Where to Dine in NYC
When our children were young, my sister Janelle and I used to haul them into New York City to go to a museum or the Empire State Building, eat a couple of meals and see a Broadway show. We never ceased to be amazed by how much it costs to do anything in New York. We didn’t even spend the night and lovingly referred to our trips as “New York on $1,000 a day.” A big chunk of that went to eating.
People who don’t go to New York very often can be stymied about where to eat, particularly around Broadway when you are on a tight theater schedule. Don’t be suckered in by the promotions you are offered when you buy your tickets at broadway.com. There are literally too many restaurants to choose from so, as always, I exist to help you. Here are restaurants where I ate on my last NYC visit - some new, some old, and all worth visiting again. No doubt you are thinking it looks like I ate a lot, but I was there for 6 nights and there are only 14 restaurants. Do the math. But don’t even try to do the math on the credit card bill I will receive next month. Some things are best left to the imagination.
Here’s the list, in order of appearance. And because I know you will want to refer to this post the next time you visit New York, here is a link to my Google maps New York City Restaurant List. You’re welcome.
TAMARIND TRIBECA
99 Hudson St
What it’s near: Nothing. It’s a destination.
This is just really good Indian food in a cozy and elegant atmosphere. The first time I ate here must have been a long time ago because I remember we were talking about this new thing called “Snap Chat” and we all downloaded it to our phones and started using it. The service is divine: The waiters serve your shared dishes for you.
Don’t miss: The Poori and the Kashmiri Gosht
The view from Robert
ROBERT
2 Columbus Circle
What’s it’s near: Museum of Arts and Design, Time Warner Center shopping
FYI, this is pronounced like the american Robert, not the french ro-BARE. I asked because Lawler and I had a disagreement about the pronunciation and I don’t want to die ignorant. For the record, I was right. It is on the top floor above the Museum of Arts and Design, so it’s a good thing to do when you visit the museum, which is small and quirky and has a really good gift shop. The restaurant has a fabulous view of Columbus Circle, looking up Central Park West. It was snowing the morning we went there for brunch and it was like being inside a snow globe. The food is really good and they take reservations, which is more than you can say for a lot of brunch places in NYC.
Don’t miss: Brunch bellinis.
MARIA PIA
319 W 51st Street between 8th & 9th Ave
What it’s near: Broadway
It was Saturday night and we had (foolishly) planned to eat at Ippudo (see below) but they had a 2 hour wait list. That was a non-starter since we were due at the theater at 8:00. I have walked past this restaurant a million times on the way to Ippudo and always felt sorry for them because everyone else was also walking past them on the way to Ippudo. Well, they were kind enough to seat us very quickly at a charming table in the enclosed terrace that had a nice heater right next to our table. It is typical Italian food that was tasty enough. The service was excellent and they got us out with time to spare. My glass of pinot noir was enormous, which I found very generous and memorable.
Avocado Toast with Scrambled Eggs at Friedmans
FRIEDMANS
Inside the Edison Hotel NYC
228 West 47th Street
What it’s near: Broadway
I really like this restaurant because it has something for everyone, the food is good and, although they don’t take reservations, I have never had a problem getting seated quickly. Don’t let the fact that it is a hotel restaurant deter you. I have never had dinner there but I know it is good for brunch or lunch. I’m not a huge fan of stacked food, but it was easy enough to lift the scrambled eggs off of the avocado toast. The avocado toast was AMAZING and I know more than a little bit about what makes good avocado toast.
Insalata Riccia. I was so anxious to eat it, I almost forgot to take the picture.
MASSERIA DEI VINI
887 9TH Ave bet. 57th and 58th
What it’s near: between Broadway and Lincoln Center.
My Fair Lady is at Lincoln Center, which meant I had to walk up 9th Ave past my FAVORITE Italian restaurant. I go here every time I go to New York, often alone for lunch. In the summer you can eat outside and watch the people of Hell’s Kitchen walk by. In the winter you can sit inside at the bar.
Don’t miss: The Insalata Riccia (Frisee Salad with Parmesan Cheese & Crispy Bacon). It is the reason why I go there.
LINCOLN RISTORANTE
142 West 65th Street
What it’s near: Lincoln Center.
When I stepped out of My Fair Lady I felt as though I could have danced all night until I saw that it was raining and snowing and altogether a very nasty evening. A friend who lives near Lincoln Center recommended this restaurant, which is just outside the entrance to the Vivian Beaumont Theater. It is snazzy and elegant with a big open kitchen that serves stylish nouveau Italian food. I had the sturgeon, which is a fish you don’t run across every day, and it was delicious. It was served over cannellini beans, so it reminded me a bit of my salmon with white beans and arugula recipe which, if you have not tried it, you should. Tony and I eat it about once a week. The restaurant has a nice view of Lincoln Center and comfortable swivel chairs, which are nice when you have been sitting in a theater seat for a long time. I’m pretty sure they take reservations, which would be a big plus if you are eating pre-theater.
THE MODERN
9 W. 53rd St. bet. 5th and 6th Ave
What it’s near: The Museum of Modern Art
This is the restaurant inside MOMA and, trust me, it is no museum cafeteria. Four people shared a bunch of small plates and a bottle of sparkling wine, because it was my niece Rosalie’s birthday. The sommelier was kind and helpful, which was a good thing since the wine list is 118 pages long. We made it clear that we did not want to spend a thousand dollars on a bottle of bubbly and she helped us choose a crémant (2014 Julian Labet Crémant de Jura) that was a very reasonable $65.
We had steak tartare, charred avocado with king crab, roasted butternut squash with burrata, and shaved fennel with smoked salmon and grapefruit. I told you it wasn’t a museum cafeteria. You can make a reservation so you should do that the next time you visit MOMA.
21 Club
21 West 52nd Street
What’s it near: Broadway
21 is a popular spot where ingenues celebrate their 21st birthday. Rosalie didn’t get to do that 10+ years ago so her mother took us all to dinner this year to celebrate. And believe me, I was thrilled that my sister picked up the tab for this one. The food and service at 21 are impeccable, but the ambiance and cachet are really what this restaurant is all about. Janelle had been seated next to a man at To Kill a Mockingbird that she started chatting up, as only Janelle can do, and it turns out he is a regular at 21. Like, he has been going there every day at 4:00pm for YEARS. He said to mention his name and they would show us the legendary hidden speakeasy in the basement. So we did and they did. Check out the slide show below.
FAT CAT
75 Christopher Street at 7th Ave
What’s it near: It doesn’t matter, because that’s not what this place is about. Not at all.
When we left 21, everyone was still feeling celebratory and Rosalie wasn’t ready to call it a day, so we asked Lawler to take us to a bar. I’m not sure we actually specified what sort of bar, so when we got to the Fat Cat we all pretty much thought Lawler had completely parted company with her senses. You go down a sketchy stairway and meet up with a sketchy guy who, honest to god, carded every one of us. Loyal readers may remember that the last time I worried about being carded was on Senior Day at Kroger, so at least this time I knew I was going to pass muster. I got my hand stamped (something that hadn’t happened to me in at least 30 years) then passed into the main room of this “establishment.”
Fat Cat is called “New York’s best-equipped gaming center” and it has jazz. It’s this big underground room that triggered a PTSD experience from a frat party I went to in 1980. The chair where my sister Janelle actually sat says it all.
This chair seat should give you a good idea of the Fat Cat ambience - in the style of “early frat house.”
I felt a little overdressed in my fur collared sweater and Bulgari earrings but no one seemed to notice.
We drank some beers, played some shuffleboard and listened to jazz. Fat Cat turned out to be extremely fun and a great end to the heretofore seemingly endless birthday celebration.
Russ and Daughters serves all kinds of house-smoked fish, knishes, latkes, caviar and homemade sodas. Rosalie is normally a huge fan of lox and bagel but less so the morning after her birthday extravaganza. No one was much in the mood for kippered herring that morning but I had the Classic lox and bagel with the usual accompaniments and it was quite remarkable. Afterwards we went to The Tenement Museum where we went on the sweatshop tour of a tenement house from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. In many ways it was similar to the Lower East Side tenement where Lawler lives today, only she has 400 square feet all to herself, whereas the people who lived in the apartments we visited would have had a mother, father and six children in that space. Tenement Museum tours are all by appointment only, so be sure to book your tour in advance.
Joe’s Shanghai is another restaurant I try to visit every time I go to New York. It is generally very crowded, so I was surprised when Janelle and I were able to walk in and be seated at 1:00pm. Then I saw the sign: “We are no longer serving alcohol. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Some might find it to be an inconvenience, but I see it as an opportunity to get soup dumplings without a long wait. In case you don’t know what it is, a soup dumpling is a steamed dumpling (pictured here) filled with soup and a meatball. You pick the dumpling up and put it in one of those china spoons. You chew a little hole in the side, suck the soup out, then eat the dumpling and the meatball inside. There are some things I like to order in restaurants because they are a lot of trouble to make at home, like bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Goodness knows soup dumplings fit into that category and I am happy to forego alcohol for the chance to eat Joe’s soup dumplings without a wait. We ate Peking Duck there on Christmas eve and it was delicious too. If you do have to wait for a table, get a drink at The Whitby, next door, because it has a very swell bar. And a liquor license.
DUTCH FRED’S
307 W 47th St
What it’s near: Broadway
Dutch Fred’s is Lawler’s and my new go-to restaurant for a pre-theater meal. Legend has it that Dutch Fred, who was a cop, gave Hell’s Kitchen its name during prohibition. He supposedly said, “Hell’s a mild climate. This is Hell’s Kitchen.” The restaurant that carries his name has GREAT cocktails with names like Panic at the Disco (my favorite), Ginger Rogers (Lawler’s favorite) and Dutch’s Punch (Rosalie’s restorative “hair of the dog”). We usually get a bunch of small plates to share and everything is always delicious.
Don’t miss: Eggplant Chips with clover honey and sea salt, or any of the flatbreads
IPPUDO
321 W 51st St, or 24 W. 46th St.
What it’s near: Broadway
There are three locations of Ippudo, but these are the only two I have been to. There is ALWAYS a line at Ippudo, so on Wednesday (my last night in NYC) I went there at 4:55pm. They don’t open the doors until 5pm, so I stood in the vestibule and by the time 5:00 came around there were 4 people behind me. By 5:15 all the tables were occupied and the line went out the door. So that’s how you do Ippudo - arrive at 4:55. Why? Because they make the best dang Ramen in NYC. It’s all about the umami, which is that elusive fifth flavor besides sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. Also, the pork buns are amazing. When you walk into Ippudo the person guiding you to your table calls out, "Irasshaimase," and all the other people respond with some other shout. For all I know he is saying, “check out THIS old bitch,” but it seems very festive and friendly and that’s good enough for me.
SHAKE SHACK
366 Columbus Avenue at West 77th Street
What it’s near: The Museum of Natural History
There are Shake Shacks all over New York City, because that’s where it was born, as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park. Now they are also all over the country, but there aren’t any where I live, so this was my first visit to a Shake Shack. They have really good burgers, fries and, obviously, shakes. Technically this is a fast food restaurant, where you place your order at the counter and then find somewhere to sit. At $22.00 for two burgers, a shared small order of fries and a shake, it’s the only fast food restaurant I have found that is more expensive than Chick-Fil-A. Fast food for the beautiful people.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in NYC that you think we all need to know about? Do tell, and I’ll add it to my interactive NYC Restaurant List.