NYC For A Week

My wife and I are traveling to NYC for a week in October. We love hidden hole in the wall places. We also love expensive restaurants, if the food is worth it. We have heard of a few places, but really want to eat a great meal for each day in NYC. We love bagels and pizza and are open to any suggestions. We are staying in Times Square.
 
Thanks!

Audiolover,

I am not sure what price range you are looking for or how much you are willing to venture out, but here are a few places. By times square there is a good Thai place called Room Service on 9th ave between 47th and 48th. I don't like the decor of the place, but I do like the food and the prices are very reasonable.

For a bar in the area with pretty good burgers and wings try Mr. Biggs on 43rd and 10th. For cheese steaks try shortys on 9th I believe between 41st and 42nd.

A nice little place for pizza and dessert try lalanternacaffe.com

And for Chinese Cuban food, great fried chicken and pork fried rice, try la dinastia http://menupages.com/restaurants/la-dinastia/

And for ice cream look up Steve's craft ice cream by bryant park

I will pass on the hole in the wall joints but these are excellent fine dining choices.  Good luck.
 
Gotham Bar and Grill, Jean George's, Daniel, Cafe Boulud, Harry Cipriani's, Gramercy Tavern, Keen's Steakhouse, Eleven Madison Park, Balthazar, Aureole, Union Square Cafe, Felidia, Marseille and Babbo. 
 
Go to Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for good burgers. And Dinosour for good BBQ.  And Central Park Boathouse for nice lunch in the park overlooking lake. 
 
And River Cafe under Brooklyn Bridge with view of downtown Manhattan across E River. 

Oh I also forgot the bridge cafe, which was originally a brothel, and apparently the oldest restaurant in nyc.

Also, if you go to la lanterna, make sure you sit in the back garden.

Suggestions are easier if you narrow down what parts of nyc you will be exploring.

Audilover, awesome!!  Welcome to Roadfood!!  I think you'll love the city.  
 
To echo what fatty was saying, do you like to walk?  
Are you willing to explore the other boroughs?  
Are you comfortable taking the subway or a taxi?  
Are there any restaurants in particular or icopnic foods that you want to try while you're in the city?  
How do you define "expensive restaurant"?  
 
A couple of sites that you might find useful:
1.)  http://midtownlunch.com/  (An in the know site for all places to eat in midtown Manhattan)
 
2.)  seriouseatsny.com  (great site for all things food related to NYC.  Great series on best bagels, sandwiches, Chinese, cupcakes, doughnuts, mac & cheese, great tourist spots, etc...)
 
3.)  menupages.com  (when you pull up this site you may have to select NY as the city, I have it as my default setting)  Great resource for menus, locations, hours and reviews.  Only covers Manhattan and Brooklyn.
 
A few of my favorite things:
1.)  The burger at Peter Luger's, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
2.)  Slice of pizza from Patsy's, Harlem
3.)  Nutella & Banana panini sandwich from BITE, corner of Lafayette & Bleecker Streets
4.)  Belgian frites from Pommes Frites on 2nd Ave near St. Mark's Place, East Village
5.)  Chocolate egg cream from Gem Spa (about 3 storefronts north of Pommes Frites) or from Lexington candy Shop on corner of 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue.
6.)  Pizza at Grimaldi's by Brooklyn Bridge (on Brooklyn side).  eat inside or my favorite, outside in the park by the water.  View are great, weather permitting of course.  Followed by ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory just down the street closer to the water.
7.)  Bagel at Ess-A-Bagel (either location), Leo's Bagels or Murray's Bagels
8.)  Donuts from The Donut Pub (corner of 14th Street & 7th Avenue) or the Doughnut Plant on Grand Street (Lower East Side)
9.)  Hot dogs at Gray's Papaya (72nd St & Broadway) or from Crif Dogs (St. Mark's Place & 1st Ave)
10.)  Pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli
11.)  Pie, cupcakes, banana pudding from Sugar Sweet Sunshine (Rivington St, Lower East Side)
12.)  Browsing through Economy Candy on Rivington Street
13.)  Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem
14.)  Vanessa's Dumplings on the Lower East Side
 
And a few Trip Report threads you might find helpful:
http://www.roadfood.com/F...York-City-m665184.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...d-Karilyn-m656137.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...York-City-m647641.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...York-City-m641842.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...with-pics-m623421.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...r-St-Fair-m589458.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...l-ever-do-m587463.aspx
 
http://www.roadfood.com/F...-2nd-trip-m552935.aspx
 
Hope this is helpful.  Happy Eating!!

billyboy


Audilover, awesome!!  Welcome to Roadfood!!  I think you'll love the city.  

To echo what fatty was saying, do you like to walk?  
Are you willing to explore the other boroughs?  
Are you comfortable taking the subway or a taxi?  
Are there any restaurants in particular or icopnic foods that you want to try while you're in the city?  
How do you define "expensive restaurant"?  

A couple of sites that you might find useful:
1.)    (An in the know site for all places to eat in midtown Manhattan)

2.)  seriouseatsny.com  (great site for all things food related to NYC.  Great series on best bagels, sandwiches, Chinese, cupcakes, doughnuts, mac & cheese, great tourist spots, etc...)

3.)  menupages.com  (when you pull up this site you may have to select NY as the city, I have it as my default setting)  Great resource for menus, locations, hours and reviews.  Only covers Manhattan and Brooklyn.

A few of my favorite things:
1.)  The burger at Peter Luger's, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
2.)  Slice of pizza from Patsy's, Harlem
3.)  Nutella & Banana panini sandwich from BITE, corner of Lafayette & Bleecker Streets
4.)  Belgian frites from Pommes Frites on 2nd Ave near St. Mark's Place, East Village
5.)  Chocolate egg cream from Gem Spa (about 3 storefronts north of Pommes Frites) or from Lexington candy Shop on corner of 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue.
6.)  Pizza at Grimaldi's by Brooklyn Bridge (on Brooklyn side).  eat inside or my favorite, outside in the park by the water.  View are great, weather permitting of course.  Followed by ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory just down the street closer to the water.
7.)  Bagel at Ess-A-Bagel (either location), Leo's Bagels or Murray's Bagels
8.)  Donuts from The Donut Pub (corner of 14th Street & 7th Avenue) or the Doughnut Plant on Grand Street (Lower East Side)
9.)  Hot dogs at Gray's Papaya (72nd St & Broadway) or from Crif Dogs (St. Mark's Place & 1st Ave)
10.)  Pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli
11.)  Pie, cupcakes, banana pudding from Sugar Sweet Sunshine (Rivington St, Lower East Side)
12.)  Browsing through Economy Candy on Rivington Street
13.)  Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem
14.)  Vanessa's Dumplings on the Lower East Side

And a few Trip Report threads you might find helpful:
















Hope this is helpful.  Happy Eating!!

Thanks for the info!
 
To echo what fatty was saying, do you like to walk?   Yes we love to walk.
Are you willing to explore the other boroughs?   We plan on exploring a bit during the day.
Are you comfortable taking the subway or a taxi?   Yes we plan on taking the subway during the day and taxis at night.
Are there any restaurants in particular or icopnic foods that you want to try while you're in the city?  I have heard about so many places, I am trying to stick to the places I have heard from a few sources. We love Italian, German, Chinese and French Food. We get plenty of BBQ in Savannah, so we are focusing on the Delis, Pizza, Bagels and some nicer famous chef restaurants (one or two). 
How do you define "expensive restaurant"?  We plan on eating at least one or two $200 dinners.

I have 4 more suggestions for you of pricier restaurants in Manhattan. Tribeca grill. The restaurant inside the ink48 hotel, the name escapes me, but go to the rooftop bar afterwards for a great view, sakagura is a Japanese tapas/sake bar (you feel like you are in Japan), and last is en vino Italian wine bar (great Italian food and wine).

Let us know where you end up going and enjoy.

audilover

Are you comfortable taking the subway or a taxi?   Yes we plan on taking the subway during the day and taxis at night.

I am not sure if this comes from a safety issue (some people think that subways are not safe at night) or for another reason, but the subway is a perfectly safe mode of transportation in the evenings - especially within the confines of Manhattan.  There are probably a few lines in the outer boroughs that I would be less inclined to ride at night, but there probably aren't any in Manhattan.
 
If it is because you will be dressed for dinner, I can understand taking a cab, but you still surely wouldn't be the only one dressed well on the subway, either!

I agree about riding the subway in Manhattan.  I lived on the Upper West Side the summer of 1979 when I was studying for the NY bar exam, and that's when I mastered the subway system.  I go to NYC several times a year on business on my own, and rarely take cabs anywhere.  I'm not sure I'd take the subway at night up to Harlem, as a woman traveling alone, but I may be slandering Harlem in saying that -- I haven't been up there for years.
 
I'd also encourage the use of buses.   I know they can seem erratic to the uninitiated, but they are surprisingly easy to use, if you spend a few minutes looking at the map. They can be slower than the subway, but during the day, they give you an opportunity to sight-see and get a better lay of the land.  I've taken buses to and from the Metropolitan Opera in the evening when I was dressed up, without any issues at all.
 
fattybomatty:  I'm glad to hear that Ink48 has a good restaurant. I'm going to be staying at that hotel in November. I've stayed at one of Kimpton's other properties in Manhattan (70 Park Avenue) several times, but they were sold out on the dates I needed to reserve, so I'm giving Ink48 a try.

You have some great suggestions from billyboy.  If you go to Katz's (as well you should), be sure to save room for a knish at Yonah Schimmel around the corner.
 
As Sollozzo would say, "it's the best in the city."

Rumaki,

I was very pleased with my meal at the ink48 restaurant and loved the view from the rooftop.

Audiolover,

If you have a smartphone, do yourself a favor and download the nyc subway map app. It is the best tool for seeing what you need to take to get where you are going. If you don't have one then.get yourself a subway map.

Also, make sure you check the mta website for planned services changes. On the weekends some trains will operate on different tracks or skip stations etc.

I will, once again, recommend a New York (mainly upper West Side) specialty: Comidas Chinas Y Criollas. This is a fusion between Chinese and Latin American (usually Cuban) food. It's cheap, and it's good, making it a favorite of students of the colleges up there (Columbia, City College, Barnard, Julliard, etc.). Not to mention counting as Roadfood.  My favorite, which adds Peruvian food to the mix, is Fleur de Mayo on Amsterdam Avenue between West 83rd and West 84th (they have another branch at 101st & Broadway, but I've never eaten there).
 
Bart

Katz's and Peter Luger's are my two favorites from last years trip. I had the Porterhouse at Luger's. It was worth all the hype. The bacon there was the best bacon I have ever had. I will take billyboy's advice and get the burger next time with bacon.  Had to have the steak my first time.

I second the Ess-A-Bagel recommendation. Watch out for their obnoxious counter people, however!

The subways are safe, but watch out for rats. We saw some last time we were in the NYC subway. Not that they were bothering anyone, but it was kind of creepy.

The only time I have ever encountered "obnoxious" counter people at Ess-A-Bagel is when someone is holding up the line.  They have no problem telling you that there are people waiting behind you who know what they want - and if you don't know what you want, get out of the line and figure it out.  If I'm in line behind someone holding up the line, I'd appreciate that.
 
There is a separate line for bulk bagels and one for sandwiches, spreads and the like.  As "obnoxious" as the counter people can be, I have had one of the bagel guys arrange for a sandwich for me (out of their job description...and they would have had every right to tell me to get in line!).  I knew what I wanted - and I knew that I was asking them for a favor, and tipped appropriately.  Amazingly, my service there was fine.

HDtravlr1
Katz's and Peter Luger's are my two favorites from last years trip. I had the Porterhouse at Luger's. It was worth all the hype. The bacon there was the best bacon I have ever had. I will take billyboy's advice and get the burger next time with bacon.  Had to have the steak my first time.

Last time I was at Katz's, it was something of a disappointment. The quality was not as high, and the size of the sandwiches seems to have gone down. Still, if you go there, don't forget to tip the counterman.
 
Bart

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We are very excited to visit NYC. Any tips on bedbugs? I am staying at the Hampton Times Square North. I run a hotel so I know a lot about them when it comes to hotels, but do not know much about them when talking about the broadway shows etc.