I'm spending 3 nights in NYC with friends - where sould we dine? I would appreciate any variations of expensive/cheap/wonderful/delicious opinions you may have. Thanks so much.

Carly -- You'll have to give us a little more to work with. Price range? Neighborhood? Type of cuisine?

I'm still working on the expensive/cheap portion of your request. You mean price isn't even an issue? There's not enough room on this site to begin to list all the good restaurants in New York. You'll have to give us a little more information.
Otherwise, just walk down any street and pop into the first busy place you see. Or simply eat on the street. For cheap it's hard to beat an NYC hot dog stand.

There's a TON of recent info on this subject on this site already. There have been so many suggestions from other people's threads, that I just checked out reviews (fodors, zagat, citysearch, cuisinenet) of the places that NYC folks recommended, and matched it with our itinerary and budget. It took some time, but it was worth it, and I'm looking forward to tasting my choices in Feb! Good luck!

Not to be too snide, but could you be more vague? What about doing a search before asking people to do ALL the work for you? This is a topic that has been discussed numerous times, by numerous people, and has been posted very recently so the info is up to date. A little effort on your part would go a long way. THEN, ask for opinions on your narrowed down criteria. Thank you.

SVEVA - -that is what someone else said to me about Fodors,most of the people who ask questions just want other people to do the work for them.

By expensive/cheap I mean I'd love to hear any comments about either. Cheap one night, expensive the next. This is a whirlwind trip and we're up for anything! As for the rude responses, isn't this why people post messages - to ask others for their advice from their own travels? I've done my research, thank you - Sveva was it? - I just want to hear what other people think, too.

Well...let's see...there's Italian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Thai, Indian, Brazilian, Greek, American, and Pakistani. And that's within 5 blocks of my apartment. Hope that helps!

If you are coming in the next few weeks, go to NYCvisit.com. It lists the restaurants that are participating in restaurant week. (This year its 2 weeks.) The deal is $20.02 3 course lunch, $30.02 for dinner. Some real well known places are paticipating.

Everyone who lives here has their favorite places and can tell you about great value restaurants.

One of my favorites is La Mangeoire on 2nd Ave. and 53rd St. Great Provencal food, in a nice room at a reasonable price.

The type of places you are interested in may also depend on your age. For example, I really like Markt, a Belgian Brasserie on 9th and 14th, but my 60ish year old parents would hate it.

Another great place, if you want to head off the beaten path, is Chez Es Saada on 1st Ave. and 1st St. It is a very funky French-Moroccon that has great cocktails and decent food.

A little more upscale, in price and location, is Chicama. It is a Pan-Latin that draws a pretty good crowd until fairly late. It is on 18th St. just off 5th Ave.

I think the point people are trying to making, albeight in an impolite manner, is that your preferences will help narrow the list.

If you give people a sense of your age, type of food you like and price range, you'll get plenty of great suggestions.

Have fun.

Carly, what you interpret as rudeness is, in most cases, good advice: Give us more specific information of type of food, location, price, etc., etc., etc. There are 10,000 restaurants in New York City, and I would venture to say that most might fit somewhere in your very broad criteria!

Carly--probably if you ask for people's personal favorite restaurants you'll get more answers.

Mine: Miracle Grill in summer when garden is open

Aquavit

Gotham

Attention New Yorkers!

I have 2 nights in NYC and would like to experience restaurants "of the moment".Most of the city guide websites are dated.Whats trendy now?

try:lotus
pastis
man ray

IL MULINO Best Italian - unforgettable (order the black truffle ravioli in season, and any of their one of a kind veal dishes). $100 PP without wine, budget $150 PP with wine

PATRIA prix fixe I think at $55 per person (no wine) Best Latin Nuevo

NY NOODLE TOWN - Chinatown
Best Duck and great steamed ULTRA TASTY chinese vegetables. $20 for 2 people with a huge plate of fried rice. THIS PLACE IS SO GOOD AND CHEAP you would leave a $20 tip easily on a $20 tab because it is worth that. DO NOT MISS IT. Open 24 hours , great for after midnight hours.

BOLO - Spanish Cuisine, great food too.
MESA GRILL - Southwestern, excellent as well (same owner as Bolo)

CHEAP BUT OH SO GOOD
VELLI Italian restaurant, $10-14 dishes. Excellent buy.

FRANK - Italian $10-15 dishes
Another Excellent restaurant.

NOBU NEXT DOOR - great sushi without the hassle of reservation , first come first serve,

OYSTER BAR - in grand central for
amazing oysters and the experience of old NY...

AQUAL GRILL - Excellend fried oysters and SEAFOOD $100 PP plus wine

TRATORIA DEL'ARTE - best anti pasta selection $100 PP plus wine to be safe.
EXCELLENT ULTRA THIN MARGARITA PIZZA AND CLAM PIZZA, absolutely delicious.
And the filet mignon aint bad at all. Of course order it medium rare or rare for best expectation.

PETER LUGER - legendary # 1 Steak in NYC (located in brooklyn, just over the Williamsburg bridge downtown).

RIVER CAFE for the view of NY at night, beautiful and the food is doable.

Let me know if you have time to have lunch or brunch.

EAT YOUR HEART OUT ....DON'T MISS IL MULINO FOR THE BEST FOOD YOU WILL EVER HAVE!!!!!