Are there some nice restaurants near both your places, that will keep winterized patios this winter?
I also have only been dining outdoors, but there are only 2 winterized patios I would want to visit in Toronto after November 1st/ below 60 ° F. I have a feeling less places in Toronto that had patios the last 2 falls & winters will offer winterized patios this winter because most people are comfortable dining indoors.
Some places in my neighbourhood have even stopped offering takeout. They want everyone dining inside, I guess.
Thanks, @Fattydumplin, for your kind and understanding post!
Unlike you, we are senior citizens. We are fully vaxed and recently got the latest tri-valent booster as well as our flu shots. Definitely not hermits, we food shop regularly (always masked) and take care of other errands. As I said above, we’ve done a lot of outdoor restaurant dining while the weather has been conducive (from mid-April until just last week).
I enjoy cooking, and we do take-out at least once a week. Since we have many, many years of restaurant dining under our belts (pun not intended), often doing so several times in a week, it is no hardship for us to not dine out until next spring.
Hi @Phoenikia, Several of the restaurants we like in NJ that have outdoor dining do have heaters either overhead or stand alone. But dining that way doesn’t appeal to us at all. In Manhattan, there are restaurants with overhead heaters. Others have winterized huts. But those are so enclosed, it would be like dining indoors. Obviously, a no-go.
While many restaurants in our area of NJ no longer do take-out, there are those nearby that have always offered it, e.g., our favorite bbq spot, Turkish and Greek restaurants and, of course, Indian and Asian places. In Manhattan, take-out has always been ubiquitous.
It’s been ages since we visited Toronto. Enjoyed our visit there. We used to go regularly to Canada. For many years, we stayed annually in August at the Auberge Hatley, in Quebec. A wonderful place with superb cuisine. That ended when, sadly, in 2006, it was destroyed by a fire.
I feel the same way about most heated patios in Toronto. I had a couple drafty meals in Oct and Nov 2020 and 2021, and a few meals where the patio space felt too airtight for me to be comfortable.
I’ve narrowed my takeout orders down to a few favourites I revisit monthly, and I keep trying new places.
Welcome back, @Fattydumplin! Take a gander through past nyc threads for ideas too - there’s been a fair bit of discussion on people’s trips in recent months.
Some thoughts on your list:
Italian: take a look at Marta, Il Buco, Il Buco Alimentari, and L’Artusi
Spanish: Boqueria is fun with a broad and tasty menu, multiple locations. Alta I’m the village strangely still thrives, though I haven’t been post-pandemic so check recent reviews.
GT: I’d go for drinks before, or with kids in tow, dessert and a drink after dinner.
Viet: Look at Madame Vo / Monsieur Vo / Saigon Social. You may want to venture to Thai - look at Thai diner and Wayla too. Worth a cab ride out of your radius.
Balthazar: hard to argue with ambience. Frenchette is good, but is not Balthazar. Pasties reopened, it may also fit the bill and be a throwback.
I hate it when auto-(in)correct thinks it knows what I want to write better than I do. It usually happens while I’m typing, so I’m able re-correct. I also proofread before posting. But there are still times I find an error just after I’ve posted, so I go back and edit.
Seems like you’ve got room for some bagel comparisons and some pizza comparisons.
No steakhouse? Lots of choices, maybe Sparks vs Cote is one way to think about it.
Locanda is fine, but check the menu if you want something specific in case they don’t make it anymore. That’s a bummer I have encountered with returning folks too often at old favorites.
Red sauce italian is probably a lot better in nyc than CA.
There’s a hawker stalls thread, but the TLDR is skip it.
Take a look at Essex market and Chelsea market offerings since you like food halls.
Can’t speak to Super Taste but take a look at Spicy Village (aka Big Tray Chicken) and see if that’s something you can get closer to home, otherwise it may be of interest.
How’s the XLB near you? If DTF is what you’re going to reference, please get yourself to Joe’s Shanghai without a second thought.
Since you’re staying near Hudson yards, Milos has a gorgeous outpost there, and is one of the best lunch deals in town.
Steakhouse - my wife isn’t a steak person and I make a mean steak on my grill. So, sadly, no steakhouse in the future for me
Locanda - it looks like they still make my favs! That said, I was pretty disappointed the menu hasn’t changed much at all since we left… Although, my wife and I are mainly going for the memories - we had many a wonderful brunch or dinner there over the years.
Red Sauce Italian - any recs? Definitely open to ideas and we have one meal with our in-laws, where this might be a good big family meal.
Hawker Stalls - sadly, your view appears to be the consensus so we’re goin to skip.
Spicy Village - menu looks great and i would love it. Rest of family not as big on spicy. And like Locanda, Super Taste holds sentimental value so we’ll have to go there.
XLB - Joe’s was our place until we started hitting Flushing. After which we started going to Nanxiang and never looked back. Oddly enough, we had great XLB in the Bay Area, less so in LA.
Milos - Apreciate the rec. You’re the 2nd or 3rd person to mention this and so we are likely to do lunch!
Our favorite red sauce Italian in Manhattan is Paul & Jimmy’s, a family owned neighborhood spot, at 123 East 18th St. (Gramercy Park area). Delicious food; friendly, attentive service; and comfortable indoor surroundings. It’s a short walk from our apartment, so we were pleased that they had outdoor tables, allowing us to dine there when we were in the city during warm weather.
Spicy Village is great AND it is BYOW, which saves a freaking ton. When my cousins were here last March, we went. It was $70 for three of us. Best deal in town, IMO.
It isn’t a classic red sauce joint, but Scalinatella is excellent. When people come to town and want Italian, that is my go to. It is also walking distance from my house, so it has that going for it.
For those talking about Balthazar vs. Frenchette, they are very different. Balthazar is typical french brasserie, mainly sticking to classics. Frenchette will go outside the box, especially when it comes to desserts. Both are lively, both are loud, both are great for people watching.
Le Rock is great. I have been a number of times (it is close to my office and on my walk home). The first time I went, I sat in the dining room and did a full meal. The second time, ate lighter, had a lot more to drink, sat at the bar, had a blast. The third time, it was a friend’s birthday, and we were there for drinking and light bites. This is probably where I am going to celebrate my birthday this year.
I haven’t been in a while but others here have reported a steep decline. One the other hand, they opened a Manhattan branch, so you can do an updated compare-and-contrast with Joe’s new location should you so choose.
There’s a parallel thread going you may want to keep an eye on.
Frankie’s, Piccolo Angolo which I haven’t been to in a long time but used to be a load of fun and seems to still be going strong, Carbone if you want spendy, and Parm which is actually good for being very casual.
Not red sauce but also good for a big family meal is Il Buco which I mentioned already, as, surprisingly, is Via Carota because of its side room (we were seated there this summer with no wait when we showed up with 7 people, but I believe you can reserve it).
+1 Scalinatella especially in white truffle season, but it’s a staid UES vibe (and higher price point — at that level I have a soft spot for the original Il Mulino).
Staid UES? Not the vibe I have ever gotten there at all. It is a bit higher price point, but no more so that most of the Italian places I have been to including Antonucci (which is another good one, IMO) and Emilio’s Ballato (another good one).
Though no rez policy, you can reserve for a crowd (I think 6 or so) in the back room of Emilio’s Ballato. Definitely worth a trip to the loo, if you aren’t eating back there. Haven’t been since the before times, but am going later this week and will report back.
if you liked lombardi’s, it’s much the same, I’ve heard from a number of knowledgable pizza fanatics that you want to get there early when the ovens are hot.
My first recommendation is to call Andrew Bellucci at The Real Bellucci Pizzaria in astoria post-haste and reserve a clam pie for a day that works for you. Last I heard it was $45 and I’m guessing next year it will be $100 given all the attention he’s garnered.
One of the best pizzas in our area, maybe the country is in jersey city at Razza. I don’t think he takes reservations and it’s not all that easy to get there so unless you’re a fanatic, probably want to skip it.
Scarrs on the LES is my current favorite manhattan slice shop. You can sit in booths and order a whole pie. To give you a sense of the quality he’s aiming for, he mills his own flour.
We are blessed with so much great pizza, give a shout if you’re looking for a place in a specific location. On another note, if you don’t have access to good pastrami, Katz’s deli is worth a visit but looking over your list, I’m sure you know this.
best,
ps I’d be remiss in not pointing out that a lot of insders think Pizza Suprema, walking distance from your hotel, is arguably the best slice in NYC and specifically, their grandma slice is the best example we have of that variety.
