My New York Restaurant List

I was thinking the other day that with my days in New York drawing to a close (my heart literally just constricted as I typed that, like, spasmed) it might be nice to draw up a list of my very favorite places to eat, from the simple to the sublime, in this gem of a city. For me to remember. For those planning a trip to New York to mull over and crib. For you who live here a chance to compare with your own favorites. And then we can duke it out in the comments, all friendly-like. Doesn't that sound like fun?

I don't do it often here, but I am a list maker, a list lover. They make me feel all quiet and calm. And right now, while I'm switching madly back and forth between elation and a bit of a quivering lower lip, it feels like a good idea to order my thoughts. It's tough to narrow it down, of course, but these are the things at the very top of my list:

Sushi Yasuda - for the very best sushi I've ever had, but more than that, one of the best dining experiences I've ever had, seated at the bar for omakase, where the sushi chef behind the bar serves you piece after piece of incredible sushi, painted delicately with soy sauce, plated just so. It's expensive and special - a once-a-year kind of place, a celebration-worthy splurge.

Café Sabarsky - for the most refined cafe experience you'll find in New York in my very favorite New York City museum, Neue Galerie. Of course, this place has a special place in my heart because it always reminded me of Berlin, with its bent-wood chairs and its serious waiters. But the food is quietly spectacular, too. Delicate salads drizzled with vibrantly green pumpkin seed oil and flaky strudel with real whipped cream.

Back Forty - for simple summer meals in the back yard. Notice that I didn't write back garden. Because the space behind this Alphabet City restaurant almost feels like a yard, it's that generous. And with twinkling lights and a sky still tinged with light from the day, it can feel magical back there. The restaurant is simple and unpretentious and the food is just plain good. Not to mention the drinks. I've taken lots of international friends here, from English teachers who live in Beijing to French-Yugoslav accessory designers for Gucci, and they've all been impressed with its low-key, delicious vibe.

Indus Express - an Indian buffet on a glamourless Midtown West block. It looks like nothing special from the outside, but don't be deterred. In the hot chafing dishes you'll find quality Indian cooking that ranges widely from several different chicken and lamb dishes in gorgeously spiced sauces to a large assortment of delicious vegetable dishes, salads, chutneys and raitas. There's Indian beer, too, and best of all, once you've sat down with your filled metal plate (the first of many rounds, if you've got a cooperative belly), someone comes and brings you freshly baked naan, still hot from the oven, buttery and chewy and delicious.

Mary's Fish Camp - I like to come here on the weekends and sit at the bar alone for salad or maybe a sandwich. It's tiny and cramped, but from the bar you can watch the cooks in the kitchen and you can get in and out of the restaurant in a relatively humane amount of time. They used to have these roasted tomatoes in their salads which I loved, but the menu has changed, as it should, I suppose, and now I can't wait to try their Spicy Fried Sardine Sandwich with Pickled Vegetables.

Num Pang - I know, the banh mi craze is a little out-of-control. But where there's smoke there's fire: those crispy, crusty, multi-layered sandwiches are good. If you've not yet tried the Cambodian version of banh mi, head over to 12th and University and get yourself the num pang with veal meatballs. You will never look at a meatball sub sideways again. Spicy, drippy, crunchy, tart, and deeply, deeply delectable, it's one of the best sandwiches in the city. (Afterwards, walk across the street to Stand and order the homemade ginger ale for dessert.)

Safran - Do any of you remember the late, great Monsoon on the Upper West Side? When it closed, I thought I'd never eat good Vietnamese food again. The chef, Laura Lam, opened up her next place on 7th Avenue and 16th Street. Safran really shines at lunchtime, when there's a special menu that's not available in the evening (a fussier, more fusion-y menu takes over then). The one thing here I order over and over again is the traditional beef pho. The broth is incredible - fragrant with so many spices, the noodles chewy and perfect, the meat just as thin as can be, cooked delicately in the hot broth, and the herbs and sauces on the side bright and fresh. Pho perfection.

City Bakery - For the only breakfast pastries worth buying, especially the baker's muffin and the whole-wheat croissant. For the groaning lunch salad buffet. For inspiration with roasted vegetables, winter, spring, summer, and fall. For the addictive soups and the inside-out chocolate cookies. For the homemade marshmallows melting slowly into hot chocolate so think I can't even handle it (can you?). For, most importantly, the pretzel croissant. The hype is real, folks.

Chikalicious - I thought this was a gimmick if I ever saw one. But then I actually ate at Chikalicious, a dessert restaurant, and had my mind blown, wholly and completely. This is the kind of inventive, creative, totally original place I think most dessert chefs dream of when they decide to open their own place. The fromage blanc "cheese cake" still resonates, years later, as one of the most special and delicious things I've ever eaten. Interesting flavors, gorgeous plating, Chikalicious is inspired.

Vanessa's Dumplings - For cheap, hot, filling pork-and-chive dumplings doused in nose-wrinkling vinegar, you can't do better than this slightly expanded hole-in-the-wall staffed by efficient ladies who take orders and fry dumplings like masters. The night I gave my notice at work, I came here for dinner and almost cried because while watching the ladies work and the customers eat and the passers-by, well, pass by, I was just overcome with how totally awesome New York is. Yes, it's that kind of place.

Prune - In those awful, awful weeks after 9/11, my father drove down from Boston one weekend to spend the day with me. We went on one of our marathon walks around the city and ended up at Prune at five in the afternoon. We sat down for a strange, delicious dinner of fried chicken livers and salads and fish. I've eaten there many times since, but I'll never forget that combination of eating good food while still being shocked and scared to my core. It's a bittersweet memory, but I love Prune nonetheless. Gabrielle Hamilton's uncompromising taste and her wit are something special, plus she's the person who taught me to eat sardines on Triscuits with mustard, alone the reason to hold this restaurant high among my favorites.

Co. - Jim Lahey, of No-Knead Bread fame, opened his pizzeria in Chelsea and it's been packed ever since. I love the design of this place, and I love the Kelso beer, and I love some of the pizzas (the Boscaiola and the Cauliflower are two favorites). It's a wonderful place to eat at with friends, always warm and bustling and friendly.

Flushing's Chinatown - Take the 7 train out to Flushing's main street, then cobble together a walking meal from the various subterranean food malls and outdoor stands. My favorite menu would begin with slippery homemade rice crêpes with shrimp and a good squeeze of vinegar from Corner 28 at 42-08 Main Street, followed with a clutch of spicy, tender, cumin-dusted lamb skewers from the Xinjiang barbecue cart on 41st Avenue near Kissena Blvd, and finished with a plastic bowl of slippery, numbing dan dan noodles downstairs in the Golden Mall at the Chengdu Tianfu Small Dishes stall, 41-28 Main Street. (Use the map I linked to. You'll need it.)

Frankie's Spuntino - the one on the Lower East Side. The menu's a whole lot bigger than it was when I first fell in love with this place, but I don't let it distract me. I come here for a nice bowl of tender meatballs in sauce, very good bread, and those wine-stewed prunes with mascarpone. This sliver of a restaurant feels totally effortless and is adorably charming and pretty, plus you can walk around the Lower East Side afterwards to digest and feel all with-it. It's got a nice dose of romance, too.

Babbo, Blaue Gans, Peasant, Di Fara's, The Modern, Taam Tov, Sunset Park's Chinatown, the Red Hook ball fields, you're all going to have to wait until I come back. Please wait!

Okay, now it's your turn, readers, New York lovers, hungry ones. Go!

Comments

[radish]

I love your choices as they're so close to my own, and I would add Hundred Acres, Terroir, Hearth Snack and Tartine.

[deb]

You're killing me, lady! Why haven't I been to so many of these places? Why has it been so many years since I've been to Cafe Sabarsky, which is the BEST? If I pack Wee Jacob in the Bjorn and set off to the UES on foot in the cold rain today, you have only yourself to blame. :)

[maggie]

Yes, Frankies for sure. Though I kind of like the Brooklyn one better than the Lower East Side one (and had fantasies about hosting an amazing party or wedding in their little barn in the back.)

A great list, especially because it's the full range of total-blowout-special-occasion to five for a dollar. New York shines in both arenas.

I also like Hundred Acres (and Five Points for brunch). Also have had a few very special meals at Petite Crevette in Brooklyn. I am scared of what I will ever do without Grand Sichuan St. Marks. And some of the best meals I've had in the city were at Sripraphai.

[Kristin (The Pearl Onion)]

Thank you for this list! I love going to Mary's Fish Camp too. Whenever I have a day off, I head there to the bar for lunch and just watch the kitchen. It's such a great escape from NY---feels like I'm in a seaside town somewhere. I also agree about Frankie's--that's in my top 5 list too. I will have to try the Pho at Safron..I had no idea it was that great and it is right around the corner from me! Now for the rest of the restaurants....looks like I have some experimenting to do! We will miss you....will I get to see you before you leave???

[jill]

If my mouth waters when you write about one dish, I'm positively drooling now. I feel like hopping on a train right now and working my way down your list. I am also a list maker, so I can relate. I can only imagine the one you have for moving!

[CattyinQueens]

Oooh! I love a list. And it's so cool to see so many places that I haven't tried yet. I've only had drinks at the Modern...we have a little fund for the day we can reserve one of the tables overlooking the sculpture garden.

Di Fara's is really good, but the hype and the wait (2 hours is fine once) are so annoying that I can't make myself go back there, ever.

My best meal in NYC so far has been at Mercadito. Haute tacos--sounds ridiculous, but each bite is truly perfection. And I love the burger at the Spotted Pig.

Speaking of burgers, I'm trying a place in the 'hood whose burger gets a fair amount of hype in local circles, Woodhaven house. Of course, I have low expectations--bar food is just bar food, after all. (And Forest Hills food is always a disappointment if your hopes are too high, though I think Thai Pot in Fo-Hi is better than Sripraphai in Woodside, and am glad so few people know about it!)

Thanks for the list!

[Amber]

Love this list, and happy to discover several places I have not yet tried! Some of my favorites: Tia Pol for tapas, The Adore for tea and sandwiches, Momofuku (yes, I know, the hype and the crowds--but I love the food), Pylos for Greek food in a beautiful, warm space (love the pots on the ceiling -- eating here makes me feel like I'm hanging out in someone's kitchen), Kang Suh for Korean (I love the soon dooboo chigae), Grape and Grain in the East Village and Gottino in the West for an after-work glass of wine and delicious snacks. And, because I live in Brooklyn, that's a whole separate list: Red Hook Ball Fields, Buttermilk Channel (my favorite brunch ever), Applewood, al di la, Convivium Osteria, Taro Sushi, Alchemy for neighborhood comfort pub food, Weather Up for cocktails. I am going to stop now because I'm suddenly starving. I've bookmarked your list and look forward to exploring Thank you!

[Robin]

Franny's is my absolute favorite place in New York. I love everything there, but especially the panna cotta. I always worried when I ordered it that it couldn't live up to my crazy high expectations yet again, but it always managed to exceed them. And then a stroll down Flatbush to look forward to...

Stopping in at the City Bakery never failed to make me feel that all was right with the world. Definitely one of my in-love-with-NYC places. Having a mid-afternoon or late night meal at the bar at Balthazar gave me the same feeling. And I know it disappoints some people, but man, I love and miss the Shake Shack.

I made a list of three things to do before I left New York. Di Fara was one of them, and I didn't make it. (I didn't manage to do the other two things either, actually. Moving is hard. Good luck!!!)

[Eliza]

so glad you mentioned chikalicious! so feminine and fluffy on the outside and so seriously incredible on the inside.

[Caitlin]

Thanks for this list. I have only been in NYC for less than a year, so I am always looking for favorites from those who live here. I am particularly excited for Back Forty. As a CA transplant, I am constantly on the hunt for outdoor space, and the word "yard" makes my head swoon. Can't wait for the sun to come back and check it out!

[Natalie Sztern]

Where is the Wednesday Chef going?

[Elise]

I've traveled to NY a couple times a year for the past five years or so. I'm saving your list for some new places to try next time I go.

My boyfriend recently introduced me to Columbia Cottage, a Chinese place just a couple blocks away from Columbia. It's quiet, unassuming, reasonably priced. My favorite thing on the menu is the 'choose-your-own' steamer basket. Simple, healthy, tasty.

My absolute favorite spot in NY, though, is Cafe Kashgar out in Brighton Beach. The owners/cooks are Uyghurs from Uzbekistan who serve up delicious, oily, pan-Central Asian food with the occasional Russian touch. Manta (steamed dumplings), samsa (baked dumplings), lagman (amazingly long handmade noodles topped with mutton, tomatoes, peppers), polo (rice, carrots, mutton), kebab (same as those you can find at the Xinjiang cart in Flushing), and many others. Well worth the long train ride it takes to get out there. My boyfriend and I always spend a couple hours after insanely large meals there walking up and down the main street in Brighton, stocking up on pastries from local bakeries and dried fruit/candy from a Turkish grocery. I *highly* recommend it.

[Rebecca]

Thanks, Luisa, I JUST got home from a 5-day visit with Leland and didn't eat at any of these places! I want to turn around and come right back.

[Luisa]

Deb - start him young. The boy needs to grow up with a taste for Wiener Melange mit Schlag.

Kristin - I hope so! Having drinks with Carrie next week, want to join?

Catty - let me know how the burger was! And where is Thai Pot? I still have a few weeks left!

Amber - Tia Pol and Pylos are lovely indeed!

Natalie - to Berlin! Here's more on that: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/10/leap-and-a-net-will-appear.html

[Erika from The Pastry Chef At Home]

Caracas Arepa Bar: Arepas + other snacks. Unpretentious, satisfying, and tasty

Hangawi: Vegetarian Korean Food. Lovely space. Surprisingly delicious food. (I like my meat!)

Ilili: Outstanding Lebanese food. Gorgeous space. Creative cocktails

L'Arte del Gelato: Best gelato i've had outside of Italy.

[Isabelle]

Loving the list, and I agree about having a list fetish. I have many little books filled with them. When I finally get back to New York I will have this handy. It all sounds so wonderful. I'm really looking forward to reading about your move and your time in Berlin too!

[Lisa]

when I was preparing to leave NYC, I had my own list of lovely restaurants I wasn't sure how i was going to live without. over the last 2 years those places have become distant memories as new restaurants, from my new city los angeles, took center stage. the ONLY thing that i have not been able to replace however has been the unique and utterly engaging new york street food. over the long term it is the one thing i miss the most and know to even come close i have to come back to NYC. but, i came to a city that has its share of good sushi and banh mi so that part could be a catch when moving...

[Brettne]

What a fabulous list. Cafe Sabarsky is magical and transportive--I wish we had time to go there together! On your first trip back to NYC I'd love to take you to Peasant, which has always been one of my favorites, along with their tiny sister restaurant, Apizz. To your list, I just need to add Blue Hill, which lives up to the hype, and I've also always loved Jojo, on the Upper East Side, for the way it makes you feel like a lady who lunches...in an Edith Wharton novel. xo

[Julia]

Want want want. So so bad. I didn't have a list when I left NYC because I thought I'd come back all the time. Alas, and alack, I didn't as much as I wanted. As you said, it ain't going nowhere, but I ain't either. Eat as much as you can! There will always be more.

[Nicole]

I wish I'd tried Chikalicious before I left, I guess it will wait for when I go back but then it will compete with my favorites! If you have time, I love love love Angel Share... 9th and 3rd Ave. The restaurant is cheap, good, and fun and the quiet mellow bar is very old school lovely NYC, best martini's..

[Heather (The Momshell Diet)]

Two favorites from our most recent weekend in NYC:

Nut butter cookie at Bouchon. OMG. OMG. Is there a better (or more disgraceful) breakfast in all Manhattan?

Kimchi-laced chirashi dish at Sakagura, a subterranean sake bar beneath unassuming Midtown office block.

[The Purple Foodie]

Bookmarking immediately - thanks for sharing.

[Christina]

I had torte and coffee solo one watery afternoon at Cafe Sabarsky. It was so transportative. What an amazing memory.

[Vicki]

I've never had a bad meal in NYC, but one of my current favs is Yerba Buena at 23rd and 2nd....love their jicama ensalada.

[TheKitchenWitch]

Thanks, Luisa! This list will come in handy! Friend and fellow blogger Phoo-D and I will be in NYC in August (and, dorks that we are, we are already planning our meals)--I'm bookmarking this immediately!

We're from the Rocky Mountians/Dakotas and need all the help we can get! Keep the suggestions coming, commenters!

[Luisa]

Brettne - it's a deal, lady! Can't wait.

[CattyinQueens]

Update: Woodhaven House. Disappointment even with low expectations. Not remotely worth the walk.

[The Leftoverist]

Where was this list a week ago?! I was just in NYC for the very first time. At 35, I felt it was deplorably overdue.

I met my aunt for dinner at The Modern, had lip-smacking ramen at Ippudo, the best banana cake I've ever had at Momofuku Milk Bar, and the coziest, most delicious dinner at Casa Mono. Clearly, I did not even scratch the surface. Next year.

[fried blue]

Sadly, I only know about New York eateries from the movies. Gray's Papaya's from Fool's Rush in and You've Got Mail - I hear they have the best hot dogs....in the world??? And one place I would love to go but have no idea if they even exist any more - Magnolia Bakery???? Also in a movie called 'Prime' - a man in the movie buys pies from this place to throw at girls who won't go on second dates with him.. haha~
anyhoo, will keep your list in mind if I ever visit...no WHEN I visit the magical land of New York. :)

[LittleRockCatering]

Thanks for sharing.. I will bookmark this.

[jenny]

great list! love back forty (best poached eggs and grits I've ever had, and that description can't remotely do the dish justice) and many of your other suggestions are going on my list to try the next time I'm in the city.

the one place I'd say *you* must try (if you haven't already) is gobo (locations in the west village and on the upper east side). I would go back for many things, but especially the roti canai malaysian curry and the vietnamese spicy stir-fry rice noodle with bean sprouts. it's all meatless, but you'd never know it. the flavors are INCREDIBLE!

[chubbychinesegirl]

Great list!!! I've been wanting to go to Prune for the longest time...

[Maya]

This is one of those lists that can go on forever! I moved away from New York not too long ago and still sorely miss the food scene. Not just restaurants, but stores too. I love Frankie's (the brooklyn one!), Chikalicious and City Bakery too
I'd like to add to your list -
Itzocan Cafe (9th & Avenue A) for rustic Mexican food
Camaje bistro in the village
Croissants at Patisserie Claude (though I heard that the management changed, so I wonder how they are now)
Cafe Gitane - trendy French-Moroccan food
Grom (locations in the West Village and Upper West Side) for great gelato

Oh my god I'd better stop here before my comment gets deleted for being too long!

And may I also add some favorite food stores - Sahadi's in Brooklyn, Buon Italia and Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market, and Porto Rico Tea and Coffee Importing Company in the village.

[Lys]

I've never been to New York, but I like this homage you've written. Guess we can't get too attached to places like this tho...as human projects they change or disappear with other life circumstances...(I'm thinking Sullivan's here)...no matter where you go, new places/old places, you take yourself with you and experiences are imprinted in more than just concrete settings. But of course you knew that :)

[Victoria Hassett]

Fantastic recommendations. My sister & I are going to New York for her 30th birthday in January and have been researching great eateries. We will definitely be taking in a few from your list.

[cate]

ohh, i love prune so much. i used to live right around the corner, and i, too, went there for some comfort food after 9/11.

yummy list!

[Anna]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this list. This will make my trip to NYC much easier, every time I'm in NYC I never know where to go for a good meal.

[Megan]

Just as I'm getting ready for a trip to NYC! Thank you! I'm the same with Prune - she put sardines on the map for me.

[Vanessa]

Oh, you're making me dream of NY where I haven't yet set foot. Still, the thought that you'll soon live in the same city as me is so exciting!

[Dawn in CA]

A few days ago, I found out that my sister is getting married. In New York City. On January 2! So it looks like I'll be visiting NY for the first time in over 20 years. Can't wait! Your list couldn't be more timely. And I just love you for being so generous in sharing your faves.

[Luisa]

Catty - rats!! Oh, Forest Hills. You're so great and yet, your restaurants....Sigh.

Leftoverist - the Very First TIME? Wheee! What did you think? I must say, you did VERY well in the eating dept. I love Casa Mono.

fried blue - Magnolia does still exist!

Vanessa - that makes me happy, to think I've made someone dream of New York. Oooh, tingles!

Dawn - congrats to your sister and hooray for you that you'll be in NYC after so long! I hope you have a wonderful trip. xo

[Karen]

Go to Cafe Habana, and order the grilled corn with Cojito cheese. Follow it up with anything--really, anything on that short little menu--and you'll be a happy woman. Go at once!

[{kiss my spatula}]

thank you for the list! will be using it while i'm here for the week!

[Deanna]

vanessa's dumplings-is this in the east village?

Great list, I just moved here and I will put it to good use!

[Lynh]

hmmm...So I'm a little late to the party. I second Elise's Cafe Kashgar rec in Brighton Beach. I LOVE the noodles with eggplant, the "dry" lagman (it reminds of vietnamese places where you get the pho broth separate from the noodles). Also, most things at Otto. so simple and delicious. And for croissants and caneles, Petrossian Bakery, though it is expensive. Just so good, the closest thing to a French croissant I've experienced. (though not a baguette...)

If you want great vietnamese, that is also availabe in Sunset Park, where I recommend you find a restaurant that serves Bo Nhung Dam - a beef fondue wherein very thinly sliced beef is dipped in a delicious pineapple and lemongrass broth and rolled into rice paper with delicious herbs and lettuce. (not sure if you can get this in Germany!)
and for Korean BBQ - I love Don's Bogam - but only the marinated meat. Although I did love the Chawanmushi (savory egg custard) that came with my order and afterwards a stop at Koryodang for some Patbingsu and just to feel like I'm in the middle of Korea (yes, I know that is ridiculous to even consider dessert after Korean BBQ, and I know you're not feeling the sweets these days...but can I still put the olive oil gelato at Otto on this list - it's SALTY-sweet (emphasis on the salt) so maybe you'll like it). NYC will miss you Luisa!

[Teenytoez]

Some restaurants my husband and I love:

Cafe Mogador in East Village ( morrocan food) - AMAZING halloumi eggs etc

Ippudo in East Village - super fun cool totally authentic Japanese ramen place

Yakkitori Totto - delicious chicken balls on skewers amongst other delectable skewered delights

Waffles and Dinges ( a 'moving' dessert truck) - Amazing Lieges Waffle - get it with the Spekuloos topping - nutty caramel awesomeness

Totonno's Pizza - Coney Island ( amazing light and tasty fresh mozerella pizza) I am drooling right now thinking about it

[Kelsey/TheNaptimeChef]

Excellent list. I would add Lupa as well, but you've hit the nail on the head. Great recipes this week, too!

[STacey Snacks]

Good list.

I like Cafe Sabarsky for lunch in the Neue Museum, it's different and special.

Also, I love the bar in the Modern when in midtown, good choice.
Babbo is always a treat, as is Prune.

Just had my 3rd visit to Jim Leahy's Co.
(I wrote about his chestnut brussels sprout pizza on my blog!)

I will have to check out Back Forty, not familiar with that one.
Thanks for compiling the great list!

[Daphne Randall]

any thoughts on the spotted pig?

[Luisa]

Daphne - it's a lovely place, though I confess I haven't been in a few years. It got to be too crowded and scene-y for me. Had a few nice meals there when it was still small and cozy.