Paradox of choice: Food in NYC
July 31, 2019 7:03 PM Subscribe
I’ve been in NYC for one day already and the hardest thing about my trip (so far) has been deciding where to eat. How do I choose!?! Can I make this easier?
For example, I wasted an hour this morning deciding where to get breakfast and ended up just getting an iced coffee and a bagel. I’m not much of a foodie (but I like good food, naturally), so I ended up spending more time organizing the activities I wanted to do and forgot that I’d have to eat. I spent most of the day at the Museum of Natural Hiatory and had lunch/dinner (linner? dunch?) at a pretty boring mediocre restaurant. I had too many places to pick from on google reviews, yelp, trip advisor and I just couldn’t decide!!! I don’t expect everything I eat to be ah-mah-zing, but there has to be lots of food that’s better than the boring meal I ate!! How can I figure out where to eat during my time in NYC!? I’m staying in Brooklyn, which I think I have figured out for food, but I can’t decide what to eat in Manhattan.
I’m traveling alone and I’m pretty casual, so I’m not looking to go to any five star gastronomic restaurants or ANYTHING fancy. I also want to avoid having to book reservations. I find myself looking at the $$ restaurants on Google Reviews, but I can be flexible. Maybe up to $15 for breakfast $20ish for lunch $25-50 for dinner (depending on what I’m getting)? Are there any specific places you guys would recommend? I don’t mind splitting now and then.
I know NYC is big, but I have set-in-stone Plans to visit the following attractions on separate days, mostly in the morning so breakfast or lunch recommendations would be greatly appreciated: Rockefeller Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tenement Museum, United Nations. I’d like to not panic about what to eat during those visits. Other days I’m more flexible with my plans!
Bonus for somewhere by the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens!
For example, I wasted an hour this morning deciding where to get breakfast and ended up just getting an iced coffee and a bagel. I’m not much of a foodie (but I like good food, naturally), so I ended up spending more time organizing the activities I wanted to do and forgot that I’d have to eat. I spent most of the day at the Museum of Natural Hiatory and had lunch/dinner (linner? dunch?) at a pretty boring mediocre restaurant. I had too many places to pick from on google reviews, yelp, trip advisor and I just couldn’t decide!!! I don’t expect everything I eat to be ah-mah-zing, but there has to be lots of food that’s better than the boring meal I ate!! How can I figure out where to eat during my time in NYC!? I’m staying in Brooklyn, which I think I have figured out for food, but I can’t decide what to eat in Manhattan.
I’m traveling alone and I’m pretty casual, so I’m not looking to go to any five star gastronomic restaurants or ANYTHING fancy. I also want to avoid having to book reservations. I find myself looking at the $$ restaurants on Google Reviews, but I can be flexible. Maybe up to $15 for breakfast $20ish for lunch $25-50 for dinner (depending on what I’m getting)? Are there any specific places you guys would recommend? I don’t mind splitting now and then.
I know NYC is big, but I have set-in-stone Plans to visit the following attractions on separate days, mostly in the morning so breakfast or lunch recommendations would be greatly appreciated: Rockefeller Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tenement Museum, United Nations. I’d like to not panic about what to eat during those visits. Other days I’m more flexible with my plans!
Bonus for somewhere by the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens!
If you're in Astoria,and you like tea and pastries, go to prince tea house, a few blocks from the museum of the moving image. For comfort food, queens comfort is great for lunch/brunch. So is Mom's kitchen and bar, also in the general area.
posted by bxvr at 7:15 PM on July 31, 2019
posted by bxvr at 7:15 PM on July 31, 2019
me? i love NY diners - no the food usually isn't anything special, but i just love them - near MoMA, the Astro is one of my favs
if you're a coffee snob, Blue Bottle coffee in Rock Center is great
one way to save a little money on food is to hit up a grocery store (like Ernest Klein on 6th near MoMA/Rock Center) and get something from the steam-table/cold-table - then find someplace to eat outside or in a indoor public space (google for locations) - Rock Center has a decent outdoor area to sit in and people watch
posted by kokaku at 7:20 PM on July 31, 2019
if you're a coffee snob, Blue Bottle coffee in Rock Center is great
one way to save a little money on food is to hit up a grocery store (like Ernest Klein on 6th near MoMA/Rock Center) and get something from the steam-table/cold-table - then find someplace to eat outside or in a indoor public space (google for locations) - Rock Center has a decent outdoor area to sit in and people watch
posted by kokaku at 7:20 PM on July 31, 2019
bxvr reminded me that Radiance Tea House is also near Rock Center/MoMA
posted by kokaku at 7:21 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by kokaku at 7:21 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you eat meat, stop at The Halal Guys after Rockefeller Center. There are some classic (if a bit touristy) delis and bagel shops within a few blocks of the tenement museum, though as a tourist myself, I'm not sure I can tell them apart. On the list of national cuisines I see in New York but don't see much in the cities I've lived, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban all rank high. Even if the food from a particular shop isn't amazing, it's usually new enough to me to be interesting.
(Also, as someone who naturally over-thinks everything and sympathizes with your plight, there's a lot to be said for just striking out at random and accepting that what you wind up with may not be perfect. If there's any place in the US where a food Dérive is likely to be successful, it's New York. Best of luck!)
posted by eotvos at 7:28 PM on July 31, 2019 [3 favorites]
(Also, as someone who naturally over-thinks everything and sympathizes with your plight, there's a lot to be said for just striking out at random and accepting that what you wind up with may not be perfect. If there's any place in the US where a food Dérive is likely to be successful, it's New York. Best of luck!)
posted by eotvos at 7:28 PM on July 31, 2019 [3 favorites]
I used to live in Astoria! The very close place to the Museum of the Moving Image that I was going to recommend is closed, but if you can walk for about 25 minutes or get a short ride, go to the Kabab Cafe on Steinway Street, which is a little tiny hole in the wall Egyptian restaurant and one of super few things I miss about living in NYC. If you walk, you’ll pass many things including a fabulous Lebanese bakery that I’m pretty sure is still there, on the left side of Steinway walking north!
If you’re an omnivore, walk in there and tell Ali, the owner and chef, that you want whatever is good that day. If you’re not, tell him what you don’t eat and do the same. If you like menus, there is a good one. He’s a fantastic cook and storyteller and has great taste in music. He knows me by face but not by name, or I’d tell you to say hi to him for me!
And if you go, pretend you‘re me for a minute so you can live vicariously. I miss his cooking and his presence.
posted by centrifugal at 7:29 PM on July 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
If you’re an omnivore, walk in there and tell Ali, the owner and chef, that you want whatever is good that day. If you’re not, tell him what you don’t eat and do the same. If you like menus, there is a good one. He’s a fantastic cook and storyteller and has great taste in music. He knows me by face but not by name, or I’d tell you to say hi to him for me!
And if you go, pretend you‘re me for a minute so you can live vicariously. I miss his cooking and his presence.
posted by centrifugal at 7:29 PM on July 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
I feel you on this. I’ve lived here over 20 years now and still sometimes just throw up my hands and grab a slice just to avoid having to pick a damn restaurant.
A concrete recommendation, then: Ivan Ramen is near the tenement museum (which is great!) and you shouldn’t have a problem getting a stool at the bar as a single person even during the lunch rush. I eat there twice a month as a treat to myself and have never had a bowl (or a beer) that let me down.
posted by minervous at 7:51 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
A concrete recommendation, then: Ivan Ramen is near the tenement museum (which is great!) and you shouldn’t have a problem getting a stool at the bar as a single person even during the lunch rush. I eat there twice a month as a treat to myself and have never had a bowl (or a beer) that let me down.
posted by minervous at 7:51 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions so far!
I realized that I didn’t put any dietary details: I’m an omnivore.
There aren’t any ethnic cuisines that I have in my mind to try while here, because there’s so much to choose from in NYC, but I loveGreek food. So suggestions for a Greek restaraunt (or two) with great tzatziki would be greatly appreciated.
I have a big sweet tooth so any cafes or bakeries that I can stop in for a latte and a pie or a cake or something else delicious would be welcome!
posted by VirginiaPlain at 7:55 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
I realized that I didn’t put any dietary details: I’m an omnivore.
There aren’t any ethnic cuisines that I have in my mind to try while here, because there’s so much to choose from in NYC, but I loveGreek food. So suggestions for a Greek restaraunt (or two) with great tzatziki would be greatly appreciated.
I have a big sweet tooth so any cafes or bakeries that I can stop in for a latte and a pie or a cake or something else delicious would be welcome!
posted by VirginiaPlain at 7:55 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
Generally speaking, Astoria is known for its greek food. Anemos Estiatorio is right near the MotMI, but it might be a little pricey. Otherwise, I'd look to the google for Greek choices in the area. You probably won't go wrong.
Near the Met, you're kind of hosed. It's an oddly black hole for the type of eatery that you're looking for. Your best bet might be to hike over to Third Ave, and see if you run across anything that appeals.
There's a lot of good stuff to choose from around Rockefeller center. If you're there on a weekday afternoon, you might well have a good experience with one of the local food trucks. My favorite insider spot near there is Xi'an Famous Foods. It's cheap, it's spicy (they'll tone it down on request), and it's delicious.
Near the Tenement Museum, you'd be remiss if you didn't go to Russ & Daughters for a proper Lox on a Bagel. (Or, whatever ocean bounty deliciousness you see on display.) Be prepared for there to be a line, but you won't be disappointed getting lunch there. Unless you don't eat fish. If you're feeling vegan, Dirt Candy is also near there. That's one of the very few must-try restaurants in the vegan sphere. You can do both if you want to bracket breakfast and lunch around the museum visit. The LES is a pretty good food zone in general.
Not too far from the UN is Grand Central Station. It's worth seeing in its own right as a tourist spot for photos, and it has an awesome food court downstairs for you to get lunch at. As long as you're not too paralyzed by choice to handle a food court. :) Outside of that, restaurants in the area around the UN tend to be pricey, and in my opinion often disappointing. You'll want to at least hoof it west to Third Ave, which in the stretch from 30th street to 45th has a wealth of moderately priced places. Maybe Bierhaus NYC if you feel like an adult beverage and/or some sausage? It's pretty loud and social, which is what one generally expects from a biergarten kind of place.
I think I covered all the areas you mentioned visiting. Good luck!
Edited to add: My favorite sweeteries include the Doughnut Plant, and Veniero's (which is a little out of the way).
posted by Citrus at 7:58 PM on July 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
Near the Met, you're kind of hosed. It's an oddly black hole for the type of eatery that you're looking for. Your best bet might be to hike over to Third Ave, and see if you run across anything that appeals.
There's a lot of good stuff to choose from around Rockefeller center. If you're there on a weekday afternoon, you might well have a good experience with one of the local food trucks. My favorite insider spot near there is Xi'an Famous Foods. It's cheap, it's spicy (they'll tone it down on request), and it's delicious.
Near the Tenement Museum, you'd be remiss if you didn't go to Russ & Daughters for a proper Lox on a Bagel. (Or, whatever ocean bounty deliciousness you see on display.) Be prepared for there to be a line, but you won't be disappointed getting lunch there. Unless you don't eat fish. If you're feeling vegan, Dirt Candy is also near there. That's one of the very few must-try restaurants in the vegan sphere. You can do both if you want to bracket breakfast and lunch around the museum visit. The LES is a pretty good food zone in general.
Not too far from the UN is Grand Central Station. It's worth seeing in its own right as a tourist spot for photos, and it has an awesome food court downstairs for you to get lunch at. As long as you're not too paralyzed by choice to handle a food court. :) Outside of that, restaurants in the area around the UN tend to be pricey, and in my opinion often disappointing. You'll want to at least hoof it west to Third Ave, which in the stretch from 30th street to 45th has a wealth of moderately priced places. Maybe Bierhaus NYC if you feel like an adult beverage and/or some sausage? It's pretty loud and social, which is what one generally expects from a biergarten kind of place.
I think I covered all the areas you mentioned visiting. Good luck!
Edited to add: My favorite sweeteries include the Doughnut Plant, and Veniero's (which is a little out of the way).
posted by Citrus at 7:58 PM on July 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
There’s abundant Greek food in Astoria! I liked this place, which is also near the Bohemian Hall Beer Garden, if you like drinking beer with a thousand strangers! (Um, they don’t even HAVE a menu - I’m learning something about myself here.)
posted by centrifugal at 8:01 PM on July 31, 2019
posted by centrifugal at 8:01 PM on July 31, 2019
+1 for Ali at Kabab Cafe. I went there for a tasting menu of organ meats. Amazing. And it cost about an order of magnitude less than I'd expect to pay for an N-course tasting menu.
I'm going to focus on Chinatown, because that's a short walk from the Tenement Museum and a neighborhood I know well. (New York has three Chinatowns, of which the one called Chinatown is the smallest.)
Start with Nom Wah Tea Parlor for dim sum. Make sure you go to the original, not the food court place farther north.
On the way there or back, duck into New York Mart, which is one of the leading grocery stores in that Chinatown.
For dinner, check out Buddha Bodhai, which is a certified-kosher vegetarian Chinese restaurant. Worthwhile for the novelty alone, but the food is good too.
For dessert, go to a Taipan Bakery for an egg custard tart. It's probably not worth your while to try anything else. If you have a sweet tooth even by western standards, I suspect you will find the cakes bland. You might try something with bean paste if you've never had that before.
Finally, get a boba tea for the road. There are a million places and everyone I know just picks the closest.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 8:05 PM on July 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm going to focus on Chinatown, because that's a short walk from the Tenement Museum and a neighborhood I know well. (New York has three Chinatowns, of which the one called Chinatown is the smallest.)
Start with Nom Wah Tea Parlor for dim sum. Make sure you go to the original, not the food court place farther north.
On the way there or back, duck into New York Mart, which is one of the leading grocery stores in that Chinatown.
For dinner, check out Buddha Bodhai, which is a certified-kosher vegetarian Chinese restaurant. Worthwhile for the novelty alone, but the food is good too.
For dessert, go to a Taipan Bakery for an egg custard tart. It's probably not worth your while to try anything else. If you have a sweet tooth even by western standards, I suspect you will find the cakes bland. You might try something with bean paste if you've never had that before.
Finally, get a boba tea for the road. There are a million places and everyone I know just picks the closest.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 8:05 PM on July 31, 2019 [2 favorites]
rockefeller center: bibble and sip is a wonderful asian coffee shop with nice breakfast food and amazing cakes and cream puffs. if you like sushi, apparently there's a blue ribbon sushi inside of rockefeller center - definitely in the category of 'splurge', but really good. totto ramen is kinda a long walk from there, but pretty solid. you can also walk downtown to koreatown, if you don't mind a long walk: you might like grace street coffee & desserts, and there's a big + good food court next door to it.
the met: agora, on 2nd ave (long walk) is a great turkish place. if you'd rather stay close to the park, yura is a cafe with good sandwiches, on 96th and madison. there's also a branch of russ & daughters in the basement of the jewish museum, on 92nd.
museum of the moving image: maizal is a nice mexican restaurant, district saigon is a nice vietnamese restaurant. gastroteca is italian & has a nice brunch menu. i've had pretty bad food at mom's, and the line is generally spectacular on weekends.
the tenement museum is near a million food things, but as a fellow sweet tooth i have to point out the ice cream: ice and vice to the south, il laboratorio gelato north, and morgenstern's to the west. of the 3, i think morgenstern's is the least interesting and most overhyped (= long lines), but the other two are great.
posted by elanid at 8:53 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
the met: agora, on 2nd ave (long walk) is a great turkish place. if you'd rather stay close to the park, yura is a cafe with good sandwiches, on 96th and madison. there's also a branch of russ & daughters in the basement of the jewish museum, on 92nd.
museum of the moving image: maizal is a nice mexican restaurant, district saigon is a nice vietnamese restaurant. gastroteca is italian & has a nice brunch menu. i've had pretty bad food at mom's, and the line is generally spectacular on weekends.
the tenement museum is near a million food things, but as a fellow sweet tooth i have to point out the ice cream: ice and vice to the south, il laboratorio gelato north, and morgenstern's to the west. of the 3, i think morgenstern's is the least interesting and most overhyped (= long lines), but the other two are great.
posted by elanid at 8:53 PM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you're going for ramen around the Tenement Museum, I would go to Nakamura instead of Ivan Ramen, as a little more ambitious. But I don't know how anyone can bear ramen in this weather! Closer in, Spicy Village--get the Big Tray Chicken (which is not particularly spicy), which is actually for two people, but what are you gonna do, it's like $15. You will not have a more authentic hole-in-the-wall restaurant experience in the city; I can hardly believe a place like it still exists in Manhattan. If you were going into Chinatown from there (more of a hike, probably to be done only if you consider the walk part of the fun), I would send you to Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles or Great NY Noodletown. But this is because old-school Cantonese-American has never really appealed to me much, which is just a matter of subjective preference. Probably the mooooost classic lunch you could do within reasonable walking distance of the TM, though, even beyond Russ & Daughters, is Katz's for pastrami.
(For breakfast in that vicinity, Clinton St. Baking Company.)
From Rock Center I would walk down Sixth Avenue to 45th St. and have lunch at the Kwik Meal cart--specifically, the lamb. Damn, I miss that cart. Bryant Park is right there so you can have a comfortable seat.
posted by praemunire at 9:05 PM on July 31, 2019
(For breakfast in that vicinity, Clinton St. Baking Company.)
From Rock Center I would walk down Sixth Avenue to 45th St. and have lunch at the Kwik Meal cart--specifically, the lamb. Damn, I miss that cart. Bryant Park is right there so you can have a comfortable seat.
posted by praemunire at 9:05 PM on July 31, 2019
Dominique Ansel! It’s sort of close to the Tenement Museum-ish, and the pastries are INCREDIBLE, and their version of the kouign amann there regularly features in my dreams, in part because they do not travel well. Just avoid the cronut rush in the morning.
And seconding Russ and Daughters, which is actually close. Try going at an off time like 10 am on a weekday. We’ve never had to wait then. If you can splurge a little and get one of the smoked fish platters, they are to die for, but if you can’t, the latkes and smoked fish or the bialy and smoked fish are delightful. And if you’re there, try an egg cream. It’s either love or hate, but very very traditional Jewish New York.
Also, if your sweet tooth extends to ice cream, every time I’m in NYC with my husband, we make a pilgrimage to Ice and Vice down by the arenement Museum-ish for the extraordinary flavors and extraordinary ice-cream making. It’s better or as good as the ice cream at every Michelin star place I’ve been to, and we go there in winter, wrapped up, blowing on our fingers with cold. Worth it every time. A friend spent $100+ to have pints shipped to her. It’s the real deal.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:12 PM on July 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
And seconding Russ and Daughters, which is actually close. Try going at an off time like 10 am on a weekday. We’ve never had to wait then. If you can splurge a little and get one of the smoked fish platters, they are to die for, but if you can’t, the latkes and smoked fish or the bialy and smoked fish are delightful. And if you’re there, try an egg cream. It’s either love or hate, but very very traditional Jewish New York.
Also, if your sweet tooth extends to ice cream, every time I’m in NYC with my husband, we make a pilgrimage to Ice and Vice down by the arenement Museum-ish for the extraordinary flavors and extraordinary ice-cream making. It’s better or as good as the ice cream at every Michelin star place I’ve been to, and we go there in winter, wrapped up, blowing on our fingers with cold. Worth it every time. A friend spent $100+ to have pints shipped to her. It’s the real deal.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:12 PM on July 31, 2019 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: One more thing, then I’ll leave (apologies!) I should note that the price point isn’t that firm. If there’s an argument to be made for a restaurant that is more pricy, that’s okay. Honestly, I’m just being “cheap” by trying to restrain myself from spending ALL of my money on food. It’s an ideal range, but not firm for somewhere worth it.
posted by VirginiaPlain at 9:14 PM on July 31, 2019
posted by VirginiaPlain at 9:14 PM on July 31, 2019
If you google “lower east side food tour self-guided” you’ll get a bunch of great places near the Tenement Museum - little shops like The Pickle Guys where you can grab a pickle, economy candy where you can find some long lost candy from your youth (candy cigarettes! Those little lollipops whistles, anything), donuts at the Doughnut Plant, etc.
The same can be done for other neighborhoods, though midtown isn’t exactly known for its cuisine. Seconding The Halal Guys. La Bonne Soup near MOMA is good - not ground-breaking, but a nice break from the bustle of midtown.
posted by valeries at 9:29 PM on July 31, 2019
The same can be done for other neighborhoods, though midtown isn’t exactly known for its cuisine. Seconding The Halal Guys. La Bonne Soup near MOMA is good - not ground-breaking, but a nice break from the bustle of midtown.
posted by valeries at 9:29 PM on July 31, 2019
Other commenters are correct that the area around the Met is a black hole for decent eats. BUT if you have like cakes, I’ve heard very good things about the sachertorte and other Viennese sweets at Cafe Sabarsky, which is inside the Neue Galerie (museum of 20th century German and Austrian art - think Klimt and Schiele). It’s just down the street from the Met, on 86th and 5th.
posted by Concordia at 4:50 AM on August 1, 2019
posted by Concordia at 4:50 AM on August 1, 2019
Oh and also, there’s loads of interesting places on the lower east side, and Russ and Daughters is a temple of appetizing but if you’re not in the mood for cold fish then I personally find Katz’s ABSOLUTELY worth it. Pastrami on rye, celray soda. I also love Yonah Schimmel’s knishes but I understand that carb on carb is more of an acquired taste.
London is great and all but god I miss the food in New York.
posted by Concordia at 4:56 AM on August 1, 2019
London is great and all but god I miss the food in New York.
posted by Concordia at 4:56 AM on August 1, 2019
I sort of read OP's question as "I need help deciding because I'm overwhelmed by choices," not as "I need more recommendations". I also got the impression that this is NOT a gastronomic tour of NYC where the whole point might be a pilgrimage to the best eating places, but rather someone who is visiting NYC for other reasons and wants to optimize food choices along the way.
If that's a correct read, OP, please do the thing I did when I was in Italy and felt overwhelmed by the pressure to be sure I was choosing THE BEST gelato place or THE BEST pizza joint in all of Rome:
Walk into the nearest shop, pick a small snack, eat, walk out and go about your travel for an hour, then repeat.
- Free yourself of the idea that you must choose the best possible joint every time. It's okay to eat mediocre food sometimes even when you are traveling.
- Lower the per-meal stakes by eating a lot of small snacks eleventeen times a day rather than full meals just three times.
- If you absolutely cannot resist trying to optimize your choice when you're hungry for a snack, you can ask your phone to show you what's good *within a quarter mile of wherever you currently happen to be*. You get reviews and photos and everything.
By following this strategy in Rome, I walked into neighborhood pizza places and bakeries and tried random delicious shit I have never even heard of. At one point I seriously was thinking, "Fuck pizza, I want to eat whatever this patty-like thing is forever."
Godspeed.
posted by MiraK at 8:08 AM on August 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
If that's a correct read, OP, please do the thing I did when I was in Italy and felt overwhelmed by the pressure to be sure I was choosing THE BEST gelato place or THE BEST pizza joint in all of Rome:
Walk into the nearest shop, pick a small snack, eat, walk out and go about your travel for an hour, then repeat.
- Free yourself of the idea that you must choose the best possible joint every time. It's okay to eat mediocre food sometimes even when you are traveling.
- Lower the per-meal stakes by eating a lot of small snacks eleventeen times a day rather than full meals just three times.
- If you absolutely cannot resist trying to optimize your choice when you're hungry for a snack, you can ask your phone to show you what's good *within a quarter mile of wherever you currently happen to be*. You get reviews and photos and everything.
By following this strategy in Rome, I walked into neighborhood pizza places and bakeries and tried random delicious shit I have never even heard of. At one point I seriously was thinking, "Fuck pizza, I want to eat whatever this patty-like thing is forever."
Godspeed.
posted by MiraK at 8:08 AM on August 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
The James Beard America's Classics (sahadis is a middle eastern grocery) and roadfood
posted by brujita at 9:00 AM on August 1, 2019
posted by brujita at 9:00 AM on August 1, 2019
Again I know you aren't looking for more recommendations, but using Yelp/Google/any crowd-sourced review for midtown (or really anywhere in manhattan) is a terrible idea bc those are reviews from mostly tourists, and you want to narrow down your choices to what is actually good! So I would recommend peeking at some of the following lists for $$ and under recommendations the night before and picking something nearby where you are going the next day.
Try:
Infatuation
Thrillist
Eater
These are sites that I, as a local, use when I'm headed to a neighborhood that I'm not super familiar with.
And if you do a similar google search like "best [breakfast/lunch] on the [upper east side/lower east side]" and look at what pops up for those same three websites, you'll get a pretty good curated selection and then you can whittle it down to those in your price range.
Near the Met I love Sant Ambroeus bc it's just tasty (yummy sweet things and a full menu as well) and cute, but a little pricey depending on what you want.
And seconding Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown a little walk from Tenement Museum. There's also a speedier counter-service Nom Wah Nolita even closer to the Tenement Museum with a more limited, but still tasty and cheap menu.
Have fun!
posted by greta simone at 11:10 AM on August 1, 2019
Try:
Infatuation
Thrillist
Eater
These are sites that I, as a local, use when I'm headed to a neighborhood that I'm not super familiar with.
And if you do a similar google search like "best [breakfast/lunch] on the [upper east side/lower east side]" and look at what pops up for those same three websites, you'll get a pretty good curated selection and then you can whittle it down to those in your price range.
Near the Met I love Sant Ambroeus bc it's just tasty (yummy sweet things and a full menu as well) and cute, but a little pricey depending on what you want.
And seconding Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown a little walk from Tenement Museum. There's also a speedier counter-service Nom Wah Nolita even closer to the Tenement Museum with a more limited, but still tasty and cheap menu.
Have fun!
posted by greta simone at 11:10 AM on August 1, 2019
Serious Eats has a bunch of "where to eat near..." articles that may help narrow things down.
posted by avocado_of_merriment at 11:52 AM on August 1, 2019
posted by avocado_of_merriment at 11:52 AM on August 1, 2019
When you visit the Tenement Museum please consider Russ and Daughters at 179 Houston St, (that's pronounced "Howston"; apologies if you already know this.) on the Lower East Side a block or so from the Museum. This is their deli shop, very casual, with a couple of benches outside and maybe a sidewalk table. They specialize in smoked fish of the absolutely best quality obtainable and have been in business for decades. They are legendary in NYC and hell, throughout the East Coast. And I just love the "and daughters" part. It's still owned and run by the original family. We loved the museum but luuuuved Russ and Daughters.
I had smoked salmon spread on an everything bagel. Perfection itself and worth the trip even without the museum.
posted by citygirl at 5:29 PM on August 1, 2019
I had smoked salmon spread on an everything bagel. Perfection itself and worth the trip even without the museum.
posted by citygirl at 5:29 PM on August 1, 2019
Came to post Xi'an Famous Foods as a good lunch spot by Rockefeller center but it's already mentioned, so I'll +1 that instead.
posted by true at 5:45 PM on August 1, 2019
posted by true at 5:45 PM on August 1, 2019
I live right by the museum of the moving image. You want to go get arepas at the arepas cafe on 36th Ave between 33 and 34th streets. Thank me later.
posted by gaspode at 2:56 AM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by gaspode at 2:56 AM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by VirginiaPlain at 7:05 PM on July 31, 2019