1026 replies to this topic

[alan7147]

Heading up to NYC this weekend to see some friends. I know we have reservations at the strip house (more along the line of the Palm rather than Good Guys) on Friday night. Has anyone been there and could comment on the restaurant. I have read some favorable reviews about the food (interesting sides like goose fat potatoes) but have heard that the wait even with reservations can be long.

[crackers]

Heading up to NYC this weekend to see some friends. I know we have reservations at the strip house (more along the line of the Palm rather than Good Guys) on Friday night. Has anyone been there and could comment on the restaurant.  I have read some favorable reviews about the food (interesting sides like goose fat potatoes) but have heard that the wait even with reservations can be long.

Do you mean Robert's Steakhouse? If so, "strip house" is accurate.

Edited by crackers, 28 August 2005 - 02:08 PM.

[jparrott]

Nope. Strip House is a normal steak place.

That said, folks, one of the best kept secrets in NYC is that Peter Luger has no wait at lunchtime. Go from there to Otto to taste grappa, and you're ready for the evening!

[cjsadler]

Can anyone recommend any mid-priced places in NYC? (That means something south of Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, etc). Under consideration are Lupa, August, and Landmarc.

[Hannah]

Can anyone recommend any mid-priced places in NYC?  (That means something south of Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, etc).  Under consideration are Lupa, August, and Landmarc.

It's kind of hard to go wrong with any of the Batali empire; we've tried Babbo, Esca, Otto and the Spotted Pig, and they're all excellent, so I can't imagine Lupa wouldn't be too. Babbo is a little high for the "mid-priced" range, but the others are pretty solidly within it. Otto's worth the trip just for the gelato.

Artisanal is another moderately priced option - even if you don't do the cheese plate, the other dishes make it worth a visit. The gougeres in particular are out of this world, and we had a particularly nice heirloom tomato soup a couple of weeks ago.

[crackers]

Can anyone recommend any mid-priced places in NYC?  (That means something south of Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, etc).  Under consideration are Lupa, August, and Landmarc.

Not trendy or hip, but for sublime upscale Vietnamese, try Boi on E. 44th in Murray Hill.

[bilrus]

I had an excellent lunch at Landmarc back in February. Everything we had from the extensive menu was very good, really cheap wine list.

I'd also put in a thumbs up for Otto and Artisinal - word of advice - get something with cheese.

Bread Bar at Tabla is another mid-priced option I've liked - good, forward thinking Indian.

[Tweaked]

Skip mid range and go decidedly low range in Chinatown!

XO Kitchen
148 Hester Street
New York, NY 10013
212/965-8645

[Waitman]

Go to the front room of the Grammercy Tavern. Spectacular food, beautiful but informal setting. No reservations, so early or late are your best bet.

[cjsadler]

Go to the front room of the Grammercy Tavern.  Spectacular food, beautiful but informal setting.  No reservations, so early or late are your best bet.

It was a meal in the back room of the Grammercy Tavern about 5 years ago that led me down the financially ruinous food path I'm on now.

That's a good idea, though-- I forgot about their front room.

[jparrott]

Note to winos--Gramercy Tavern (front room or back) has the 1998 von Buhl Ungeheuer Spatlese trocken for a bloody-steal $42.

Otto is the best place to drink in NYC--800-selection Italian wine list and a sommelier always on duty, even on Sunday afternoons at 3PM. Great cheese and salumi, etc.

[silentbob]

Hard to disagree with Gramercy Tavern's front room or Otto.

Even if you get gelato at Otto, I would recommend a pit stop at il Laboratorio as well.

[bioesq]

Can anyone recommend any mid-priced places in NYC?  (That means something south of Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, etc).  Under consideration are Lupa, August, and Landmarc.

Consider Po, which is on Carnelia Street in the Village. It has a six-course tasting menu at the unheard of price of $48, and the food is extraordinary. I think that this was Mario's first place in New York, and it continues in the tradition. It's small, not elegant and a tough reservation, but a wonderful value for New York or, for that matter, anywhere else.

[brr]

Can anyone recommend any mid-priced places in NYC?  (That means something south of Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, etc).  Under consideration are Lupa, August, and Landmarc.

Its not a 'name' place but one of the meals we had in NYC earlier this year was at an place called Cibo. They have a 3 course lunch menu for $26.95. It was nothing earth shattering but it was nice.....

www.cibonyc.com

and Otto is really great - if nothing else go for the olive oil gelato sprinkled with sea salt!

[JLK]

Po is no longer a part of the Batali empire, but I still love it. For my last two years living in NYC ('99-01), I ate there at least every ten days. My apartment building was just feet away. *sigh* the good old days!

I never had a bad meal at Lupa, although some were preceded by really long waits. I keep meaning to get to Otto.

On my next visit, I'm planning to visit Churrascaria Tropical in Astoria, an easy subway ride away. I used to frequent the now-defunct Riodizio, as well as the still-in-business Churrascaria Plataforma. The latter now charges close to $50 per person and I'm hearing Tropical presents food of the same or better quality for less than $30.

[Sthitch]

Can anyone recommend any mid-priced places in NYC?  (That means something south of Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, etc).  Under consideration are Lupa, August, and Landmarc.

I would recommend Craft. The food is simple, but perfectly prepared. I have been a number of times, and never had a course, or a side that was anything other than spectacular. As an example, the lobster is so sweet you will think that they must of added a touch of sugar to it.
As for Artisanal, just go and order cheese or fondue, avoid the rest which is fine, but nothing spectacular.

[bilrus]

I would recommend Craft.  The food is simple, but perfectly prepared.  I have been a number of times, and never had a course, or a side that was anything other than spectacular.  As an example, the lobster is so sweet you will think that they must of added a touch of sugar to it. 
As for Artisanal, just go and order cheese or fondue, avoid the rest which is fine, but nothing spectacular.

I'm a fan of Craft too - my advice, go for the simple and you'll experience great ingredients perfectly prepared. The only things I've had there that I didn't love were the more complicated dishes.

[Sthitch]

For all of the times I have been there I have never tried any of the more complicated dishes. I always assumed that if I wanted them, I would just stick with Gramercy Tavern (which does a wonderful job on them).

[cjsadler]

Speaking of Craft, I was at Hearth this weekend, which is the restaurant of former Craft executive chef Marco Canora. I've never experienced Craft, but Hearth continues the philosophy of Craft: very high quality ingredients prepared simply. It's hard to fault any of the food we had, as preparation and quality was all faultless, but I don't know how excited I was about the place. Maybe I'm just jaded after all the eating out I've been doing, but the food just came across as too simple. An amuse of parsnip soup was pureed parsnip with a little butter and cream. It was fine, but didn't go beyond that. The skate I had was sauteed perfectly and served with a bare hint of vinaigrette and some roasted root vegetables. This was perfectly fine as well. However, I don't know if this is the type of thing I'm looking for when I go out to eat in NYC. These days, you can buy similar quality fish from Black Salt and cook it with some butter and s+p to the same effect, or get some nice vegetables from the farmer's market and roast them. (Though if I lived in NYC, or was up there more, I might enjoy going to Hearth occationally).

However, the next day, a brunch at Prune showed how remarkable simplicity can be (Chef Gabrielle Hamilton is known for simplicity... and for using offal). An omelet stuffed with fried oysters was somehow more than the sum of its parts. The perfectly (and I mean perfectly) fresh and well cooked eggs combined with the crisp oysters and a strange sauce of tabasco and powdered sugar to create the greatest omelete ever. A thick, baked pancake with pears was insanely good. The housemade lamb sausage was the best I've ever had. Worth the wait (no reservations for brunch-- plan on about an hour)

[Lydia R]

Skip mid range and go decidedly low range in Chinatown! XO Kitchen

Any other Chinatown recs? Heading to NYC in a couple of weeks and want to explore more of Lower Manhattan - maybe, weather permitting, walking across the bridge for Grimaldi pizza and exploring DUMBO.

Got amateur night dinner reservations at Tribeca Grill and Bolo (Flay's Spanish restaurant). Usually have Upper East/West Side centered visits so please help me make smart choices (BF awarded bonus points for August RW dinner at Cordouroy). Babbo/Lupia/Otto are booked (any walk-in tactics?).

[CrescentFresh]

One of my faves in the city is Piccolo Angolo at the corner of Hudson and Jane. Reservations are a must, and even then it might be a little bit before they can squeeze you in. Sometimes service can be brusque. The tasty house vino comes in a bottle with a "Grolsch top." Not that there's anything wrong with that. Nevertheless, it's really great food at a really decent price. And you never know who you might meet! Black Sheep got to wait on line for the rest room with Mike Piazza. Good thing she's a Mets fan!

[crackers]

Any other Chinatown recs?

My current favorite dim sum place in Chinatown is Dim Sum Go Go. Dumb name, but great dim sum. The roast duck dumplings are worth the trip alone. And by that I mean the trip to NYC. They don't do carts, everything is made fresh to order, and there's are photos on the menu if you're unsure of what everything is. 5 E. Broadway, on the east side of Chatham Square.

Edited by crackers, 19 October 2005 - 09:40 AM.

[bilrus]

I want to try Dim Sum Go Go next time I'm in town - last time I went to Sweet n Tart for Dim Sum and it was very good. Again, it was an order off the menu deal.

The best bite of food I had on that trip was the Stuffed Eggplant at Sweet n Tart. And that trip included a meal at Per Se.

[crazeegirl]

Any other Chinatown recs?

Joe's Shanghai's soup dumpling at 9 Pell Street, (between Bowery and Mott streets).

[silentbob]

Depending on the weather, there's always the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Mmmm, lychee sorbet.

If it's colder, you can walk down to the Doughnut Plant on the Lower East Side. They also serve some extraordinarily rich Valhrona hot chocolate.

[JLK]

I never went to Lupa WITH a reservation; just a willingness to sit at the bar for a glass of wine or two. My friend who frequents Otto isn't the reservations sort so I'd be surprised if you couldn't go and wait there too. As for Babbo, if you're dining solo or with just one other, perhaps the bar would work?

[MissCindy]

I ate at the bar at Babbo a year or so ago by arriving very shortly after they opened. It was an early dinner but it was hassle free and enjoyable. The bartender was nice (when we told him we were from Baltimore, he couldn't stop talking about how much he loves Peter's) and he took good care of us. One strange thing did happen - my husband went to the bathroom and the minute he left a waiter approached, handed me a Babbo card with his name and cell number written on the back and told me to call if I ever need reservations. I threw the card away or else I'd pass on his number.

[cjsadler]

I forgot to mention Devi from the other weekend. Old Egulleteers might remember Suvir Saran (India host). It's his place, and it's pretty spectacular. He's taken Indian home cooking and modernized in a restaurant setting to great effect. Check out his cookbook too.

[bookluvingbabe]

New York here I come!

I haven't been in the city since April. (Wow--much longer than normal) I'm going for work so I'm juggling all sorts of needs and limited time.

On my list:

Shake Shack
A tour of the various cupcake war outlets. (Can I find my way around the Lower East Side on my own???)
Blue Smoke
Knickerbocker
Maria Pia
Either Balthazar or Pastis fo breakfast one morning.

I meant to sit on my phone for Babbo reservations and then got too busy. Sigh...

The only one that really worries me is Maria Pia --it got nice comments on menupages.com and I really liked the menu and it's right around the corner from my first meeting... We'll see.

Then I'm off to Cincinnati with even less free time... I'll work some chili in and that's about it.

[Hannah]

On my list:

Shake Shack

Shake Shack is really good, but be careful if you're pressed for time - if they're at all busy it'll take a while for your order to come out since everything's cooked to order. (Burger, fries, concrete, and soda took >45 min.)

[Sthitch]

Blue Smoke

I have not been all that impressed with Blue Smoke. I think that it might be best BBQ in New York, but that is not really saying a whole lot. The pulled pork would not make you forget Starlight or Lexington #1 (if you have ever been to either). Plus they serve it on a Brioche bun. Brioche? Serving pulled pork on brioche sounds to me like serving, well I don't know what, it just is never done. The richness of the bun takes away from what should be the focal point, the BBQ. The ribs are good, but not something I would make a special trip for, and not something I would spend Blue Smoke kind of money on.
If you do go, you will have a good meal, but I think you can find better food in NYC so I would not waste my precious meal times going there. If you want real Que, head south.

[JLK]

I've never heard of Maria Pia. Did you scope it out with any NYC friends or on the other board?

If you're dining solo or with one other person, you can probably get in at the bar at Babbo.

Personally, I always loved Magnolia Bakery which was close to home for me. It's in the West Village (not LES) at Bleecker and Perry Streets.

[bookluvingbabe]

I've never heard of Maria Pia.  Did you scope it out with any NYC friends or on the other board? 

If you're dining solo or with one other person, you can probably get in at the bar at Babbo.

Personally, I always loved Magnolia Bakery which was close to home for me.  It's in the West Village (not LES) at Bleecker and Perry Streets.

Unfortunately we've got 4 people so I'm pretty much out of luck for Babbo. Maria Pia got good reviews elsewhere and had good word of mouth from friends. I just don't usually trust Italian that far uptown. I've had many a NY trip where I never get farther than Union Square.

The cupcake place on the LES I want to try is Buttercup Cafe, I think. I'm too far away from my file. It's another of the Magnolia break-aways. I'll work in Magnolia after the Knickerbocker and maybe if I feel like doing some serious walking, I'll hit Billy's Bakery too.

I'll need to walk if I'm going to eat that many cupcakes!

Jennifer

[bookluvingbabe]

I have not been all that impressed with Blue Smoke.  I think that it might be best BBQ in New York, but that is not really saying a whole lot.  The pulled pork would not make you forget Starlight or Lexington #1 (if you have ever been to either).  Plus they serve it on a Brioche bun.  Brioche?  Serving pulled pork on brioche sounds to me like serving, well I don't know what, it just is never done.  The richness of the bun takes away from what should be the focal point, the BBQ.  The ribs are good, but not something I would make a special trip for, and not something I would spend Blue Smoke kind of money on. 
If you do go, you will have a good meal, but I think you can find better food in NYC so I would not waste my precious meal times going there.  If you want real Que, head south.

I went to Blue Smoke last fall with friends and really liked it. I've got a group of five this time and this seemed like the most likely to fit this groups bill. I think Virgil's at Times Square has good que too...

Fortunately I hit NY often enough, usually, that I can get in most of my wishes eventually...

[bilrus]

Blue Smoke is pretty good and consistent (better than anything within a half hour drive of DC), but it's not a place I'd go too far out of my way for.

One option is a show at the Jazz Standard downstairs from Blue Smoke where they serve the full menu (I believe). Might not be an option for this trip, but it is a good spot for decent food and entertainment.

Edited by bilrus, 06 November 2005 - 04:39 PM.

[deangold]

On the cheap front, I love Gan Mee Oak on 32 street (by 5th I think) in Seoul Alley. Incredible Seoul Long Tang- beef shin soup. You get a bowl for $7.00 with the best Kim Chee and pickled turnip I've ever had. You add salt and green onion to the broth and dip some Kim Chee into it to add heat. Its so good!

In Chian Town, on Bayard is Yeah Shanghai which has superb small dishes and Shanghai soup dumplings. Put a dumpling in the spoon and then nibble the end of the dumpling. Now you can suck out the rich soup and then eat the dumpling.

Lupa is great but very rich. I love 'inoteca on Rivington and Orchard for cured meats, snacks and great wine.

Esca is also very good for fish.

Blue Ribbon Bakery is great for modern French Bistro foods. Nice wine list. Its on Bedford by Carmine.

[JLK]

Almost forgot! bergerka on egullet recently talked about eating at Dumpling House in Chinatown followed by cocktails at Pegu Club. If you look at her blog there, you can see pics on (I think) page 3.

[bookluvingbabe]

Almost forgot!  bergerka on egullet recently talked about eating at Dumpling House in Chinatown followed by cocktails at Pegu Club.  If you look at her blog there, you can see pics on (I think) page 3.

Pegu Club! My conference call for tomorrow has been cancelled and I have 3 hours to kill before dinner. I see a pre-dinner cocktail in my future. Thanks for the reminder!

I was too tired and too full after a late breakfast at Balthazar to hit the Shake Shack today. I can't believe I'm saying that. My foodie rep is being ruined!!!!

Jennifer

[JLK]

Interesting web site for Pegu Club

[FunnyJohn]

I was just strolling around the neighborhood where I'm staying this weekend (West Villlage) and off of Hudson I turned onto W 10th and, looking for a place to have a glass of wine, I stopped at a place that said Tuscany in the window. Fate takes a Hand! I had lucked into finding a brand new place (open since August) called Maremma after the beef producing part of Tuscany. Lovely space, friendly chef, friendly bartender. The menu refers to the cowboy culture of the eponymous part of Tuscany the owner harkens from. Entrees include the Wild Bill Cody (paparadelle with chocolate wild boar sauce), the Tumbleweed (spinach tagliatelle with pork ragu) -- you get the picture. Don't be put off by the cutsyness of the entree names -- this stuff is the real deal. I had the Wild Bill, and my daughter had Spaghetti Western (pasta with lamb meatballs). All the wines come from Maremma and includes the Tenuta Ornellia 2001. The dessert list, while small, is all made in house ('xcept the Gellati). I had the semi fredo -- scrumptuous!
I asked why they had no bisteaka fiorintina and was told the owner had purchased about 15 head of the cattle indigenous to Tuscany and was raising them in upstate NY. As soon as they are ready to produnce, the bisteaka will be on the menu.
I was pleased to have been able to lend some support to this new estabishment, but it looks like it will be a hit -- they were full by the time we left at around 9. Highly recommend!

[tanabutler]

I ate at Dévi when in NYC in May. It was spectacular.

I posted some photos here. (Click for captions.)

The Chai Panna Cotta was one of the best desserts I've ever had (made with Earl Grey tea, FWIW).

[CrescentFresh]

I was just strolling around the neighborhood where I'm staying this weekend (West Villlage) and off of Hudson I turned onto W 10th and, looking for a place to have a glass of wine, I stopped at a place that said Tuscany in the window.  Fate takes a Hand!  I had lucked into finding a brand new place (open since August) called Maremma after the beef producing part of Tuscany.  Lovely space, friendly chef, friendly bartender.  The menu refers to the cowboy culture of the eponymous part of Tuscany the  owner harkens from.  Entrees include the Wild Bill Cody (paparadelle with chocolate wild boar sauce), the Tumbleweed (spinach tagliatelle with pork ragu) -- you get the picture.  Don't be put off by the cutsyness of the entree names -- this stuff is the real deal.  I had the Wild Bill, and my daughter had Spaghetti Western (pasta with lamb meatballs).  All the wines come from Maremma and includes the Tenuta Ornellia 2001.  The dessert list, while small, is all made in house ('xcept the Gellati).  I had the semi fredo -- scrumptuous!
I asked why they had no bisteaka fiorintina and was told the owner had purchased about 15 head of the cattle indigenous to Tuscany and was raising them in upstate NY.  As soon as they are ready to produnce, the bisteaka will be on the menu.
I was pleased to have been able to lend some support to this new estabishment, but it looks like it will be a hit -- they were full by the time we left at around 9.  Highly recommend!

Sounds nice. I'll have to check it out. It's near my personal favorite, Piccolo Angolo on Hudson at Jane.

[deangold]

I went to XO last night. We had some pretty ordinary won ton soup and XO noodles which were rice noodles with a little curry powder and some ordinary seafood. Our last dish was ham and seafood dumplings: 5 soup dumplings with a sweetish broth made even sweeter by a soy based dipping sauce. They were superb. They came in a little bit of outstanding chicken soup. If all the meal was like this one dish, we would be back. However I would go back to Yeah on Bayard.

Also on this trip, we ate at Barbuto (Washington & 12 in the meatpacking district). Save your mony- we spent $170 for three and nothing rose above ordinary. The service was borderline at best. I had braised Korobota Pork ribs, very tasty. But the preparation was sweet enough for dessert. Kay had a lamb pasta that was OK and our third has some sauteed fish. Our starters were no btter. I could't eat most of my salumi plate, we had a clam plate for the table that tasted only of chorizo, our third had a soup that was the dish of th night. Kay's started was roasted caulifower which was billed as with anchovy but was a little leathery and distinctly lacking in anchovy flavor. Wine list weak with pricing at 4 times wholesale or more. RIPOFF! Good olives though!

Fresco by Scotto (37 E 52) was a huge lunch with a wine importer... great food if not particularly Tuscan as billed. We ahd some really decadent potatoe and zucchini chips doused in melted cheese. Next up was an eggplant parmigiano, heavy, dese and flavorful. Split 4 ways it was huge. My entree was a seafood salad. We drank a Negramaro from Puglia soon to make its debut on the Dino Wine Book (about December 5 or so. The lunch was $380 but I am sure the wine was $150 or more.

Last night we had a lovely cheese plate at 'inotecca (Rivington & Ludlow) accompanied by a glass of Santa Chiara from Paolo Bea, Refosco Dorigo (seemed to have been aged in barrique) and something funky from Lazio. Good snack and great scene.

TOday its off to the Met to see the Fra Angelico and the Van Gogh exhibits. Probably off to Chinatown again and then to shop a little at Century 21.

Edited by deangold, 18 November 2005 - 09:18 AM.

[deangold]

Forgot about very civilized drinks at Gramercy Tavern. Had a well made martini and Kay and our third had very good glasses of wine. VERY expensive but great bar nuts!

[Waitman]

Unfortunately we've got 4 people so I'm pretty much out of luck for Babbo.  Maria Pia got good reviews elsewhere and had good word of mouth from friends.  I just don't usually trust Italian that far uptown.  I've had many a NY trip where I never get farther than Union Square.

The cupcake place on the LES I want to try is Buttercup Cafe, I think.  I'm too far away from my file.  It's another of the Magnolia break-aways.  I'll work in Magnolia after the Knickerbocker and maybe if I feel like doing some serious walking, I'll hit Billy's Bakery too.

I'll need to walk if I'm going to eat that many cupcakes!

Jennifer

Don't know if you've made your NYC jaunt yet, but Babbo also sets aside some tables for walk-ins. If you don't mind eating early you can show up when they open the doors and get on the list, and it shouldn't take too long to get seated. You may be able to pull the same deal and eat late, but I'd worry that they'd run out of tables and close down before they got to you.

Edited by Waitman, 18 November 2005 - 09:54 AM.

[deangold]

Our final 2 meals in NYC:

Yeah at 65 Bayard in CHinatown. 2 orders of shanghai soup dumplings, one ordered after the other because one order wasn't enough. A triple cold plate: smoked pork (dense meat with little smoke flavor but quite rich and meaty), 8 presciuos jewels (a bunch of chopped ingredients like shiitake, squash, peanuts all cooked and marinated in a spicy soy based sauce) and mock duck which was bean curd skin stuffed with mushrooms. all for $20.00. Fantastic!

The Steakhouse at Fairway Market (74th and Broadway)- roast clams in a white broth, garlicky and good. A huge protion of skirt steak char broiled rare served with incredible French fries and roasted cherry tomatoes, pan fried trout with capers, 3 glasses of wine all for under $80! Always good, especially before an opera or other performance at Lincoln Center.

[bookluvingbabe]

Don't know if you've made your NYC jaunt yet, but Babbo also sets aside some tables for walk-ins.  If you don't mind eating early you can show up when they open the doors and get on the list, and it shouldn't take too long to get seated.  You may be able to pull the same deal and eat late, but I'd worry that they'd run out of tables and close down before they got to you.

I'm going to try to do that whe I go back in January. I was juggling to much to try to do that this time.

I ended up with a lovely breakfast at Balthazar--yummy eggs norwegian.

Late lunch at the Shake Shack that I then had to walk up to Midtown to work off.

One mediocre cupcake at Buttercup Bakery. (With rude-ish service.)

A terrific dinner at Maria Pia on 51st between 9th and 10th. Great pastas; good fish and a calamari special that was breathtaking.

A pretty good dinner at the Knickerbocker with some of the most inept but cheerful service that we ended up tipping 30%. The poor waiter clearly needed to go back and start the day over. But we had no other plans for the evening, my gimlet was good and the food was as solid as ever. The chocolate souffle makes up for almost anything.

I had walked down from Times Square though so I was too tired to hit either Pegu or Magnolia as planned after dinner.

Had a final dinner at West Bank Cafe in the theater district. Nice solid meal as well. Had a terrific duck with a parsnip mash.

Went down to Billy's Bakery to snag cupcakes for breakfast and that was the extent of my NY dining this time.

As I said, I'll be back in January and will hopefully be able to make better choices with fewer things to juggle. I was running between Times Square, Midtown East and the tip of the island for work so alas, food got the short end of the priorities this time.

Sigh...

Jennifer

[mxyzptlk]

Can anyone recommend a place in Manhattan for Christmas dinner? Fiancé and I decided to spend Christmas weekend up north and are trying to figure out where to have Christmas dinner. If it matters, we're staying in the upper west side. I think for Christmas Eve, we are leaning towards Lever House.... thanks in advance.

[AlliK]

Had some good eating in NYC a few weekends ago -

The Harrison in TriBeCa (short review in last week's NYT) was very good for upscale American food I guess you'd call it in a very un-stuffy atmosphere. Very nice waitstaff (as the NYT also mentions). We had a very difficult time choosing 2 appetizers from among 3 contenders. The waiter ended up bringing us the runner up that we had passed to share after our main appetizer course - a yummy way to sample the "biscuits and gravy" dish.

The second night we ended up at Casimir, a cozy french bistro, on 103 Avenue B between 6th and 7th. Tasty steak frites, duck confit, salads, etc.

Dessert was at Billy's Bakery in Chelsea for an awesome (in terms of taste and size) slice of banana cake with cream cheese frosting. We saw the little "order half pieces for half price" sign by the register too late.

[brian]

Can anyone recommend a place in Manhattan for Christmas dinner? Fiancé and I decided to spend Christmas weekend up north and are trying to figure out where to have Christmas dinner. If it matters, we're staying in the upper west side. I think for Christmas Eve, we are leaning towards Lever House.... thanks in advance.

Last year on Christmas Eve I booked dinne for my family at Metrazur. It's a Charlie Palmer place on the mezzanine of the main hall at Grand Central, so you're really sitting in the terminal. The meal was pretty good, but the atmosphere (surely the most important thing for a Christmas dinner out?) was out of this world.