What about The River Cafe? http://www.rivercafe.com/
It's across the Brooklyn bridge, with a sweeping view of NYC.
I've never been there, but it's been highly recommended to me over the years.
Is it a good choice?

Gotham, Union Square, Gramercy Tavern are all terrific places, but they are close to the top of the list as to cost.

If that budget is okay, I'd add 11 Madison Park to the list, which I think is more beautiful than the others mentioned and comparable as to food quality. It looks out at Madison Park, which is an elegant fairly recent restoration of a neighborhood park.

If you like Indian-influenced fusion food, either Tabla or the Bread BAr at Tabla - same building as 11 Madison -- Bread Bar is a la carte and cheaper, Tabla is above it and has the view and elegance - both feel New York-y to me.
Both Tabla and the Bread Bar have a full bar.

These places have been there for awhile now but I stil find them all dreamy.

Agreed, Joe (jroth), and these restaurants are not "pretentious" unless you perceive anything better than a street hotdog vendor that way.

In a thread this long I'm surprised no one's mentioned either rivercafe.com or bateauxnewyork.com Both offer "only in NYC" views and more than decent food. Neither is by any stretch the best food in NYC, but they're a great combination of good food/service with outstanding views.

The Boat House in Central Park has much better food than Tavern on the Green and is a lot less touristy but is better in daylight than at night. It sits on a lake with rowboats and in the summer, there's even a gondolier. http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/

Alfred Portale is a baby comapred to the reaturants that are 100 plus years.

I don't think that was the point. Alfred Portale started a brand new trend that was written up, copied, and spread to much of the culinary world. It doesn't make any difference if that was 30 years ago or 2 years ago or 100 years ago. So I think the point being made by several people here is that while similar food can now be found other places -- Gotham is the originator of it, which makes it an intrinsically New York experience as requested by the OP.

By the way, a real New York institution could also be Joe Allen, the brick interior "basement" bar and grill which is the haunt of Broadway theatre performers, workers, and goers. In a way, nothing quite says New York/Broadway theatre like a stop at Joe Allen. One doesn't go there for cutting edge dining, however.

Um, McLaurie, see my post above yours re: The River Cafe.

I get what Portale has done and I am not tyring to diminish a culinary accomplihsment, it just doesn't strike me as particularly New York. Growing up in New York, ethnic food respresented the city, some kitschy and silly like Hawaii Kai but also the the Italian, Chinese, and Jewish Delis that were omnipresent in almost every neighborhood. Or Casa Moneo on 14th Street where you got real chorizos or Luchow's for German, or the East 80's for Hungarian cooking. French was the haute cuisine and the old style steak houses found in many corners and or even Italian ices in Corona.

There are also the dinners in the boros owned by Greeks with thousand page menus and the revolving dessert showcases. Eternal battles over the best pastrami or cheesecake, that is New York, not the high stylized American cooking.

That to me is what quintessentially New York.

We each have our own ideas of what is "quintessentially" whatever place. Hopefully most people understand that one person's interpretation doesn't have to be everyone else's.

I'd also consider The French Laundry possibly STANDING for the ultimate California dining experience, although a taco stand or In and Out Burger might be it to others.

I'd think that a trip to Taillevent or Alain Ducasse in Paris might just be the ultimate "says Paris dining" to many, but to others it is the corner cafe or perhaps even a crepe stand.

I don't think any of us can define a specific thing as being what should be considered the "intrinsic" New York restaurant -- it's all what goes on in our minds when we think New York -- and all our minds are different.

I certainly get what Adu is referring to when he notes places such as Jewish delis, old time Chinese and Italian are - to him - quintessential New York. But sad to say that is a New York of yesterday. The Jewish delis are gone (ok - Katz' and Carnegie still attract a crowd). And those neighborhood chinese -- we now know what real Chinese should taste like - try Flushing, and some of those old time Italian red sauce joints -- very yesterday and very mediocre. And just not today New York. Today's New York dining spots feature creative, knowing chefs, interesting wine lists, professional yet unpretentious service -- and there are lots of them - Union Square, Gramercy - are just a couple. But these are the places that put NY on the world's restaurant map. They are today's quintessential New York dining.

Not sure if this is quintessential but how about Water's Edge in Long Island City? The best part aside from the view is the water taxi from E. 23rd St.

So visit Katz's or 2nd Avenue
Visit Flushing or a select group in Chiantown
American pizza was supposedly invented at Lombardi's

I have eaten in similar places like Gramercy, etc., in LA, Bay Area, Chicago, Atlanta, etc. There is spectacular Chinese food in Monterrey Park, near LA, but that it is the ethnic food that sets NY apart. And visitors besides the well known ethnic places, especially Italian and Katz's rarely seem to go these restaurants.

Actually, American pizza was introduced in New Haven, CT. The name of the place skips my mind at the moment!

Lissa,

Just a different take on all of the wonderful suggestions.....STAY in Manhattan for your dinner on your last day. You'll spend way too much time and money getting to, for instance, Brooklyn or Queens. There are PLENTY of wonderful restaurants in Manhattan that you don't need to try and figure out how to get yourself to another borough! ENJOY!

While it is true that NYC probably has the biggest number of ethnic restaurants and the most variety of types of them in the US, picking just one of them is hardly the "ultimate" NYC dining experience, unless you wanted to hit a dozen of them for one meal -- something you couldn't do many other places in the country. There are equally good restaurants of all those types throughout the country as well. If one says "there are other restaurants as good as Grammercy elsewhere", then one could just as easily say there are Chinese restaurants just as good, or German, or Polish, or whatever. To go to a particular restaurant in Chinatown is no more a special New York experience in my book than it would be in San Francisco, for example, or possibly even in Portland or Chicago for that matter. Now the true New York Jewish deli -- Katz, for example -- might be a slightly different matter, although Miami Beach used to give some of them a run for their money -- and the old Cantor's in LA (is that still there?) was the epitome of a New York Jewish diner/deli as well.

Neo

You have redefined what the OP wanted. He/she never used the world ultimate. The words were intrinsic and unique for NY.

And I have never found deli anywhere in the United States including LA, Miami and Chicago that measures up to NY. And I did not even mention French bistro, Mid-eastern, Indian, Korean, Thai, Ethopian, Peruvian, Argnentian, Brazilian, Scandanavian. Spamish, Portuguese, Japanese, pastry shops, thin crust pizza, Moroccan, Israeli, Russian, Jamaican, etc. etc.

And that is my point. NYC has all these choices but they are rarely mentioned let alone tried. NYC is a city of immigrants and the cuisines reflect that, not just a few upscale places.

An after thought.

If you read this board, you would think that out of the over 25,000 restaurants in NYC, there are only about 20 that are worth while.

"The words were intrinsic and unique for NY."

Yes, exactly. And my point is that a Chinese restaurant or or Korean, or Spanish, is NO more unique to New York as Grammercy Tavern is. Picking a single ethnic restaurant to go to can be done in many, many cities and believe it or not may be just as good quality. I'm not arguing that New York has more choices and variety, but if someone is picking one restaurant New York is probably not the only place in the country you could go to that particular kind of restaurant. How can anyone say that going to a typical ethnic restaurant of any single variety is a "unique New York expeience"?


And yes, I already stated that perhaps the Jewish deli is the exception to being a little more unique to New York. Perhaps you haven't been to every one in Miami Beach (especially those back in the 1950s and 60s). I didn't say they'd necessary beat NYC, but would give some a run for their money.

You don't have to agree with me. Just wanted to explain what I meant. If the original post had been "what makes New York unique for dining" then mentioning the vast array of types of ethnic foods would indeed be a major point. But picking out a single restaurant that is intrinsic or unique to New York -- well. . .I'm not sure how that can be done.

TRue I had not been to the delis in Miami in the 1950's and 60's.

And I also agree there is not one place that represents NYC.

"Actually, American pizza was introduced in New Haven, CT. The name of the place skips my mind at the moment!"


That might be true, but Lombardi's was the first pizza place in the U.S. By the way, for someone looking for an "intrinsically NY restaurant," I would certainly put that on the list.

If you want to go to an elegant place where the locals go, and few tourists, try Park Avenue Spring at Park and 63rd. It's in a residential neighborhood, has a very quiet street presence, and is currently beautifully decorated for the season. The menu is playful but not peculiar and the wait staff, many of whom are --of course--actors--are friendly and work to a high standard.

Amending my last comment--it will be Park Avenue Summer by the time you are planning your trip. Yes, they change the name of the restaurant, as well as the decor and menu, 4 times a year.

I love Gramercy Tavern.

I think 21 Club screams quintessential NYC dining experience.

Go at lunch and order their famous burger. You can feel the power in the room with all the power brokers dining there.

Also, Le Cirque is a unique New York City upscale experience and you'll never know what famous person is there dining. It is also kind of old school. Le Cirque for dinner.

Lastly, nothing says fine dining to me in Manhattan like Le Bernardin.

Jumping in late just to say I love Gotham - to me it has a great NY spirit (and don't ask me to explain that; I won't.) There is such a wonderful vibe in that place and the food is delicious.

Don't anyone ever tell me when they stop serving the towering seafood salad appetizer. I always start with that.

Waited 1/2 hr mid-afternoon Friday to get into Grimaldi's. What a disappointment! Rubbery poor quality cheese and rather tasteless red sauce are the hallmarks of this pie. Take the time and effort to go to Di Fara in Brooklyn if you want an authentically Italian pizza!

I used to drive past Grimaldi's and invariably saw long lines waiting on the street. Yes - it's nice to have a first rate pizza - but as noted above - they have slid downhill. That's what happens when you start getting in all the travel books and it becomes a "must" tourist destination. And - yes - Di Fara is still probably the best and will always be so since the owner - and he's getting old - personally makes each pie and that's why you might have to wait a while - but worth it. Uses top, artisanal ingredients and hand-crafted. If you passed it on the street (not knowing its reputation) you'd probably not go in - sort of run down looking.

I told this story before. The first time we went to Grimaldi's our pizza was really burned black all around the edges -- and we tore off and left about 2 inches of the crust from all around. Second time we were there -- wedged between two other couples, I noticed on one side of us their pizza was black, on the other side of us, theirs was nicely browned. I told the waiter I'd really prefer ours not to be black. He looked at me like I was from another planet and snarkily said, "you obviously don't know coal fired pizzas -- they HAVE to be black." I said back to him, "well, I'd just like one like they have (pointing to the one next to us) and not like they have (pointing to the one on the other side)". He went off in a huff. We got a nice pizza -- not black. Soo much attitude for such a simple little place.

<< That's what happens when you start getting in all the travel books and it becomes a "must" tourist destination.>>

Well said about lots of places and not always about tourism. Sometimes any type of popularity ruins a place's performance.