Best place to eat in Manhattan

[Hurra912]

My wife and I are attending the NYIAS in April, and neither of us have been to New York before.

Our question is, where would be a great place to go out for a nice Friday night dinner. We are looking to spend between $50-$90 a plate including wine.

I have heard The Modern is very nice, and in that price range.

If you have any other suggestions of things to do I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Wayne

[TimT]

The Modern is very nice, and besides the food,check out the museum for a few hours before dinner you wont be disappointed.

There are so many excellent resturants to choose from though!! what kind of cuisuine would you prefer? that would help narrow the choices

[Hurra912]

Being from the mid-west, steak is always a top choice, but we also like French-American, and Italian. Seafood only if it's right off the boat. Fondue is also a favorite.

Great, now I'm hungry!

Wayne

[Rick Lee]

NYC has so much great food that I could not justify spending much money in a nice restaurant. Sounds crazy, but I think Famous Ray's is some of the best pizza on Earth. They're a chain in NYC and you can find them everywhere. When I go to the city with a date, we usually have a killer meal in Chinatown and then walk across Canal St. to have desert in Little Italy on Mulberry. If you just walk down Mulberry, you'll see a lot of great restaurants with waiters trying to pull you in off the sidewalk. You can't go wrong anywhere on that street.

[TimT]

steak is always a top choice

Peter Lugers, in Brooklyn, at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge...cant go wrong there

Lombardis In Little Italy for authentic, original coal fired pizza, or any of the hole in the wall places on mulberry.

Like Rick mentioned, there are so many possibilities, in every neighborhood, every where you turn there are good restuarants, that dont have the catchet or name recognition as some of the famous places.

[NICKG]

the seafood won't be better anywhere else imho...as for luger's..awesome, but they don't take plastic and are not cheap...but definetly worth it

[VINMAN]

La Mella on Mullberry st for Italian.

[gaijindabe]

Originally posted by Rick Lee
When I go to the city with a date, we usually have a killer meal in Chinatown and then walk across Canal St. to have desert in Little Italy

Rick, you dog you, your have stolen my mojo! Works every time!

[Rick Lee]

Well, it's usually with a Chinese girl, so I get schooled when it comes to picking out the restaurant. Best thing about the REAL Chinese places is they show you your meal before they kill it.

[gaijindabe]

I was so proud of myself bringing a Vietnamese gal to my favorite place on Bayard. My inflated ego collapsed when she said she didn't like it at all. But things improved when she said it was her Mom's favorite!

We need a NYC Chinatown thread. There are so many good places.

[Rick Lee]

Unfortunately, most Chinese restaurants have a totally different namein Chinese than what they're called in English. Last week I had lunch with some guys from their embassy here and we got to talking local restaurants. I'm sure we're were talking about the same places, but I only knew one by its Chinese name. So many silly English names like Panda this or Dragon that. Totally different in Chinese. No hijack intended.

[gaijindabe]

Hijack away. I studied Japanese, but they use Chinese characters. I can often figure things out on signs and menus. By the way - the Great Wall is really the "Long Fort".

[Rick Lee]

And no Chinese person will ever let that factoid go unsaid!

[91S2]

Since you're going in april, there's a chance the weather may be nice. if that's the case you can't beat little italy. if you don't feel like making reservations (or have trouble getting one on a friday)you can just walk from one restaurant to the next until you find one without a wait. don't forget to grab a canoli for dessert.
check out digitalcity.com, you'll be able to browse every cuisine and neighborhood... their reviews are usually accurate

[Moses]

Touristy, yes, but you should have a pastrami or corned beef sandwich at the Carnegie deli.

This one is corned beef;

[gaijindabe]

Not 100% kosher, but that sure looks good....

[stevepaa]

Yeah, I would go to Carnegie, but just once. The food is way too much, not price, just quantity. As most have said there are so many restaurants almost anywhere you look that it is hard to recommend any just based upon food. You might consider Tavern on the Green just to see central park area. Some real fancy ones upper east by St. Regis.

[Moses]

Patsy's Brick Oven in Brooklyn. Also called Grimaldi's. It's under the Brooklyn bridge. Pizza made in a 90 year old coal-fired brick oven.

Simple cheese with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil is amazing.

[krichard]

Sushi Samba

[NICKG]

nobu...the only word you need to know about sushi in nyc