New York restaurants

Afgan Kebab House

155 West 46th Streeet / 6th & 7th. Phone: 768 3875. Price: $35 ($35) for two. No cards. (B4).

An economical Middle East restaurant near Times Square. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Ambassador Grill

1 United Nations Plaza, U.N. Plaza Hotel. Phone: 702 5014. Price: $90 ($90) for two. All major cards. (D4).

One of the most beautiful restaurants in New York, almost covered in mirrors, in a hotel basement opposite the United Nations.

Only the floor is not covered with mirrors. The rooms seems to expand endlessly in all directions. Service and food is excellent. The cuisine is American with French undertones.

- Salmon and liver salad.

- Lobster mousse.

- Lobster cake wrapped in cabbage.

- Duck supreme with asparagus.

- Strawberries with cream.

- Napoleon pastry with raspberries.

American Place

2 Park Avenue / 32nd Street. Phone: 684 2122. Hours: Closed Saturday lunch, Sunday. Price: $100 ($100) for two. All major cards. (C5).

One of the first important American Nouvelle restaurants in Manhattan has moved to a new site near Empire State. The new dining room is large and well spaced in Art Nouveau style. Larry Forgione has been the owner-chef since the beginning.

The waiters patiently describe in detail how each course is thought out and cooked, and also how it originated. They also can explain why this or that red wine suits better to this or that course. For a fixed price you can choose between eight first courses, eight main courses and American cheeses from a tray.

- Grilled Maine lobster and leeks with roasted peppers in vinaigrette.

- Leg of spring lamb with mashed potatoes.

- Marinated and grilled guinea fowl with mashed potatoes and buttered sugar beans.

- Banana Betty = vanilla sauce with crisp bananas.

- American goat cheeses.

American Nouvelle consists mainly of taking old granny recipes and adapt them to the light cuisine that originated in France about 1970. Thus many local American recipes have been saved from oblivion, just as when old buildings are saved by converting them to modern use.

Ballato

55 East Houston Street betw. Mott & Mulberry. Phone: 274 8881. Hours: Closed Sunday. Price: $60 ($60) for two. All major cards. (C8).

The best Italian restaurant is a small and comfortable place on the border of Greenwich Village and Little Italy, offering the homey cooking of Italian grandmothers.

Guests have a view into the kitchen where many customers pay a visit to greet old acquaintances. You have to bring your own wine which you can buy in the shops around.

- Spaghetti, macaroni, manicotti, tagliatelle etc.

- Octopus.

- Shrimp.

- Veal.

- Zabaglione = whipped egg yolks, sugar and marsala wine.

Bo Ky

80 Bayard Street / Mott & Mulberry Streets. Phone: 406 2292. Price: $30 ($30) for two. No cards. (C9).

A practical Chinatown restaurant. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Bombay Palace

30 West 52nd Street betw. 5th & 6th. Phone: 541 7777. Price: $65 ($65) for two. All major cards. (C4).

A very good Indian and luxurious dining room on two levels, centrally located in Midtown, just north off Rockefeller Center.

The place is popular with Sikhs.

- Tandoori chicken = chicken marinated in yogurt and curries and baked in a clay oven.

- Tandoori shrimps.

- Sashlik = lamb on skewers.

- Crispy bread.

Bouley

165 Duane Street / Greenwich & Hudson. Price: $160 ($160) for two. All major cards. (C9).

A French restaurant in TriBeCa, for several years considered by many to be the best restaurant in New York. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Brassiere

100 East 53rd Street betw. Park & Lexington. Phone: 751 4840. Hours: Open day & night. Price: $60 ($60) for two. All major cards. (C4).

An exception to the rule of bad food at 24 hours restaurants, a clean and modern basement in the shopping center of Midtown.

Very popular at 03 in the morning when night owls drop in for a breakfast before going to bed. Breakfast is trumps here.

- French onion soup.

- Burgundy snails.

- Beef steak.

- Beef tartar.

Cajun

129 8th Avenue / 16th Street. Hours: Closed Saturday lunch. Price: $57 ($57) for two. (B7).

A large Creole restaurants in southern Chelsea, near Greenwich Village.

A large dining room with simple furnishings, Mardi Gras posters on walls and paper napkins. A seven-strong Dixie band enlivens the place most nights.

- Gumbo = okra, rice and chicken soup with sassafras leaves.

- Blackened fish = Ocean trout coated in spices and burned on a pan.

- Creole salad.

- Grilled shrimp with chopped fish and rice.

- Steamed shrimp with cooked vegetables.

- Pecan pie.

- Bread and butter pudding with whiskey sauce.

Cajun cooking is better known as Creole cooking. It comes from New Orleans and Louisiana and is a mixture of French and Indian cooking. Cajun is a name for Frenchmen that first settled on the eastern coast of Canada and then later moved on to Louisiana.

Carnegie Deli

854 7th Avenue betw 54th & 55th. Phone: 757 2245. Price: $52 ($52) for two. All major cards. (B4).

The best delicatessen, in the northern part of Theater District, near Central Park, popular with actors and audience after theater.

The place is cramped and the waiters are rude, but the food is good.

- Cheese cake.

- Sandwiches.

- Pastrami.

- Corned beef.

Delicatessen are Jewish fast food eateries, specializing in sandwiches.

Cirque

58 East 65th Street / Park & Madison. Phone: 794 9292. Price: $145 ($145) for two. All major cards. (C3).

One of the top French restaurants in New York, on the Upper East Side. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Côte Basque

5 East 55th Street betw. 5th & Madison. Phone: 688 6525. Hours: Closed Sunday. Price: $140 ($140) for two. All major cards. (C4).

A French master chef in a perfectly central Midtown location, Jean-Jacques Rachou offers excellent cooking in a beautiful dining room. Ask for a table in the main room behind the kitchen. There is no need to point things out from the menu, as everything is very good.

The room is warm and bright, lined with murals by Bernard Lamotte from the harbor in St-Jean-de-Luz. It is well spaced, with beautiful table service. Service is excellent and helpful and the guests are generally happy. Be careful in choosing from the expensive wine list.

- Seafood casserole with saffron.

- Pate of the house.

- Baby lamb.

- Tournedos Bordelaise.

- Meringue with wild strawberries and cream.

Dárbar

44 West 56th Street betw. 5th & 6th. Phone: 432 7227. Price: $80 ($80) for two. All major cards. (C3).

The best Northern Indian restaurant is centrally located in Midtown, just south from Central Park, a heavily decorated place.

It is a solemn place with lots of Indian works of art and a grand spiral staircase to the balcony part of the dining room. It is a comfortable place of courteous service and sitar-music in the background. The spice tends to be hot.

- Tandoori chicken = chicken marinated in yogurt and curry and baked.

- Poppadum = crispy bread.

- Shaslik = meat on skewers.

- Spiced lamb.

- Mixed vegetables with beans.

Empire Diner

210 10th Avenue / 22nd Street. Phone: 243 2736. Hours: Open day & night, except 05-08 Monday morning. Price: $40 ($40) for two. All major cards. (A6).

The most famous diner in Manhattan, in black and chrome, open day and night.

Popular as a breakfast venue for night-owls at 03-04 in the morning.

Diners are an American invention, metallic places like railway wagons, often in Art Nouveau style.

Four Seasons

99 East 52nd Street betw. Park & Lexington. Phone: 754 9494. Hours: Closed Sunday. Price: $140 ($140) for two. All major cards. (C4).

The most beautiful restaurant in New York and one of the most expensive ones, designed by Philip Johnson in a Mies van der Rohe building, located in Midtown. We climb the stairs to the first floor, walk past a large Picasso painting, bypass the Grill Room and enter the high and wide Pool Room.

Thousands of metal threads move in the breeze at the windows. The tables are well spaced and democratically set up around the central marble pond under the starred ceiling. There are waiters all over the place. In accordance with the name of the place, the menu and the decorations are changed four times a year. The chef is well-known Seppi Renggli.

- Mussels in curry with papaya and mango.

- Roasted pigeon breast.

- Mushrooms in lemon and pepper.

- Chopped spinach with cream sauce.

- Filet mignon beef steak.

- Veal slices with crab purée on artichoke.

- Tart of the house.

Gotham Bar & Grill

12 East 12th Street / 5th Avenue. Phone: 620 4020. Hours: Closed Saturday & Sunday lunch. Price: $115 ($115) for two. All major cards. (C7).

A large and stylish split-level dining room in post-modern design with excellent cooking and a lively clientele a few blocks to the north from Washington Square.

On the higher level thers is a long bar and one row of tables with green chairs. Most of the tables are on the lower level. Rectangular pillar support the high ceiling with large lampshades of cloth. The piping is visible in the ceiling.

- Seafood salad. scallops, squid, Japanese octopus, lobster & avocado in lemon and oil, flying fish roes.

- Smoked duck breast, basmati rice and yougurt salad with apricot-cherry chutney.

- Squab and grilled New York State foie gras, sweet corn, creamy polenta & cranberry beans.

- Loin of venison, pumpkin, rosemary poached pears, wild huckleberries & winter root vegetables.

- Almond cake with toasted almond ice cream, capote of clementines, mieola and blood orange.

- Gotham chocolate cake, served warm, with espresso ice cream.

- Seasonal berries.

Hatsuhana

17 East 48th Street betw. 5th & Madison. Phone: 355 3345. Hours: Closed Saturday lunch & Sunday. Price: $85 ($85) for two. All major cards. (C4).

A very good Japanese sushi bar in Midtown, near Rockefeller Center.

It is preferable to sit at the long sushi bar, watch the work of the cooks and choose fish from the glass counter.

- Raw marinated tuna, trout, salmon, shrimp, squid, octopus, salmon and cod roes, shellfish, mackerel, etc.

Hudson River Club

250 Vesey Street / The World Financial Center. Phone: 786 1500. Hours: Closed Saturday lunch & Sunday. Price: $110 ($110) for two. All major cards. (B10).

An exquisite split-level restaurant, combining tasteful ambience with fine cuisine, near the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center, with spectacular views for everybody over Hudson river to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and New Jersey.

Walls of wood and glass partion the dining area, making each segment rather cozy. There is abstract art on the inside walls and large windows on the outside walls. Reception and service are almost perfect. Good wines are sold by the glass.

- Wood ear mushroom consommé.

- Apple smoked venison salad.

- Mint cured and apple smoked salmon Napoleon.

- House pepper cured venison prosciutto.

- Steamed red snapper with tarragon and tomato.

- Grilled paillard of venison.

- Grilled swordfish with chive coulis.

- New York State cheeses with fruit.

- Candied walnut farmer‘s cheesecake, honeycomb and red currants.

- Black dirt onion and rocambole garlic jam.

Jackson Hole

232 East 64th Street betw. 2nd & 3rd. Hours: Closed Sunday. Price: $30 ($30) for two. No cards. (D3).

The best outlet of the best hamburger chain in town is in Upper East Side.

The hamburgers are unusually thick and moist and the cooking time is carefully observed.

- Hamburgers.

Hamburgers are the essential type of American food, fatty and lazy.

John‘s Pizzeria

278 Bleecker Street south of 7th. Phone: 243 1680. Price: $30 ($30) for two. No cards. (B8).

Indisputably the best pizzeria in Manhattan, located in Greenwich Village.

Tired dining room and tired waiters, but the pizzas stay the same. People come from far away and stand in line to enter this pizza heaven.

- Pizza.

Pizzas are typically American, even if they originated in southern Italy. Americans made them famous and exported them all over the world.

Kuruma Zushi

18 West 56th Street, betw. 5th & 6th. Phone: 541 9030. Hours: Closed Saturday & Sunday. Price: $100 ($100) for two. No cards. (C3).

There are more Japanese restaurants in Manhattan than in the combined capitals of Europe. Best of them are the sushi bars and this is one of the best of them, situated in central Midtown, just south of Central Park.

It is very clean and tasteful. It is preferable to sit at the long bar and watch the cooks when they make the sushi. Their professionalism is astounding. This is also a good way to choose the raw fish that is on display under glass at the bar, only one type at a time at a leisurely pace.

- Raw marinated tuna, squid, shrimp, roe, etc.

- Saki = Japanese rice wine, served warm.

Sushi are small delicacies made of rice balls and marinated fish, which can also be rolled into seaweed.

Lutece

249 East 50th Street betw. 2nd & 3rd. Phone: 752 2225. Hours: Closed Saturday lunch & Sunday. Price: $145 ($145) for two. No cards. (C4).

The best restaurant in New York, a worthy competitor to the best eateries of France, hiding away in a basement near the United Nations, owned by Chef André Soltner from Alsace. He is different from other super-chefs in not being on the road but in his kitchen, cooking for his customers and talking with everybody, including newcomers. His wife directs the service.

Most of the tables are in a glass-roofed outhouse behind the building, others are in two rooms on the first floor. The decorations are sunny French Mediterranean, with palm trees, tiled floors, brick pillars and white lattice. The amiability of the owners influences the waiters who are cordial all around and describe the menu in slow and understandable sentences.

- Artichokes.

- Game pate.

- Mussel soup.

- Leg of lamb with dressing.

- Gooseberry tart.

- French cheeses.

Mulino

86 West 3rd Street / Sullivan & Thompson. Phone: 673 3783. Price: $120 ($120) for two. All major cards. (C8).

Often considered to be the best Italian restaurant in New York, a few steps from Washington Square. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Nathan‘s Famous

1482 Broadway at Times Square & 43rd. Phone: 626 7322. Price: $30 ($30) for two. No cards. (B4).

The oldest and best known hot dogs restaurant in New York originated on Coney Island but this Broadway outlet has for a long time been the flagship, convenient for those passing through Times Square.

The sausages are superior and there are some other things on the menu.

- Sausages.

Nobu

105 Hudson Street / Franklin Street. Phone: 219 0500. Price: $125 ($125) for two. All major cards. (C9).

A TriBeCa restaurant, considered by many to be the best Japanese restaurant in town. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Oceana

55 East 54th Street / Madison & Park. Phone: 759 5941. Price: $120 ($120) for two. All major cards. (C4).

One of the very best seafood restaurants in the city, right in the center of Midtown. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Odeon

145 West Broadway / Thomas Street. Phone: 233 0507. Price: $75 ($75) for two. All major cards. (C9).

A fashionable Nouvelle American restaurant in southern TriBeCa. Usually the food is bad at celebrity eateries (e.g. Elaine) and must be bad, as else the in-crowd (e.g. Woody Allen) would believe that people were rather coming for the food than for the in-crowd and therefore the in-crowd would feel slighted and not be coming at all. Odeon breaks this general rule with excellent food.

It is very lively especially at late hours when the art crowd arrives in its uniforms, punk or otherwise. The place is more quiet at lunch when knowledgeable financiers come from nearby Wall Street. Stephen Lyle is a good cook, if not as good as Patrick Clark was. The menu is in constant change, which is a good omen.

- Snails, mussels and oysters.

- Crab cake with chili sauce.

- Salmon with lentils and parsley vinaigrette.

- Veal and chicken liver.

- Beef steaks.

American Nouvelle consists mainly of taking old granny recipes and adapt them to the light cuisine that originated in France about 1970. Thus many local American recipes have been saved from oblivion, just as when old buildings are saved by converting them to modern use.

Oyster Bar

Grand Central Station. Phone: 490 6650. Hours: Closed Saturday & Sunday. Price: $84 ($84) for two. All major cards. (C4).

The best seafood restaurant in New York, offering the most exact cooking of the most fresh produce, is in the extra large and vaulted basement of Grand Central, lit by lots of bare bulbs and covered in lots of sound-reflecting tiles, reminiscent of a Paris metro station. No frozen fish is used and the simplest cooking is best, such as steaming and grilling.

The noise of the full dining room blends into a neutral background. The service is quick and efficient, friendly and no-nonsense Italian style. The waiters are informed about the cuisine and can tell the difference between the ten-sixteen different types of shells on offer each day. The daily changing menu usually lists more than 20 different species of fish.

- Oysters and shells.

- Lobster.

- Bluefish.

- Red Snapper.

- Catfish.

- Perch.

- Grouper.

American white wines, covering 120 types, all of them at reasonable prices, even though many rarities are included.

Palm

837 2nd Avenue / 44th Street. Phone: 687 2953. Hours: Closed Saturday lunch & Sunday. Price: $110 ($110) for two. All major cards. (D4).

One of the very beast steak houses in New York and certainly the most famous one, near United Nations, filled with loud businessmen and journalists consuming lobster salad, sirloin steak and cheese cake in unison. Bookings for dinner are not accepted. Until recently this was a male stronghold, but now women journalists have invaded the sanctuary in force.

It is a rough place with sawdust on the floor and cartoons of famous journalists on the walls. There are two rooms and the lower one is more popular. Disinterested waiters recite in a hurry whatever they remember from the menu and expect orders of lobster salad, sirloin steak and cheese cake. No surprises here.

- Lobster salad.

- Sirloin steak.

- Cheese cake.

Rincón de España

226 Thompson Street betw. W. 3rd & Bleecker. Phone: 260 4950. Price: $64 ($64) for two. All major cards. (C8).

The main Spanish restaurant is just south of Washington Square in Greenwich Village, a dark and noisy place with guitars and singing.

The seating is very crowded and the service is very good and the customers are very happy.

- King crab salad.

- Octopus with garlic.

- Lamb cutlets.

- Paella = pan-fried rice with lobster, shrimp, mussels, scallops and chicken.

Rosa Mexicano

1063 1st Avenue / 58th Street. Phone: 753 7407. Price: $80 ($80) for two. All major cards. (D3).

The best Mexican eatery is a luxury restaurant in the northeast of Midtown, near Roosevelt Island Tramway, owned by Chef Josephine Howard, specializing in regional Mexican cooking.

It is a modern-looking restaurant, cleanly and well furnished in brown and beige, with tiles on the walls. The service is very good and extremely relaxed.

- Guacamole = avocados in spices and peppers.

- Ceviche = lemon-marinated fish.

- Enchiladas = tortilla corn cakes with chicken, onion and cheese.

- Pepitos = beef in sandwich with pan-fried peas.

Russian Tea Room

150 West 57th Street, betw. 6th & 7th. Phone: 265 0947. Hours: Closed for restoration. Price: $105 ($105) for two. All major cards. (B3).

A neighbor of Carnegie Hall, luxuriously outfitted and offering the most European atmosphere in the Western Hemisphere, founded in 1926 by members of the Imperial Russian Ballet who were stranded here during the Russian Revolution. It still continues to serve good food ins spite of being the perennial haunt of artists, especially of those who perform at Carnegie Hall.

The dining room is red, green and golden, heavy with haphazard decorations. The innumerable paintings do not match. There are lots of mirrors, chandeliers, samovars and disagreeing clocks. The usual lunch consists of vodka and champagne, blini and caviar. The Russian courses are explained on the menu. Take care not to be seated in the upstairs Siberia.

- Borscht = Russian beet-root soup with turnips, potatoes and vegetables.

- Blini = thick Russian pancakes served with butter and crème fraiche.

- Beluga, Sevruga and Oscietre = Russian quality caviar.

- French Champagne.

- Tea.

Sammy‘s Roumanian

157 Chrystie Street / Delancey Street. Phone: 673 0330. Hours: Closed lunch. Price: $85 ($85) for two. All major cards. (D8).

The most famous Jewish restaurant is in the Ghetto part of run-down Loiasaida, near the Orchard Street penny stores. It is neither Roumanian nor kosher, but very noisy and with a very happy atmosphere.

It has a low ceiling and lots of tired memorabilia and postcards on the walls. The piano and a fiddle are often in action.

- Cauliflower.

- Grilled beef.

- Veal sausages.

- Potato pancakes.

Say Eng Look

5 East Broadway / Chatham Square. Phone: 732 0796. Price: $40 ($40) for two. All major cards. (D9).

A consistent and good Chinese restaurant at the eastern edge of Chinatown, bordering on the Bowery, offering Shanghai cooking at reasonable prices.

It has an unhurried atmosphere, frequented by Chinese people. It is relatively tasteful, in red and black colors, with rather discrete pictures of Chinese dragons.

- Filet of eel.

- King sea cucumber with shrimp seeds.

- Sesame chicken.

- Roasted whole sea bass.

- Orange beef.

Shun Lee Palace

155 East 55th Street / Lexington & 3rd. Phone: 371 8844. Price: $95 ($95) for two. All major cards. (C3).

A nice Chinese restaurant conveniently located in Midtown. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Siam Inn

916 8th Avenue betw. 54th and 55th. Phone: 974 9583. Hours: Closed Saturday & Sunday lunch. Price: $55 ($55) for two. All major cards. (B4).

The best representative of Thai cooking is at the northern end of Theater District, near Central Park.

It is a clean and small hole in the wall with Thai handicraft on the walls, an unusually civilized service.

- Curries.

- Spice coated and marinated meat.

- Far East fruits.

Smith & Wollensky

201 East 49th Street / 3rd Avenue. Phone: 753 1530. Hours: Closed Saturday & Sunday lunch. Price: $110 ($110) for two. All major cards. (C4).

A justly famous, large and noisy steakhouse with tight sitting on two floors in a small corner building nestling between Midtown towers, serving large portions of excellent steaks done to order.

Above the wainscoat there is a tiled line and above it yellow walls with blackboard menus. Diners sit on small and barely comfortable chairs at small and rickety tables with white linen. The place is always full of suits who have taken their jackets off and laugh at locker room jokes. The service is well organized. Waiters wear jackets that are two numbers to small for them.

- Mushroom barley soup.

- Lobster salad.

- Shrimp salad.

- Filet mignon

- Lemon pepper tuna.

- Norwegian salmon

- Pan roasted Maki Maki

- Hashed prawns

- Veal piccata

- Cheesecake

- Maple pecan pie

Union Square Cafe

21 East 16th Street / 5th Avenue & Union Square. Phone: 243 4020. Hours: Closed Sunday lunch. Price: $110 ($110) for two. All major cards. (C7).

An outstanding and deservedly popular restaurant with rustic Italiano-American cooking in a simple setting a few steps from Union Square.

A charming restaurant in three parts, always bustling. There is a parquet on the floor and yellow walls above the green wainscoating. Outsize paintings enliven the area behind the bar, where many people prefer to dine. The main action is in the large room beside the bar, a few steps down. The chairs are comfortable and the linen is white.

- Fried calamari with spicey anchovy mayonnaise.

- Fruitwood-smoked salmon with fennel-olive tiperade and a salad of frisée, avocado and peppers.

- Black bean soup with lemon and a shot af Australian sherry.

- Yellowfin tuna burger with ginger-mustard glaze, grilled red onions and creamy cabbage slaw.

- Seared red snapper with basil aged balsamic vinaigrette, a savory medley of shiitakes, tatsoi and roast carrots.

- Mashed potatoes with frizzled leeks.

- Greenmarket apple streusel pie with lemon ice cream.

- Chocolate flan with chocolate almond tuile.

Zarela

953 2nd Avenue / 50th & 51st Streets. Phone: 644 6740. Price: $75 ($75) for two. All major cards. (D4).

A colorful Mexican restaurant near the United Nations. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

Zen Palate

663 9th Avenue / 46th Street. Phone: 582 1669. Price: $57 ($57) for two. All major cards. (B4).

An attractive alternative Chinese restaurant in Theater District. (Shortlisted for evaluation and inclusion)

1996

© Jónas Kristjánsson