As promised in an earlier post, a bit more on favorite NYC restaurants. I was born and grew up near New York City, and it still exerts a pull on me – it’s one of my favorite places to visit, and I can’t seem to get through the day without a copy of the New York Times. Customers and friends ask me about places to visit and at which to eat – here are a few suggestions from three trips over the last year.
I’m a big museumgoer, and in addition to the usual suspects like the Met, Modern, Whitney and Guggenheim, don’t miss the excellent small collections at the Frick, the newly re-opened Morgan Library, International Center for Photography and the Neue Galerie. Also, the National Academy of Design, the Jewish Museum and PS1, the contemporary gallery of the MoMa over in Queens are all worth visits. If you’re going over to Queens for PS1, the Noguchi Muesum is nearby, and worth seeing. The PS1 website has a list of neighborhood restaurants and bars they recommend – a nice touch.
The Chelsea gallery scene is also amazing – though harder to get to by public transport, so you may have to splurge for a cab. Be prepared for great stuff as well as the most ridiculous self-indulgent crap you've ever seen. Highly entertaining, in any case.
What follows is a necessarily incomplete list of restaurants – these are simply some personal faves from the last year or so.
Veritas. Hands down, my favorite New York restaurant, and not just for the 3-4,000 selection wine list. The food in this 55-seat is designed simply to complement the wine selection, and is frightfully good. The sommeliers here are remarkably knowledgeable and un-snobby, and have always guided me well (I often feign ignorance of wine at restaurants with big lists so as to see how good the soms are). But really, it comes down to the meals – every one I’ve had here has been stellar. News Flash: Scotty Bryant, the chef here since inception, is leaving. I hope they can continue the stellar excellence from the kitchen. If you're curious, there's an excellent chapter on Bryant in Tony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential."
Esca. A year ago, I did the “Mario Batali Tour,” eating at five of his places in five nights – this was and remains my favorite, an amazing place for fish. The crudo seafood app is sparkly amazing – some of the freshest fish I’ve had outside Sicily, raw and often simply dressed with just some olive oil and sea salt. The grilled octopus app is fantastic. Nice wine list, good service … just the pastas disappoint, so I skip them (this has been corroborated by other visitors). My date that first visit is startlingly, otherworldly lovely - a fabulous situation, by the way - and though I'm mightily distracted, I keep just enough of my wits about me to realize that this is really, really good food. Subsequent visits have confirmed that the food is fabulous, but somehow, the dining companions keep getting lovelier and lovelier. (Go figure. I mean, I am not the most attractive guy.) Overall, fabulous. PS: “Esca” means “bait” in Italian. If you don’t like fish, this place is not for you.
Lupa. Another Batali project – this one a very nice Roman trattoria. Excellent, crowded, lively. Good value wines on the list. Not fancy.
Danube. A jewel-box of an Austrian-Hungarian restaurant. Don’t miss the trademark champagne cocktail with elderflower extract. The goulash was to die for. Better in winter – this is hearty fare.
Blaue Gans. A very reasonable & casual Austrian neighborhood restaurant in Tribeca. I loved the funky décor, the lively room, the tasty food. A nice selection of Austrian wines complemented the meals. Good selection of wurst and schnitzel. Smoked trout palaschinken rocked.
Vino Vino. Small wine bar near the Tribeca Grand Hotel (BTW, if you like this style of funky, individualistic hotel, the Soho Grand, Royalton and W Tuscany are all better than the Tribeca Grand, which I find a bit generic). Good selection of wines by the glass, snackies and a wine store, all under one roof – if you want a bottle, buy it from the store at retail and they’ll open it in the bar for $15 corkage.
Flute. Just across the street from Veritas, this wine bar has a great selection of champagne by the glass. Also vintage Champagne by the glass – wow! The last time I was here, it was full of rail-thin really really really attractive people, just lounging around; it looked like a photo shoot for Juicy Couture or American Apparel. People-watching heaven!
Bar Jamon. Next door to Batali’s also excellent Casa Mono (the Monkey House), this tiny wine bar has just three communal tables, Spanish wines galore, and two enormous hand-cranked meat slicers, which are in constant use, putting out plate after plate of the eponymous delicacy. Great selection of Priorato wines – my faves. This is a fun place to come to late, after dinner, when you’re not yet ready to call it a night but don’t want to wait for the bouncer at a nightclub to finally notice you and let you in.
And a few I haven’t visited recently but would recommend wholeheartedly:
Le Bernardin
Picholine
Bouley
Felidia
Tabla
Union Square Café
Tocqueville
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