Traveling is something that all of typically enjoy and going to New York is usually one of the top places to visit. And when a restaurteur goes to new York, we always want to eat at some of the best places in the city. And that does not mean just one place per day. I have just returned form a visit to new York with my family and we were fortunate enough to visit some great restaurants. With our handy Zagat guide, we were able to find the new restaurants and some of the old standbys. Here are a few that we got to go into and some of the trends that I see are going on in New York.
Steakhouse: Gallaghers is the one that has been there for many years and still seems to be going strong. With their red and white checkered tablecloths, and their dry aging room, it still holds ground to many locals and tourists alike. Bar Americain by Bobby Flay was a great dinner and the staff was more than accomodating for children. The food was great and more spicy than not, but the menu does have a lot of southwestern influence so prepare to have some heat in the plates. Pizza: Nicks on the upper east side was a great place for lunch and even better without the thousands of people walking around. Nicks is set in an area that is undergoing renovations, so the subway is the best route to get to them. Try the pizzas that are rated top by Zagat, the spaghetti and meatballs, the french rolls that are hot from the oven and the room is comfortable and inviting. The staff was very attentive and well versed on the menu. This restaurant was one of the cleanest that we went into in all of New York.
Italian: Il Mulino....great restaurant for lunch or dinner and the staff are very helpfull. They arrive at your table with the 50 pound cheesewheel and cut away at the pieces and place them onto your dish. Then comes the fried zuchini and the bottled water. Be careful here because there is not any asking "Do you want this", they just assume that you want everything they bring to the table and then at the end, it appears on the check. Same goes with the grappa at the end and the salami at the beginning. Overall though, the place was very good and I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a great Italian treat in New York.
American Cuisine: Thalia in Manhattan was a great restaurant with a warm and inviting atmosphere. The server was excellent and knew the menu well. The bar was full and the retaurant has been there for about 8 years. Very accomodating to us and although we had our children with us, they treated us the same as they would anyone else. We were very thankful for that part of the dinner. Ask to sit up in the top area looking over the remainder of the restaurant.
Trends: Still see many noodle bars opening, smaller spaces with burgers as a main stay/option with gourmet fare inside of the burger or on top of the burger. Steaks are still going strong in New York and spanish fare is popping up in the smaller spaces too.
Let me know if you go....Cliff
