New York Restaurants

9th ave between 14th & 15th. Haven't been in years but I'd bet it's still good. roast chicken w/garlic sauce. yellow rice/red beans.

there's stuff not far away in the 40s tho.

LOTS of new cheap joints walk up 9th twds 57th, follow your nose

In the 80s I was partial to Veselka's mean green vegetable soup and AM buckwheat pancakes. After five hand-to-mouth years in the EV though I lost my taste for kielbasa and sauerkrauet 4 ever. :-0

I've been shocked at how bad a couple picks have been, and also some of the stuff they bother to review doesn't even SOUND very good.

Most recently I had a downright awful and overpriced meal at the Greek restaurant Delphi. The four of us literally left the restaurant frowning and clutching our stomachs.

My steak au poivre had one of the most delicious sauces I've ever tasted and great potatoes as well, and my gf's West African chicken was very good as well. Liked the atmosphere -- definitely hipster/bohemian style but very aesthetically nice. Prices were not cheap but reasonable for what we got. Very good espresso. Liked whatever brand of Cotes Du Rhone they were pouring. Service was a little unattentive but that was kind of what I expected from the look of the place, and it was the kind of place where I wanted to relax/hang out anyway. Definitely will be going back.

A $47 "tasting menu" that includes a sampling of antipasti, pasta, two main dishes and two deserts might sound like a bargain if it were genuinely a consumate chef's "tour of Tuscany," as the menu claimed. But instead I felt I was getting a tour of the weak spots on the menu that weren't selling well that week. The "artisinal beans" (!) were unconvincing, as were the elaborate descriptions of them given by the waitress (Sorry, they just tasted like beans. Perfectly good beans, but beans). The warm salad with pancetta and scrambled egg was, as a friend acutely observed, essentially eggs and bacon with greens. Again, perfectly fine, but unremarkable. One of the pastas (the "Moonshine") was farily good and the other was bland. The bass was not especially fresh and uninspiringly seasoned. And the flank steak was also perfectly fine but nothing special. What was unclear was why all this also needed to be accompanied by a basket of extremely oily french fries, especially since both entrees already came with potatoes. Then again, the fries may have been for another table, as were, undoubtedly, the three extra deserts brought to our table (one of which tasted like toothpaste.) Aside from these mistakes (about which one can't really complain) the service itself was quite good and very friendly, and I enjoyed the atmosphere, particularly the beautiful skylights.

1) 3 kumamoto oysters w/ ponzu jelly
2) jalapeno yellowtail sashimi (ex-nobu guy, afterall)
3) sea urchin w/ soy gel
4) miso black cod wrapped in phyllo dough (ditto)
5) sushi/sashimi plate w: the best bluefin otoro ive ever had, uni, botan ebi, horse mackerel, salmon 'toro', yellowtail.
6) meille feiulle

i think it might be the best japanese meal i've had in new york. it came to about $130 for food for 2 people.

Friend who spent some Thailand said it was one of the more authentic places he's tried in NYC. Most entrees in the $8-12 range. Extensive menu. Excellent quality. Beers are $3. Atmosphere is pleasant enough - casual, big picture windows. Last night we had two soups, a chicken Krapao Sub (thai holy basil sautee) and a quarter fried king fish in Tamarind sauce, a beer and a glass of wine for $36 before tip.

but fleur de sel, perry street, and jean georges do year round lunch prix-fixe deals all for $25/$28 each, so i'll save those for later

Here's my review from a restaurant site:

Tourist trap is an understatement - rat trap is more like it. The grossly overpriced and oversized "Turkey Reuben" came on white bread, smothered in low-quality cheese with barely an onion in sight. I don't believe a chicken ever dipped its toe into the matzah ball soup, and the knish was downright foul - literally bursting with inedible, gristly meat - prompting us to rename the establishment "The Carnage-y Deli." I left not only nauseous, but ashamed that anyone would associate this restaurant with my Jewish heritage. Avoid at all costs.

i really want to go to eleven madison now that this new guy is there

that's in, er, good taste given the murders that happened above it a few years ago.