I read the Yelp comments about Certe and am intrigued by the pizza Bolognese, which I've had only once: in Brittany. It was terrific, and I've looked for it again in vain. So...Certe it is.

PizzArte on W. 55th has good, Neopolitan-style pizza. Never heard of Certe, though.




Although I've lived in the East 50s for decades, I've not been to your other choices apart from Le Colonial, which I've not visited in years, but I wish you a happy time, and good eating, in NYC!

Oh, meant to add this:


http://www.pizzarteny.com/

According to many, Katz has the best Reuben (despite the fact that it's a kosher deli). Others say that Eisenberg's has a great Reuben, but it also gets mixed reviews, though it is a classic.

You cannot get a Reuben at 2nd Avenue Deli, however. It's truly kosher and makes no concessions on mixing meat and cheese.

Oh ... and closer to your hotel is Sarge's on Third Ave. (between 36th and 37th).

And they also make a Reuben at Junior's; it is NOT the best Reuben in town by any means, but it's not bad. And there's a Junior's at Grand Central, so again fairly close to your hotel.

Please note Doug, that Katz's cannot be considered a kosher deli if they offer a Rueben. In fact, I just checked their website and no where does it claim to be kosher. It is an old style Jewish deli and there is a difference.

In fact 2nd Ave claims to be kosher and the strictest of interruptions would refute that claim simply because they are opened on the Jewish Sabbath.

There are degrees of kosher and Katz's meat may be prepared in adherence to the Kashrut or the Jewish dietary laws, but once cheese is introduced the kosher designation is negated.

What I'd like to find is a place that makes a Swissburger (no idea of the name origin): a hamburger topped with Swiss cheese and sauerkraut, served on rye.

Underhill, will you be requesting a left-handed monkey wrench next? There are over 40,000 restaurants in NYC, I am sure there is something that you might find satisfying.

Katz is certainly not Kosher!

First a pizza with Bolognese sauce on top, and now a burger Reuben! Looks like you can teach us a thing or two about food!!


You can probably get that burger version in most any diner; just ask them to put Swiss cheese and sauerkraut on a burger on rye.

There is Russ & Daughters on E Houston St.

(Pronounced How-ston St.)



Thin

If we venture away from our hotel neighborhood, what are the best areas for ethnic food?

ekscrunchy, California has all kinds of food, some on the odd side.

It depends on what kind of food....pretty close to your hotel there are restaurants featuring various regional Indian cuisines centered on Lexington in the high 20s. Chinese in the 30s near Fifth Avenue would be the closest grouping...I think I gave you a good Chinese rec on your other thread...in the east 30s.

Crunchy, can you recommend any good Thai or Cambodian restaurant in the E or W 80's?

Will probably visit the Met on 5th Ave. next week and can walk across Central Park to the UWS.

Thin

I think we're going to eat very well.

Russ & Daughters--what kind of food, please?

Thinster: I'm sorry but I do not know any in that area. I would foget Cambodian; if I can turn up any tips on good Thai around there I will post back here. HAve a good trip!

Russ and Daughters is a legendary Ashkenazi Jewish appetizing store on the Lower East Side that opened a cafe last year. I would say it is well worth your while but not near your hotel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/di...cafe.html?_r=0

Thanks, crunchy.

At this point I will take any restaurant suggestion. Am sick of Nice Matin.

Thin

There's no really good Thai restaurant near 86th that I know, just some cheap take-out places. The Upper East Side is pretty sparse for good places to eat except for some new places serving really good bar food. Here are a few of the restaurants in the area that I like, but they lean heavily to French with some Italian.

There's a sister restaurant to Nice Matin called Cafe D'Alsace (88th/2nd Ave). It's pretty good but may not be sufficiently different for you. But they have a pretty good choucroute garni.

There are also two pretty good French restaurants on Madison (same block, between 92nd and 93rd): Le Paris and Pascalou. Of the two, I prefer Le Paris and eat there fairly often, though never for lunch; they do have a good and popular weekend brunch. Across the street is Sarabeth's, which is good for brunch only; I've had two pretty awful dinners there and would never go except for brunch, which is wonderful.

And I like Paola's (92nd/Third). Sfoglia (92nd/Lex) is really excellent but kind of expensive, but they do serve lunch. The menu is short and sweet, but I like everything on it.

Finally, if you like deli, Pastrami Queen (Lex/78th) is good but may not be what you're looking for. It's pretty casual and has a limited number of tables.

Another vote for PizzArte, authentic Italian, run by Italians - a rarity these days.

Thin… have you been to the Cafe Sabarsky in the Neue Galleria (corner of 86 and 5th)?