Each time I've gone to Nobu, the wait for the sushi bar was shorter than Next Door Nobu. Try showing up when they first open their door for dinner (I think around 5:30 p.m. or so IIRC) to limit your wait to 1 hr. But it's kind of fun waiting at Tribeca Grill's bar area. They also have pretty good food. And unless you really know what you're doing, I'd just go with the omasake. It has consistently turned out better than a la carte for me. But I figure it should now be over $125 per person (w/ tax & tip but w/o drinks)....
$125/per person for Sushi?!? Wait until you get back. I've never paid more than $40 for sushi in Houston.
forget famous restaraunts and tourist traps. if you want Sushi, walk down a couple of blocks and pick a sushi joint, its that easy. then tell us about it.
Well yes and no. There are definitely lots of BAD sushi joints in NYC as well (it is sometimes hard to tell as there seems to be a sushi restaurant every block nowadays). Of course if you are not a picky sushi eater than by all means go for it. However, there are a lot of higher end sushi restaurants that serve great great quality of fish that you will almost NEVER see in Houston found in Manhattan. I have turned someone who thought sushi was just OK to a huge sushi lover just by bringing them to one of the higher end places (of course they curse at me because they can no longer go back to the standard average sushi joint on the block). It is equivalent of going to one of the top steakhouses in the US (such as Peter Luger's in NYC) over say a chain steak place like Outback or Steak & Ale. The quality speaks for itself. I rate Manhattan literally next to Tokyo in terms of cities where you can get great sushi. It is that good but also similarly priced as in Tokyo (i.e, can be expensive). If you have the money and you are at the higher end sushi place, sit at the bar and ask for the "omakase" or chef's special. It really is the only way to eat at those places and in fact the sushi chefs appreciate customers who do that (but did I mention that it was pricy...). Another favorite sushi place for me is Sushi Yasuda (in midtown, check it out on Zagat or Citysearch.com), which has great quality and variety of fish (some which you can not find easily even in Tokyo!). If you want to try an expensive sushi place, see whether they serve lunch (Yasuda does). It will generally be cheaper for lunch but might still run 20 to 40 bucks. In general (not just sushi), I would say the lunch option is not a bad thing to do for some of the higher end restaurants (cheaper than dinner and will give you an idea of the quality of the food, but may not be the full menu). Have fun in NYC. I definitely love the town. And if it is not too cold (umm well at this time of the year, it will definitely be COLD), walk around. That's the best way to get to know the city, but be sure to have a pretty good map - lots of free ones available at many tourist booths (although for the most part the city is quite easy to navigate with most of Manhattan set up as a grid of Avenues running North and South and Streets running East and West, except in the downtown areas like Chinatown, Little Italy, West Village etc).
I've been to NYC many times and usually avoid the tourist sites and instead spend time with close friends but a few years ago I had an afternoon to kill and visited Ellis Island. Weather permitting I highly recommend visiting it. The museum is incredible and really gives you a great feeling for what it means to be an American seeing all of the struggles of people who came here. They've even got a great section on Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West where Chinese immigrants had to come through to come to America and were often held for years during the Exclusion Act.
Tomoe is also quite good. I would suggest Nobu for their fusion Japanese food more than their sushi (which is pretty good too). Nobu was a trend setter for all the popular Japanese fusion restaurants that are out right now (my favorite dish to make from Nobu's own cookbook is the Chilean Sea Bass with Moromi Miso and Jalapeno Peppers - very tasty!). If you want to try new style sushi, you might want to check out Sushi of Gari and Sushi Seki (all on the Upper East Side so might be far from the touristy places).
I too, along with Ollie, was wondering if anyone can give the names of particular jazz bars in NYC that they recommend and where they are at?
Gari sushi is great....went to the new Upper West Side location last night. Tasting menu (10 pieces) was $54. Totally worth it. As far as steaks go, I am big on Dylan Prime in Tribeca. Their PieTinis are awesome. Mexican in this town sucks, however. I agree about Delta, good jambalaya...not too far from my place so I go often.
The old standards are Village Vanguard and Blue Note, but they are both a bit pricy (I think $20-30 per set, but I haven't been in a while so I forget). They are the old classics, but there are a lot of other local jazz ones that are very good. Here are some links. I would recommend using Citysearch (see my above post for the link) and look through their jazz bar list and see who is playing. You can find cheaper joints all along West Village (usually $10 cover with maybe a minimum, but some places have no cover and no minimum). I can't remember the ones I liked off the top of my head. I usually just wander in that area and see who is playing. Village Vanguard Official Site Blue Note Web Site I also like Danny Meyer's BBQ joint Blue Smoke. You can skip the food if you want (BBQ is good, but pricy especially by Texas standards) and just head downstairs to a very nice jazz club called the Jazz Standard. Unlike many other jazz clubs in the city, it is quite spacious with a nice classy decor and a good place to take a date/girlfriend. Cocktails aren't bad either. The music is top class, and hence, it could be expensive on some nights but often well worth it if you are a jazz fan. Jazz Standard (Blue Smoke) Hope that helped. Enjoy the city!
I just saw a great show there last weekend(Jazz Standard). its on 27th betwen park and lex. i saw Jason Moran and the Bandwagon. JaMo's from H-town... as a random spot, I choose Cleopatras needle on the Upper West Side( on broadway in the lower 90's) it features local jazz musicians jamming nightly, usually there are featured players then an open jam, it has been fun every time i go.
Don't listen to anyone that says eat barbeque, mexican, or cajun in NYC. If I had to pick those are probably the least well done in NY. Plenty of great top line restaurants and great hole in the walls as well to try. A couple of recommendations: El Paso on Houston - relatively cheap, great Sangria, and great paella. Sparks Steakhouse - just as good as some of the more overrated steakhouses like Lugars. Service is better and Frank Costello was gunned down by John Gotti right outside on his way in. Trattoria del Arte - 7th and 57th. More pricey but the food is good and the location is great. Couple blocks off 5th or central park. Across from Carnegie Hall. Vong - Vietnamese/French fusion. They have a great tasting menu which you can get with a corresponding wine flight. If you're a food network fan you can find bobby flays mesa grill or one of a couple of fat mario's places. For big names you can go to Daniel, BouleyBakery, or Aureole.
this used to be absolutely true, but it is slowly changing as regards to mexican food. mexicans are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the city, especially in the BK and queens. my neighborhood has tons of servicable taquerias. you still will not find top-notch fajitas (which i make, expertly, at home) but if you want tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc., they can be found. nowhere near as good as in texas, don't get me wrong, but this is a very positive deveolpment.
yeah, i thought about that when i wrote the above. i guess it depends where you are coming from when you visit NY. if you come from anywhere that has good mexican, bbq, or cajun - skip it. if you can't get it where you're from then maybe. i think ny has a lot to offer that you might not get elsewhere, and none of those would make the list. elias corner in queens has great fish, and you can stop in at the czech beer garden across the street for some brews.
bump! didnt want to make a new thread. i'm planning to go to nyc mid may. i need a recommmendation for a cheap hostel/hotel. i'm talking US$50 and below per night? and is it better to stay outside of the city and take the subway in? GO MAVS!! straight to hell
There should be a sticky "Things to do in NYC/Chicago" thread here. Good luck with that. Under 50$ - hmm, well I guess you could just grab some z's in the subway station on a bench for $2.00. I don't know if there's anything in the outer boroughs or beyond that fits that bill either.
as a mets fan i hate to say this but....if you're a baseball fan, check out historic yankee stadium if you can.
