Secret Restaurants of Celebrity Foodies - Budget Travel

Secret Restaurants of Celebrity Foodies - Budget Travel

Grey Dog Coffee in NYC

http://thegreydog.com/

Three outstanding cheap places in NYC

El Centro - go for the Pozole.

http://www.elcentro-nyc.com/entrees.htm

Mooncake

http://www.mooncakefoods.com/

Two Boots pizza. I know the one in the village, but it is so good I would try any location.

http://www.twoboots.com/

Two good Thai

http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?neighborhoodid=0&restaurantid=3892

Wondee Siam ($$)
Thai Restaurant
Thai

792 9th Ave, New York 10019
Btwn 52nd & 53rd St

http://www.seeda2.com/

Seeda II
309 W. 50th St
Between 8th and 9th Ave.

B Smith

http://www.bsmith.com/restaurant_ny_home.php

Cafe Cluny

http://www.cafecluny.com/

I have seen some mixed review, and I don't get it - I think it is great.

AKI on West 4th

http://members.aol.com/akiw4/

Get there right at 6PM for a great pre fixe meal and half the price you would pay at 7PM. Don't worry, you can enjoy your meal until 8 - they don't kick you out at 7PM! Oh ... and they have Jamaican items on the menu too. Check it out.

Sugiyama

Sugiyama specializes in modern Kaiseki, multi-course meals. Think of it as Japanese 'pre-fixe'. Sushi is always included, and it is uniformly excellent, but it is not only sushi. Steak served on a hot stone is typically one of the courses. I have been about 4-5 times, and it is always outstanding. I have never been disappointed.

No Frills Casual Japanese

This would be a great place for lunch. I arrived just before the end of the lunch menu. They close briefly in the late afternoon between lunch and dinner. Most of the choices are of the bento box, set lunch, variety. It is very reasonably priced and tasty. I did not imbibe, but they seemed to have a great selection of sake and shochu.

Izakaya Ten, 207 10th Avenue, NY, NY, (212)627-7777

Lunch: M-Sa 12 - 3:30 PM

Dinner: M-Sun 5 - Midnight 

Sake Bar around the corner from Kanoyama

The food is strictly bar food while you drink, but this is a fun place. One should not underestimate the pleasure that bar food can bring when the mood is right. Stuff like cold soba, and shumai. It has the feel of hanging out in a close friend's basement. I am not a sake expert by any stretch, but I really enjoyed trying a couple of interesting drinks. One I tried was a cloudy, unfiltered sake. It truly looked like spoiled milk, but was a really great. I couldn't help, but notice how close it is to Kanoyama and Chikalicious. What a great place to go before or after a visit to those two favorites.

www.sakebardecibel.com

Vegetarian in New York

Before it closed the wonderful Zen Palate in Union Square was my favorite spot when I felt like vegetarian. They have other locations: http://www.zenpalate.com , but the closing made me look out for others.

I have found two. 'Snice is a West Village spot at 45 8th Avenue at West 4th. It is very casual. One orders at the register and they bring it to you. I am not a vegetarian, but I really enjoy any food that is made well. I had a truly great salad with avocado dressing, and a friend had a vegi grilled sandwich. Major bonus: free internet at large common tables. If you don't have your laptop, there are tables reserved for eating only.

Another great choice, which is more in the tradition of Zen Palate is the more formal, yet comfy, Gobo. The food here was just excellent. I just missed the lunch menu by a few minutes. The dinner menu is slightly pricier than you might expect for vegetarian, but everything that we ordered was very good (also, dinners on either side of us like everything they ordered as well). The atmosphere borders on fine dining, but casual enough, and cozy enough, that a spontaneous "what is that you ordered?",  doesn't feel out of place. www.goborestaurant.com 

Thai in Queens

SriPraPhai is in Woodside. A bit of train ride for a tourist in Manhattan, but worth it. Still only $2 no matter how long! Tourists and business travelers never get out to the boroughs and it is a shame.

This is really great Thai food. The place is not fancy, but it doesn't matter. A great place to go with a bunch of friends. I saw at least 2-3 three tables that had 6+ diners sharing.

64-13 39th Avenue, Woodside. 718-899-9599. Closed Wed. Near 61th St or 69th St on the 7 Train.

Ess-a-Bagel

Every visitor to New York (at least when they are awake before noon) will want a good bagel. Try Ess-a-bagel. Be prepared for a line!

http://www.ess-a-bagel.com/

Little Italy, New York

When walking through Little Italy one day, I picked this place pretty much at random. I am rehearsed at reading between the lines of menus posted outside restaurants, and it felt right. I ordered the shrimp and biscuits, which is exactly what is sounds like – popcorn shrimp over biscuits with lots of Vincent’s sauce. Be prepared for a choice - sweet, medium or hot. I got hot.

On a return visit, I asked if they were the place with the “shrimp and biscuits”. I had spent 45 minutes reading menus looking for them. Need I elaborate on my enjoyment of the dish the first time? The guys working the front looked at me like I was a crazy person, and I turned to leave. “Of course we serve Shrimp and Biscuits!” I sat at the bar, and the dish arrived in 5 minutes. I ate it in 5 minutes more, and commented to the bar tender that I wanted to end the meal right there. It was perfect. “They have been eating that dish in the kitchen for 100 years”. I inquired further, and learned that everyone at the restaurant eats the dish as their comfort food. You should too.

http://anotherreason.com/vincents/index.html

After a polite pause - afterall I had enjoyed one of the best $10 lunches that NY has to offer. I started looking for a little something before leaving the neighborhood. La Bella Ferrara has little tiny cannoli about the size of your thumb. Little Italy also offers Gelato on the street, and obviously lots of cafes. I havn't tried them all, but many seem touristy to me. Having said that, the cannoli was great. It was always a favorite of mine. So if in the restaurant, you are full, or the deserts are too big, and expensive, find this Pasticceria.

http://www.littleitalynyc.com/labellaferrara/

South Street Seaport New York

I have been visiting NY every few weeks for 10 years, and I just discovered this neighborhood. South St. Seaport is all about smaller, older building and cobblestones. A tiny Nantucket, or Newport right on Manhattan, near the Brooklyn bridge. I tried two restaurants: Aqua and Bararini. There is a Hampton Inn right there, named "Seaport". Aqua was pretty good, although I got take out. Ravioli and white bean salad. Not worth the trip to seaport just for a meal there, but a good choice if you are there for other reasons.

Barbarini is a small deli style place with maybe 6 tables inside, and a couple outside. But ... the "green egg and crudite" sandwich I got there was just great. Pesto and lots of it makes it great, with a nice side salad. I wouldn't have ordered salad, but it turned out to be a perfect late breakfast. The cappuccino was just perfect.

http://www.acquarestaurantnyc.com/

http://www.barbarini.net/

http://www.nywatertaxi.com/

Hampton Inn Manhattan-Seaport-Financial District
320 Pearl Street, New York, New York

One of the coolest food discoveries ever! Dessert Bars

A New York friend suggested a dessert bar. I have always enjoyed a short break between dinner and dessert, so why not. I pictured something like the very nice Sweet Lady Jane in LA, but the option in NY is even better.

(Sweet Lady Jane is just fantastic, but it is basically a great bakery with coffee, and tables. ) http://www.sweetladyjane.com/

Chikalicious, in New York, has taken this to the next level. It is a three course, dessert experience. Amuse Bouche, Dessert Entre, and Petite Fours, and ... a wine pairing. Am I overacting? You try it! You will gush also.

I had fig over polenta, with corn ice cream - yes, that was corn ice cream.

All of this, and you get to chat with the chef, Chika, her sous chef, and her husband, while you watch them prepare the dessert in the exposed kitchen. So go ahead, and have the finest meal you can find in all of Manhattan, and then come here. It will have to be pretty amazing to compete with the dessert you'll have.

http://www.chikalicious.com/

Also better than Nobu

KanoYama is a small space, but the food is great, so who cares? It has a wide variety of sashimi, and has a special daily insert into the menu. It is possible to spend quite a bit of money here if you order everything a la carte, but if you make wise choices, it is a good deal. The Chef's choice menus included really great stuff - probably your best best. I ordered Fugu a la carte, and then enjoyed a Chef's selection that included Toro, Yellow Tail Belly, and other cool suprises off the daily insert. Frankly, the same stuff I would have ordered anyway. Because there are only a few tables, it is best to call ahead. It is in the East Village.
http://www.kanoyama.com/

NOBU versus Tsushima

I dined with two different friends this week, and for several conspiring reasons ended up at Nobu and Tsushima. They couldn't be more different, and although I enjoyed both meals very much, I am almost certain to return to Tsushima for a 4th time, and might not give Nobu a second try.
Nobu http://www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com/nobu57/index.html, had delicious food, creatively prepared, but its rituals are arcane and seem to get in the way. The menu and pricing is confusing and the portions can be ridiculous. I ate almost every morning in Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market when I visited Japan last year. I ate like a king for the price of a 1/2-ounce Toro appetizer at Nobu. While the small Tsukiji restaurant was nothing much to look at, and I had only unadorned sashimi, I never felt confused or uncomfortable even thought the staff knew absolutely no English. Not a word. At Nobu, I felt both emotions throughout. In Tokyo, I simply rattled off the fish names I knew, and the fish appeared with a deferential "Hai". At Nobu, any question, was greeted with a kind of "you poor thing, let me help you" look. Some info on Tsukiji can be found at: http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/youkoso/about_e.htm. The fish market itself is a wholesale market, but great sashimi is to found nearby in all directions.Tsushima, which does not have a website is just outstanding. Please don't order a California roll here; I don't think they would know how to accommodate you. This is like going to a Tapas bar, except, of course, the menu items are Japanese. There is a seasonal menu for the month. I would suggest ordering about 6 or 7 dishes off this menu - you just can't go wrong. Recent examples include BBQ Abalone, Grilled Pork, and Spanish mackerel. Tsushima, http://maps.google.com/maps?q=141+East+47th+street,+new+york,+ny, (212) 207-1938

"Hell's Kitchen" is quite nice, actually

The Maze is the slightly more casual, less expensive alternative to Ramsey at the London. Both are part of the growing Ramsey empire. Frankly, the shear number of restaurants gave me pause, but Gordon Ramsey, the Hell's Kitchen star, must run a type ship, because dinner at the Maze was outstanding.
The wine list is exceptional and the price, for what you get, is unheard of in Manhattan. There is a $55 4 course, and a $70 6 course. The portions are just a little more generous than typical in a set price, multi-course meal. It might seem odd to note, but if there was any risk of hunger, it is eliminated by the best bread outside of France. Truly, every course was in stiff competition for the best course, with no disappoints during the meal.
Despite the coicendence concerning the name of Ramsey's Fox network hit and the NY neighborhood, the location is a bit east of New York's Hell's Kitchen in the West 50s.
http://www.thelondonnyc.com/gordon_ramsay/maze.cfm

Brazil Grill

This week I found an item on a menu that was really something new. This is nice, and rare too! It was Vatapa. It is described on the web as stew http://www.whats4eats.com/recipes/r_fi_vatapa.php, but at Brazil Grill is was served as a kind of paste (thickened with a starch). It has grilled shrimp on top of the paste, and a generous serving of fish in addition. For a side dish I received rice and beans. My server kindly warned me that this dish was not for everyone - perhaps I didn't look Brazilian? She was sweet about it, but it gave me the impression that it was only for the brave. Well, I am, and enjoyed it. The flavors were a little unusual, and the consistency was too, and I really like it. I would order it again.
http://cityinsights.com/newyork/brazilgrill.htm