husband and i will be staying at hilton times square. love some suggestions on where to eat. would really appreciate some great "local" favorites and one really special restaurant.

would love it if you could do some research of your own. try using the text search box. see what has already been written on the subject.

Thank you, stoptherudeness, I always think the people who are unlucky enough to encounter the research police are very surprised to find that posting questions on a travel forum is not considered research.

l. lahaie, you will get tons of great ideas for New York restaurants at www.chowhound.com

Papya King great dog!

1. stage deli for lunch-split a sandwich unless you have huge appetites. 2. puglias in little italy- not so much for the food but the place is a scream. 3. Sammy's Romanian Steakhouse in Lower East Side - like eating in Grandma's basement -great steaks and Jewish food, vodka served in blocks of ice, klezmer music, 4. Peter Lugars in Brooklyn for steaks 5. Forlinos (I think that's the name, it might be Il Forlino) for italian.

I'll be the first to agree that the search function of this forum can be a bit confusing to negotiate but agree that more folks should use it befotre posting general inquiries that have been discussed at great length many times previously. More significant is that those of us who do choose to repsond regularly in this forum (even to to questions where the poster might have been able to get much of the info by advance research) need some help from the poster! NYC has perhaps 10,000 restaurants or more.... there is every imaginable price range, cuisine type, atmosphere location etc. I am far more inclined to respond to a post that has some specifics.... e.g. "we'll be staying in midtown and looking for some inexpensive diner type places for breakfast, want to do a really nice brunch on Sunday, need some good ethnic dining options for a few evenings and also want to have one really nice dinner out at a romantic "destination" type restaurant. Now you've given those of us who choose to participate enough paramters to make some suggestions. Llahaie's original post is a good start but a bit more detail will be helpful. I agree that chowhound (and also egullet.com are extremely helpful but they will also require a bit more in the way of specifics before you can get really useful feedback.

Now.... if you want "local" favorite3s it helps to get out of Times Square and other touristy spots. Although it certainly has its shortcomings, the Zagats guide can be a helpful starting point. I'll simply offer my favorites (I don't live in NYC and am not really a local but I'm there every week and have developed my own favorites).

Pizza - Totonno's on Second Ave between 80th and 81st
Ethiopian - Queen of Sheba on 9th Ave in the 40's
Thai - Pam's Real Thai on 49th just west of 9th Ave
Peruvian - fantastic grilled chicken at Pio Pio on 1st Ave near 92nd
French - L'Ecole, the restaurant operated by French Culinary Institute on Broadway at Grand - best $30 price fixe dinner in the city
Upscale "Destination" - I have little experience here but Gramercy Tavern gets lots and lots of good comments. I'm going to try Blue Hill late this month and have been hearing very good things.

There you have it. Others will have suggestions but as you can see.... my taste runs towards ethnic dinign and yours may not - again, a bit more in the way of specifics will get you more suggestions.

If you don't want to answer a post, then don't. Some of you people are very rude and obnoxious. Take into consideration that sometimes people are new to this site and they're not familiar with its function in its entirety. It makes you sound as if you are on some weird power trip and you step up to the pulpit.

I recommend going to 9th Avenue where there are numerous casual and inexpensive dining options. You can choose from Italian at Basilica's, Vietnamese at Saigon Fun, authentic Mexican at Ta Cocina, Tataki's for Japanese, Rice 'N' Beans for Brazilian, and George's for Greek. This is just a small listing for that area.

If you eat at the Stage Deli, there is a "sharing" charge. Don't let the waitress catch you eating food off of someone else's plate.

As Owen pointed out, there are thousands of restaurants in NYC, and you can probably find at least one person to recommend each of them.
How about some input from the original poster! For starters, how much do you want to spend and what types of food do you prefer? Also, how much are you willing to spend for "one really special restaurant"?

Look on www.zagat.com

Your hotel is near Ninth Ave which has some great small restaurants. Uncle Nick's on 50th and 9th (Greek), Arriba Arriba has great mexican lunch specials (on 50th and 9th also), Hallo Berlin has two locations for great sausages and Beer -- one right across from Arriba Arriba and the other on 10th and I believe 44th st. Rachels on 44th and 9th is good. The chain Pret a Manger (sp?) has great take-out sandwiches around the city. Pizza -- go to either Angelo's on 57th btwn 6th and 7th, John's in the village, or one of the Patsy's Pizzas around town -- all have great pizza w/ fresh mozz and great crust.

Touristy but good -- Virgil's BBQ on 44th just east of Times Square. Thai food -- Pongsri Thai on 48th btwen Broadway and 8th. I'll post more if they come to me. Enjoy!

I'll be the 3rd person to recommend the 9th Ave restaurant strip as comparatively tourist-free, and a welcome relief for the wallet after expense account/tourist restaurants in midtown. I think two of the nicest restaurants are Amarone, super Italian near 46th St (I think) and Marseille, a block or two further along. Great, relaxed atmosphere at both places. Julian's, which is about 53rd, is also classy but low-key. There is an excellent range of casual, quick, ethnic--really every dining possibility except the very elaborate, on this fun strip. I also love Uncle Nick's for grilled seafood. Sometimes I feel sorry for the tourists waiting outside the Stage Deli at lunchtime. Wait on line for a sandwich in a crowded deli?? You must be kidding. My suggestion would be to stroll over to 9th Ave instead. Although if you want a kind of deli experience, Brooklyn Diner on W 57th is delicious and kind of elegant. Warning: also very popular.

thanks for all your help. i wasn't really specific because we enjoy all types of food. the really special restaurant, how about around $40-50 ea. i have been doing a lot of research, but, like you said, there are so many that sound so good, i was getting confused. thanks again to all of you.

I'd bypass the Stage Deli in favour of the 2nd Avenue Deli - 156 2nd Ave b/n E 9th & 10th Sts. Some matzoh ball soup and 1/2 a pastrami sandwich will make your bull run. Knishes from Yonah Schimmel's - 137 E Houston St b/n Forsyth & Eldridge Sts, or fresh bagels from H & H - Broadway at W 80th St - eaten in Central Park. Not necessarily 'local' favourites, but merely some of my favourite gustatory experiences during an all too brief stay in New York.