Bring 'em on, folks! Now we're looking for another few good recommendations. Here's what we need to flesh out a list of week-long food indulgences:

1. Kosher/deli for someone who's never eaten good Jewish food

2. Ethiopian (surely there's one in the Big Apple)

3. The best Sushi in Manhattan

4. A restaurant with unusual food/cuisine (something off the beaten path, so not French/Italian/Greek/Japanese or any such)

5. A nice place for drinks in which two young, single ladies will not feel uncomfortable, on display or for sale (ladies, we need your help with that one!)

I should mention, too, that we don't have unlimited funds--one of us is a teacher (ahem) and therefore poor--so we need budget-friendly but good places.

Go for it! And thank you!

1) Katz
2) See this discussion on Chowhound:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/197974
3) This can't be answered here especially since you mention you are poor. There are hundreds of good sushi places, the best would be VERY expensive. Popular and reasonable ? Kodama on 45th at 8th.
4)Afghan? Khyber Pass Restaurant at 34 St. Mark’s Place.
5) Divine Bat on 54th between Broadway and 8th.

I didn't even think of Katz! Okay, that's definitely on the list.

Other suggestions, New York?

If you go to menupages.com you will find 13 Ethiopian restaurants. sorry I can;t reco any - the one we used to go to - on the upper west side - has closed.

Agree on Katz's deli.

The best sushi in Manhattan will be astronomical.

Don't know what you mean by unusual. We frequently eat at Cafe con Leche - interesting Dominican that's VERY inexpensive. And I love the chicken with garlic and lime. And there are several branches of Pio Pio - Peruvian - around the city. There are also tons of good Indian restaurants all over the city.

Maybe I should rephrase 'best sushi' to 'affordable good sushi'? Dominican and Peruvian are new to us, but we're up for anything. We have pretty varied tastes.

As for ballpark affordable, if anyone needs help, when we went up to NYC in September, we ate and didn't feel guilty about the bill at Bistro 1018.

1) There's Katz's and then there's really old school, schmaltz in a bottle next to the ketchup Jewish. If the latter is more what you're loking for, then try Sammy's Roumanian.

2) Ethiopean- My fav is Ghenet and I know an Ethiopean who stocks her injera from there.

3) There's a lot of good sushi here, cheap as well as expensive. There isn't a big difference in the regular cuts like tuna, salmon etc. between expensive & cheaper but good options. If you are a true connoisseur, the expensive spots offer select cuts & unusual variety, which makes it worth it. For reasonable but very good sushi of the sort that you won't find anywhere else in the country at that price point, try Takahachi (I like the Tribeca location) or Yasuda (if you're willing to ay a little more). Yasuda is considered to be the one of the very best n NYC, if not the US, by several of my Japanese friends. Tomoe Sushi is the village is also very good, but the waits can be an hour or more because they don't take reservations.

4) Unusual? There's gimmicky unusual as in molecular gastronomy; e.g. WD50 or Tailor or there are entire cuisines that aren't so comon in the US; e.g. Tibetian, certain Chinese regions/styles (dim sum at Jing Fong is an experience), south Indian veg dosas etc instead of the common currys (Saravanaas or Tiffin Wallah), or even Belgian/Dutch bistros (Resto). Then there are places that serve seafood of the sort unavailable elsewhere-Esca for a variety of Italian seafood, some Greek spots like Milos or Molyvos.

5) Death & Co or Milk & Honey are good options for drinks... but I suspect you may be better off at some place in the meat-packing dstrict for your drinks options, if you want a "scene".

2nd Avenue Deli is still my favorite. You get gribbenes whic are crisp bits of chicken skin let over from the rendering of chicken fat, with sauted onions when you walk along with health salad. The pastrami and corned beef are sensational and the chopped liver is ll one of the best in the city.

I like Katz's but 2nd Ave Deli is fabulous.

Another 2nd Avenue Deli (near 3rd Avenue now ) fan here. Just went last week and was reminded of how much better it is than other deli fare. Add brisket to the list of things they do really well.

I forget to mention that side dishes at 2nd Ave include Kasha Varnishes, which is groats with bow ties pasta, noodle kugel (pudding) and potato kugel.

These are common Jewish dishes from Eastern European.

If you want to try something unusual and very cheap, stop by Elvie's on 1st Avenue just south of 13th Street for Filipino cuisine. If you want something unusual but upscale, consider Aquavit (eat in the cafe rather than the very expensive main dining room) for Swedish cuisine. I also heartily recommend Pio Pio ... it's one of my favorite places. There's also a South African restaurant called Braai on west 51st Street. And I like Bread Bar, which serves Indian-fusion cuisine (not quite real Indian food) ... it's a more expensive restaurant and you need a reservation.

Second Avenue Deli is good, but it's kind of expensive. I like Sarge's (3rd Ave. between 36th and 37th streets). I admit that it's not quite as good, but it's about half the price.

Do you know about menupages.com? You can do a lot of your own research. Since you sound like you're into food, one way to taste some outstanding food at bargain prices is to take advantage of some prix fixe lunch specials. One of the best values imo is the $24 2 course lunch at Asiate in the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Great views, very good food and nice service.

When are you coming and where are you staying?

You get gribbenes whic are crisp bits of chicken skin let over from the rendering of chicken fat

I feel my arteries clogging as I read this (but my mouth watering, too)

Hee hee. I still remember an aunt once telling my mother that whenever she makes chicken broth or soup, she chills it down and then she skims all the hardened fat off it easily. And I remember my mother looking at her in horror and saying, "Why on earth would you do that?"

#5 My answer was immediately "Divine Bar!"...and then I saw Patrick already beat me to it. Imagine that~!

Here's another person who likes the 2nd ave deli (33rd st and 3rd ave) better than Katz'. The menu is more extensive and IMO the food is better.

Since you are going to be in NY for a week, you might want to take the subway to Brooklyn and visit the the Little Odessa area of Brighton Beach. It has many Russian restaurants, food shops etc. and it is a hoot to walk around there. You can even take a walk on the boardwalk if the weather is nice.

BTW, if you decide to visit Little Odessa, My two favorite restaurants there are Cafe Arbat on Brighton Beach ave and Glechnik Cafe on Coney Island ave. I would not consider either expensive. Go for lunch. Both are old school Russian/Ukranian. Glechnik specializes in amazing stuffed dumplings. Arbat sonetimes has music. Both have memorable food.

For an experience that you are not likely to find elsewhere, stop in at M&I International Foods. You can easily spend an hour looking around.

Mclaurie,

We'll be up there from the 27th to the 5th, and we're staying up in Morningside Heights at a place called the Morningside Inn. It's right off Broadway, close to the 103rd St stop for the 1.

There are some very mixed reviews of this place. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._New_York.html

It's considered a hostel. Looks terrible to me. http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationP..._New_York.html

Yes, this is a hostel - not a hotel. And most of the tripadvisor reports appear to be from international students (who may not have the same standards you do). I'm not sure what you're paying, but I would definitely read the reports on tripadvisor. The neighborhood is fine (near Columbia) but some of the buildings aren;t great.

Not sure when you're coming but there are a lot of great deals for hotels. Check out travelzoo.com and also see what people are winning on Priceline.

Since one of you is a teacher I highly recommend a trip to the Tenement Museum in the same neighborhood as Katz's.

As one of two women who travel to NYC as much as possible: I recommend The Red Cat in Chelsea as a comfortable place to eat and drink with reasonable prices, good food and no "meat market" feel at all.

Here are some of my other favorites:

Pearl Oyster Bar(the Village)

Marys Fish Shack(the Village)

Cluny Bar(The village)

All are reasnable and have very good food. I think you will feel quite comfortable.