New York Restaurants

lunch @ di fara pizza today. TOTALLY lived up to the legend. and my son loved it, basil, cheese and all. YAY.

http://offthebroiler.files.wordpress.com/2006/05/IMG_5216.JPG

looks so good! ^^

Mmmmm.

Forgot to mention that I had a pretty perfect plate of pasta at Little Giant while that crazy thunderstorm raged outside.

Last night I had the steak at Aurora (@ Grand and Wythe) ... it levitated!

My favorite Japanese bakery Panya got closed by the health department :(
I don't mind that there may have been mice baking my curry pans.

Wha...? Are they gonna reopen?

They'll probably reopen. Usually what happens in these situations is the restaurant has to renovate and exterminate to bring itself into compliance and then they have a repeat inspection before being given the green light.

Had a nice surprise at Mamajuana in Inwood - sort of an upscale Dominican restaurant. It was much more of a big-hunk-of-meat and fruity cocktail place than I usually eat at and probably never would have gone in if friends hadn't brought us, but the food was good to excellent. Had paella and lamb in mint chimichurri sauce.

quick where to get (reasonably priced, i.e. not $4 apiece) oysters in or near east village?

Essex, on the L.E.S. You might get hepatitis since June has no "R", but at least you won't overpay.

oh wait i thought it was the other way around with the Rs? why would i not want to eat delicious raw oysters in the summer?

Best Pizza in New York: http://www.unapizza.com/
Also fucking expensive: 21 for a single person pie. I eat here every chance I get, about twice a month.
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2004/10/una_pizza_napol.html

i thought the r thing was B.S.

They have beer and wine now, btw.

eager to try this new place in my hood called James, looks $$$ but seriously good

http://thestrongbuzz.com/buzz/details.php?item_id=398

opened a couple days ago in the space that used to be Sorrel

Blue Ribbon Brasserie on Sullivan between Spring and Prince has the best raw bar in downtown and it's not too crazy expensive IMO but it's tiny.

Balthazar on Spring has a bigger raw bar but it's a little pricier.

Both are in pretty, pretty blocks for a nice summer's evening walk.

xp

I think historically it was something about not being able to refrigerate them but I think that's no longer an issue.

i thought sorrel was pretty lame xpost

I thought it was aight. couldn't understand why it was always empty.

maybe because the portions were tinnnnnnnnnnnnnny

25 bucks for 3 courses is cheap tho. but I guess it's no bargain if yr still hungry

Essex has a weekly lobster night that is fun and a good deal. Maybe it's Wednesday?

Is the blue ribbon brasserie the bar opposite their bakery?

i know that the oysters are $4 at the blue ribbon in brooklyn...i just can't get my head around paying that much for a single oyster! i can eat sooo many of them.

I looked that up, I did not realise the extent of their empire.

BRB has a market now?

er, the Bakery, that is

totally craving some oysters now. i went from not even being able to look at them to really loving those things now.

No the bakery is in the West Village. BR brasserie and BR Sushi are in SoHo.

Well Essex has buck oysters on Mondays and Thursdays.

noted!

Bell, try the Mermaid Inn on 2nd Ave near 6th St. I've never been but I imagine you can get oysters there. Or how about Jack's Oyster Bar, which is near there. Friends of mine ate there once. Can't vouch for the pricing at either place. Or the Oyster Bar at Grand Central?

Jack's Luxury Oyster bar is very expensive / tiny / hard to get into

haha oh wait they moved. and maybe not so popular anymore

http://eater.com/archives/2007/10/deathwatch_jack.php

but still pricey. supposed to be good tho

I kinda like grand central oyster bar. but more for the atmosphere than the food. I think the oysters there are about $2-$4 apiece.

marlow & sons site says theirs are $2.50 each. i hear they are good.

they are, they are.

but best deal is 5-7pm happy hour at Lure (under the Prada store). $1 oysters and other cheap food items at the bar.... unless they changed it. last time i went was about 6 months ago. high'ish quality - not as good as aquagrill/blueribbon, better than essex

salty bartenders though who pooh-pooh all the cheapos coming for $1 oysters and not getting anything else.

i thought the r in the month thing was totally true. i remember some nyer article where some oyster guy was saying it had something to do w/ etheir sex life

Needed:

Non-noisy, pleasant, conservative taste-friendly restaurant somewhere walking distance or a short cab ride from Columbus Circle for dinner with my Grandmother and her husband.

that's silly. don't have a $1 oyster special if you don't want people coming in for it.
xpost

Bump. Anyone have a suggestion?

tried the dollar oysters at essex last night - you get what you pay for.

Not the most ILX friendly neck of the woods that. The nearest I've eaten to there was at brazilian on 8th somewhere in the 50s that Tracer Hand directed me to. It is tiny though, I don't think they even have a bathroom so porbably doesn't fit the bill. The food was great though, but i cannot remember the name or the exact location.

Where Gabbnebb at?

Re Essex: All of the drinks were half-price, though, which brings a $10 blood-orange cocktail quite firmly within my clutching grasp.

Gabbaneb, won't go that side of the Park.

All I know about that area is that the restaurant of the Marquis Marriott revolves. This probably does nothing for the food which (from their online menu) look depressingly hotel. I rather like eating and drinking at the top of tall buildings the food is often awful though (Galvin at Windows in London being a notable exception).

i like that side of the park just fine, maybe more than my side, i just don't get there very often

Hurting, the names that immediately come to mind in the immediate area are Cafe des Artistes, which is certainly old down to the unconservatively dressed women on the wall, and Josephina. Dunno if either's any good. A better bet might be slightly further afield at 'Cesca, which is more contemporary but sounds unthreatening. I recommend you read reviews of local restaurants at the website of "New York Magazine," perhaps focusing on the "Critics' Picks," or use the popular "Zagat" guide.

haha, have I been "zinged"?

Ed if you like that sort of restaurant, you'll find better food I imagine at Above in the Times Square Hilton