I'm looking for ideas for fun, different, unique restaurants in NYC to go with my sister (she's 23, I'm 30). We love finding new places to go (mostly as an excuse for me to visit her in the city!) that offer something we haven't seen before, or a new twist on a theme, or a different type of menu, that sort of thing. We'd prefer price ranges of around $20-25 for entrees. We like any kind of food (honestly) and are pretty adventurous. As a couple of examples, we're planning on trying Bar Fry (barfrynyc.com) and Tailor (tailornyc.com), and we loved Perilla. I know this is a HUGE category, but any suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks!

Buddakan on 9th between 15th & 16th street has been getting good reviews. (Pan Asian.)

Haven't tried it yet, but my wife really liked Havana on 38th & 5th.

For cocktails, I LOVE The Flatiron Lounge on 19th & 5th.

I might suggest menupages.com, to narrow down some more options.

two words "lucky Cheng's"
google their website

I love Wallse.

www.wallserestaurant.com

This is an Austrian restaurant that is very hip, has great service, and serves fantastic food. It's at the top of my list whenever I am in NYC!

Momofuku Ssam Bar is a neat Korean place run by chef David Chang. Its on Second Ave. Look for comments on eGullet.

I second Momofuku Ssam, or David Chang's first restaurant Momofuku Noodle Bar. Haven't eaten at Barfry (yet!!) but next door is Market Table, another new place. They've got seasonal modern American cuisine -- last time I was there for lunch, I had the crab cake sandwich. Check out www.chowhound.com for more great ideas.

Some places to look into: Yakitori Totto (Japanese chicken skewers), Dumpling Man (various dumplings), Kenka (Japanese small plates / bar food) , Rolf's Bar & Restaurant (German sausages), Congee Village (Chinese porridge).

Is Lucky Cheng's still open??? Geez, I haven't been there since 1994. One of the drag queen waitresses tried to steal my boyfriend.

Years before it was Lucky Cheng's that space was Cave Canem. It had a pool in the basement where there were wild sex parties that included many famous people. I'll never forget being a teenager and floating on a raft in the pool with Michael Musto of the Village Voice. Fran Lebowitz gave me a drag of her cigarette as she dodged water balloons. Oh, those were heady days indeed, sweetie darling.

Thingorjus

Lucky Chengs is SO GROSS. Do.not.go.there.

I would second momofuku and momofuku ssam bar. I would also add Stanton Social - it's really fun. French Onion Soup Dumplings and Kobe Beef Sliders are amazing. For good Mexican, I really enjoy Mercadito in Alphabet City. Buddakan is also a great idea...I went there for a second time this past Saturday night for dinner, and we had a blast. Be sure to go down to the library room afterwards for a drink.

Wallse will be pretty expensive and is a little stiff. Rolf's is no longer German, it is a French brasserie, but the decor is still fantastic and that would be my first choice.

Stanton Social is another fun restaurant. As is Spice Market.

For tasty French on Prix Fix for $15 lunch $20 at dinner, there is La Bonne Soupe!

Chef Wylie Dufresne wows both critics & neophytes with his unique cuisine at his very cool Lower East Side restaurant, WD-50.

Frankly, many of the suggestions mentioned offer neither unique cuisine nor are they particularly "fun."

WD-50 should be at the top of your list.

Enjoy!

I beg to differ Gekko. I think that WD-50 is overrated and ridiculously priced for miniscule portions. So small, I was mortified when I brought guests to dine there. It will cost the OP a fortune to make one full plate of food out of WD's courses. We even caved and spent $25 per person on the 'tasting' dessert with 3 items to try because we were starving after apps and entrees. How about 3 bites total? Insane. I wouldn't go back there for free. And check chowhound--most people on there won't either. Why do you keep pushing this restaurant? Do you know Wylie personally or something? This has been going on for years with you.

To each his own. Critics & customers disagree, and my many meals at WD-50 have been excellent.

I second Bugs' first message. Re: message 2 - not a big fan of WD50 either. It's very interesting, I'll give it that much and I would rec. trying it just once.

Can't comment so much on WD-50. Haven't been there yet. But if it is molecular gastronomy we want, then my favorite in that category is Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar. It's not exactly molecular magic, but the meticulous detail that goes into the making of each exquisite dish, puts the best restaurants in this city to shame.
Ureña, a spanish restaurant, also has some dishes with this sort of flair.

Urena has closed and has become Pamplona.

I am glad Rolf's changed the fod was inedible.

Dumpling Man and Congee Village are OK. For dumplings I would go to Joe's Ginger or Joe's Shanghai.

For fun-try Flea Market, eclectic decor with a young French staff

Xunta-very good tapas with a true atmosphere of Spain. Some people eat at barrels, some at the bar, large groups at tables.

For genuine dim sum-Jing Fong, Golden unicorn

Best hand sliced pastrami and an old fashioned cafteria atmoshere-Katz's

Fun....unique....NYC....the 1st thing that comes to my mind is Puglia's in Little Italy...Wearing napkins on your head, the crowd singing along to the cheesy accordian player, cheap, cheap wine...oh yeah, & they have decent italian food too...

I second mdn's suggestion. A friend and I were in NY this past weekend and ate at Degustation (recommended by another Fodorite, ekscrunchy) and really enjoyed it--although I'm not sure I'd categorize it as "fun." When I think of fun+restaurant I tend think of places I don't want to go. I like low-key places with excellent food. My friend and I each had tasting menus with wine pairings and loved it. Chef is cute and young as the rest of the staff, all of whom we found gracious and accommodating.


Have a great visit with your sister.

Gyu-Kaku, a japanese chain of korean barbeque where you can grill your food directly over a little gas grill. Quite fun. i think there are two locations, one definitely on Cooper Square near Astor Place. You can reserve on opentable.