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New York City Last Minute Deals
New York is the concentrate of art and commerce and sport and religion and entertainment and finance, bringing to a single compact arena the gladiator, the evangelist, the promoter, the actor, the trader and the merchant. It carries on its lapel the unexpungeable odor of the long past, so that no matter where you sit in New York you feel the vibrations of great times and tall deeds, of queer people and events and undertakings.
New York is nothing like Paris; it is nothing like London; and it is not Spokane multiplied by sixty, or Detroit multiplied by four. It is by all odds the loftiest of cities.
-- E. B. White, This Is New York
Novelist and essayist E. B. White wrote the words above more than 50 years ago, but his characterization of New York remains accurate today. And though the grandeur and importance of New York has not changed, the city is in a constant state of flux. Restaurants and nightclubs become trendy overnight, and then die under the weight of their own popularity. (Yogi Berra had the perfect comment for that very phenomenon: "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded.") Broadway shows, exercise fads, city politics, and even neighborhoods are all subject to the same Big Apple fickleness.
But within this ebb and flow lies the answer to why we New Yorkers persist in loving our city so much, despite the high rents, the noise, the crowds, the cab drivers who don't know Lincoln Center from the Lower East Side, and the more stark realities of high-security-alert days and living in the shadow of great tragedy. Nowhere else is the challenge so tough, the pace so relentless, the stimuli so ever-changing and insistent -- and the payoff so rewarding. It is why we go on; it is why we proudly persist in living our vibrant lives here.
Come witness New York's astonishing resilience for yourself -- it's reason enough to visit.
Book together and save $228 on average
Best Restaurant: Eleven Madison Park, 11 Madison Ave. (tel. 212/889-0905). Higher praise has consistently gone to chef/restaurateur Danny Meyer's other restaurants, Gramercy Park Tavern and Union Square Café, and as a result this gem is often overlooked, which is a shame. It is a magnificent restaurant on every level. The Art Deco room is spectacular, the service almost otherworldly, and the food truly memorable.
Best Special Occasion Restaurant: The River Café, 1 Water St., Brooklyn (tel. 718/522-5200). Located at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, there is no better dining view of Manhattan. Go at twilight as the lights of downtown begin to flicker on; it's a magical experience. Though the food at restaurants with views is usually not very good, you won't be disappointed by the sophisticated fare prepared here.
Best for Romance: Reserve at One If By Land, Two If By Sea, 17 Barrow St. (tel. 212/255-8649; www.oneifbyland.com), where candlelight, lush piano music, and tuxedoed service in a pre-Revolutionary Greenwich Village town house take you back in time and put you in the mood for love.
Best Newcomer: 'Cesca, 164 W. 75th St. (tel. 212/787-6300). Helmed by chef/owner Tom Valenti, the man behind another excellent Upper West Side restaurant, Ouest, his newest venture is even bolder and more exciting. This is rustic, hearty Italian food like you've never had before in New York.
The runner-up, Pampano, 209 E. 49th St. (tel. 212/751-4545), takes Mexican seafood to a new level. The ceviches here are truly memorable, but if you want your fish cooked, you won't go wrong with just about anything that comes out of the kitchen.
Best Service: With an almost-unheard-of 27 (out of a possible 30) rating for service from Zagat's, Chanterelle, 2 Harrison St. (tel. 212/966-6960), simply can't be beat. The service somehow manages to be impeccable without being too formal or stuffy. Other restaurants try, but this is how it's supposed to be.
Best Wine List: Veritas, 43 E. 20th St. (tel. 212/353-3700), boasts what must be the most enthralling wine cellar in town. Serious oenophiles can download the full list -- market and reserve -- for advance study, and then call to have their choice opened and decanted for dinnertime.
Best for Breakfast: Good Enough to Eat, 483 Amsterdam Ave. (tel. 212/496-0163). They've been lining up on Amsterdam Avenue on weekend mornings for over 20 years to get a taste of chef/owner Carrie Levin's bountiful home-cooked breakfasts. But why wait on line? You're on vacation, go during the week.
Best for Brunch: Though I am not a devotee of brunch, Norma's, at Le Parker Meridien hotel, 118 W. 57th St. (tel. 212/708-7460), is an exception. I put it in the brunch category only because it is a bit pricier than the standard breakfast budget. Traditional breakfast items are available but skip them and go for the creative interpretations, like the asparagus and seared rock lobster omelet.
Best Outdoor Dining: I'm not a big fan of eating alfresco in Manhattan. Too loud and too many noxious fumes. That's why I prefer the Boat Basin Café in Riverside Park, at 79th Street (tel. 212/496-5542), where there are no cars, only the sight of boats bobbing in the Hudson River and some glorious sunsets.
Best Times Square Restaurant: Virgil's Real BBQ, 152 W. 44th St. (tel. 212/921-9494; www.virgilsbbq.com). Times Square is a restaurant wasteland with overpriced theme restaurants and national chains. Virgil's, in a sense, is a theme restaurant, the theme being barbecue, but they do an excellent job smoking their meats. The barbecued lamb is not to be missed.
Best Dessert: There are many impressive pastry chefs in town, but few of them can top the remarkable Elizabeth Katz of Fiamma Osteria, 206 Spring St. (tel. 212/653-0100). Her creations make you want to skip the entrees and head straight for dessert. Everything on Fiamma's "Dolci" menu is outstanding, but her torta (the dark chocolate praline cake layered with hazelnut brittle) and gianduja gelato (hazelnut-flavored chocolate gelato) are as close to perfection as you can get.
Best Chinese Cuisine: With all the culinary wonders that Chinatown has to offer, this is a tough choice. My favorite at the moment is New York Noodletown, 28 1/2 Bowery (tel. 212/349-0923), where the soups are always fresh and comforting and anything that's salt-baked is guaranteed to be sublime.
Best French Cuisine: La Grenouille, 3 E. 52nd St. (tel. 212/752-1495), serves the classics with elegant perfection.
Best Italian Cuisine: With Babbo, 110 Waverly Place (tel. 212/777-0303), Food Network chef Mario Batali has created the ideal setting for his exciting northern Italian cooking. The room is beautiful, the service warm and gracious, and the food excellent. Nobody does pasta better.
Best Japanese Cuisine: In a category all its own is inventive Nobu, 105 Hudson St. (tel. 212/219-0500), where unusual textures, daring combinations, and surprising flavors add up to a first-rate dining adventure that you won't soon forget.
Best Home-Style Cooking: No other restaurant warms my heart more than the aptly named Home, 20 Cornelia St. (tel. 212/243-9579), where the cumin-crusted pork chop sits in a bed of homemade barbecue sauce that's better than Dad used to make, and even Mom would tip her hat to the silky smooth chocolate pudding.
Best Jewish Deli: Katz's Delicatessen, 205 E. Houston St. (tel. 212/254-2246), is the choice among those who know their kreplach, knishes, and pastrami. No cutesy sandwiches named for celebrities here -- just top-notch Jewish classics. The all-beef wieners are the best in a town known for its top-quality dogs.
Best Burger: Burger Joint, at Le Parker Meridien hotel, 118 W. 57th St. (tel. 212/708-7460). Who woulda thunk that a fancy hotel like Le Parker Meridien would be the home to a place called Burger Joint that serves great burgers at great prices?
For the most decadent hamburger, try the burger at db Bistro Moderne, 55 W. 44th St. (tel. 212/391-2400). Daniel Boulud's creation is made with braised short ribs, foie gras, preserved black truffles, and minced sirloin. This one comes in at a whopping $29.
Best Pizza: Patsy's Pizzeria, 2287 First Ave. (tel. 212/534-9783). This great East Harlem pizzeria has been cranking out coal-oven pizza since 1932. It was the favorite of Frank Sinatra, who used to have Patsy's pizzas packed and shipped to him in Vegas. You can also order by the slice here, but only do so if the pie is fresh out of the oven.
Best Seafood: rm, 33 E. 60th St. (tel. 212/319-3800). Rick Moonen, who left Oceana after helping that restaurant garner three stars from the New York Times, now helms his own restaurant and the results were an immediate success. The things the man can do with critters from the sea are truly amazing.
Best Steak: Peter Luger Steakhouse, 178 Broadway, Brooklyn (tel. 718/387-7400). Don't expect great service. Don't expect an intimate atmosphere. But do expect the finest steak in New York, where there are many fine steaks to be had.
Best for Families: If you're traveling with a kid you want to impress, don't pass up an opportunity to eat at Serendipity 3, 225 E. 60th St. (tel. 212/838-3531), a classic ice-cream parlor, but better. Sure, they have real food, so you can pretend to be there for a real meal, but Serendipity is all about getting to the sweet treats.
Best Cheap Meal: Gray's Papaya, 2090 Broadway (tel. 212/799-0243). Though the $2.45 "recession special" -- two hot dogs and a fruit drink -- is almost a $1 increase from the previous recession, it's still a bargain. But is it any good? Witness the lines out the door everyday for lunch.
Best Ice Cream: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Fulton Ferry Landing Pier, Brooklyn (tel. 718/246-3963). The perfect reward after a brisk walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Rich homemade ice cream with a view of the Manhattan skyline, a tough combination to beat.
Best Hot Chocolate: The lines begin forming as soon as the doors open on winter weekends at Jacques Torres Chocolate, 60 Water St., Brooklyn (tel. 718/875-9772; www.mrchocolate.com). And for good reason -- rich, creamy, satiny smooth . . . really indescribable. Also at 350 Hudson St. in TriBeCa.
Best Post-Museum Treat: Il Laboratorio del Gelato, 95 Orchard St. (tel. 212/343-9922; www.laboratoriodelgelato.com). After visiting the very interesting Lower East Side Tenement Museum on Orchard Street and seeing how some of New York's early-20th-century immigrants struggled to make ends meet in the new world, reward yourself by going next door to sample New York's best gelato.
Best Bagel: Absolute Bagels, 2788 Broadway (tel. 212/932-2105). They're not huge like some bagels these days, but they are always hot and cooked to perfection.
Best 24-Hour Restaurant: Veselka, 144 Second Ave. (tel. 212/228-9682). This Ukrainian diner will meet almost all your food needs at any time of day or night. If you want borscht at midnight, you can get it. If you want French toast at four in the morning, you can have it. A true comfort to know that they will make pretty much whatever you want when you want it.
Best Soul Food: Charles' Southern Style Kitchen, 2841 Eighth Ave. (tel. 877/813-2920). Not only is this tiny Harlem restaurant the best soul food in the city, it's also the best buffet. For $9.95 on weekdays and $11.95 on weekends, the down-home offerings will tempt you to make an obscene amount of visits to the buffet line.
