As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be visiting New York City and I’d love to have dinner with “Alas” readers while I’m there! And it gets better – “Alas” co-blogger Rachel (also of Rachel’s Tavern) will be attending the dinner, as well!
The dinner will take place on August 1st, somewhere in Manhattan. Let’s use this thread to work out the details, please.
First of all, if you think you’ll attend, please post that in comments. (Come one! Come all!) If you’d like to attend but cost forbids it, let me know either in comments or in email – as long as there aren’t many takers, I might be able to subsidize you.
Second of all, can anyone suggest a place we could eat?
The ideal place will serve either American, Chinese, or pizza (sorry, folks, I’ve got narrow food tastes); will have options for both vegetarians and carnivores; and won’t cost too much (between $10 and $15 a meal seems about right to me, but if anyone disagrees, or if it’s insane for me to think that’s possible in NYC, please let me know); and not be so noisy that we couldn’t have a conversation.
The extra-extra-extra ideal restaurant would have a back room type place that we could eat in.
Suggestions?.
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Ha! Guess what? I’ll be in NYC on that very day. I’ll have dinner with you and keep you safe.
I don’t know what constitutes “American” food. So I’ll recommend a range:
Basta Pasta. Asian/Italian. Nonthreatening and good.
L’express. French-ish, but without all the scary parts. 24/7.
Artisanal. All about cheese. Really, really good food.
Braserie Les Halles Anthony Bordain’s place. French, obviously, and really, really good. Plus, it makes visitors happy to eat somewhere where the chef shows up on TV.
Anyway, there are my picks for non-threatening places.
There’s a chinese dim sum place that a friend recommends:
Golden Unicorn Restaurant
18 E Broadway
New York, NY 10002
I haven’t been, but I hear that it’s good, inexpensive, and large enough to seat large numbers.
heh, if you want pizza, ray’s pizza is legendary, for good reason. it’s the best in the world. that said, after living in the new york suburbs for most of my life, i moved to phoenix last year, and intend to avoid the east coast for the rest of my life, if at all possible. i’ll be with y’all in spirit though…
Nexy Jo, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t there dozens and dozens of “Ray’s Pizza” places in New York City? And I think all of claim to be the original one, too.
I’m glad you’ll be there in spirit. Keep in mind that if you’re there in spirit, though, I expect you to put in something for the tip. :-)
Novalis and Fishbane, thanks for the suggestions. But will you be attending?
Jake: Great, great, I travel across the whole country to have dinner with someone I know from the Northwest. :-P
Famous Ray’s
Original Famous Ray’s
Famous Original Ray’s
But I’m still overly fond of the Hot Dog chain called Grey’s Papaya. Or is it “Gray’s?” I can never remember
Oh sweet jhesus. Please, no Gray’s papaya.
If we do chinese, I suggest Nyonya in Little Italy. It’s Straits Chinese and Malay food. Real authentic stuff. Veggie friendly, and moderate prices. NY is not cheap, but you can eat well at Nyonya for under 15 bucks.
I’m with you on no Gray’s Papaya, but isn’t Nyonya supposed to be very much on the noisy side? I’d rather eat someplace where I can hear what folks are saying, even if the food isn’t as interesting.
Oh, hey, cool.
I can recommend this place:
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/supper/
Not strictly pizza, but many “safe” Italian choices, and very tasty.
And they have a very large, not back, but bottom, room; last time I was there with friends it was extremely pleasant; lots of room, v. comfortable, no need to shout to be heard.
It’s a shame you limit yourself
a) to Manhattan, when my Brooklyn has great food even cheaper
b) to American-Italian-Chinese when there are so many great Indian and Turkish places around. (If Turkish interests you, try Taci’s Beyti on Coney Island Ave and Ave P. in Brooklyn. For Indian, try any of a number of restuarants on Lexington Avenue between 26th and 30th or on 2nd or 1st Ave around 6th Place.
If you have to limit yourself to Chinese, go to Chinatown and judge by feel — chefs and owners change so fast it is hard to recommend one.
Also, while you are in NYC, even though it isn’t in your ‘type food’ description, go to a Golden Krust and get a meat patty, either beef or, if they have them, meat loaf.
Just a few passing suggestions.
1) I’m going to be bussing in and out of NYC via Penn Station, and meeting some other folks for lunch in Manhattan. Going to Brooklyn would add to what’s already a pretty long trip. However, if anyone wants to suggest someplace perfect in Queens or Brooklyn, I guess I could be convinced.
2) I agree, it’s a shame that I have such narrow tastes in food. It used to be much worse, believe it or not. But it’s not a problem I’m going to solve between now and August first.
3) You don’t think meatloaf fits into the “american” food category?
“Artisanal. All about cheese. Really, really good food.”
Artisinal is more than $15 per, unless you just want a dessert.
But I’ll be there, wherever.
Also, I’ve never been here, but this place is scientifically selected by Zagat to meet your requirments:
http://www.totonnos.com/Index-2.html
also these places:
Dim Sum Go Go
Chinatown
5 E. Broadway
(Chatham Sq.)
Manhattan, NY 10038
212-732-0797
Golden Unicorn
Chinatown
18 E. Broadway, 2nd fl.
(Catherine St.)
Manhattan, NY 10002
212-941-0911
Evergreen Shanghai
Murray Hill
10 E. 38th St.
(bet. 5th & Madison Aves.)
Manhattan, NY 10016
212-448-1199
Suggest Joe’s Shanghai on 56th street. Central, on a lot of train lines, and really, really good Chinese food. Otherwise, Virgil’s Barbecue on 44th Street, which is next to Times Square, and thus very easy to get to.
Ampersand, I hope to, but my schedule is such that I can’t make any promises.
Evergreen is good, and conveniently located in midtown.
I love dim sum, but if there are gonna be a significant number of vegetarians it’s probably not the ideal choice, usually.
The way Golden Krust makes meatloaf, it is American, sure — but then any food is American given the fact that any culture in the world has representatives here. Just warning you, it is Jamaican-American. Delicious, but HOT!!! Anyway, make sure you do try one, the chain is now all over the city. The vegetable patties are milder, but also delicious. A bunch of these and Central or Prospect Park and you have a great picnic.
I plan to be there. Pretty much any of the restaurants suggested sound okay to me, though if you want to try Queens, there are some great places in Flushing’s China Town. (Not pushing for it, just mentioning it.)
Ah, glad I stopped by to check about the dinner. Aug. 1st sounds good.
I don’t have a recommendation just yet, but I’ve passed by Dim Sum Go Go and Golden Unicorn on my way to work and think Golden Unicorn might be better as it’s larger than Dim Sum Go Go. (I haven’t eaten at either restaurant yet, however.) Most of the “Ray’s Pizza” also tend to be small, really just take out places. Even John’s Pizza (in the Village) is small, iirc. (I think has better pizza anyway.) Les Halles’ Park Avenue South location (between 28 & 29th streets) might be better than their downtown location. Their website doesn’t have information on their prices, but I could check the menu at the downtown location during the week. (It’s a few blocks from my office.) I wouldn’t be adverse to BBQ.
I grew up in New York and to this day one of my must-dos when I visit is going to my favorite restaurants.
For pizza, my favorite is Lombardi’s Pizza down near Little Italy (32 Spring Street between Mott and Mulberry Street). They also have a lot of space and an events room upstairs so it would be helpful for a group gathering.
I’m a vegetarian so I’ll toss in what I think is one of the most creative and delicious veggie restaurants in NY, Angelica Kitchen. Everything I’ve eaten there has been more tasty than I would have imagined and the menu features a good variety of dishes. Bonus is that it’s fairly centrally located near Union Square at 300 East 12th St. between 1st & 2nd Aves.
I’m a former Greenpoint gal so I have to to put in a plug for the best Thai food I’ve ever had at Thai Cafe on Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint, Brooklyn even if ethnic food isn’t your cup of tea.
I once read something about how we become acclimated to the food we grew up with such that our tastes for “home food” never really go away. I don’t know if that or NYC simply having some of the best food in the world is the cause, maybe it’s both, but restaurant food never tastes quite as good to me as it does in New York and the best meals I’ve ever eaten in my life were consumed in New York.
Sorry I’m so late to this thread, but I think that this Chinese place: Grand Sichuan @ St. Marks would be really good. They accommodate big groups all of the time (we often have dinner there after author readings at KGB bar) and the food is SO so excellent. Plus, if we have a big table (or two) and eat family style, the split usually comes to $12-15 each person, even if you order some of the expensive stuff. There’s no back room, bt they do have a sot of balcony area we could reserve just for the group. Loudness doesn’t matter :) Anywhere we go, I would like to come.
[The link URL was missing, so I added one – hope it isn’t too different than the link Angry intended! –Amp]
Wow, some of y’all have strange ideas about “centrally located.” :)
If Amp is coming in to Penn Station, on what is certain to be a hot day, why schlep all the way down to Little Italy or Chinatown? If it weren’t the middle of a NYC summer, then maybe – autumn is a great time to roam around the city! – but could we please be a little realistic here?
Then again, this may just be selfishness talking. Since this dinner is slated to take place on a weekday, unless I take the two-buses-and-train into work in Westchester County (almost a 2-hour commute) then the train to Grand Central afterwards, I won’t be able to attend. And if it’s anywhere below midtown on the west side, I wouldn’t get back home (Bronx/Yonkers border) until around midnight.
Elayne, I need a little clarification. Are you saying that you can’t attend because it’s a weeknight – regardless of where it’s located – or are you saying that you would attend if it’s somewhere in midtown on the west side? Because I’d love to have you there, if you could attend.
Sorry about the Tuesday night thing, by the way – for various reasons, August 1st ended up being the only possible date for me.
In the interests of not being tied to the trains and not having to sleep in a trainyard, I will probably drive down from Westchester. Yes, the late trains to northern Westchester take forever and I’m likely to fall asleep and spend the night in a train in Southeast. So, if there are folks who need a ride northwards after the dinner (Yonkers/Bronx border shouldn’t be much out of my way), I’d be happy to ferry all those who will fit.
All the Italian spots I like are rather expensive. However there is a little place on St. Marks that I love that is Chinese homecooking and Bubble Tea to top it off. Its Jenny’s cafe
113 Saint Marks Pl, New York. Actually along St. Marks street there are a whole bunch of places I like to eat. Yaffa Cafe(Very good for vegetarians), there is a JAS mart that has a restuarant in it and they serve japanese take on italian food.
If Nyonya is nixed, I’ll throw in my vote for Grand Sichuan. But Nyonya is better food. I know, I’ve eaten at both places.
Really, St Marks or Chinatown are only about a 20 minute air conditioned subway ride from Port Authority. Also I might be able to wheedle crash space from my wife if anyone needs it. Elayne, I live in Inwood, so the Bronx is not too inacesable from where I am.
There are a few decent places near Port Authority, but to be honest, not that many. A few stops south on the A line brings you to the west vilalge, which still has some moderatley priced good food.
Or, if we want to accomocate Elayne, and Amp does not mind a 45 minute subway ride north from midtown, Inwood has some really great resturaunts. Including decent Italian at a moderate price, or good pizza.
Inwood would be way out of the way for me, coming from work on Maiden Lane. I try not to use the subways because I have problems climbing stairs. I use busses and I can’t reach Inwood in reasonable time from downtown. Midtown, around the 40s would be best I think.
Why doesn’t anybody ever have meet-ups in Milwaukee? We have beer and brats! Beer, I tells ya! Brats! And sauerkraut! Don’t tell me you’re not just a little bit tempted?
Mid 40’s simply sucks as an area to find decent eats. PurpleGirl, if you’re working in Maiden Lane, Chinatown would be closer. I was proposing Inwood because Elayne is coming from the North Bronx.
Perhaps between Jakes offer of a lift and my offer of crash space, something can be salvaged.
Does anyone know of a decent place that meets Amp’s requirements in midtown? I host a local bi meetup at a diner on 41’st and 9th, but to be honest, the food is not great, just the location and the size. I’d feel ashamed if Amp came to NYC and didn’t have good enough food. There are other places on 9th that look interesting, but I’ve never tried any. PurpleGirl, I’m willing to scout locations if that would help.
As far as attending, I don’t think I can – I’m probably going to be in California that week.
I know a decent Chinese place on 7th Avenue, 2 blocks south of Carnegie Hall; I think the name is China Regency but I have to check the name. They have a second floor which could seat a group of people.
Maybe we first need to know how people there will be and where people will be coming from?
Wow, thanks Jake, I think Rob and I will take you up on your kind offer! My thought, now that I’m more certain of being able to attend, is to find somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen, as that’s on the West Side (9th Avenue) in midtown not too far from Penn Station, and there are restaurants stretching for blocks and blocks, almost all with fairly reasonable prices.
Here’s a sampling of some of the area’s Chinese places, complete with price ranges:
http://hellskitchen.net/eating/chinese.html
And Italian, in case you want pizza-and-more:
http://hellskitchen.net/eating/italian.html
Alas, it’s been a long time since I was a Manhattan regular so I can’t vouch for any of these establishments personally…
I don’ t mind traveling across Manhattan, by foot or by subway, so don’t confine yourself to near Penn Station on my account. :-)
I must agree that most of the places around 9th and 8th aves in the 40s suck :(
It seems to me that there are a number of excellent places in Chelsea and in the East Village. Neither of which is a long ride (subway or bus) from midtown. Is Yaffa Cafe still there? Although I suspect that isn’t going to match Amp’s food requirements.
The walk from midtown to the village isn’t bad (assuming it isn’t extremely muggy), either.
I’m all for pizza (which isn’t to be found – oh, they say it is, but they have no idea – in the northwest) or chinese (which is a different style in the NW, they’ve never even heard of duck sauce) or pretty much anything else where I can find vegetarian fare.
Grand Sichuan is good.
I don’t know how out-of-the-way this is, but I really liked John’s Pizzeria, whether or not they are or aren’t the best pizza in NY (I live in California — New Yorkers have it so good when it comes to pizza!). We went to the one at 408 E 64th, near 1st Avenue, and had their amazing bruschetta pizza. My recollection was that this location was of a decent size and could accomodate larger parties — in fact, one group seemed to be having their office lunch there. Prices were good too.
Just stopped by to say “count the funky brown chick in for the fun!” :)
May I suggest that we set a few more parameters? Like: “within a few blocks of more than one train”–especially if this heat wave continues? Also convenient to as many boros as possible–Tribeca is tons of fun, but it’s a pain in the ass for anyone who’s not living in Brooklyn or the Village. Right now I see people largely pushing for the place that’s convenient to them, and since we all live (and work) in different places, maybe it would be better if we decided on an area that’s as inclusive as possible, and then picked a restaurant, since there is no shortage of good restaurants almost anywhere in New York. Perhaps a band running through the centre of the island from 59th street to Houston? That’s only a suggestion . . . I just think it would be nice if we tried to make it equally inconvenient for the median diners. ;-)
Hmm.. no concensus yet?
I work in midtown and can also attest to the lack of interesting food within a few blocks of Penn Station. Menupages might have spots:
http://www.menupages.com/restaurants.asp?neighborhoodid=8
Anyway, I’m in for dinner.
I’d like something not in midtown. Perhaps Chelsea/Village/Upper West Side, yet still on a subway line that’ll get folks who need it to midtown in 15 minutes or so.
I don’t have a restaurant recommendation, but I (a long time lurker) would like to throw my hat into the ring and say I’d love to come join you all on the 1st. I’m looking forward to it!
Amp, what’s most convenient for you? of the ideas listed so far? what sounds best?
Can we get a count for how many people want midtown vs how many want downtown? This would really help narrow our choices.
Hey, Amp! Can we get a decision sometime before Tuesday? I know that you’re in Ithaca and all and you probably have enough to do just to keep from throwing yourself in the gorge and all. But still… I don’t want to have to rely on our limited superpowers to find where we all are in NYC.
Downtown has better places probably than midtown. To me, downtown includes Greenwich Village and environs.
How about if we meet someplace, like the Garibaldi statue in Washington Square Park, and then take it from there?
Okay, I double-checked with some friends. John’s of Bleecker Street is still there.
278 Bleecker St., between Jones St. and Morton St.
CitySearch has it at one $ for cost; cash. I remembered it as small, but my friends say that it is large enough for groups.
Also what time do we meet?
Just based on my own experience of trying to make large group consensus decisions of where to eat on the spot, my own vote would be for picking a place–any place–beforehand.
Hey – ya’ll need to remember to take lots of pictures. Barry is usually pretty good about that, but his household family would love to see pictures that have him, Jake Squid and the blog friends out and about at this occassion as well!
Just a request from Kim, Matt, Sydney and Maddox currently on vacation in Michigan!
Looks to me that about 12 people say they’ll attend. Yay! And welcome, one and all! I’m really looking forward to meeting people.
At this point, of the suggestions offered, I’m leaning towards either Totonno’s (2nd Ave.,
between 26th & 27th Street) – pizza, some decent-looking non-pizza options, plus it has a private party room we could probably reserve.
Or Grand Sichuan, on St. Marks between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, which three different people have said would work for them, which makes it the leading vote-getter. (Grand Sichuan also has a few other locations we could consider).
I’m also thinking of 7pm, although I’m pretty flexible on this score, so if people would prefer that time or a different time let me know.
Last chance to get your opinions in, or make new suggestions (please suggest specific restaurants!), before I make my decision! I’ll make the final decision within 24 hours.
Also, please let me know if you can put me up for the night on Tuesday. :-)
I’d prefer Totonno’s, but I’ll go to either.
I could go to either, but I prefer Chinese so I’d vote for Grand Sichuan on St. Mark’s, because there are always lots of cool things around that area, like the Asian supermarket on Stuyvesant Street above the Round the Clock Cafe. I wish I still worked on Stuyvesant, I’d be able to help set all this up!
Oh, and you can stay at our place Tuesday night if you want. If it’s okay with Jake the Chauffer, of course. ;)
That sounds great, Elayne. Thanks.
I had a chaffeur’s license when I lived in NY. I’ll be happy to ferry Mr. Ampersand up to Elayne’s place.
[drift] Hey, Amp. If you’re near a decent bakery, or even a Zaro’s, and you pick me up a blackandwhite cookie (or two), I’d be forever grateful. In fact, I’ll spring for the pancakes when you get back. :D [/drift]
I miss them so…
ms_xeno,
The absolute best bakery in NYC for both black&white cookies and for 7 layer cake has, unfortunately, closed. I haven’t found a substitute yet, but the Zaro’s black&whites that I had 4 weeks ago sucked. I’m very, very sad about this. Any NYCers have a bakery suggestion?
If you’re into baking, there are actually good recipes online. You have to try a couple to find the variation on the cookie part that you like best, but being on the west coast I think that’s the best way to go.
Grand Sichuan is good. also: Chinese: sharing: sociable.
Sure, Squid. Blazing heat, a kitchen the size of a broom closet, and a four-hour-minimum tempwork commute every weekday. I’ll get right on that.
Funny, funny man. Why don’t you update your journal more than once a season ? :p
Find a bakery that isn’t Starbucks. Or a reputable-looking deli. There have to be one or two of those still left somewhere. :/
Amy’s Breads is a rather nice chain. dunno if they do B/W cookies, though.
but yes, you can probably find those in yer basic deli.
pretty sure at least one of the food court joints in Penn Station sells ’em.
Grand Sichuan looks good. I’m always up for Chinese food. The St. Mark’s Place location also works for me travel-wise.
But pizza is also sharing: sociable.
The one thing that worries me about Grand Sichuan that NYC Chinese places are often crowded and noisy, making it hard to hear what other folks are saying (my hearing isn’t great). I’m in this for the conversation, not the food, so I want to be someplace I can hear people – such as the balcony at Totonno’s (which is available Tuesday night).
I tried calling Grand Sichuan, but the language barrier prevented me from being able to make my question understood. So let me ask the people here who have eaten at Grand Sichuan: Am I wrong to be concerned? Do they have a back room we could request/reserve?
If someone can reassure me that my worries about the noise at Grand Sichuan are misplaced, then we’ll eat at Grand Sichuan. Otherwise, it’ll be Totonno’s, because I know they have a (relatively) quiet spot we can eat.
Does 7pm work for everyone?
belledame, I’ll be in NJ late next month with mr_xeno. If you or anyone in this thread finds a decent source in the NY-metro area, please share it. I’d be really grateful.
I’ll eat the Zaro’s Penn Station version if nothing else comes along, but Jake Squid is right. It’s more for sentimental reasons than because they’re still any good. Tsk. :/
Everyone have a great dinner. :)
will do, ms-xeno.
Grand Sichuan–well, I don’t know that location; but the one in the theatre district is quite big and tends not to be too crowded, in my experience.
Okay, Grand Sichuan on St. Mark’s at 7pm is the plan!
(If you think a different time would work better, better post soon!)
yay!
I’m jealous I can’t be there.
*Sigh*