OrthodoxEaster wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 11:31 pm

zircona1 wrote:Nothing fancy like $$$$, more in the $ - $$$ range for a meal for 2.
No seafood (wife doesn't eat it).
I'm not a big wine person, but she might have a glass or 2.

I'll do my best. Nothing here is above midpriced (for NYC) or upper midpriced, especially if you're not ordering bottles of wine. A few are way cheap. You can cross-reference prices on websites or via reviews, as well.

Most (not all) are downtown from where you're staying, but if so, they're a relatively quick subway ride away and you'll wanna see other parts of Manhattan anyway.

Kafana in the East Village is an excellent Serbian place w/a unique atmosphere and one of the few restaurants where you can get food from the former Yugoslavia in a nice but unpretentious atmosphere. Big meaty things like lamb shanks w/salad, ćevapi (grilled, skinless sausages), white beans w/homemade sausage, pork shoulder w/red cabbage salad, puffy spinach-and-cheese pie. Desserts are worth it, as well. Deep Balkan wine list for her, beer or rakija for you. You'll need to reserve on the weekend (especially when there's live music on Friday and it gets rowdy), but otherwise, you should be fine.

Cafe Katja is similar to the above but a little pricier and maybe slightly more refined. Modern Austrian (no kitschy beerhall style or ladies in dirndls) here, w/a handful of American dishes thrown in. Pork meatballs, sausages, or spätzle and a few mugs of German or Austrian beer will set you right. Cute rooms w/exposed brick and a slate bar that feels good on your hands. Outdoor seating setup is also quite pleasant.

If you wanna get a little fancier and more expensive (but not too trendy or pricey), Wildair is a natural wine bar on the Lower East Side w/really creative small plates, sort of modern American but w/heavy Nordic, French, and Asian touches. Like a New York version of someplace in Copenhagen or Paris. It's popular and fun. You could make a very light dinner out of the little gem lettuce salad w/pistachio cream, beef tartare w/sour plum, and Toulouse sausage w/beans and mustard, then order a couple of the celebrated, sometimes deliciously freaky desserts. Requires a bit of an adventurous palate, but it's won over some of my squeamish friends, as well. Dinner only, although there are doughnuts during the day, but those sell out in minutes.

Great N.Y Noodletown is a classic Cantonese/Hong Kong dive in Chinatown w/low prices, solid roast pork and duck on rice, and some of the best wonton noodle soup around. Noodle dishes and fried rice are decent, too. Service is gruff and efficient, food can be salty, and there's no atmosphere, but this makes a great lunch or late-dinner option. (The cauliflower w/Chinese sausage is still under $10.) There may be a wait during regular dinner hours.

Wu's Wonton King is similar--better for some dishes, not as good for others--but more focused on dim sum (lunch only) and seafood, although you can easily make a fine meal of meat and vegetables here. It's also a little tidier.

Speaking of lunch and Chinatown, Bánh Mì Cô út makes my favorite Vietnamese sandwich in Manhattan, for takeout only. Roast pig and charcuterie options are amazing, but even the tofu or chicken are pretty good.

CheLi (Shanghaiese) and Szechuan Moutain House (Sichuan) are right next to each other in the East Village. You'll get somewhat refined yet pretty hardcore versions of their respective regional Chinese cuisines w/o having to take a trip all the way to Queens (although an afternoon in Flushing totally rules, as well).

Potluck Club serves some of the best Chinese salt-and-pepper fried chicken in the world (w/a scallion biscuit), charred rice noodles, and a hell of an endive salad. Looks like a Chinese movie theatre exploded inside, cool décor. Reservations are hard to come by, but you should try.

Teacher's Pet also mentioned the Sichuan places near Bryant Park, of which I favor a place called (what else?) The Best Sichuan. Not far from your hotel!

There's also a historic, hole-in-the-wall Dominican lunch counter near Times Square called Margon, recommended for a plate of roast pork or stewed oxtails w/yellow rice, plantains, and red beans or maybe a Cuban sandwich. Ask for the garlic-and-vinegar sauce. No dinner, so crack a mid-day beer among office and construction workers.

That enough? Have fun!

OrthodoxEaster wrote: There's also a historic, hole-in-the-wall Dominican lunch counter near Times Square called Margon, recommended for a plate of roast pork or stewed oxtails w/yellow rice, plantains, and red beans or maybe a Cuban sandwich. Ask for the garlic-and-vinegar sauce. No dinner, so crack a mid-day beer among office and construction workers.

Teacher's Pet wrote:My favorite NYC food writer

tommy wrote: Tue Jun 13, 2023 10:50 am Heading to Greece next week. I’ll be in Mykonos (most of my free time is already filled up there) and Athens. Anyone have any recos, especially in Athens. I think we are staying sorta near The Acropolis.

Teacher's Pet wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 10:00 am

OrthodoxEaster wrote: There's also a historic, hole-in-the-wall Dominican lunch counter near Times Square called Margon, recommended for a plate of roast pork or stewed oxtails w/yellow rice, plantains, and red beans or maybe a Cuban sandwich. Ask for the garlic-and-vinegar sauce. No dinner, so crack a mid-day beer among office and construction workers.

100%. This place rules. Great Cuban sandwich. I also used to get a chicken sandwich here sometimes and the guy would just plop a whole thigh on the bun, close the bun, and pull out the bone. Boom, done.

My favorite NYC food writer covered one of the Midtown Sichuan places this week. (Scroll down.) Eater also has tons of other useful info/maps/guides etc.

zircona1 wrote:Made the mistake of trying to go to Margon on July 4, and it was closed.

Thanks for the Upside Pizza recommendation, we went there our first night, we both enjoyed it! Thanks also for pointing me to the Eater, found out about Los Tacos No.1 and we had that for lunch one day, those tacos were fantastic.

OrthodoxEaster wrote: Tue Jun 13, 2023 11:44 am

tommy wrote: Heading to Greece next week. I’ll be in Mykonos (most of my free time is already filled up there) and Athens. Anyone have any recos, especially in Athens. I think we are staying sorta near The Acropolis.

As of two years ago, Atlantikos in Psirri served simple, quality seafood at gentle prices. It's popular and very tourist-friendly but not exclusively touristy.

Volvi, outside Varvakeios Market on Evripidou, is a window for better-than-normal souvlaki and meatballs made w/(for once) good ingredients. The market itself is worth a look as well

OrthodoxEaster wrote: Thu Jul 06, 2023 8:21 am

zircona1 wrote:Made the mistake of trying to go to Margon on July 4, and it was closed.

Thanks for the Upside Pizza recommendation, we went there our first night, we both enjoyed it! Thanks also for pointing me to the Eater, found out about Los Tacos No.1 and we had that for lunch one day, those tacos were fantastic.

Margon makes most of its money from the workweek-lunch crowd, so it makes sense that the place would be closed on holidays. Sorry you missed it. Next time.

zircona1 wrote:We also tried to go to Cafe Katja that day for dinner, that was also closed.

But, we did go to Potluck Club one night and had the salt+pepper chicken, which was delicious. The chili crisp+plum jam with the scallion biscuit was really good too!

tommy wrote:These were both outstanding. Thanks! We typically do a food walking tour (focused on non-touristy places) the first day we are in every new foreign city. Volvi was a stop on that food tour.