Onions, it is I, your friend from Boston! Let’s agree on a few things: New York is huge and intimidating. Seafood is delicious. The Red Sox are the only team worth cheering for. Well, okay, maybe we’ll have to agree to disagree on that last one. I could use some help with planning a trip though, and for your input I will be eternally grateful, and will also promise to report back.
Here’s the set up: I’ll be taking the train down from Boston next Wednesday morning and meeting up with an old grad school friend. We are going to a conference, but I think we’re both taking it as kind of a bonus if we do a few hours of meetings, and mostly socialize and eat. We’re staying near Times Square. I’m thinking Grand Central Oyster Bar for Wed dinner as I just love GCT and haven’t been there in many years. So I know it’s touristy, but I believe you can still get some good seafood there, yes? Then maybe we find somewhere else within walking distance for desserts or drinks? I could use a rec for lunch near the Javitts center and dinner Thursday. Maybe a food crawl friendly destination, whether that’s a Public Market/Craft Food Hall type thing with kiosks, or a bunch of stops in a neighborhood so it’s an activity as well as a meal? Friday night we’re seeing a show on Broadway, so an early dinner nearby, please?
Saturday, my friend heads home and my own family will be driving down and we’ll spend the weekend with my dad who lives in Long Island City. He’s… difficult. In that he has his own ideas about what and where to eat, and rarely shares them ahead of time, as he regards making plans in advance as the hobgoblin of narrow minds or something like that. Me, I love a good itinerary. Thus, we haven’t actually brought the grandsprouts down to his turf in about 6 years, as when they were younger the utter lack of planning or set meal times was intolerable. Now, it’s merely frustrating. So, while we may not be able to follow any of your recs, I’d be interested in hearing of anything noteworthy. I know there are probably a million great places, but I just can’t bear spending time searching on my own as there’s a good chance he’ll veto anything we try for, but you never know! Everyone eats basically everything, although I avoid gluten so no old school Italian or pizza recs please. Otherwise everything is fair game. I’ll be eternally grateful!
GCOB is a must visit for me every time. I love good dim sum or XLB, so Chinatown is usually also on the agenda.
Chelsea Market is a food paradise with just about any kind of food you could wish for, i.e. killer tacos, a fab seafood market I want to die in by protein overdose , cheeses, Korean food, banh mi, an excellent halva stand, etc. etc… great place for lunch, plus you’re near the highline if you haven’t been yet, or head south to the village — great nabe to bop around in. The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is often parked near Washington Square Park, and one branch is also nearby if ice cream is your groove.
I’d avoid Eataly, as it always seems to be packed.
PS: I’ve yet to make it to Queens. One fine day, however, I hope to spend a long weekend eating my way through the neighborhoods & Flushing
For us, no trip to NYC is complete without a stop at Grand Central Oyster Bar and Los Tacos #1 either in Chelsea Market or near Times Square. Some of the best street tacos I have ever had, ever.
Thanks, guys! Looks like we should plan on visiting Chelsea Market. Anything not taco-related for a dinner rec? I’m surprised to see so many mentions of tacos or taco-adjacent cuisine! Any specific Asian destinations convenient for us that anyone can think of? Obviously there’s Chinatown but I’m thinking more of a dinner or lunch slightly more upscale and worth seeking out. Maybe pre-theater? (The last time I was in NYC, because my dad is so hard to plan with and he gets offended if out-of-towners make requests or recommendations, we snuck over to Pok Pok, a bucket-list destination for me, without telling him. Worth it! Everyone ate a rather light second dinner without saying why that night.)
I had great Thai just a few blocks NW of Times Square… Chalong, mabez? No doubt any of the “natives” can help out.
If Sichuan is your groove, there are several options (Mala Project, Cafe China, Han Dinasty, et al), but I’ll leave it up to others who’ve actually dined at any of them.
We have very good Sichuan here in the boonz, so it’s not something I generally seek out when traveling to NYC.
An upscalish, sit-down Chinese restaurant on 9th Ave, just south of the theaters is Chi Restaurant and Bar:
Danji on 52nd between 8th and 9th has very good Korean. I especially recommend their shrimp and scallion pancake. Sticking to midtown places where you can comfortably sit, Don Antonio on 50th, also between 8th and 9th, has good pizza but their crusts have been underdone lately. They also have good salads and appetizers. Further down the block (toward 9th) is an old school French restaurant with a certain faded charm. You can get calf’s brain, and cassoulet, and bouef bourguignon there, and follow with a soufflé. The food isn’t outstanding, but the combination of atmosphere and food is interesting.
On the other side of 8th on 51st (opposite “Wicked”) there’s the Indian restaurant Saar. Not everybody on this board likes it, but I am a fan of their kebabs (especially chicken).
On your LIC leg, my two cents are (a) head north to Steinway, and the various Egyptian and other joints there for something we don’t see much of in the GBA, although we do have the excellent Armenian markets in Watertown that overlap a bit with the offerings on Steinway. See for example
Or, (b) head east to Flushing Main Street and wallow in the pleasures of Chinatown. The latter, especially, has been discussed extensively on this board. See, for example, this thread and links within:
Yes, we do have our very good, very own Chinatown, but the size, energy and variety of the one in Flushing (also the one in Manhattan) dwarf what we have.
While in France, Marseille on 44th and 9th is a very good, very gracious bistro-type place. I’ve always eaten well the many times I’ve eaten there.
I repeat that I am concentrating on sit down places convenient to the theaters.
About the Javits Center, the new branch of Russ and Daughters is quite close, on 34th and 10th. I had a mixed experience there two days ago, but they do carry a range of fish that we don’t see as much of in Boston (Mamaleh’s comes closest, but is still far from R&D).
I thought that’s where you meant. It’s been a favorite of ours for many years. A nice neighborhood-y place with above average food. And, where else can you have a large Goth guy glower from his stand at the back of the room while mom works the room? And a website to read that’s a hoot? https://www.cheznapoleon.com
Wed - There’s a Mermaid Inn in Times Sq now, good seafood with an oyster happy hour. Or go to BXL for mussels.
Thurs - the Hudson Yards complex is right across from Javits, and there’s something from most cuisines nearby, so it would help to narrow that down first. Mercado is a Spanish market of sorts that might scratch that itch (or Chelsea Market is a walk down the High Line).
Fri – where is the show? That would help narrow down choices that don’t require running to the theater after.
LIC – Are you near a subway or planning to drive? Astoria is not far, nor are the rest of the diverse offerings of Queens.
Without any other specs, I’d say BXL on Wed, Molyvos, Milos, or Mercado Little Spain on Thurs, Thai on 9th Ave on Fri, Sami Afghan in LIC on Sat (or pickup from Little Banchan Shop).
The High Line culminates at Hudson Yards, so you could stretch your legs and walk down to a different location for dinner one night if the weather cooperates.
There’s a cluster of good Chinese restaurants in the West 40s courtesy the Chinese embassy & BoC HQ, so you could really have your pick without traveling too far.
(Assume you drove to Pok Pok, as there was no easy way to get there by public transport?)
, cheeses, Korean food, banh mi, an excellent halva stand, etc. etc… great place for lunch, plus you’re near the highline if you haven’t been yet, or head south to the village — great nabe to bop around in. The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is often parked near Washington Square Park, and one branch is also nearby if ice cream is your groove.
