Restaurant in NYC advice
 

Hi,
I'll be staying at the Hotel Elysee three nights and would love some advice on restaurants. I've eaten at Tavern on the Green and Carmines but those are about it. Didn't particularly enjoy Tavern on the Green. We like Italian, American, Sushi, etc., but would love some recommendations for a couple that would be in New York (first time for my wife) for a few nights. Thanks, this forum has been helpful to me over the years.

The thought might scare you but the best restaurant we went to was called the Red rooster inHaarlem, it wasn't in the bad part. We had heard that the owner had a cookbook out with rave reviews and it was fabulous. The ambience was wonderful, restaurant attached to a very lively bar. We took a cab from Time Square. Best meal we had in our five day trip!

Great, I'll keep that one in mind!

Red Rooster is owned by well known and highly regarded celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson. Another winner in Harlem is The Cecil, creative menu, delicious food.
Hotel Elysee is at 54th and Madison;do a google search for "restaurants near Hotel Elysee"

Remi is an excellent Italian restaurant that's not too far from your hotel on 53rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.

That looks great, How would you compare that to Carmine's? That is my only reference point.

It would help to have an idea o your budget.

Carmine's is basic red sauce Italian known for the size of the portions versus the quality of the food. It's not bad - but certainly nothing special. There are many better choices - if you can tell us what you want to spend.

I would put Remi miles ahead of Carmine's. Better food, better ambiance and a far more relaxed experience!

Jo Jo at 64th/Lexington.


Thin

I don't mind spending 150-200 for a meal since this is a unique occasion. I would hope that would be in the range of a nice restaurant. I don't want the Olive Garden. I am also open to other types of cuisine.
Thanks!

But I should also add that I don't want to leave the restaurant hungry either!

Molyvos is great for upscale Greek.

Babbo is an excellent Italian restaurant.Good place to eat meal for dinner!!!

You might want to check out viceversa and trattoria del Arte on the west side in the 50s. On the east side look at La Gioconda and San Martin.

You might also want to look at Chowhound to see the Italian favorites there in midtown.

If looking in other areas we like Gennaro on the upper west side and Del Posto in Chelsea.

Benoit Bistro www.benoitny.com

an Alain Ducasse restaurant

thanks for all the feedback, these all look like great choices. What is one of the best steakhouses or seafood locations in NYC?

For Greek food try Pylos or Taverna Kyclades. Very different places. Pylos is more sophisticated while Taverna provides delicious seafood in large portions.

For steak-Peter Lugar in Brooklyn or the Strip House in Manhattan.

For seafood-I'm in the minority where I do not understand the rapture concerning Le Bernardin. Less expensive and absolutely wonderful is Aquagrill.

I'd consider Lincoln at Lincoln Center for upscale Italian.

Also, for ambiance and excellent food its the dining room at MoMA.

Or, to gild the lily, the Four Seasons in the Seagram Building!

One of my favourite places is Maialino for Italian food: http://maialinonyc.com/

A great, albeit pricey, Italian seafood place is Marea: http://www.marea-nyc.com/

Another goodie is Osteria Mornin in Soho: http://www.osteriamorini.com/

When are you coming to NYC? This is one of the busiest times of the entire year, and you're not very likely to get a reservation less than a week in advance at even a moderately good restaurant right now.

Maialino is a wonderful Roman-style Italian restaurant, but it requires reservations a month in advance in most cases (but they do have a cafe where you can walk in since it doesn't take reservations).

NYC has a lot of great steakhouses. Peter Luger is definitely a great one, but it's difficult for a few reasons. It's very far off the beaten path, so you need an expensive taxi to get there. And it doesn't take credit cards even though dinner will cost at least $200 for 2, and that's a limitation for some travelers who don't want to walk around with that much cash.

Wolfgang's serves steaks in a similar vein to Peter Luger, and it's got several locations in Manhattan. I also like Smith and Wollensky, and the Grill doesn't take reservations and is a little bit cheaper than the full restaurant but with a similar menu. Cheaper wine, too. Porterhouse is good, too. Realize that steak in NYC is served a la carte with NOTHING. So you have to buy salads, sides, etc. separately at a real NYC steakhouse. And everything is expensive. Of course, portions are so large you can share most things, including the steaks.

Marea is one of the best Italian seafood restaurants in NYC, so that hits two of your high points in one dining spot. Again, however, it's hard to get a reservation at the last minute.

I also consider Lincoln a really great upscale Italian restaurant.

I really liked Keen's for a steakhouse. It is very pricy though.

Can second the recs for Maialino and Molyvos.

A less expensive Greek option might be Dafni. It's right by the Port Authority, and I find the food simple, traditional Greek and very tasty.

I second Dafni ...eat there quite often

I won't be there until the spring. I got my wife this trip for Christmas she's been wanting to go all her life--so plenty of time to get reservations. I've eaten at the Ruth Chris Steakhouses several times...how do they compare to the steakhouse suggestions mentioned above? Thanks for all the help.

Maialino looks great. Would you recommend the four course tour of the menu? My experiences with Italian food are fairly limited to Carrabas and other similar restaurants.

I absolutely ADORE Aquagrill!

The salmon in falafel crust is fabulous!

I also like L'Ecole at the French Culinary School on Broadway in Soho.

Thin

Ruth's Chris is a chain, like Morton's, so if you have eaten in one you've eaten in them all. If you like that kind of steak (and they do serve a pretty good steak), there's nothing wrong with it, but for the same price, you could eat in a real NYC steakhouse like Peter Luger, which is a singular experience you can't get in Kansas City or New Orleans.

Four courses at Maialino is a LOT of food, and it's going to be cheaper to go your own way. The pasts are stellar, so you don't want to miss those, and the other appetizers can also be good (and can be split). I also really like the maialino itself, but it's far too big for a single human being to eat, so I ordinarily split that. I tried to eat it myself for Thanksgiving, and I ended up bringing half home. Desserts aren't in the same league (for me at least), but they are still pretty good. Wine can be expensive there, but you'll also find some relative bargains.

And also what Thin said. If you'd like to try a multi-course French meal, L'Ecole is a great choice, though it's not as reasonably priced as it used to be. But the ingredients and preparations are always good.

We ate at L'Ecole a few months ago and the meal was inconsistent.

In New York, you can get Italian regional cooking, so you may do some research into that. Try northern Italian, including true Tuscan style and it will very different than what you have eaten in the past.

Just saw your inquiry on Chowhound… hope they'll come up with more info.
California friends of mine loved Maialino. Have never been there myself ( of course,because I live on the upper eastside -:) But like Pepper the Snoot I do like JoJo. Quiet but nice… you might like it for lunch. I think their prix fix is about $32 per now. Dinner can run into more.
Here's the web site http://www.jojorestaurantnyc.com/#!/...jo/restaurant/

Thanks again for all the replies. I probably won't feel like paying cash for my meal and taking an expensive cab ride to get there so the Peter Luger option is probably out. What comparable steak house would be in midtown?

My two favorites are Gramercy Tavern (my long time number one) and my new favorite Beauty & Essex.

I recommended three comparable steakhouses, with Wolfgang's giving the closest to the Peter Lugar steak experience (though certainly not the ambience, or lack thereof).

Thanks. I had a terrible experience at Tavern on the Green about 10 yrs ago. Heard all about how it's a landmark and the food was great. Needless to say, I paid a ton of money for mediocre food and I don't want that to happen again.

Try "Il Giardino d'Olive".

Ccrash, this is not intended to be rude, but do not use your home town restaurants for comparisons or your friends' advice when it comes to restaurants.

Many have given you solid selections, please look at line at these and choose.

I just had a wonderful lunch at Gramercy Tavern. It's been 13 years since I've been and don't know why I waited so long. Now on my favorites list.

I also enjoy David Burke's Fishtail on 62nd and Lexington.