BuffettNews.com

Woo hoo! I get to go to NYC next month for a conference....will have a good bit of free time while I'm there. Hubby is coming, too, and we already have a few things planned.....mostly I'm looking for restaurant recommendations. I know there are a bazillion places to choose from, but I was hoping some of our Big Apple BNers could help me narrrow down my options a bit with some recommendations.

If it helps, we'll be staying in the Grand Hyatt near Grand Central Station, so someplace in that general area would be good. And we LOVE Italian. Any suggestions?

My favorite Italian rest. in NYC is Angelo's on Mulberry St. In the heart of what's left of Little Italy.
Try the spicy angel hair pasta. It's not on the menu as an appetizer, but if you ask nicely they will make it as an appy for ya.

All I can say is don't go to the Italian Restaurant across the street from the Ferrera's Bakery. I've totally forgotten the name but there is a cigar bar in the front of the establishment. It stinks and no matter what you order, you get served whatever they want you to have. We also made a point to tell the waitress we did NOT want dessert because we wanted to go back across the street to Ferrera's for pastries and what does the waitress do? She brings out 2 plates of every dessert on the menu!
Okay, I just found a map online:
http://www.littleitalynyc.com/
It was Florios. Avoid this place.

If you've never been to a Ruth Chris Steakhouse by all means go but take a fat wallet

CUparrot wrote:If it helps, we'll be staying in the Grand Hyatt near Grand Central Station, so someplace in that general area would be good. And we LOVE Italian. Any suggestions?

It's Grand Central Terminal.

Victor's Cafe is a nice Cuban restaurant, 52nd St. between Broadway and 8th Ave. I haven't been there in a couple of years but they used to make their own sangria, good stuff.

LIPH wrote:It's Grand Central Terminal.

Terminal, schmerminal.....it's all the same to me. At least I got the "Grand Central" part right.

Yes, I know....small-town Southern girl....I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb. But I'm gonna have fun anyway.

Try checking out Le Parker Meridien Hotel on West 57th Street near Central Park. There's a restaurant in there, The Burger Joint, that has a cheeseburger that consistently appears on all of the top 10 cheeseburger lists in the country.

yankees will be playing at home by then. Maybe hop the subway out to the stadium

Best sausage links that i have had at any ballpark.

CUparrot wrote:

LIPH wrote:It's Grand Central Terminal.

Terminal, schmerminal.....it's all the same to me. At least I got the "Grand Central" part right.

Yes, I know....small-town Southern girl....I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb. But I'm gonna have fun anyway.

I was born there and always said Grand Central Station..... so dont worry about it!

If you are just going to be the two of you a very nice place to eat is Erminas on 83rd street between 2nd and 3rd ave. Not far from Grand Central. You will need a reservation well in advance but it is well worth it. Small little Italian place which I seem to have read somewhere to have been voted one of the most romantic resturants in NYC. My wife loved it!
http://www.erminiarestaurant.com/index.html

Also if you want in my opinion the best pizza in New York stop by Lombardis on the corner of Mott and Spring Streets downtown.

ToplessRideFL wrote:I was born there and always said Grand Central Station..... so dont worry about it!

Thank you, Topless.

And thanks for all the replies. I'll have to print this out before we go so we can narrow down some options. We're only going to be there three days, but we're going to try to cram as much into that three days as we can.

It will also be the first overnight trip away from the 'keet....so I'm excited (and nervous) about that.

And NothernConch--my hubby will be catching a Yanks game while I'm tied up in the conference....he's a huge Yankees fan, so he's excited.

Another good place to go to eat is resturant row. There's lots of places to eat. If you go to Times Square and so south on Broadway for a few blocks you'll see it (street sign says so) it's a street which had tons of resturants of every nationality.

What NOT to do: go to Times Square and eat at:
The Olive Garden
Friday's
The Outback
Or any other chain restaurant that can be found anywhere!!! NYC has some of the BEST restaurants in the world so sample 'em!
Personally, I love PJ Clarke's (it was my grandpa's local bar back in the day) for beer and awesome burgers. The Oysters Rockefeller are killer.
Enjoy some wine at Morrell (across from Rockefeller Center), go to a classic NY hotel and have a drink (LOVE the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis and the Algonquin Lounge), stroll through Central Park and if it's warm, have a little picnic!
I'll be in Manhattan tomorrow night for a party at Artisanal (if you love cheese, especially fondue, do not miss this place!) ENJOY!

So CUparrot, where did you end up eating?
I need some suggestions, we've been to Carmine's and Victor's several times.
Both are excellent but looking for something different.
Ermina's looks good .... any other suggestions?

PHarmGirl wrote:So CUparrot, where did you end up eating?
I need some suggestions, we've been to Carmine's and Victor's several times.
Both are excellent but looking for something different.
Ermina's looks good .... any other suggestions?

Tony DiNapoli. W. 43rd between 6th and 7th.

Highly recommend. Reasonably priced and excellent Italian food. Dishes are served family style so easy to share.

I think their website is www.tonysnyc.com

CTParrothead763 wrote:

PHarmGirl wrote:So CUparrot, where did you end up eating?
I need some suggestions, we've been to Carmine's and Victor's several times.
Both are excellent but looking for something different.
Ermina's looks good .... any other suggestions?

Tony DiNapoli. W. 43rd between 6th and 7th.

Highly recommend. Reasonably priced and excellent Italian food. Dishes are served family style so easy to share.

I think their website is http://www.tonysnyc.com

i have not been there yet, but have friends who have gone several times and love it, it's on my list next time i go into the City!

First of all Pharmgirl, how'd you find a 4 year old thread?

To answer the original question, there is a bar/restaurant near Grand Central called Bill's Gay 90's at 57 east 54th street. Now I know it may sound like a...well, gay place to go, but what makes it cool is that it opened in the 1920's as a homage to the gay '90's of 1890!!. It's obviously gone through a few ownership changes, and they keep weird hours so i would definitely check with them, but they have a great piano bar and, if you ask nicely, they might let you see the upstairs dining room with vintage Broadway posters from the late 1800's to the early 1900's.

http://www.billsnyc.com/

popcornjack wrote:First of all Pharmgirl, how'd you find a 4 year old thread?

To answer the original question, there is a bar/restaurant near Grand Central called Bill's Gay 90's at 57 east 54th street. Now I know it may sound like a...well, gay place to go, but what makes it cool is that it opened in the 1920's as a homage to the gay '90's of 1890!!. It's obviously gone through a few ownership changes, and they keep weird hours so i would definitely check with them, but they have a great piano bar and, if you ask nicely, they might let you see the upstairs dining room with vintage Broadway posters from the late 1800's to the early 1900's.

http://www.billsnyc.com/

Thanks y'all, and keep them coming!
I did a search on "restaurants Manhattan" in the Changes in Latitude forum.
And I must say, that was not the amazing part!
I was thinking, what are the chances that CUparrot is still here on BN, or even remembers where they ate, and if so, what are the chances they see this before we go? WOW, BN'ers are just fantastic.
My daughter who lives in NJ and who will be with us actually had Tony DiNapoli's on her list so I think this might be the place!
Here were some of her suggestions: Basso56, Trattoria Trecolori, Tony's Di Napoli, and she wants to try The Meatball Shop sometimes too.
And thanks for the tip on Bill's Gay 90's, sounds cool, will have to check it out one of these days!

flipflopgirl wrote:

CTParrothead763 wrote:

PHarmGirl wrote:So CUparrot, where did you end up eating?
I need some suggestions, we've been to Carmine's and Victor's several times.
Both are excellent but looking for something different.
Ermina's looks good .... any other suggestions?

Tony DiNapoli. W. 43rd between 6th and 7th.

Highly recommend. Reasonably priced and excellent Italian food. Dishes are served family style so easy to share.

I think their website is http://www.tonysnyc.com

i have not been there yet, but have friends who have gone several times and love it, it's on my list next time i go into the City!

Make a reservation. It can get quite crowded. Easy to do online.