New York City: Upper West Side
Restaurants on the Upper West Side offer a wide array of ethnic and price choices (particularly if you avoid the overpriced Lincoln Center area). There are lots of generous burger joints, Chinese restaurants, friendly coffee shops, and delectable, if a bit pricey, brunch spots, so you'll never be at a loss for good meals.AMERICAN AND CONTINENTAL
Big Nick's
2175 Broadway (between 76th and 77th sts) tel 212/362-9238.
If you want a hamburger or pizza on the Upper West Side, this is a fun, New York kind of place. In his crowded, chaotic little wooden-table restaurant, Big Nick has been serving them up all night long to locals for 20-plus years.
Boat Basin Café
79th St at the Hudson River (access through Riverside Park) tel 212/496-5542.
An outdoor restaurant, open May through Sept, with informal tables covered in red-and-white checked cloths, some under a sheltering overhang. The food is standard, but inexpensive considering the prime location - burgers with fries ($7.75), hot dogs, sandwiches and some more serious entrees like grilled salmon ($14.50).
Boathouse Café
Central Park Lake (E 72nd St entrance) tel 212/517-2233.
Peaceful retreat from a hard day's trudging around the Fifth Avenue museums. You get great views of the famous Central Park skyline and decent American/continental cuisine, but at very steep prices. Closed from Oct to March.
Dock's Oyster Bar
2427 Broadway (between 89th and 90th sts) tel 212/724-5588; also 633 3rd Ave (at 40th St) tel 212/986-8080.
Some of the best seafood in town at this popular uptown restaurant, with a raw bar, great mussels and a wide variety of high-quality fresh fish. The Upper West Side is the original and tends to have the homier atmosphere - though both can be noisy and service can be slow. Reservations recommended on weekends.
Tom's Restaurant
2880 Broadway (at 112th St) tel 212/864-6137.
Cheap, greasy-spoon fare. This is the Tom's of
Seinfeld
fame, usually filled with students from Columbia and tourists. Great breakfast deals - a large meal for under $6.
ASIAN
Hunan Park
235 Columbus Ave (between 70th and 71st sts) tel 212/724-4411.
Some of the best Chinese food on the Upper West Side is served here, in a large, crowded room, with typically quick service and moderate prices. Try the spicy noodles in sesame sauce and the dumplings. A good, less-expensive option within a few blocks of Lincoln Center.
Jaya
494 Amsterdam Ave (at 84th St) tel 212/769-9585.
A good standby in this part of town if you're craving Malaysian or Indonesian food - neither a cuisine you find that often in Manhattan. Reasonably priced, too.
CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN
Café con Leche
424 Amsterdam Ave (at 80th St) tel 212/595-7000.
Great neighborhood Dominican that serves fantastic roast pork, rice and beans, and some of the hottest chili sauce you've ever tasted. Cheap and very cheerful.
Calle Ocho
446 Columbus Ave (between 81st and 82nd sts) tel 212/873-5025.
Very tasty Latino fare, such as
ceviches
and
chimchuri
steak with yucca fries, is served in an immaculately designed and a hopping bar, whose mojitos are as potent as any in the city.
La Caridad
2199 Broadway (at 78th St) tel 212/874-2780.
This is something of an Upper West Side institution, a tacky, no-frills eatery that doles out plentiful and cheap Cuban-Chinese food to hungry diners (the Cuban is better than the Chinese). Bring your own beer, and expect to wait in line.
FRENCH AND BELGIAN
Café Luxembourg
200 W 70th St (between Amsterdam and West End aves) tel 212/873-7411.
Trendy Lincoln Center area bistro that packs in (literally) a self-consciously hip crowd to enjoy its first-rate contemporary French food. Not too pricey - two people can eat for $60 or so.
Jean Georges
Trump International Hotel, 1 Central Park West (between 60th and 61st sts) tel 212/299-3900.
This is French at its finest, crafted by star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Definitely the place for a special occasion when you don't mind dropping a pretty penny. For the more money conscious, the front-room,
Nougatine
has a prix-fixe summer brunch for $20. But whatever you do, don't miss the rhubarb tart for dessert.
INDIAN
Mughlai
320 Columbus Ave (at 75th St) tel 212/724-6363.
Uptown, upscale Indian with prices about the going rate for this strip: $11-16 an entree. The food, though, is surprisingly good.
ITALIAN
Gennaro
665 Amsterdam Ave (between 92nd and 93rd sts) tel 212/665-5348.
A tiny outpost of truly great Italian food, with room only for about fifty people (and thus perpetual lines to get in). Standouts include a warm potato, mushroom and goat cheese tart (incredible) and braised lamb shank in red wine. The desserts are also worth the wait. Moderate prices - open for dinner only.
JEWISH AND EASTERN EUROPEAN
Barney Greengrass
541 Amsterdam Ave (between 86th and 87th sts) tel 212/724-4707.
A West Side deli and restaurant that's been around since time began. The smoked salmon section is a particular treat. Cheese blintzes are tasty too.
Fine & Schapiro
138 W 72nd St (between Broadway and Columbus Ave) tel 212/877-2721.
Longstanding Jewish deli that's open for lunch and dinner and serves delicious old-fashioned kosher fare - an experience that's getting harder to find in New York. Great chicken soup.
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