli.com
Near Union Square: Via Emilia on East 21st Street and Park Avenue. Appetizers are unusual and outstanding - gnocco fritto - large platter of Italian coldcuts served with delicious little fritters; tigelle (not served in too many places) hot biscuits with proscuitto and melted cheese; wonderful soups, good pastas, fish is always fresh. Some desserts are outstanding.
http://www.viaemilianyc.net/dinner.html....

In the West Village: Da Andrea on Hudson Street and West 11th Street.
Excellent pastas - I especially love their clam sauce, they, too, make tigelle, can get very crowded on weekends.
http://www.biassanot.com/

In the Village: Sapore on Greenwich Avenue and Perry Street - Lunch here has to be the biggest bargain in New York - $6 for soup or salad, coffee and a main dish, including good pastas - $3.00 more and you can have excellent fried calamari or grilled salmon as an entree. This is a very small cramped restaurant, but, in warm weather, there's lots of pleasant outdoor seating.

Greenwich Village:
AOC Bedford (at Downing Street) excellent food and service
http://www.aocbedford.com/new/sections/h...

Great Cuban food at Little Havana on Cornelia and Bleecker
Charming wait staff
http://www.littlehavananyc.com/......

Gene's Italian on West 11th off Sixth Avenue - very good, especially the seafoods and desserts

Theatre District:
Le Madeleine on the corner of 43rd and Ninth serves a good three course prix fixe dinner for $32.- Even better value - 3 course dinner after 8pm - $24. Guitar player takes requests.
http://www.lemadeleine.com/dinner.htm#.....



If you like Spanish food (from Spain, not Mexico - it's an entirely different cuisine), Costa del Sol on 50th Street and Ninth Avenue is wonderful - for $25, you get a complete dinner with a ton of choices - AND IT's GOOD! You get a choice of soup or salad - (I never order salad when there's another choice, so I can't comment). My favorite soup is the Caldo Gallego - from Galecia Spain - a delicious hearty soup with bacon, chorizo sausage, white beans, kale and other vegetables; you can also order the cold gazpacho or a chicken soup with noodles. You have a choice of more than twenty entrees - at least six different shrimp dishes - my favorites are the very lightly floured shrimp with wine sauce and the garlic shrimp - HUGE portions. You can also order salmon, paella, a whole lobster with butter sauce, various chicken dishes, mixed seafoods, veal., pork chops. These come with saffron rice and string beans - large platters on the table for everyone. You also get dessert and coffee - the cheesecake is good, but you can have flan or rice pudding or icecream. As if all this food weren't enough of a bargain, if two of you order this three course dinner, you can get a bottle of red or white wine for only $6 more ($3 each)
http://members.aol.com/cdelsol/

In Chelsea:
Try a Cuban Sandwich - roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles - it's on Cuban bread and pressed - wash it down with a mango batida (milkshake) - they serve an excellent sandwich at a small place on Eighth Avenue and 20th Street - Chelsea Havana (about $5). Also in Chelsea, on Eighth Avenue and 15th Street, a small bare-bones Puerto Rican restaurant, La Taz D'Oro - their rice and beans are sooooo good.

A huge, impressive all-you-can eat Japanese/sushi buffet with made to order sushi and custom made stir fries, and tables and tables of very fresh food is Todai on East 32nd and Madison
http://www.todai.com/menu_hotentresse.ht...

Try a restaurant on 32nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues - this is the heart of "Koreatown" - Lots of different Korean restaurants, some with hibachis - wide range of prices. You can get a great lunch for very little money. Walk up and down the block, read the menus and pick one.

The best area for inexpensive, ethnic cuisines are in the East Village. Walk down First Avenue - 14th Street to 1st Street and walk up Second Avenue and find something that's entirely different for you (there are Tibetan restaurants, Argentinian, Domincan - you name it, it's there - be adventurous - 6th Street and First Avenue - more than a dozen Indian restaurants - block is called Curry Lane - I don't like any of those restaurants - everything tastes the same, but they are very inexpensive

New York's biggest bargain - Gray's Papaya - several locations - in the Village, on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 8th Street and the Upper West Side, on the corner of 72nd and Broadway - no seating, you stand up at a counter - two wonderful hotdogs and a fresh tropical fruit drink - $2.99.

Try to squeeze in at least one meal in Chinatown - My favorites:
Fuleen Seafood, 11 Division Street (lunch prices are great )- portions are big and the shrimp dishes - ummm

Sunrise 27, 27 Division Street, I especially love their fried squid, but all the fish dishes are wonderful

NY Noodletown, 28 1/2 Bowery, small, drab, crowded - the food here is awesome

Shanghai Cuisine, 89 Bayard Street - really good Shanghai food

Have a great time!

Answer 2

Well, to be on the funky side, I guess I would suggest Umberto's In Little Italy. It is sort of a one of a kind. It's famous for being the site of one of the biggest mob shoot-outs in NYC. But other than that it does have good food. You get a bit of NY history and good italian food. It's truly NYC.
In the Village there is also Rocco's on Thompson Street, also a great restaurant, another spot known for a big shoot out. I lived across the street from there for years and always watched the people stopping in front to just look at it like it was on a tourist map. But, I did eat there and the food was very good.

Answer 3

Nobu Next Door, get there early b/f it opens, and just wait outside for a few and you'll get right in. It's the best sushi I have ever had. And you don't have to be all fancy.

Carmine's is great if you have a group. I took my out of town guest there, and they still haven't stopped talking about it.


Oh, and while in town, may I suggest a little fun outing to Magnolia's for some cupcakes...you may have to stand in line for a little while, but it's a great people watching corner, and the cupcakes and other goodies are very good.

Have fun!!!

Answer 4

walk around and eat pizza in diffent places,

make sure you get a hot dog on the street, they are always good

get a Gryo on the street,

the soup nazie from Sinefied really is in NYC, great soup

and to sit down for steaks go to Sparks, big buck but Paul Casilono got shot right in front, also the best steak house in NYC

Answer 5

"Funny", I was just thinking about these places yesterday.
I don't know if they are still in existance, but they were
called Horn and Hardart Cafeterias. The food was all behind small glass doors and everything was bought with Nickels.
Anywhere from one Nickel on up. Sandwiches, Pie etc, all
behind glass doors so you could see what you want. all
bought with nickels you got from a cashier.

I'm talking about 50 years ago.There could be some still left.
I think you would need something larger than Nickels. Maybe
Quarters.

Answer 6

It really depends how much you want to spend! In New York City, there is restaurants of all price ranges! The cheaper it is, the less quality you'll find, considering that some restaurants, have a big issue with food costs!

Answer 7

My favorite place to eat is Piccoline, near Lincoln Center. Delicious French and Italian cuisine

Answer 8

Tad's Steaks near Times Square. It's a New York experience. Great steaks plus every now and then the Folex vendors (Folex = fake Rolex) slide in and sell to some bonehead.

Answer 9

It you want to go someplace small and casual w/ excellent food, try cafe du soleil on 104th & Broadway. It is my absolute favorite place for brunch on Sunday morning - get the garlic soaked french fries, they're to die for. They also have excellent, simple French fare for dinner. Really a great find.

Answer 10

max.
it's a little, easy-to-miss italian place in the east village'
if the weather's nice, sit out back.
so picturesque!
they make a mean asparagus and smoked provolone ravioli with vodka sauce...

Answer 11

I heard a place called Forest Gumps is great. Great food great prices and a nice place..