Tuesday, June 19, 2007

NYC Dining Itinerary

THURSDAY
Breakfast - Clinton Street Baking Co.
Katz Deli – pastrami
Russ & Daughters - lox
The Pickle Guys, Gus' Pickles
JS - crab xlb or NY Noodletown -ssc
7:45 pm Lupa* (w/ K and J)
Magnolia or Billy's Bakery

FRIDAY
A.M.Balthazar* (w/L)
12:00 pm Perry St.* -m (w/L)
Momofuku Ssam - pork or NY Noodletown -ssc
Amy’s Bread - cake
P.M. TriBeCa Grill* (RW) or
P.M. Snack Taverna* (w/A, S, V & L)

Il Laboratorio Gelato
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SUNDAY
After Wedding Brunch? or
Ramen Setagaya
Di Fara’s (open?), Patsy’s or Grimaldi’s (B) - pizza
Korean or NY Noodletown
Dinner: w/ G&T

MONDAY
A.M. Ess-a-Bagel or Popover (w/S& C)
A.M. db Bistro Modern or Gramercy Tavern (RW) (w/R?)
Di Fara’s (open?), Patsy’s or Grimaldi’s (B) - pizza

MAP
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Things to Try

Prune - brunch
Jacques Torres - chocolates
Una Pizza Napoletana
Room 4 Dessert
Per Se
Peter Luger’s
WD-50
Nougatine (RW) or Jean George1 Central Park West
Room 4 Dessert
Café Boulud (RW)

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Standbys

Bubby's - bf
Skyway - ctown
Nyonya - ctown
Choong Moo Ro - bbq
You-Chun -naeng myun
9 p.m. Gramercy Tavern*

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi -,

I meant to write earlier, sorry! But this is good because now I know what you're contemplating. We had lunch at Jean Georges (not Nougatine) and it was really great. Nougatine will probably be good too. We love Lupa, although we haven't been since '03. Haven't been to Balthazar or Bubby's but have heard that Balthazar is a very "New York French bistro" experience, so if you can get in, it's probably worth it. We went to Eleven Madison Park for RW and thought it was fine. Some people really like the decor; I wasn't that wowed. We like Gramercy Tavern -- the more informal front room more than the dining room. Haven't tried it for RW but have had lunch in the front room and dinner in the dining room. It's a very NY experience, too, and I like it the food/decor there better than at EMP. Korean is pretty good (supposedly better out in the boroughs and in NJ). I don't remember all of the places that were good. I think we liked Kun Jip and Cho Dang Gol. Gam Mi Ok is good for sul long tang (oxtail noodle soup, it's known as hangover food :) ). I really wanted to try Emo Kimbap (2 W. 32nd) but didn't get a chance (not open late and closed on Sundays). We haven't been to Cafe Boulud.

Katz's, Russ & Daughters and Ess-a-Bagel are all classics. Haven't trekked out to Di Fara's but have been to Grimaldi's a few times and it's pretty yummy. We got a slice at Joe's (7 Carmine) on our last trip and liked it. We have also been meaning to go to Una Pizza Napoletana (349 E. 12th) -- get there early since I read that they run out. We loved the Momofuku Original Ssam. I don't know if Magnolia's is worth it (it's been so long since I've been that I don't really remember it but I think Billy's, Two Little Red Hens, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine are better). Amy's Bread has my favorite cake -- yellow with pink frosting. A's favorite is the black & white. They have a lot of other yummy baked goods too (cherry scones, cupcakes... I love their date bread and cream cheese sandwiches, although they don't always have them). We haven't been to NY Noodletown or Shanghai Cafe but we've heard that at NY Noodletown, get anything saltbaked and the singapore meifun. We haven't been to Peter Luger's, Snack Taverna or Wu Liang Ye (but have heard great things about the first two). Prune for brunch was fine but maybe not worth the crazy line. Jacques Torres is good. His former student runs Kee's Chocolate on 80 Thompson, yum. Shake Shack has good frozen custard with mix-ins. I think their burders and hot dogs are really popular but I haven't tried them.

In terms of other recs:

On our last trip, we went to S'MAC (345 E.12th) and Clinton St. Baking Co. (4 Clinton, brunch). The former was pretty good; we liked the latter a lot but the lines are insane (we got there by 9:30 and it was fine but by 10, it might be bad). Doughnut Plant is near Clinton St. Baking Co. (379 Essex) and I like their cake doughnuts. We went to a good 5 for $1 dumpling place called Prosperity (46 Eldridge). We finally tried Pommes Frites (123 2nd Ave) and I loved their thick cut fries (A's a crunchy fry guy). Our favorite sushi in the world is Sushi Yasuda (43rd & 3rd) but you should sit in front of Yasuda-san and order omakase. It will be pricey (but we think it's a bargain). Other places we've been to (I have a whole list of places to try but since we haven't tried them, we can't really recommend them) that we like are:

Ruby et Violette (50th St & 10th Ave) - chocolate chunk cookies, some in exotic flavors, and in the summer, ice cream sandwiches made with Il Labotorio del Gelato gelato (their store is in the LES). They were closed indefinitely for remodeling when we went so you should check before you go.

OMS/B - omusubi (rice balls) (45th St & 3rd Ave).

Either Mary's Fish Camp or Pearl Oyster Bar (if you like lobster rolls and things).

Veggie Dim Sum House on Pell.

Can't think of anything else right now but will email if I think of any must-try spots. Have a great time!
- J

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Before I forget everything, let me give you the rundown of can't-miss spots:

1. Start the day with a doughnut from Doughnut Plant and/or a bagel or bialy from Kossar's- they're on the same block of Grand St., near Essex. I used to be partial to Kossar's, but yesterday I found the bialy a little doughier than usual and the Doughnut Plant totally won me over with a tres leches doughnut that was unbelievable.

2. At the corner of Grand and Essex, The Pickle Guys is the first of 2 mandatory pickle tasting stops- the half-sour was surprisingly good yesterday, I actually preferred it to Gus's, which would be considered briny blasphemy by some.

3. Walk down to Orchard, if you like coffee there's a spiffy new place that the NY times raved about recently, called the Roasting Plant. I didn't drink any yesterday but watched all their spiffy machinery for a while.

4. A few doors down is Gus's Pickles, local favorite spot. Second mandatory stop on the pickle taste test.

5. Go to the Tenement Museum, one block down on Orchard- either of the main tours is great. Tours often sell out early, so you may want to go here first and pre-buy them.

6. For lunch, Dumpling House on Eldridge is great for good, cheap food. Dumplings are solid but the real winner is this "Sesame Pancake with Beef" thing, more like a beef sandwich. I ate so many of these the summer I was working at -.

7. For dessert, Il Laboratorio del Gelato is absolutely mandatory. In the same block of Orchard as the museum. Yesterday I had a Braeburn apple sorbet with dulce de leche gelato that rendered me speechless for a few minutes.

8. Also, up on Rivington, there's Teany, a nice tea house if you want to sit for a while. Owned by Moby, very hip.

9. A block or so over from Teany, T would really like Economy Candy-they have all sorts of old, funny candies in stock. on Rivington.

10. If you wanted more of a sitdown meal, 'inteca on Rivington is very good if a little more upscale, or the famous Katz's deli is not
far away.

Okay, I think that's it! Sorry I don't have exact addresses for anything- they could easily be found online or you could just ask anyone in the neighborhood to direct you. Kossar's, the starting point, is at 367 Grand, close to the Grand St. subway stop.

Cholesterolly,
E