Darlinks~we' re headed to NYC again. I am looking for some great tips for dining. We will be staying in the Village. Some of the places we like and will go back to include: The Red Cat, Pearl and Blue RIbbon. The location does not have to be limited to Chelsea or the Village. The Little Owl intrigues us as does The Harrison.

I have already asked about Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Any great Italian recommendations in Brooklyn would be most appreciated. (We are subway diehards).

As you're probably aware, The Red Cat and The Harrison are sister restaurants. Hard to pinpoint just why--both are good; The Red Cat is better. A former Red Cat waiter, Kinston Rushing, has left there to start his own floral business (he supplies flowers to both restaurants, among others).
http://www.redcatrestaurants.com/news_in.php?id=50
http://www.petalrush.com/

He works Saturday and Monday evenings at Market Table, a good little place at the corner of Carmine and Bedford in the Village (not far from The Little Owl). If you see him, tell him Joy and Burt sent you. He'll take good care of you.

Il Buco ilbuco.com
Aquagrill aquagrill.com
Suenos suenosnyc.com
The Orchard theorchardny.com

In January, we at at a little restaurant called Fish. They had the best fried Ipswich clams we have ever had. It is not fancy and is small, but we plan to go back next time we're there!

Cpg's recommendation of Aquagrill is a good one! If you like fresh oysters, that's the place for you--something like 32 varieties every day. Their fish is the freshest, as well, creatively or simply prepared and nicely presented. Very friendly service, too.

I don't know the Brooklyn scene that well, but I'd focus on Smith Street (Carroll Gardens) and Fifth Avenue (Park Slope). I think Saul('s?) on Smith Street got a Michelin star a while ago. Not sure if it still has it. The other name I remember from that area is "The Grocery." I don't think either, if still around, is Italian.

In Park Slope, the old standby is al di la. That's Italian. It's quite famous, but when I tried it many years ago, I didn't think that it was really special. I think Blue Ribbon has established an outpost on Fifth Avenue also.

You may want to flip through a Zagat to see what the most popular restaurants in NYC are.

What I mean by Zagat is that you will get a list of restaurants by area, so you can focus on the Brooklyn ones if that interests you. I haven't bought a Zagat in years myself though. I usually get enough info from NYT and web searches, but a book is helpful to tell you where to start looking.

The Grocery on Smith Street is very good, if not a little pricery

La Mancha serves well prepared Spanish Food on Atlantic Ave.

Henry's End has been around for thirty years is pretty good.

I really like Frankie's in Carroll Gardens for Italian; you can take the F train to the Carroll Street stop. This is probably one of my favorite restaurants in all of NYC.

They just opened a bar two doors down from this spot; would be good for an after dinner drink. It's called Prime Meats and has all sorts of pre-prohibition style cocktails.

http://www.frankiesspuntino.com/457/index.php

North Square, the restaurant inside the Washington Square hotel is surprisingly good. They also have a jazz brunch on Sunday. La Lanterna is a cute Italian/pizza place with good jazz. Recently ate at Japonica (Japanese) on University & 12th st. and thought it was very good. The House is a cute place for lunch or brunch. Not sure I'd do dinner though.

Randazzo's in Brighton Beach has delicious food. It is across the street from the pier which is nice to walk around after eating. Its not fancy, but the food is amazing.