"Start spreading the news....."

Well, as was noted on Friends and Fun, I turned 50 yesterday (July 3) and my lovely wife, in addition to treating me to a multi-course dinner with matching wines at an incredible Ottawa restaurant (more on that later), also gave me-us a week in New York City!!!

I have always wanted to go and now we are going. We will take the train from Montreal (we both love train travel), will stay in the Garment District (can't recall the hotel) and probably go sometime in September, when everyone has gone back to work and the heat has gone down a little.

So, let's hear your recommendations for good (but not incredibly expensive) restaurants, wine bars, etc.

We are really looking forward to it.

September is a fine time to visit NYC.

Since you'll be there for a week, you'll have plenty of time to devote a day or two to the outer boroughs, where there's some interesting eating to be done.

I would recommend a visit to the Bronx Zoo and the NY Botanical Gardens, both of which are in close proximity to NY's real Little Italy, Arthur Avenue.
Queens has some amazing ethnic eating experiences available at a fraction of the cost of what Manhattan dining will cost.
Go to Brooklyn and visit DiFara's, where pizza is presented in its highest form, or out to Coney Island to Totonno's.

I think tourists miss out on a lot of the flavor of NYC when they ignore the outer boroughs. Don't be one of them. There's plenty to do and see in Manhattan, and it would take a lifetime to take it all in, but the other boroughs have much to offer as well.

For dining research, this is a pretty good site:
http://www.seriouseats.com/newyork/

Also, since the names of neighborhoods can be confusing to visitors, this simplified map will give you an idea of where things are relative to one another:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... image&cd=2

Don't get sucked into Midtown - the best eating is south of where you're staying.

Happy belated birthday, Bruce. New York in September should be nice. I used to work in Manhattan and when anyone asks me where to eat in Manhattan that is different and reasonably priced I always recommend Molyvos.

http://www.molyvos.com

It is a beautiful Greek restaurant that rivals many of the best restaurants in Greece and is reasonably priced by NY standards. The staff is very friendly and can help you select the appropriate Greek wine to go with your meal.

I agree with Mr. Tomasso about visiting the outer boroughs. You can find some great ethnic enclaves with good eating.

Skip Carnegie Deli.

[Robin Garr]

You can find some great ethnic enclaves with good eating.

Skip Carnegie Deli.

Agreed on both counts. When we lived in NYC, we ended up eating far more often in the outer boroughs than Manhattan. We lived in Astoria, Queens, which is heavily Greek and full of wonderful restaurants, but just to name a few others - assuming this hasn't changed much since the middle '90s, Flushing in Queens for the "new Chinatown," also Southeast Asian. Cobble Hill in Brooklyn for Italian. Jackson Heights in Queens for Indian, and all along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens for all manner of Latino cuisine. Across the Hudson, the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark for Portuguese, and, I think, Weehawken for Turkish. And of course, John's beloved Arthur Avenue in the Bronx for old-style Italian immigrant cookery.

I agree that its a lot of fun to explore the Outer Boroughs. For food, Jackson Heights (Indian), Flushing (Chinese and other Asian) and Arthur Ave have been mentioned. Astoria still has some great great, but also a fair amount of Brazilian, Middle Eastern, etc. Atlantic Ave has good Middle Eastern.

In Manhattan, Molyvos is an excellent restaurant, but is well-priced by midtown standards, whch means expensive. And definitely skip Carnegie and Stage Delis, go to Katz's if you want deli (or Forest Hills). If you are in Garment District, great Korean places nearby (Han Bat, Kang Suh, etc). Or go down to Chelsea--I liked Trestle on Tenth, very interesting list and good food. You're also close to 9th Ave food stretch, which though near Times Square has some interesting food (Indonesian!) at good prices.

If you have specific interests, let me know. And let us know if you're interested in an offline.

Our go to place in Manhattan is Les Halles on Park Av between 28th & 29th. The food and athmosphere are tops and prices are right. There are plenty of entrees in the teens and you can get a fillet steak with Bearnaise for $28. This is Park Av South, so don't be afraid. http://www.leshalles.net/ny_park.php

Agree with the recommendation for Katz's Deli on Houston. The best corned beef or pastrami sandwiches you can get anywhere.