New York thread

[lowrey]

since we have various general threads on Paris, Tokyo and others, I figured we could use one on nyc

I'll start by asking; is a moderately priced, nice and modern hotel an impossible thing to find in the city? I remember staying at 60 thompson 3-4 years ago for $350, now their prices start at $700 and I can imagine the hotel has nothing but aged since then. giving up on a central location is probably the wise thing to do, so any ideas are welcome. I'm willing to spend something since its my birthday, but not as much per night as I'm paying for roundtrip flights from europe, which seems to be what most boutique hotels charge.

also, lets discuss food. whats good? casual places, "fast food" (cafes etc) and upscale restaurants.

[Faust]

Will post some thoughts when I get to work!

[Faust]

HOTELS - yea, it's very tough to get a cool hotel in New York without paying through your nose. Welcome to the world capital of hype. Try these for size - I would also encourage you to get on the mailing list for each to get special offers.

http://www.morganshotelgroup.com/

http://www.hotelonrivington.com

http://www.sohogrand.com

http://www.tribecagrand.com

http://www.hotelgiraffe.com

http://www.dreamny.com

http://www.themaritimehotel.com

FOOD I am not as big on Asian food as most people on SZ or SuFu are - I am sure they will recommend you better places. As for the rest,

Cheap:

Burgers (gotta have one in the USA!) - Peter Luger in Williamsburg (bets kept secret - their burger is out of this world, cheap, and you can get it to go). Le Meridien Burger Joint, Shake Shack.

Gyro/Falafel - Mamoun's Falafel. The West Village location is the original one. Also, any of Rafiqi street carts make a decent lamb over rice plate.

Bahn Mi - Saigon Bakery

Indian - Dosa Man cart on the south side of Washington Square Park

Brunch - Tartine. Prepare to wait on line on the weekend, but well worth it. Last time I went it was $12 all inclusive, now it's probably a little more.

Crepes - Le Gamin

Panini - Ino

Pizza - Joe's

Coffee/Breakfast/Lunch - Grey Dog's (the Carmine st. location)

Coffee/Desert - Financier (bonus - a block away from Faust's office)

Sandwiches/Coffee - Olive's

Moderate:

Breakfast - Balthazar. Cliche, but gotta do it! Bonus - one block away from Atelier.

Burger - Blue Ribbon Bakery

Lunch - Perry St. $25 pri fix - one of the best kept secrets and great deals.

Dinner - Jean Claude. My personal favorite gem. $24 pri-fix dinner Mon-Thu. Straight outta Paris.

Pizza - Una Pizza Napoletana

Pasta - Bar Pitti. Get there early, like 6 p.m., or you will wait on line.

Expensive: (I don't mean out-of-this-world-expensive, since I'm not a foodie like Albert or Joey)

Sceney Dinner - Blue Ribbon (not the bakery). Be prepared to wait (best thing to do is to leave them your mobile number and go to a bar near it), but it's a scene all-right. Lots of models or wannabies and the men who love them, but it manages to be borderline decent.

Seafood - Aquagrill. One of my favorite NYC restaurants. Reservations required.

Yea, not much to add on the expensive front. I am sure others will chime in as well. Oh, and you gotta go for drinks to Angel Share.

Hype/Tourist traps - Magnolia Bakery, Pastis, anything in Little Italy.

[lowrey]

great list, thanks!

I was just looking at Morgans, they seem to have just renovated the entire hotel and prices are *only* around the $300 mark, so thats my top pick right now. thankfully I still have the euro on my side, so thats not bad for nyc boutique hotel at all.

On Rivington seems cool, will have to see if I could find a good deal somewhere..


\/ will do!

[Faust]

You are welcome. Hit me up closer to the date

[AKA*NYC]

BREAKFAST/BRUNCH: Norma's at Le Parker Meridien (best breakfast/brunch in NYC hands down; reservation required)

DIM SUM: Dim Sum Go Go (best dim sum ever and my favorite Chinese restaurant in the world as well as everyone else's judging by the long wait on weekends)

There's apparently a new wave of Absinthe bars that have sprouted up all over the city. I haven't been to any yet but hopefully someone else can comment. I'm curious myself...

[kunk75]

tacos:

taqueria pampano-

basement taco stand of their far-higher priced upstairs restaurant.

3 of the best east-coast tacos you'll ever have with rice/beans and a drink for $8.95. 3rd avenue, bet 49 and 50. in the crystal pavillion. only reason to go to midtown.

[Chinorlz]

Haha, honored to have been mentioned in Faust's suggestions ;)

The high end eats pretty much speak for themselves and the names are easy to find (Ko, WD-50, etc.) so I'll toss in a few smaller joints that I've got good memories of:

Williamsburg- DuMont at 432 Union Ave (Faust, I haven't tried the Luger burger but godDAMN is this burger here good!), Alligator Lounge (free pizza with beer!), and a couple other bars around there (the one with the skee ball machine is where my brother and I go all the time... score I think 500 points or more and you get a free beer... my brother and his friends have mastered it hahaha) are great fun. AKA*NYC can help here :)

On St. Marks- Kenka (for their crazy ass menu, and for the cheap pitchers of Kirin or Sapporo... $8!)

Also on St. Marks.... (well sort of. On 2nd and St. Marks) is Pomme Frites which is perfect late night drunk food.

I like Gray's Papaya as well... I used to frequent the one on 6th & 8th.

The chicken & rice cart at 53rd st. Yums.

For drinks, WD-50 is where you can try some really awesome ones with no wait, Tailor has been another place with supposedly cool drinks but I have yet to go, PDT close to St. Marks (through Crif Dogs which in itself is also awesome) is good but irritatingly hard to get into these days.


*sigh*.... all this is making me hungry for NY

[mesh]

Great list Faust, I really want to do Luger's for steak and maybe take a burger home now too next time I'm in nyc haha. Luckily I have a corporate connection at the ny palance that will afford me a decent price but some time there will still cost me.

Love ino, my favorite place spent as much time there as I could last year. For breakfast I hear clinton st. is the bomb from a good friend of mine who promises to take me when I come into town.

[Faust]

Mesh, do you mean Clinton St. Baking Company? I been there with our own Johnny. It's a great spot for non-US visitors - real heart-attack-on-a-plate kind of American food, with American sized portions to boot. Fun experience.

[mesh]

Yep that's the place, heard the wait is insane sometimes. Funny thing is Joe's opened here in Santa Monica and people have been raving about it but I always forget to go when I'm in the area.

[Faust]

Joe's Coffee? It's all right. Too strong, but they sure make the lattes look beautiful.

[bakla]

Chinorlz, you were able to get a rez at Momofoku Ko? It's notoriously booked by 10 am everyday.

Another hotel recommendation that frequent New York Fashion Week visitor friends go to is The Library. http://www.libraryhotel.com/

My friend Peter's parents stay there when they come for his shows, and my friend who's an editor from Japan stays there as well. Being a native NYer, I can only go by their say so. But we just booked an artist who's doing sculpture for our stores at the library, and they loved it, so that's three for three.

New restuarants to visit that I like (so they may not be big and brash, but definitely fun food destinations):

Soto - most amazing Japanese dishes on a par with Nobu, but extremely creative - think Wylie Dufresne-does -Japan. The uni and fig tempura in a spicy dashi sauce was particularly amazing from the latest menu. Robert Geller loved it, and he eats in Japan a lot.

Gottino - a 'vinoteca' - a wine bar with amazing bar food. Everything is smaller in size but amazingly tasty, on the Italian Spanish side. And fairly inexpensive too, although the wines are a bit pricier.

The New French - French~Vietnamese bistro food with a slightly Americanized twist, as served by East Village waiters and waitresses, in the West Village. Excellent food for the price, although the mussels are a bit on the small size (don't know who their fishmonger is)

Zampa - another Italian winebar, very casual but nice, a stone's throw from Yohji on gansevoort. Go there for brunch on a Sunday or Saturday, then visit Y3 and Yohji afterwards.

Delicatessen - just opened weeks ago, and already mobbed by a fashion-forward crowd in skinny jeans But the re-imagined American staples get high marks from both NYMag and Time Out New York, contrary to its sceney nature. Might be good for people watching.

[mesh]

Joe's Coffee? It's all right. Too strong, but they sure make the lattes look beautiful.

No man Joes pizza like in your recs above! Come on faust!

I miss this place.

[Faust]

No man Joes pizza like in your recs above! Come on faust!

I miss this place.

Ah, oh, brainfart. Actually, they opened one by my house in the boonies as well. Strange. Anyway, next time you come, I'll take you to my hood for real Pizza. (not to any of those Manhattan locations, those are hype). I only recommend Joe's for a quick slice.