Triumphant Return to NYC!

Regional Dining Discussions New York City
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Looks like a great week of eating!

Han - I like Han, but confirm it’s open Christmas Day. It’s very low key, so tbh if it were me, I’d opt for K-bbq or Dim sum just for the fun of the overall experience on Christmas – I know you’re coming from LA/SF, but I’ve eaten both there and I still prefer NYC (except dim sum for which SF would win over Manhattan - but maybe not Bk or Flushing).

Zaytinya - Since you’ve been to the DC one, maybe go somewhere more New York than that for a meal. It is in a swanky new Ritz, but been there done that, right?

Veranda - I have not been, but George Mendes is solid. Still, the menu seems pretty generic high end modern American-ish. I sent friends to Popular at the Public downtown a few weeks ago: they’ve been raving about it ever since and even went back for their anniversary this weekend. It’s Peruvian-leaning, so might be different enough than other stuff on your list. (Diagonally across town, but that’s why we have cabs!)

Soothr vs SuperTaste - You said upthread that SuperTaste has great memories, so I think this is not really a question.

CiSiamo - I haven’t been yet but hard to go wrong with the Danny Meyer formula. If you don’t get a rez, Marta is excellent (and has great pizza to boot).

Empellon - I like his food a lot. That said, you really want modern Mexican coming from LA? Also that’s a lot of fancy places in a short time. (I’d probably send friends to get a couple of unda chicken kathi rolls at Kati Roll Company and then to spend the rest of the lunch $ at Lady M or Royce around the corner after. Or something else casual-delicious and/or more New York-y.)

Breakfasts - I hope you’ve got a bodega or street cart BEC+coffee factored in somewhere, and a few bagel stops!

Pizza - @vinouspleasure gave a few suggestions upthread. Which is your 10-person pizza meal? Rubisrosa is great, but I don’t know about a 10-person rez. I will also throw out (at risk of being trashed by everyone else) that John’s in Times Sq or John’s on Bleecker (unrelated) are both a solid choice for that style and size of group.

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Wow, it’s like you read my mind! I cancelled Veranda bc the menu didn’t excite me, went with SuperTaste for the memories and cancelled Empellon bc I wanted to have a few more casual meals. Thanks for the food for thought here. Will have to research some of your recs.

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Added Fish Cheeks in place of Milos for one lunch. And, decided to fit in a quintessential NYC steakhouse by replacing Empellon lunch with Keens.

The challenge with our big family pizza lunch is it had to be in Manhattan and take reservations for 10 and not require a family style meal, which at Rubirosa, for example was $65 a person. On that note, decided on Trattoria Zero Otto Nove as all the other recommendations didn’t take reservations :frowning:

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May I suggest Golden Diner for breakfast/brunch/lunch? It’s one of my fav places in the city. Diner food done really well with Asian influences from Korean-American chef from Queens and Momofuku alum

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Day 1.5 in the books!

1st dinner was at Her Name is Han. Solid. The bulgogi is cooked like Vietnamese street grilled meat in a flat wire basket. Well seasoned with nice charring. Kids devoured it. Shrimp pancake was nicely crisp although a bit sparse on shrimp. Army stew was excellent. Chock full. Although we did get screwed on the egg, which I didn’t realize didn’t come until we were gone. At the end, service felt like they were rushing us out, which was annoying especially since the table next to us had been there longer…

Lunch at Eleni’s. This was a pleasant surprise. The decor is beautiful and my niece who was the driver of this trip bc she wanted to see NYC, loved it. Grilled calamari and octopus were great. Perfect textures, lightly salted and flavored only with some olive oil. Grilled branzino was also excellent. And the pita is grilled with olive oil which turns otherwise boring bread into a nice complement to the grilled meat.

Dinner at Keste. So good. Salads were well executed, but the pizzas. Everyone loved it including MIL, who never raves about food but couldn’t stop last night. I think she nearly are a whole pizza herself. I just can’t stop thinking about the crust. Perfectly charrrd, it’s thin yet the center good up and the outer edge is at once chewy but crusty and impossibly light and airy. And the red sauce is notably brighter and fresher than what you get most places. Last note, the service was fantastic. We had this amazing square table that was so conducive to conversation and the staff was pleasant, patient and incredibly helpful all meal.

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Day 2.5.

Lunch at Keens. Loved the ambiance. Crab cakes were fine. Nothing special. My kid and I shared at-bone. He got the filet, I got the strip and bone. Delicious. Perfectly charred outside and medium rare inside. Beef was melt in your mouth but not overly fatty. God I’ve missed steakhouse steak!

Snack at Ventri for gelato. I’m probably more an ice cream than gelato guy but the cappuccino and pistachio flavors were spot on. Probably a bit sweet for my taste. My kids loved theirs (lemon, mango, caramel and stracciatella)

Dinner at Little Alley. This was a hit. In LA, we have this place Bistro Na that had a Michelin star but list it this year. Little Alley is so much better. Everything was light and flavorful and never too heavy-handed on the salt and oil. Rice cakes with soft shell crab set wonderful. The rice cakes were salty, sweet and peppery with the crab aroma infused. Tofu with crab was excellent. And their snow pea leaves in broth was one of the best renditions I’ve had.

Onward at march. Plan is for Locanda Verde for brunch and Balthazar for dinner. But not 100% we make either/both as we’re now in the phase of our vacation where everyone just wants to chill and not be bound by a schedule/location!

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Day 3.5

We never made it to Locanda Verde. Decided to sleep in. Just ate a quick bite at Daily Provisions (that’s some tasty bacon and delicious everything croissant) and Citizens of Chelsea, where the rest of the family noshed on a belgian waffle with blueberry compote + mascarpone.

Dinner was Balthazar. Is it the best food every? No. But the energy, music selection and service makes it such a pleasant dining experience. The chicken paillard is so simple and probably a tad overcooked but the sauce is so good! Wife’s trout at polished off in no time. My younger kid had escargot (I was graced with 1 and it got the spot) and steak frites (fries perfect, steak cooked to medium which is overcooked for me but my kid lived it although he preferred the t bone at Keen’s). Older son said his burger was the best he’s ever had. For dessert we split an apple tarte tatin and it’s not too sweet, just a bit tart with a nice crust! Will always enjoy Balthazar for what it is and glad my kids had a chance to experience.

No plans for lunch tomorrow but hitting Tomino Taberna Gallega for dinner and then ending our trip Friday with a return to Little Alley bc it was so darn good!!!

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@Fattydumplin sounds like a great trip on all counts — thanks for the detailed reports: keep ‘em coming!

(Loved the bits about your mil eating pizza and your son with the escargots)

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Sounds like a place I need to visit myself. Hope we can see a few photos!

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I’ve been once. The shrimp with scrambled eggs is excellent.

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I love both Keen’s and Balthazar. Keen’s has terrific steaks and prime rib and Balthazar is just so much fun as you said, with good food as well. If you’re on Instagram so is Balthazar owner Keith McNally and he is quite interesting.

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Had Xmas Eve dinner with friends at Keens. Still great. And the leftovers fed us for days.

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I love nothing more than seeing family and friends enjoying foods I enjoy!

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Sadly, I’m not much of a food photographer (or writer for that matter…) But so far, there isn’t a single restaurant I wouldn’t recommend!

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Everyone we had was delicious. Quality ingredients, a light hand with seasoning to let natural flavors shine and some nice twists on classics = a great meal.

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I was so excited to go after hearing about how he banned James Corden from Balthazar, lol.

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Big treats today were a couple huge cookies from Levain. Not my style bc they are too soft and thick and decadent but if you dig that style, these are great. I much prefer medium thickness with a good outer crust and some chewiness inside.

Dinner was at Tomino Taberna de Gallega. This might have been my favorite meal if the trip. Starters were excellent. Padrons were a bit salty but otherwise nicely grilled. Octopus was so tender, hit with the smoke and spice of paprika. Ribs and sausage were barely seasoned but you could taste the quality of the pork. But the star is the Seafood Rice in broth… It’s not really a paella bc the dish is deeper and it starts much more soupy, almost like a Spanish seafood porridge. The flavors are lighter than a normal paella and you get the seafood aroma without being hit with strong seasonings or too much salt, which is a pet peeve of mine in paella. A perfectly cooked 1.5# lobster and generous amounts of monkfish are present. By the end, the broth has been mostly absorbed and the texture is more like a paella but probably wetter, like a risotto but without the richness/heaviness. No socarrat but I didn’t care, although I think anyone who orders this expecting a traditional paella will be disappointed.

Too be honest, I’m not doing this dish justice but it’s probably my favorite dish this trip. My wife and I could not stop eating it!

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Last day on New York :sob: We ended up playing three whole day by ear and sort of scrambled our way around the city…

Breakfast at Citizens of Chelsea. I’m lukewarm on this mini chain but my wife loves the belgian waffle with blueberry compote, granola and mascarpone. It’s fine but not my cup of tea.

We then ventured up to Columbia U with HS freshman in tow. Tried to hit Absolute but that had a line wrapping around the block. Instead, got to Mama’s Too just at opening. Was hoping for the house special but they only had squares so got the pepperoni. No regrets here. This slice is a crusty, gooey, salty, greasy flavor bomb of pizza. The pepperoni cups are the perfect thickness, slightly spicy and get crisped during the baking process. The slice gets fully reheated and it is this molten mass that burns every inch of your mouth but you don’t care and can’t stop talking bites. It’s a heavy slice and I wouldn’t want it everyday but it was perfect for today.

Then walked down to Blue Stripes Cocoa Bar where we all had frozen hot chocolate. We’re staying in Hudson yards and my kids have been hankering to hit the Serendipity 3 cart but this one hit the spot. Milk chocolatey, nicely frapped and not too sweet. Which reminds me, yesterday we had the hot dark chocolate at Mille Feulle Cafe on the UWS and if you like dark not too sweet chocolate, this is a perfect snack.

By dinner we were wiped out. Didn’t feel like paying a ton for Little Alley so we went to Dun Huang. The Lanzhou broth is surprisingly good but the noodles were blah. No qq-ness and somewhat stiff, almost. The Chinese hamburger was great and the mutton ribs were a hit - really gamey ribs that are boiled until the meat is tender and the sinew and cartilage have just the tiniest bit of give, served with a spicy cumin salt! Delicious. And by far the cheapest meal of our trip!

We’ve been in CA for 12 years now. But with kids 4 and 7 years away from college, we are increasingly thinking of moving back to NYC when they are in college. This trip really reminded my wife and I how much we love and miss eating and walking in the city!

Thanks all for the suggestions! Cannot wait to come back!

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One final note. I saw the other thread on the clam pizza at Bellucis. Am already figuring out how to convince my wife, who never likes venturing off the island, we need to go there next time we’re in town!

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But the weather on the east coast sucks

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