|
|
Asian
AZ
21 W. 17th St. / Tel: (212) 691-8888
Patricia Yeo's delicately balanced California-style Asian
cuisine is best experienced in the greenhouse-like roof garden, accompanied by the splash of a blue slate waterfall. If you can't commit to an entire meal, the chic first-floor
lounge offers an edited menu of small plates (Thai beef salad with lemongrass vinaigrette, spicy tuna tartare on crispy nori chips). The same fab cocktail and global wine list applies.
Canton
45 Division St. / Tel: (212) 226-4441
Most of the menu is verbal, so people don't even bother
looking at the brief items printed out. It's advisable to let the classy Eileen Leong guide you through her creative seasonal specialties. Three generations have been coming
here since 1977, and there's an in-the-know clubby feel to the clientele, which is missing at many other Chinatown spots. On a nondescript block and practically under the
Manhattan Bridge, the quadrangular dining room is surprisingly attractive and decorated in shades of blue. Standout items are diced wintermelon, stuffed clams, and
crispy chicken with scallions. If you go to Canton, you'll find a restaurant that serves guests Cantonese and Chinese.
China Grill
52 W. 53rd St. / Tel: (212) 333-7788
In the lobby level of CBS headquarters, aka "Black Rock,"
hotshot TV execs take meetings but are fortunately prevented from cell-phone shouts due to the excessive background din. The pan-Asian dishes are invariably tasty, and the vast room is dark and dramatic.
Chinoiserie
365 Park Ave. S. / Tel: (212) 213-3125
Newly opened in the swanky boutique-style Hotel Giraffe,
this inventive Asian boîte pairs a dramatic Eastern sensibility -- colorful silks, rich woods and saffron swatches -- with inventive French-Indochinese cooking. Standouts include
the foie gras terrine with a mango-red onion purse, magret of duck with crispy sesame rice cakes and baby bok choy, and tea-smoked quail with fried rice.
Elephant
58 E. 1st St. / Tel: (212) 505-7739
Night after night there's a cluster of people on the sidewalk,
hungering for a table at this small, funky Thai-French bistro. The fun cocktails, cute waiters and boisterous vibe create a party atmosphere. The menu ranges from serious culinary
gems to a Thai burger with spicy greens and hot fries.
Kuruma-Zushi
7 E. 47th St. / Tel: (212) 317-2802
Since it's just a slip of place on the second floor of an
anonymous building, it's easy to be unaware of Kurumazushi's existence. But celebrity icons and politicians know about it, and also know that they will be left alone by
the exclusive, largely Japanese, clientele. It is shiny, clean and cozy and the sushi and sashimi are remarkable; in fact, that's all they serve. Mr. Uezo, the chef, is legendary for his
mastery of fish, and people are willing to pay outrageous prices for it. Here you'll find a fine dining restaurant that focuses its culinary expertise on Japanese food where it's
common to order sushi. Expect the average entrée to cost over $60, and plan to fit the scene by dressing up -- on the nicer side.
Nobu
105 Hudson St. / Tel: (212) 219-0500
Still the king. The definitive haute-Japanese meal can be
found here, although so can decor that looks a bit mid-90's. If you can, get the chef's menu, which will set you back a few clams but may well form one of your most enduring food memories. Really.
Tse Yang
34 E. 51st St. / Tel: (212) 688-5447
You're not in Chinatown anymore, not by a long shot, in this
lush setting with stained-glass windows, beautiful aquariums, a reflective ceiling, and metal renditions of Chinese scenes. The cost is far from Chinatown, as well, but
celestial food comes at a price. Top choices include shark's fin soup, orange beef Szechuan-style, roasted duck Peking-style, crispy boneless sea bass, and spicy tenderloin
of veal. Assorted fresh fruits and a lotus pastry is the way to finish. Service is supreme, too. Expect the average entrée to cost over $40, and most people dress up -- on the nicer side.
Vong
200 E. 54th St. / Tel: (212) 486-9592
You may be surrounded by corporate types if you dine at
this French-Thai hybrid, especially at lunchtime. But it doesn't matter, because the food is the star here. Four-star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten never ceases to amaze
connoisseurs with his artistry. The flavors are mesmerizing, the setting exotic and the experience one of a kind.
American
Aureole
34 E. 61st St. / Tel: (212) 319-1660
Plaster casts of flying geese, fish and frogs rise dramatically
from the wall near the entrance to this rapturous kingdom of chef Charles Palmer. There are a curvaceous balcony and hothouse flower arrangements spanning the room, while an
air of complete civility emanates from the staff. The menu changes frequently. With a menu offering new American meals, this is a fine dining restaurant. Expect the average
entrée to cost over $30, and there's a prix-fixe menu at $69 per person. Plan to dress quite formal -- jacket and tie are required.
Gotham Bar & Grill
12 E. 12th St. / Tel: (212) 620-4020
Swear to God, I'll bitch-slap the next person who whines to
me about "Tall Food." Lesser chefs screw up the vertical thing, but Alfred Portale, one of the style's pioneers, hits his mark every time, delivering New American food of peerless
taste and texture. His grilled steak is one of the best damned things in town.
Gramercy Tavern
42 E. 20th St. / Tel: (212) 477-0777
It looks like a sort of avant-Torquemada living room, but the
food is anything but torture. Restaurant czar Danny Meyer's pièce de résistance gives you supremely fine New American dishes drawn from all imaginable traditions of good eating.
You can still get the flava without the heavy outlay if you sit in the bar area for a more limited menu, but a no less delicious meal. Arguably one of the world's great restaurants.
Oceana
55 E. 54th St. / Tel: (212) 759-5941
You're sailing in first class here, with ocean liner decor,
murals of seascapes, and superb American seafood. Float through Chef Rick Moonen's salmon tartare wrapped with smoked salmon; lobster ravioli; and his East Coast
bouillabaisse, prepared with everything under the sea and soba noodles, garlic croutons and rouille. Upstairs is another airy stateroom with a raw bar and cigar smoking. Some stop
in just for oysters and a cool drink. There's a 3-course prix-fixe dinner for $52, a tasting menu for $75, and a gourmet tasting menu for $90 (which, for $135, includes fine
wine selections). Visiting Oceana, you'll find a fine dining restaurant that focuses its culinary talents on an American and Continental menu where people frequently get seafood.
Expect the average entrée to cost over $60, and dress formal -- jacket is required.
Union Square Cafe
21 E. 16th St. / Tel: (212) 243-4020
It doesn't seem possible to achieve higher happiness than
snagging a seat at the bar, sipping a glass of chilled Sancerre, starting with a perfectly dressed salad and then digging into a burger and hot garlic potato chips at Danny
Meyer's top-flight restaurant. The rest of chef Michael Romano's seasonal American menu is gold, and the staff is wonderfully down-to-earth.
French
Alain Ducasse
155 W. 58th St. / Tel: (212) 265-7300
You really can't afford it. But a meal at Ducasse is an
experience that will astound even the most jaded diner. Ignore, for a second, the price, the room and the hype, and concentrate instead on the food: It's extraordinary --
perfect ingredients, simply combined and perfectly cooked. All food should be this way; almost none is.
Balthazar
80 Spring Street, 10012 / Tel: (212) 965-1414
The 800-pound gorilla of French bistros. Everything you'd
expect is here and it's very good, but the real joy is the effortless sophistication of it all. The deafening early buzz has worn off, leaving a space frequently filled with herds of
tourists -- so go late. In fact, go after midnight, when the late-supper menu kicks in and everyone lets their hair down.
Cafe Boulud
20 E. 76th St., 10021 / Tel: (212) 772-2600
Now that Daniel Boulud is busy at Daniel, the handsome new
face at Café Boulud's stove is his protégé, Andrew Carmellini, who has reinvigorated the classic French cuisine and is bringing in playful global influences -- even Louisiana
cooking. The plush room is comfortable and unstuffy.
Daniel
60 E. 65th St., 10021 / Tel: (212) 288-0033
The formal dining room is as opulent as a Renaissance
palace, but we prefer the dark, sexy lounge up front. Daniel Boulud's tasty menu is an exquisite extravaganza, and if you're going all-out, the correct wine will be matched with
each course. Service is friendly and first-class.
Jean Georges
Trump Int’l Hotel, 1 Central Park W. / Tel: (212) 299-3900
Vongerichten. Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The chef for
whom the world is not enough. There's talk in food circles that with four restaurants and a hotel project in New York City alone, the Alsatian Sensation is getting overextended.
You wouldn't suspect it while dining at his signature restaurant, an elegantly beige modernist space on the southern rim of Central Park. The restaurant may be all
about style, but the food is a lesson in inspired authenticity: clearly thought out, cleanly executed and admirable in every way. Visionary, essentially.
Le Bernardin
155 W. 51st St., 10019 / Tel: (212) 489-1515
The people have spoken: Genius chef Eric Ripert and femme
fatale owner Maguy LeCoze waltzed away with top service and top food honors from Zagat for the second year in a row -- quite a feat in this fickle foodie town. The four-star
restaurant's perfect blend of breathtaking seafood and flawless service make it worth every penny. It'll spoil fish sticks for you forever.
Lespinasse
St. Regis Hotel, 2 E. 55th St. / Tel: (212) 339-6719
It just doesn't get any better than this. Chef Gray Kunz gets
it right every time, mixing French and Asian cuisine in a way that seems completely natural. One of Kunz' great skills is an ability to make subtle combinations of intense flavors. His
presentations are immaculate, restrained and elegant. Sure, the room is a little stiff and you have to wear a jacket and tie, but hell, for food like this, I'd wear a hair shirt while sitting on a bed of nails.
Italian
Babbo
110 Waverly Place, / Tel: (212) 777-0303
That Mario Batali, Babbo's robust and rubicund chef, should
get the thumbs-up from Anthony Bourdain, the generally excoriating chef and author of Kitchen Confidential, should come as no surprise. Batali's food is inventive, yet
authentic, direct and unpretentious. If you like your Italian food rich and a little salty -- and aren't terrified by "variety meats" -- this is the place for you. An intimate, pretty room, too.
Barocco
301 Church St. / Tel: (212) 431-0065
A veritable nighttime canteen for the art and fashion crowd
(with the occasional Leo sighting), Barocco serves delicious Northern Italian fare like carpaccio and roast chicken with quite possibly the city's best roasted rosemary potatoes
(sorry, Lucky Strike). Chocolate pudding and tiramisu are bizarrely addictive. This small to-go space is light-filled, pretty and private.
Carino Ristorante
1710 Second Ave. / Tel: (212) 860-0566
Back in the 70's, when your lapels were too wide and your
sideburns too long, this little Italian spot would have been your hangout. You may have since become a 21st-century Tuscan sophisticate, but octogenarian Mama Carino hasn't
changed a bit, still serving up fresh, warm mozzarella and traditional pastas on red checkered tablecloths. As Upper East Side places go, you can't get any homier.
Esca
402 W. 43rd St. / Tel: (212) 564-7272
This Southern Italian seafood trattoria is proving its mettle
by infusing the usual menu suspects with new and inventive touches. Owners Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich haven't had a clunker yet in their expanding portfolio (Babbo, Lupa), and
Esca netted a school of fans right from the start. But getting in can be a trial.
Gino
780 Lexington Ave. / Tel: (212) 758-4466
The Rat Pack returns at this retro, clubby Italian hotspot.
The ultra-cool red-and-black zebra-patterned wallpaper (garish, some might say) and curious fluorescent lighting set the tone for a Dean Martin-would-be-proud night on the
town, complete with dry martinis and soul-satisfying fare like fettuccine a la Romana, homemade ravioli and the decadent torta di ricotta. Warning: The place doesn't take credit cards.
Lombardi's
32 Spring St. / Tel: (212) 941-7994
The rest of Little Italy has pretty much gone to the dogs,
but this terrific, circa 1905 coal-oven pizza parlor attracts more regulars than tourists. Crusts are perfectly charred and all the toppings are super-fresh. Most addictive is the clam
pie made with hand-shucked clams, oregano, fresh garlic, romano and olive oil.
Pepolino
281 W. Broadway / Tel: (212) 966-9983
The cognoscenti have tried to keep this gemlike rustic
Italian eatery a secret. The knockout, eye-poppingly inexpensive menu includes such stunners as spaghetti with braised leeks and Parmesan; breast of duck with raisins, pine
nuts and radicchio; and the earthy wild boar stew with black olives.
|
