Jane

We'll be visiting NY from Melbourne for 4 nights in late Oct and as food and wine lovers I have no idea how we're going to choose where to eat from all that is on offer! We're planning on one or two really good dinners but would also love to sample places that are cheap but great. We love all kinds of foods and are staying in the Village on Bleecker St. Any suggestions?

Ed

Have you tried Zagats.com? I always go there to get rest info before a trip to NYC.

Mike

A few suggestions:

1) If you like wine, Cite usually has some sort of wine tasting dinner.
2) If you like all kinds of fish/shellfish, Nobu is a must.
3) You must go to John's pizza on Bleecker, arguably the best in the city.
4) Go to a NY deli, Katz's,I even like Carnegie but people think it's too touristy.
5) Jean-Goerges, Daniel for French
6) Peter Luger's in Bklyn for steak, also in Bklyn there's a restaurant under the bridge which is supposed to have a great view of the city. I haven't been there, Is it River Cafe or something like that?
7) Golden Unicorn for Dim Sum lunch.

If you give us some more specifics we can make better suggestions.

juli

also try citysearch.com under NY. I live in the area and use them all the time. You can get descriptions,tours and menus online. Searching by neighborhood is really helpful too.
Have a great time
JK

bubba

Il Mulino it's Italian cuisine and it's located in the village.

Julie

My friend and I loved Anna's Italian located in Hell's Kitchen. Some of the best homemade ravioli I've ever had. We also liked Hell's Kitchen, in the area of the same name.

AC

I like Becco's www.toprestaurants.com/ny/becco.htm

Geoffrey

Bubba is right...try Il Mulino. It is definately not cheap (very expensive, in fact), but worth every cent. The best Italian food I've ever had, and I've been to Italy 4 times!

gab

The best advice around can be gotten from chowhound.com. Read peoples' posts and you'll learn a lot about where to go.

Elizabeth

Cheap & great:
WongKee 113 Mott Strret at Hester Street in Chinatown. (Well-known. You don't go for the decor. Look in Zagat's if you like.)

Cafe Rakka--Middle Eastern-St Mark's Place at 1st Avenue in the East Village.

For old-fashioned Southern Italian no-frills very good, don't know abaout great but I love it:
Focacceria First Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets, East Village. I love their sole francese, this could be just me. & stuffed artichoke if they happen to have it that day. All mostly under $10. Totally a neighborhood place.

The queen of all-night dining, 24 hour breakfast (tho the breakfast specials end at 11): Veselka 9th St at 2nd Avenue, East Village. Try not to miss this one, it is an institution. If you're in the mood, order the Ukrainian specialties, or at least the muchroom barley soup: not the BEST mushroom barley soup on the planet, but one of the most famous.
All the food is good, & the place is very clean. And the neighborhood is onl display there 24/7. (Including me, around 11 pm)

Merilee

A few of my suggestions...Second Avenue Deli at 2nd Avenue and 10th St., Lanza's on 1st Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets (around the corner from Lanza's you can have dessert and coffee at Veniero's or DeRoberti's next to Lanza's), Brothers Bar-B-Q at 228 West Houston between 6th and Varick, Vernon's Jerk Paradise at 254 West 29th Street between 7th & 8th Avenues...If you really feel adventurous take the #9 train to the West 231st Street stop in the Bronx, exit onto Broadway and eat at a restaurant called El Malecon - the chicken is out of this world..then walk 7 blocks north to West 238th Street, make a right and buy an S&S cheesecake at the grocery store on the right - unless S&S is open when you go - it's a few doors up on the right...it really is the best cheesecake...by the way, do you mean Melbourne, Florida or Australia...

Celeste

My favorite inexpensive Spanish and seafood restaurant is El Quixote on West 23rd Street between 7th and 8th Aves. Incredibly low prices and excellent food, like a 2 pound lobster for $29.95 (I just paid $38 in Newport, RI), garlic shrimp for $14.95, excellent paella and Sangria, you can't beat it!

steve

Check out Il Buco in Noho. Be sure to go down to their wine cellar. 2nd ave. deli if you want the best corned beef or pastrami sandwich. Danal is another homey good restaurant on 10th between 3rd and 4th Ave. The best upscale restaurants in the Village are Il Mulino, and Gotham Bar and Grill on 12th Street. Enjoy!

NYC Pam

First, you MUST check out www.chowhound.com - THE best site for in-depth and personal assessments of Manhattan restaurants. If you tell the chowhounds what you are specifically looking for, you will get amazing results.

A few of my faves in no particular order:
-Picholine (W. 60s near Lincoln Center)
fabulous French/Mediterranean, no attitude, and Max the Maitre of Fromage. If you love cheese, Max has the tickets to paradise...Picholine has one of the best cheese carts in the city, and a fantastic wines-by-the-glass program as well. Not cheap, but a far better value than other 3-stars that cost an arm and a leg.
-"The Place" West 4th and 11th street (in the Village) A romantic hideaway restaurant with lots of candles, fireplace, jazz playing, and inventive French/Asian fusion food. Nice owners, warm service, and 10% of profits go to children's charities.
-For cheap but great, try "F&B" on 23rd and 8th. It's a very posh European-style fast-food place with Belgian fries, amazing veggie and gourmet hot dogs with oodles of toppings, beignets and cafe au lait in the morning, etc. Plus, they have a great selection of Belgian beers and little soda bottles of champagne.
-The Corner Bistro on West 4th (near Hudson) for a great cheap burger and leads of beers on tap.
-Soba-ya on East 9th street for cheap, home-made Japanese noodles. Run by Japanese and very affordable and fun. If you like ramen, there's also a place run by the same people called "Hairaiken" on East 10th. GREAT miso ramen and gyoza, also cheap.
-"Piccolo Angolo" 621 Hudson Street at Jane (Greenwich Village)
This place has great food, very quirky service, and is always crowded. Everything on the regular menu is good, but when you sit down the owner, Renato (who speaks English poorly but with hilarious hand signals) reels off the specials. Listen carefully, because he does NOT repeat himself. They make their own wine, which they serve in carafes. You will NOT have a bad meal here. This is the way Little Italy used to be but is, alas, no longer. Plus it's pretty fairly priced.
-"Malatesta Trattoria" (far west Greenwich Village)
649 Washington St
A younger, hipper-feeling Italian place, also with great food, but a more romantic atmosphere. Cash only.
-"Katz's Deli" (Lower East Side)
205 E Houston St
Made famous as the place where Meg Ryan gave her gut-wrenching fake orgasm performance in "When Harry Met Sally." Not cheap, but the quintessential New York Deli. HUGE sandwiches, great pickles, indifferent service. Try the Reuben and the hot dog - among the best of their kind in NYC
-"Thali" on Greenwich Ave in the Village. Vegetarian pre-fixe Indian in a tiny restaurant. $10 gets you 4 or 5 different curries, rice, bread, raita, pickles, and dessert.
-For a real taste of New York, go to "Zabars," the quintessential New York food store. (Broadway and 79th Street) Wander the aisles amazed at the collection of cheeses, coffees, baked goods, cakes, freshly prepared foods, etc. This is the PERFECT place to pack a picnic for Central Park (just a few blocks away). Right next door, "H & H Bagels" has the best bagels in the city. A must-try!

I know that's a lot more than a "few," but hope it was helpful!
Thanks for coming to NYC, by the way! We need the visitors and it's a wonderful time to get reservations at top places.
Pam

lisa

I will second the nomination for Veselka (2nd Ave. & 9th St.)! My favorite place for inexpensive, delicious breakfast or brunch. Eastern European food -- cheese blintzes with raspberry sauce, kielbasa, challah french toast, great breads and pastries and soups.

Also a tiny place called Home, in the West Village at 20 Cornelia St., between Bleecker & W. 4th Sts., (212) 243-9579. They have sort of upscale "home-style" cooking. It's not cheap, but very reasonably priced for the quality of the food.

Also highly recommend Holy Basil for Thai food -- cozy atmosphere, reasonably prices, good service, delicious food. It's in the East Village at 149 Second Ave. (between 9th & 10th Sts.), (212) 460-5557

John G

My favorite Manhattan restaurant is Chanterelle at Harrison and Hudson Sts. This is one of the top 10 restaurants in NYC. It is very expensive, but they have a prix-fixe lunch that most people can afford. Im not sure that it is open now, though, because it is near the WTC. Another place I highly recommend is, Picholine, near Lincoln Center. Their cheese is considered the best in Manhattan. Both these places are for serious foodies only. If you are really an oenophile, I suggest Veritas. They have an extensive cellar with lots of rare and great wine.

Vic

Zagat NYC, the bible, and Zagat.com are indispensible, They'll lead you to the best places in town.

My favorite is Le Bernadine. Zagat says it's the best restaurant in NYC. As with a lot of other great restaurants in NYC Le Bernadine serves a fixed price lunch which is inexpensive by Le Bernadine standards but is still the real Le Bernadine.

xxx

There is no "e". Le Bernardin.

kim

Just curious - where are you staying that you will be on Bleecker in the Village? Is it a B&B?

Marj

There are tons of excellent reasonable restaurants near bleecker st. There are some Spanish places that are very reasonable and have good food and sangria. There's Lupa's italian type tratoria on Thompson st. (right off of bleecker). Also Provence (i think MacDougal near Houston). There are tons of really nice places in the east village (3rd Avenue and east from Houston st to 14th st) that are incredibly reasonable and with lots of character and good food. Some are Coup, I Coppi, Pisces, and many more I can't think of off the top of my head. Use the different searches in Zagats.com to narrow your choices. I find with zagats that many of the very high rated, hard to get into, high priced restaurants are a dissappointment. Moderately priced restaurants rated between 19-21 in zagats, many times are a real treat. For a great evening or afternoon cappicino stop in the village area, try Le Gamin. There are a few of them. Also the cafes on MacDougal st are great for desert. Enjoy your visit. Your staying in my favorite NYC neighborhood.