Category: New York Restaurants by Area

New York City Restaurants by Neighborhood

Sparks Steak House

210 East 46th Street between Second and Third
212/687.4855
$200 for two, with a bottle of wine, without tip
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My older brother lives in Manila and whenever he visits New York City, he has one request: eat a nice slab of steak at Sparks Steak House. When mafia boss Paul Castellano and mobster Thomas Bilotti were gunned down in front of the restaurant in 1985 under the orders of John Gotti, it forever put it on the map as one of New York City’s institutions. It’s less violent today because the crowd is mostly made up of the younger finance bunch who want to splurge before signing a business deal, but commoners like me can still enjoy a juicy sirloin steak with a bold glass of red wine.

Avoid peak dinner times and reserve a table for 9pm or later, especially on weekends, because you’ll spend less money at the bar while you wait. (We once waited an hour drinking at the bar even with an 8pm table.) You might not be related to any one in the Gambino family, but you’ll feel like royalty after you treat yourself to one of the Ceetta Brothers’ cuts of meat.

Noodletown

28 1/2 Bowery corner of Bayard
212/349.0923
about $10 for two, without drinks, with tip
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Noodletown is not only a restaurant, it’s an institution. When Chinatown becomes a ghost town, Noodletown, or Great N.Y. Noodletown, as their sign suggests, is still open and stays open until four in the morning. Asian kids who come from a long night of dancing and drinking usually end up in Noodletown. Customers sit with strangers in round tables with only one thing in mind: the congee to cure the hangover that’s to come in the morning. I’ve made many inebriated visits to Noodletown as well. I usually order the congee with slivers of roasted duck and dot it with spicy hot oil. Visit during the day for a saner experience and order the roast duck or roast pork hanging by the window. For less than $5, it’s a great deal for lunch. The soft-shell crabs, lightly battered and flash-fried, are delicious when they are in season. If you can manage to get one of the abrupt waiters to tell you what vegetable is fresh, order the peashoot leaves or the swamp cabbage sauteed in garlic or stir-fried in oyster sauce.

The Tasting Room

72 East 1st Street on First Avenue
212/358.7831
about $150 for two, with two drinks, without tip
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When people ask me for my top five restaurants in New York City, I rank Sushiden on five, Tom Colicchio’s Gramercy Tavern on four, Snack on three and Mario Batali’s Babbo in second place. I usually get a reaction when I tell them that The Tasting Room ranks first because they have never heard of it or because the proprietors are more famous at the farmers’ market than they are on FoodTV.

The Tasting Room is where I was introduced to ramps a couple of years ago. Ramps belong in the leek family and have the taste and smell of garlic and onions combined. Ours were served with very tender Moulard duck breast. I have been ramp farming every spring in Vermont since then. I don’t know any other restaurant in New York City where I can eat carpaccio, squab and to-die-for pork belly all in one seating.

I visited for a second time a couple of weeks ago to see the difference in their autumn menu. Again, my expectations were superseded. A friend and I started with the uni velouté and then the fluke tartare with roasted eggplant. The soup was perfect for the almost-winter weather outside; it could have been butternut squash because of the color but the distinct taste of the ocean was obviously there. We also ordered the rabbit terrine and the pheasant in three ways: rillettes, roasted breast meat and chopped liver. My dining partner definitely knew she wanted fish to match with her choice of white wine, so she picked the striped bass with smoked eel, pappas amarillos and roasted garlic. Maitake mushrooms are still in season so I chose them with scallops, turnips and celery root purée–simply delicious. The turnips and the celery made the maitake subtle, which sometimes could be overwhelming in taste and in smell, but the saltiness of the scallops brought all of them together. We opted for the cheesecake with red wine-braised pear to finish, which carried the namesake of the co-owner’s mother.

The space is tiny with about ten tables but the dishes speak volumes. You have a choice of tasting portions for all of their dishes or a share at double the amount. The service is attentive whether it’s to answer your questions (What the hell is salsify? What is burdock?) or to recommend one of their numerous bottles of domestic wine.

Updated, 2007: The Tasting Room is now a café and the restaurant has moved to a bigger space on Elizabeth Street off Houston.

Shabu Tatsu Downtown

216 East 10th Street between First and Second
212/477.2972
about $75 for two prix fixes, with two drinks, without tip
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Shabu in Japanese means “to swish,” and when you’re at shabu-shabu, swishing your chopsticks to mix in fresh minced ginger and scallions together with the cabbage, watercress, mushrooms and thinly-sliced ribeye beef in a steaming pot of broth is exactly what you do. Pick up a few slices of raw beef using your chopsticks, swish in the broth for a few seconds, pick them up and dip in a sesame-based sauce and eat them with sticky white rice. Before your meal ends, small cups are provided so you can ladle the broth, which now tastes like beef extract, and slurp it like soup with thin or flat noodles and seasoned with salt and pepper.

A prix fixe of shabu-shabu for two with salad and ginger dressing, rice and ice cream is about $20 per person. It’s even better if you’re with a big group because the whole concept of swishing and sharing becomes more fun. I crave eating at Shabu Tatsu in the summer even if it’s too hot to slurp hot broth, but I especially pine for it during the cold winter months when the only comfort I can turn to is a comforting bowl of soup.

Snack

105 Thompson between Prince and Spring Streets
212/925.1040
about $60 for two for dinner or $15 for one during lunch, with drinks, with tip
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At least once a month, I get a craving for Snack’s artichoke chicken salad. A big bowl of potatoes, butter beans, tomatoes, string beans and chicken are tossed with black olive vinaigrette. If I’m in the mood for braised lamb without the heavy sauce, I order their braised lamb sandwich with tomatoes and roasted red onions with tomato aioli and arugula on ciabata bread. The bulgur wheat salad is also delicious with mint and walnuts in citrus vinaigrette. I’ve had better houmus and pita bread elsewhere but I doubt any other Greek restaurant, Queens included, can beat their spanakopitakia or spinach triangles. The phyllo flakes off ever-so-lightly at each bite.

For dinner hours, the menu changes to include heftier items. When I visit, I always order the white anchovies and the octopus as appetizers. For main courses, I’ve enjoyed their vegetarian mousaka with eggplants, mushrooms and potatoes in creamy bechamel sauce. The braised lamb stifado smells really nice with currants and apricots while the keftedakia or veal meatballs are a treat with pine nuts.

Snack’s menu rarely changes, but with meals that are sure to please, I don’t see a reason why it should.