We'll be staying on East 30th and First near Murrays Hill for ten days and are looking for some reasonably priced local restaurants serving decent food in the area. We're happy with casual eating though would like something a little more upmarket than pizza. Good delis are fine as well. We don't mind walking fifteen minutes or so to get there. Does anyone have any suggestions?

It is not a good eating area, but there are very good Asian options within a 20 minute walk; if you are interested, I will post a few names. This is an area dominated by the big hospitals; you will find good sandwiches at Todaro Bros (favorite of workers at NYU hospitals) on Second Avenue, and you also have Fairway on 2nd Avenue for grocery and prepared food.

Little India on Lexington around 28th Street has some good places, and there are Chinese places further west that I will name if you like. Do you like spicy food?

Ah, the memory!! Used to live on the corner of 33rd and Third across the street from the Sign of the Dove!!
Used to be some seafood restaurants on Third Ave.?

As Eks has stated it is not the best eating area in the city but still has a few good spots.

If you travel south to the East Village, you will not only find a great variety but there are still many inexpensive places.

In the 30's

Pio Pio-Peruvian chicken
Turkish Kitchen-excellent (27th street)
Hangawi-wonderful Korean veggie food
Shilla-Korean BBQ
2nd Avenue Deli-my favorite Jewish deli
Pizza Fresca

On the contrary, while you won't find anything really good on 1st, there are some excellent restaurants in Murray Hill/Kip's Bay, and you are within easy striking distance of the Flatiron district, which has some really excellent restaurants. The restaurants below are within a 15-minute walk from 30th/1st Ave.

In addition to the ones listed above, I particularly like Ethos (Greek, with wonderful grilled fish) on 3rd between 33rd and 34th.

For a casual meal, I like Benjamin (corner 33rd/2nd) ... great burgers. A particularly good Italian restaurant is Bistango (29th/3rd).

I also like Sarge's (3rd Ave., between 31st and 32nd), which is a cheaper alternative to 2nd Avenue Deli (on 33rd between 3rd Lex).

Blue Smoke is good for Southern food and barbecue, and it now has an energetic, new chef from Louisiana (27th).

If you are looking for a splurge, look at Artisanal (French bistro fare), Gramercy Tavern (the Tavern room is mid-priced and excellent but doesn't take reservations ... the main restaurant is expensive and also excellent), BLT Prime (very expensive steak and seafood, but also excellent). Wolfgang's on Park Avenue (33rd St.) serves Peter Lugar-style porterhouse, but it's also very expensive, and everything comes a la carte.

Sarabeth's on Park Avenue (27th St) is a good place for brunch but otherwise undistinguished. Benjamin, mentioned above, is also a nice place for a cheaper brunch. Bagel Cafe on 3rd Ave. and 30th St. has the best bagels in the area, but Daniel's on 3rd Ave. between 37th and 38th is more traditional (they include both salt and caraway seeds on their everything bagels, for example).

We love Asian food ekscrunchy so would appreciate the names of those restaurants. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. We hope to get into Balthazar, Babbo and a place called Casa Mono for some special nights out but these more local places will be great for the other times.

Balthazar doesn't have great food, so I am not sure I'd choose it for a "special" restaurant. There aren't very many great Asian restaurants in Murray Hill, so I'd look a bit further afield for that. The sushi restaurant next door to Jackson Hole on 3rd ave. between 34th and 35th is pretty good and reasonably priced.

One of Korean bbq restaurants on 32nd and 33rd between 5th and Broadway might be a good choice, but they aren't cheap. I like Don's Bogam (reservations really required). I also like Choga, which is very cheap and good for the price, but it's down in the West Village on Bleecker. But they have great bi bim bap.

This is on my list -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran..._New_York.html
Found it when trying to figure out where Sam's in Midtown relocated and reviews have remained consistent

Someone mentioned Pio Pio and their Matador Combo is an amazing deal. At $30, it's enough for 2-3 to share. I have it delivered to the apartment when I'm in town and eat on it for days.

Casa Mono serves the fussiest tapas I have encountered. And Mario's places have a tendency to over salt their food.

Balthazar is terribly over rated even though their bakery is excellent.

For tapas-Try Nai or La Boqueria. People like Tertulia but it tastes nothing like the tapas in Spain.
For French Bistro try Lucien

There are quite a few very good Chinese restaurants in the Murray Hill and nearby environs.

I would recommend this, La Vie en Sichuan, at 14 East 33rd, to begin:

http://lavieenszechuan.com/

Here are a few comments from a dinner a year ago ; they may no longer be BYOB so check first. If you want real heat in the dishes, make sure to tell your server.




<Six of us had a very good dinner here last night. The restaurant is subdued in decor, and the white tablecloths and the well-thought-out presentation of the dishes contrast with the Flushing haunts where I take most of my Chinese meals.

I did not take detailed notes on each dish, so will present the list with brief comments in places. Service is attentive and menus are translated. We made our selections from the paper menu; I will note numbers of each dish:

APPETIZERS:

13. Sliced Pork Ears with Garlic Chili Sauce. Excellent flavor; ears were finely shredded. Not very spicy, despite chili pepper notation on menu. (None of the dishes we ordered were what I would call "very spicy," although most featured bright and complex flavors)

20. Spring Bamboo Shoots in Sesame Oil. Tender and delicious, personal favorite.

24. Crispy Cucumber. These appeared to be Persian cucumbers that had been quickly blanched, then sliced into lengths and served with a Hoisin sauce. Not at all what we were expecting and not typical of Sichuanese cucumber appetizers that I have tried, which are usually resplendent with garlic. Not interesting enough to order again.

LUXURY SIGNATURE DISHES

2. Spicy chicken with Fried Dough Twist. Crisply deep-fried, abundant oil, lavished with dried red chili peppers. Even after eating a healthy portion, I was reaching across the table for the last bits and pieces. Fried dough fusilli-shaped twists were somewhat chalky; I left most of these on the plate and I suspect others did the same. (See details of these--Mai Xiang-- in ScoopG's notes on this dish, in his post of 10/14) I would certainly order this again.

4. Chonquing-Style Braised Fish filets. Healthy sized chunks of flounder that were at the point fo falling apart, served in a reddish broth with cabbage and chili peppers. I liked this dish and I am not usually a fan of braised fish dishes. Others were on the fence about it. Broth was just a tad spicy, but no real heat.

5. Double-Cooked Pork. I did not try.

4. Minced Pork with Pickled Long Beans. Although I was told that this is a signature Sichuan dish, I had never sampled it before, but had been curious after seeing photo on Serious Eats. Interesting dish; abundant pickled flavor. Some heat from diced fresh chilis. Interesting, but not one of my favorites.

22. Spicy Cumin Mutton. Very different from the legendary cumin lamb dishes of Fu Run and Little Pepper, this featured velvety, soft braised lamb slices. No overhwhelming cumin flavor and little heat despite the name but, again, I liked it qutie a lot. (There is another mutton dish listed above this one--sauteed spicy mutton; perhaps this more closely replicates the LP favorite).

VEGETABLE

16. Sauteed Pea Shoots with Garlic Sauce. One of the best Chinese green vegetable dishes I've had all year. Exceedingly fresh and perfectly cooked.

For dessert: Complimentary platter of honeydew, watermelon, and Navel oranges. Fortune cookies (complete with Chinese lesson).

The restaurant remains BYOB. Service was attentive. They accept reservations. The restaurant was busy on a Wednesday night. Divided bill totalled $26 per person including tip.

14 East 33rd Street between Madison and Fifth.>

Balthazar is off the agenda! We get mostly Cantonese food in Australia so Sichuan is a welcome treat.

Any suggestions for a special night out restaurant that a) we can get into and b) won't completely send us broke?

Try Maialino. You must book exactly 28 days in advance.

We just ate again at Gotham Bar and Grill and everything about is spectacular. If you want to save money go for the prix fixe lunch. Another bargain is lunch at Nougatine and Tocquville.

Also you should try the dim sum at Jing Fong in Chinatown. go to lunch during the week, it will be one of the best cheap meals you will have in NYC. Even though it holds 800 people it is a zoo on the weekends.

We just Korean BBQ at Shilla and I would also recommend that.

sarge's deli is our favorite pastrami in nyc and right in your area.

penelope has good informal food and a charming local feel-- always expect a wait for breakfast. 30th & lex

if you want some yummy junk food, s'mac serves macaroni and cheese from the iron skillet as you like it. best on a cold day. 334d near 3rd.

agree with above about balthazar... yikes prices for just ok food... instead, we like to go to the bakery (chocolate chip cookies amazzzzing) and sit on the front bench with coffee and dessert. save your money for babbo! if you can't get a reservation, sit at the bar.

Sorry folks, Sarge's is way behind Katz's and 2nd Ave.

Oh yes, I almost forgot that there's a tiny French bistro called Le Parisien on 33rd between 3rd and Lex. You absolutely need a reservation, but it's good, very traditional, and moderately priced. You might think you've stepped into something in Paris.

OK, thanks again everybody, we have a great choice of places here and lots of different types of food. We're going to try Gotham for our big night out (35th wedding anniversary) and probably a mix of the casual and more formal on the other nights. And the delis of course, especially Katz's. We certainly won't go hungry!