August trip to New York City

It is, and it’s great. It’s located in Hudson Yards, which is generally horrible. But Spanish Diner is one bright spot.

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Since you’ll be around Little Italy, we’ll add Di Palo’s for on he spot noshes or stuff to schlep home on the airplane.

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This review of Marie-Michele (Georges’ ex-wife’s restaurant) from 1987 refers to it in the past tense. It seems to be way long gone.

Yes! Best mozz!

Dude. It’s been a very long time from what I found and what small aitch has posted. I thought I was getting old but you’ve got a few years on me. You need to get back to NYC and get more current. I thought old school was Grenouille. You went pre-Columbian.

We’re finally having some fun :slight_smile:

Adding a link to the last time we dug in on recs - 2019!!!

Chinatown / Little Italy can be expanded to plenty of downtown that’s slightly differently labeled but within walking or quick cab distance.

Midtown - if you can be more specific where / near what sights, we can be more helpful on what to eat.

I don’t know how much of this will appeal to your husband, but presumably you’re used to getting him something he’ll enjoy while the rest of you are more adventurous.

+1 to @small_h, @bcc, and @boneappetite suggestions already.

In Chinatown, I always recommend Dim sum go go - order off a menu rather than carts, good vegetarian and non-pork selections (if that matters) and Joe’s Shanghai for (still) the best xlb
But it’s Chinatown, so you can actually get fresh dim sum for breakfast at bakeries (and excellent coffee too), so you can alternate with bagels if you want :joy:

Speaking of bagels, Kossar’s is not that far so get a bialy too, and try their bagels so you can compare to Russ&D.

You’ll love Essex market - you can probably go a few times and eat different things each time (and also - everyone can get different things, which can be helpful too).

A nice way to get the view / skyline is go to Time Out Market across the bridge - you can hang out there for sunset views (or not). Good food too - Wayla (LES, excellent modern Thai) is now serving there as well.

If the “kids” decide to do the cruise, your husband and you could take advantage of the smaller number and try somewhere like Via Carota for dinner. Make a rez at L’Artusi or I Sodi - should be possible this far in advance - in case VC is its usual difficulty level.

You might want to take a look at Cote - the Korean steakhouse. Gives you steak, because NYC, but with a twist, because Korean banchan and sides.

I’d agree that Mercado (including Spanish Diner, but there are 3 areas) is the best of the options at Hudson Yards, but I’d question whether one actually needs to go to HY at all - it’s far, and not that exciting (unless you get tickets to the Vessel).

Oh one other new-ish alternative is the redone South Street Seaport - lots of big food names. And if you really want a ferry ride, the Staten Island ferry is right there.

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Thank you and am basing the mid town comment on the hotel location. Right now we have NO plans beyond eating, and I believe the “kidz” bought cruise tickets. At least daughter did. Son and DIL are in Montenegro. Sheesh. What a life.

Anyway I will update as we plan for anything beyond eating. I don’t want to spend our time rushing from one place to another, but I’m sure we will come up with a few non food activities.

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Dim sum at bakeries? Which bakeries are you talking about (and what type of dim sum)?

Definitely agree on i sodi, via carota and l’artusi, always great. Mercado was interesting when I’ve went, and I’ve always enjoyed the Alex raij places in Chelsea like txikito and el Quinto pino

Edit: agreed on bagels too, Russ uses h&h I think, definitely not what it used to be though the fish is still great

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If the OP is coming from the Bay Area I would not recommend dim sum! San Francisco has the best dim sum in the country with Dragon Beaux/Palette Tea House/Koi Palace. Also the to-go spots in Chinatown and Richmond/Sunset are pretty damn good for its lower price point. I suggest you get Chinese food you can’t get in the Bay Area like Fujian.

You don’t recommend someone from LA to get tacos in NYC when LA’s taco game is so competitive with places making their own tortillas and their own regional speciality. Y’all still using non-handmade double tortillas on your tacos. You ain’t going to recommend me Dunkin Donuts when we have mom n pop Cambodian owned pink box donuts and places like Sidecar/Oliboli. You don’t recommend someone from Philly to get a cheesesteak in your town because first off the bread ain’t even from South Philly bakery.

I would recommend someone from NYC to try Langers though lol

What does NYC do better than LA and SF? I would say Carribean, South American, Tibetan, bodega sandwiches like chopped cheese and Papi lemme get a BaconEggCheeseSaltPepperKetchup, pizza, Italian deli, Korean in Flushing/Bayside but if OP goes to LA Koreatown than probably not as high priority, Greek, Taiwanese (Ho Foods seems convenient for OP since Bay Area is not that great with Taiwanese compared to San Gabriel Valley), bagels, good call with Kopitiam I wish that a Malaysian/Singaporean Coffeeshop concept would happen in CA.

If I was coming from CA personally I would be in Queens eating along the 7 train or in Brooklyn having pizza or some epic Italian deli sandwich with in house made mozzarella.

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Some of the not-fancy local bakeries have dim sum in the mornings. A couple on grand near the central stretch, more further east.

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Weeeeeellll. Anyway.
We’ll pitch in on the next LA trip query.
:rofl:

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Ah, I never tended to go that far east past grand, the bakeries I grew up with just never really did that. Will have to explore a bit more when I get back down there! Didn’t realize I was going to the fancy bakeries all these years :joy:

By not-fancy I meant not the shiny new branded ones that have opened in the past several years.

I mean the ones where there’s a couple of seniors who look like they sit there most of the day just hanging, and stare at you (well, me) when you walk in because - who are you, exactly? Those places. :joy:

I don’t track those by name or location, but I always walk in when I’m wandering the area.

Haha I get that, I last maybe two sentences before I get the “who are you” treatment…

I started young. grin All the people I knew in NYC are dead or have moved. Nothing really to take me back and lots of other places to go.

The memories are all pretty clear. It’s the time frames that get fuzzy.

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It is called New Shanghai deluxe. Some regulars still call it Old Shanghai :grinning:

Menu http://places.singleplatform.com/new-yeah-shanghai-deluxe/menu?ref=google

My first taste of Soup Dumplings /Xiao long bao/ was at Joe’s Shanghai in 1997. My last XLB were at New Shanghai!

I keep a running thread for my visits to NYC

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Lots of information already on this thread so let me take you in another direction. If you are here Tues 8/24 thru Thurs 8/26 and have any interest at all in tennis, the US Open Qualifiers will be happening and are totally free all day, with unlimited in and out privileges. Or, if you’re not here till the following week, the opening day for the tournament is Monday 8/30, but that’ll cost you $70pp or so for that day or Tuesday (Grounds passes). Starts at 11am and goes thru to about 7pm each day. You won’t get that anywhere else. AND, since the location is at Flushing Meadows, you can couple it with a very short walk (5 minutes) out of the park (after looking around) on the 111th St side to Park Side Restaurant, one of the best remaining Italian American restaurants in NYC. Or go to the Roosevelt Ave side and make a right to get to Flushing’s Chinatown or a left to get to all the Latin American storefronts and restaurants. If any of this interests you, I (or probably others as well) can give more details about this area and the food choices.

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That is information I can use! Thanks. We aren’t really tennis people but we could be!

And a Queens excursion might be in the works. It sounds like you know Queens! I grew up in St. Albans and Husband in Laurelton.

BTW, we arrive in NY on Monday Aug 30th.

@shrinkrap I forgot to mention one of my favorite walk-around meals / snacks - Kati roll company. Chicken and egg is classic, and the lamb patty is unusual to find outside a home (or occasionally a divey cabbie place).

There are several locations, one in the EV, one on Macdougal, and a few in midtown.

2 for a meal, 1 for a snack :slight_smile:

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It is proving very difficult to make reservations, and our hotel will now be closed on our trip dates. I’m having second, third, and fourth thoughts about this trip.

Have any of you tried this Excelsior pass?

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