Mary Ann
Restaurants
In preparing this blog, I was curious to find out exactly how many restaurants are in New York City. Apparently, no one really knows the exact number. It is somewhere between 17,600 to 28,000 establishments. (Data depends on which agency you use as a source.) It would take you 20 to 70 years to try them all, and as soon as you would finish the last one, another new restaurant would open. It is not quite endless but close.
For sure, New York City has many restaurants to sample that feature cuisine from all over the world as well as inventive fusion culinary style combining ingredients, techniques, or flavors from two or more cultures. Restaurants prices can range from a few dollars for a slice of pizza to meals that are hundreds or thousands of dollars with fine wines featured. You can find food that matches your pocketbook.
Sprinkled all over the city are hot dog vendors with their carts. I can once remember eating a hot dog with the works – mustard, ketchup, onion, relish, sauerkraut, and chili – in Central Park. Yummy! Messy! Fun! Was it the actual hot dog or the location in the city? Maybe the park was the best condiment of all.
Food trucks move around the city usually on regular schedules so you could plan your menu for the week, and they too offered a variety of cuisines. In the summer, I loved getting lobster rolls on Hudson Street where several trucks would line up for all the office workers to get lunch. You got outside for some fresh air and delicious food.
Then we have the bodegas found on many street corners throughout the city. They are kind of mom-and-pop stores. You can buy groceries and household items. They seems to have everything. However, one highlights of bodegas are the breakfast sandwiches – eggs, bacon, and cheese on some type of rolls. The first bite of this greasy creation is pure joy! I am getting hungry thinking about them. It was a great way to start the day.
New York City is famous for its pizza – considered by many as the Pizza Capital of the Nation. I think Chicago might disagree! You can find pizza parlors all over the city. One of my favorites is John’s Pizza on Bleeker Street. It is one of the oldest pizza restaurants in the city and is old- fashion comfortable. John’s Pizza had a satellite restaurant in Jersey City that I probably ate at once a week. The pizza was great, but they served other Italian specialties. Baked Zita was a favorite. You can’t really go wrong with pizza in NYC.
There are elegant and exquisite venues for New York City restaurants. Though, I found one that was only a window on the street. It was Meatball Obsession. You could get a cup of giant meatballs of beef, pork, or a chicken in a variety of sauces then topped off with mozzarella pearls. I had a regular meeting on 6th Ave. near 14th Street. I would pick up some meatballs and ride the subway home. The delicious aroma of the meatballs would waft throughout the car. I got lots of looks with some knowing smiles. It is a wonder I didn’t get mugged for my dinner.
Another small, yummy restaurant is Tue Thai Food on Greenwich Ave. In the summer, we would have a luncheon special delivered that included shrimp pad Thai, a salad, soup, and an iced chai tea for around $12.00 plus tip. It was delicious beyond words. I kind of compare all other pad Thai I have now to it, and you know, I haven’t found anything that compares.
I collected business cards from the restaurants where I dined so I always had a reference to return to favorite eateries. As I write this and review those cards, it is hard to pick the very best to share because there are so many outstanding places. Some have closed. Covid hit the city hard, and others have run their course with owners retiring.
Each area of the city boasts an array of restaurants. You can hardly go a half a block without finding a place to eat. There is always the new it place, and you may wait for months to get a reservation for some of them. I am going to share favorites from the West Village which was my stomping grounds for 11 years.
You could go in any direction on Hudson Street and find wonderful restaurants. Straight down Grove Street from Hudson, there is The Little Owl. It is the store front of the Coffee House from the TV show Friends and tourists gather daily for pictures. It is tiny and is hard to get reservations. Further down the street is Buvette’s a tiny French restaurant that has been featured in several magazines. It was a great place for a glass of wine and some French goodies. A bit further down the street is AOC, another French restaurant – great cassoulet and surprisingly tasty hamburgers.
Going south on Hudson, there is a charming seafood restaurant called Clam. They have the best New England clam chowder, and I love their lobster sliders. The ceiling of the restaurant is made of mother-of-pearl or at least it looks like it is giving the allure that you are in a shell. Nearby is the EN which is a Japanese Brasserie that has all Asian specialties. However, the fried chicken is outstanding.
Going north on Hudson, there is a West Village favorite called Cowgirls’. It is a great place to take kids. I love their Chop Salad – I never had one anywhere that compares. They have hamburgers, pulled pork, and on and on. Down the street from Cowgirls, is the famous White Horse bar and restaurant. It was Bob Dylan’s and his friends’ hangout. Off Hudson on Perry Street is Aria, a small Italian restaurant with an open concept and long kitchen tables – several people eat together. A great place for a glass of wine and small plates. I loved their octopus salad, but since all the octopus movies, books, shows, etc., I am not sure I can eat octopus now. There are so many little neighborhood restaurants that are off the beaten path – truly New York City treasures.
Out of the West Village, I have loved Tavern on the Green, a famous restaurant in the Central Park. They have great brunches in beautiful settings that change with the seasons. In Central Park, you can go from a hot dog cart to a world-famous restaurant in an instant.
In the Theatre District, I frequented the Glass House Tavern. My dear friend and I would go there for lunch before we went to a matinee – a glass of wine and a menu of classic American Food with interesting twists. One of my all-time favorite restaurants is Ut Sav, an Indian restaurant in the Theater District. Every bite was a little miracle of flavor. It was one of the last restaurants I went to in NYC to celebrate my retirement. However, my retirement party was at Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center, an elegant restaurant with a view of the plaza. Amazing food! Afterwards, we went to see My Fair Lady. It was a perfect day in every way.
New York City is the center of so many world-class industries, and food is no except. A few times a year, they do a Restaurant Week with specials menus to try a restaurant’s cuisine. It is always fun at a good price, and it is a good time to visit the city. I truly could go on and on with great places to eat. I have shared a few of some of my regulars watering holes that you couldn’t go wrong if you visit the city. As I have written this blog, my mouth was watering with memories. I wish that for you as well.
Silver Sage Sisters 