Dining
Yikes! The last time I googled “NYC Restaurants” there were 8,890,000 results … allow me to narrow it down for you.
Help yourself to my personally-selected NYC restaurant recommendations, grouped by neighborhood, and chosen with fun for women travelers in mind. (And for those of you who want to dig a little, see below, where I’ll share my favorite resources for finding more info.)
LIPSTICK GETAWAYS NYC RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS
Click on the neighborhood links below for my recommendations, which also include all the information you need: addresses, phone numbers, web addresses, subway directions, and hours.
Upper East Side
Close to museums, upscale shopping, and Central Park.
Upper West Side
Includes specific recommendations for pre- or post-Lincoln Center dining.
Midtown East
Close to sightseeing and shopping.
Midtown West
Close to sightseeing, shopping, and theater. Includes specific recommendations for pre-theater dining.
Flatiron/Gramercy/Union Square
Home of many of NYC’s top restaurants.
Greenwich Village
A charming area for exploring and wandering; replete with interesting restaurants and nightlife.
SoHo/NoLita/Little Italy
Shopping, gawking, galleries, wandering; lots of dining options.
Tribeca/Lower Manhattan
I only have a few listings here; includes some top NYC dining destinations.
FOR MORE INFO: My favorite resources for researching NYC dining.
Websites
www.nymag.com
The online edition of New York magazine could easily be the only site you need for restaurant information. It’s also an excellent general resource for New Yorkers and visitors. The easy-to-use restaurant search feature allows you to search by cuisine, neighborhood, price range, special features, star rating, and more. Each listing includes address, cross street, web address, cuisine, price range, hours, subway stops, information on reservations and payment, a brief review, recommended dishes, and user reviews if available.
www.nyc.com
Another terrific, comprehensive website for NYV residents and visitors. Provides extensive restaurant listings, information on addresses, hours, etc., reviews, and a helpful “search” function similar to nymag.com. Editorial ratings and user reviews are included.
www.zagat.com
The online service offering access to all of Zagat Survey’s worldwide restaurant ratings and reviews. Some info is available with a free registration; but you need to subscribe for full access (about $20-$25 per year or $4-$5 for a 30 day subscription). You might want to purchase the portable-sized Zagat guidebook, updated annually (see below).
Guidebooks
You can find many of the following at your local bookstore, and should find all of them on Amazon.
For a portable guidebook devoted to restaurants, I recommend either Time Out New York: Eating and Drinking (written by reviewers) or the Zagat Survey’s New York City Restaurants guide (based on surveys of diner’s experiences.)
For perusing at home before a trip, I like Fodor’s New York City and Fodor’s See It: New York City (the latter is a little more portable.)
Gerry Frank’s excellent, comprehensive guidebook, Where To Find It, Buy It, Eat It In New York has over 150 pages devoted to NYC dining, including a quick reference guide by neighborhood, an “exclusive list” of his favorites, a list categorized by food and atmosphere, and a section with full reviews. At 580+ pages, it’s a pretty hefty tome, so I usually keep it in my hotel room to consult in between outings.
Savvy in the City: New York: A See Jane Go Guide To City Living by Jayne Young and Sheridan Becker has scores of delightful recommendations, all from a decidedly feminine perspective. Fun reading, too!
