Has anyone recently eaten at the Firebird (Russian food) in Hell's Kitchen in NYC? If so, how was it?

Any other suggestions for ethnic food in that area? Greek, Indian?

Thanks.

I can't offer any thoughts on Firebird, but there are literally dozens of ethnic restaurants on 9th Ave in the 40's and 50's. For Greek, one of my favorites is Uncle Nick's. Don't have the address handy, but you can look it up at zagat.com. They specialize in grilled fish dishes and the food is delicious. They also own a "tapas bar" type place next door where you can get a variety of little plates of Greek food.

Thanks for the info, Lisa.

Just tried Bali Nusah Inda, an Indonesian restaurant on 9th between 45th and 46th. It was very good and moderatley priced. The Javanese fisehrman's soup was excellent and the fish mousse appetizer was great (sounds weird but served warm wrapped in some kind of leaf with a sauce for dipping - really tasty!). My entree (soy sauce grilled chicken) was a bit heavy handed on the seasoning but they have some very good food and it's cheap. Specialty is Ristajffel (sp?), a Dutch influenced full meal with assortment of dishes. It would be fun to try wiht a small group but I was alone and not that hungry so I opted to eat light. I've also tried Afghan Kebab House a but further up the street. I like the Afghan at Khyber Pass on St. Mark's Place a bit better but this one was decent and the staff was really nice - very friendly place. Little Saigon i son corner of 49th - fairly decent Vietnamese, especially the green papaya and dried beef salad. Bangkok Thai is a few doors down from that and just okay. For Thai, try Siam instead - it's on 8th (I think) somewhere between 40 and 43rd). Ther are soooo many good ethinc choices that I've yet to try on the 8th and 9th Ave stretch - Mexican, greek, Turkish and more. If you get a chance to explore dining in this area please report back - always looking for new ideas!

Thanks Owen. I printed up your info to take along with me. I live in a Dutch territory, but never get Ristajfell, so that sounds like a great idea.

Owen:

I know that you said to report back with any restaurants that we tried on Restaurant Row, so that's what I'm doing.

We never made it to Firebird, but we did have appetizers at Clay Pot (I think), an Indian restaurant down there and liked it. It was late (after theatre) and we weren't all that hungry, so we didn't go with a full meal.

Maybe we'll make it to a few more on the next trip. You were right, there are so many great places to choose from on that street. We enjoyed walking it during the day, as well.


Thanks for your advice.

topping for owen

Statia,

We dined at Firebird last summer. Liked the service and decor (and how can you not like the Oriental and Middle Eastern-looking waiters dressed as Russian kossaks?). The food was not bad, but nothing extraordinary. We found the place to be somewhat overpriced, but you can probably say the same thing about 99.9% of the places in the city.

Firebird is not in Hell's Kitchen though.

Dee:

I realized that when I was actually in the city, but it's listed on the Hell's Kitchen.net under "Where to eat in Hell's Kitchen," so that's what led me to believe that was the location.

Check it out: http://hellskitchen.net/eating/toeat.html

Dee:

I realized that when I was actually in the city, but it's listed on the Hell's Kitchen.net under "Where to eat in Hell's Kitchen," so that's what led me to believe that was the location.

Check it out: http://hellskitchen.net/eating/toeat.html

Sorry if this posts twice. Having some system problems today, it seems.

Hey, I hear that the moniker "Hell's Kitchen" is politically incorrect. Apparently the residents of the area prefer "Midtown West." Ha Ha! Just kidding!

Now that's funny!!

You're not too far off, Gary - Clinton is the official rename of the Hell's Kitchen area but it seems that Hell's Kitchen is regaining ground again.

If I recall correctly, they renamed 6th Avenue as Ave of the Americas years ago and everyone still calls it 6th Avenue! Firebird is on Restaurant Row but as fart as I can figure it's also on the edge of Hell's Kitchen. Thanks for reporting back Statia. I'll try Clay Pot sometime. The folks I've spoken to who've gone to Firebird have been impressed by the rather lavish decor but agreed that is was overpriced. I'll respectfully disagree with the person who described "99.9% of NYC restaurants" as overpriced. I do lots of traveling and I also get to many areas of Manhattan (hope to start exploring the restaurants of Brooklyn and Queens soon). Apart from the high end restaurants and the obvious suspects that are in tourist areas, NYC has an amazing collection of reasonably priced restaurants. I can get a better meal for the mont in NYC than I can i any other city or area I've ever traveled in and I can eat in a different place every day for months with no repeats. Hope your entire visit was a good one - please come back again!

Thanks Owen. Yes, my entire visit was great, as always in the Big Apple. I've been going to NYC on business once or twice a year for nine years, but this was the first trip that I combined business with pleasure.

It was a treat to finally get to see many places and things that I've wanted to see for years (museums, Central Park, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, etc., etc.) I had my husband meet me up there (he'd never been) and he LOVES New York. So....yes, we'll be back ASAP.

Actually, I'm going back in June with my business partner and her 18 year old daughter. It'll be an all girls/graduation trip this time. We're looking forward to showing the youngster the city she's heard us talk about for years, and maybe we can manage to fit in Firebird at that time.

Thanks again for all your advice!

Okay, Owen, give us a list of your favorite reasonably-priced restaurants in the city, PLEASE!!! I enjoy one big splurge per trip, but would also like to have some reliable, interesting, less expensive choices as well. Neighborhood doesn't matter, but for my upcoming trip will be staying in midtown east, hoping to explore SoHo, Chelsea, Village. Open to any types of restaurants.

Thanks for sharing!

Owen: "Firebird is on Restaurant Row but as FART as I can figure".

I hope that's not a comment on the food at Hell's Kitchen. That was my good laugh for the morning. Thanks.

My typos have been known to produce more than a few laughs but even I can't beat the menu I saw in a Vietnamese restaurant a few weeks ago that featured "Corn and Crap Soup"! Among the restaurants I've tried and enjoyed, all of which are reasonable in price... (reasonable meaning entree, non-alcoholic beverage and tax totaling $12-$18 before tip)

Frutti de Mare - Italian on 4th Ave at 4th Street (cash only - get there early or be prepared to wait - hugely popular in the neighborhood)

Pio Pio - 2nd or 3rd Ave near 92nd Street - Peruvian grilled chicken is the specialty but the fried seafood is so light it's like a tempura. Chicken is marinated for a day and grilled - best I've ever had. Don't order heavy - consider sharing as portions are large

Siam - Thai place on 9th Ave somewhere just north of 42nd Street - small, friendly and very nioce atmosphere

Baby Bhudda - on Washington St a few blocks south of Jane (this is west of 7th Ave South and south of the 12th St subway stop in the far west Village)incredibly tasty and non-oily Chinese with plenty of fresh vegetables used rather than the ubiquitous frozen stuff common at so many Chinese places. Also lots of locals here but I've rarely had to wait for a table. Try the steamed chicken salad - served on lettuce and great in hot weather. Interesting sidenote: building across from them on Washington is the site where Shockley first developed transitors for Bell Labs in the early days of the information age.

Tonnono's - on 2nd or 3rd Ave in the low 80's - best pizza I've ever had in NYC. Admittedly, I've never tried Lombardi's or Grimaldi's but this stuff is amazing. Get the Margherita with fresh mozzarella. Full pies only - not a take out place but nice casual dining room for sitdown and they also have salads and a few other dishes. IMHO it's definitely better than John's (opening things up to rabid disagreement here but I've tried and enjoyed John's at Bleecker and at 44th on several occasions - Tonnono's is really better)

Khyber Pass - great Afghani food on St. Mark's Place near NYU. Try the chicken dish that's been marinated in pomegranete juice - very tasty. Nice atmosphere and cheap. Some have recommended the Afghan Kebab House on 9th Ave in the 50's as being better. I respectfully disagree.

It's a short list but good place to start. Have fun eating your way through NYC! I'm one of those folks who enjoys lots of walking and manage to "menu shop" on my travels. I make a mental note of the likely suspects and try to revisit when opportunity arises. I'm also very fond of Maroon's on W. 16th in Chelsea - combination menu of Southern and Jamaican. Excellent curry goat, very good seviche and awesome fried green tomatoes appetizer. More upscal than the other places I've mentioned and reservations are recommended. Figure on $18-24 per person for entree, non-alc bev and tip but yes it's worth it.

Pittsburgher:
Owen is right, there are TONS of reasonably priced restaurants in NYC, many of them are MUCH, MUCH better than expensive restaurants I've tried elsewhere.

Here's some "cheapie" places I frequent (all with entrees under $15, many $10 and under, and very, very good food):

*Kori (Korean food/Tribeca)
*Walkers (a bar with great food in Tribeca)
*Ear Inn (a bar with great food in SoHo)
*Manhattan Chili Company (54th & Bwy)
*City Market Cafe (takeout/lunch {$6 pizzas for 2 ppl, great salads & sandwiches})
*Baluchi's (Indian food/many locations)
*various Indian restaurants on Lexington around 28th st ($6 lunch buffets)
*Pita Grill (Mediterranean/take out or eat there/2nd Ave & 83rd St)
*Pizza places - everywhere! My 2 faves for NY-style pizza are Anna Maria's at 87th & 1st, and Mimma's at 84th & 2nd. Grimaldi's in Brooklyn is my fave brick-oven pizza.
*street fairs - I love their crepes and sausage & peppers
*Chinese restaurants - everywhere - almost all are inexpensive
*Delta Grill (Cajun, 48th St & 9th Ave)
*Old Town Bar (18th & Bwy) - best burger in town, IMO. Other food is very good too
*Sala Thai (89th or 90th St. and 2nd Ave. Though I like every Thai restaurant I've tried in NY)
*Trattoria Liberta (Italian, 82nd St & 2nd Ave)
*Casimir (French/Avenue B & 7th St...can't beat their $15 filet mignon. Though this place DOES get crowded.)

My favorite restaurant typo:
"fat-free blubbery shakes"

I agree with Owen on Tonnono's (or is it Totonno's?). It's very good brick-oven pizza. Not as good as Grimaldi's, but may be the best in Manhattan.