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A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE
by Carole Kotkin
The leaders of cuisine’s new wave are scattered around
the city, often in once-marginal neighborhoods like TriBeca (Triangle Below
Canal), SoHo (South of Houston) or the meat-packing district. A good way to
sample the city is to visit a neighborhood you’ve never been. Consider the
meat-packing district, a collection of warehouses in West Greenwich Village that
is part trendy, part industrial, where you can still see sides of beef hanging
next door to stylish boutiques and restaurants. Like SoHo in the 1970’s, this
district is evolving swiftly, with art galleries, restaurants like Pastis
Brasserie, and smart shops, such as Jeffrey New York, sandwiched neatly between
two butchers. The block-deep Chelsea Market is a New York-style mall of vendors
including Amy’s Bread, Sarabeth’s Bakery, and Ronnybrook Farm Dairy.The Food
Network will soon locate its new studios and test kitchens here.
Although the other boroughs have a huge selection of ethnic
markets, Manhattan is the center for worldly gourmets. Whatever you want can be
found—white truffles, artisan Spanish cheese, caviar? You’ll find them all
and more at Balducci’s, Zabar’s, Dean & DeLuca or the Vinegar
Factory. Zabar’s is worth a visit if only to watch the deli-masters slice
smoked salmon so thin you can read through it. It will be hard to resist this
vast and enticing selection of foods. You’re likely to go home with more than
you bargained for, so bring an extra suitcase and some bubble wrap. Hotels
The Regency, a Loews Hotel, 540 Park Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10021, 212-759-4100. Home of the power breakfast and Feinstein’s at the Regency, the nightclub of New York. $450 and up, double occupancy. One block from Barneys, Bloomingdales, and Fifth Avenue. Restaurants:
Gabriel’s Bar and Restaurant, 11 W. 60th St.,
212-956-4600. Warm, comfortable atmosphere and good Northern Italian food.
Walking distance to Lincoln Center. Favorite among celebrity set. Jackson Diner, 37-47 74th Street, Jackson Heights.Voted by
Zagat Survey, “best Indian food” in Queens.
Luahn, 59 Fifth Avenue. Modern translations of classic
seafood dishes. Celebrity hang-out.
Peacock Alley, Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Chef Laurent Gras’
formerly with famed chef Alain Ducase. The New York Times gave this their
highest rating.
Regency, 540 Park Avenue. Home of New York City’s
ultimate power breakfast where multi-million dollar mergers and acquisitions are
negotiated over fresh orange juice.
Vine, 25 Broad Street. A new culinary venture--restaurant,
bar, café, gourmet market and catering service.
Shopping (Food, Wine, Utensils):
Citrarella, 2135 Broadway Zabars, 2245 Broadway Eat by Eli Zabar, 1064 Madison Ave. Best Cellars, 1291 Lexington Ave. 100 affordable wines
under $10.00 chosen by expert Josh Wesson. Bridge Kitchenware, 214 E. 52nd St. Every top quality
pot and pan the professional or amateur cook could want. Kitchen Arts and Letters, 1435 Lexington Ave. A
bookstore devoted exclusively to food and wine. Culinary Tours
Savory Sojourns, Addie Tomei, 155 W. 13th St.,
888-9-SAVORY, http://savorysojourns.com -Updated 12-1-00- |
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New Yorker’s like to think their city is a great
restaurant town, and it is. This is not just because it has the best restaurants
in the country, but because it is a singularly thrilling and entertaining place
to eat. There was a time you had to go to Europe to eat great food, but
not now. New York chefs have played huge roles in creating several major food
revolutions and they’re at it once more. For if anywhere in the United States
will see the rebirth of challenging sophisticated cooking, it is in New York,
where restaurants finally are creating the American cuisine we deserve. First of
all, there are a number of venerable restaurants that set high standards such as
L’Actuel, Nobu, Gotham Bar and Grill, Aureole, and Union Pacific. And
secondly, New York is one of the country’s capitals of culinary
experimentation. Nothing seems to intimidate the local chefs, who open
restaurants with Las Vegas looks and Disneyland concepts. These bold steps work.
As Warner LeRoy of Tavern on the Green and the Russian Tea Room, explains,
“Restaurants are entertainment. They’re like Broadway shows. And New York
restaurants, like New York theater, are the best. If you do it well here, it
will work.” And New York’s restaurants continue to draw attention exactly
because of their stylish designs and adventurous menus. Spearheaded by New York
City’s annual summer restaurant week, restaurants are finding ways to fill
their restaurants day after day with satisfied diners. The secret is no secret at
all—offer them good value and they’ll come back for more. More than 100 of
the city’s best restaurants participate in Restaurant Week, a week in which
restaurants offer a three course lunch for $20.00 (not including wine and
gratuity). Restaurant week was the brain-child of Tim Zagat, founder and
president of the Zagat Survey, in 1991 as a tactic to fill restaurants during
the slow time. “Restaurant Day and Restaurant Week exemplify why New York city
is generally considered the best restaurant city in the World, “ Zagat said.
Many of the restaurants continue this offer through Labor Day. Building on the
success of Summer Restaurant Week, Winter Restaurant Week was launched last
year. 
At the tip of Manhattan, where it all began, is Wall Street
and the Financial District. Once a restaurant wasteland, lower Manhattan
now has lots more to offer than just Dot Com frenzy. It’s one of New York’s
hottest new neighborhoods—a square mile of water vistas, world-class shopping
and top-notch restaurants. Historical sights include the U.S. Customs House,
Trinity Church, Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. It was here in 1827
that two Swiss brothers opened Delmonico’s, a brand-new concept called a
“restaurant.” The newest concept in dining, The Vine is housed in the bank
vault of the historic Exchange building. The vaults, intended for private
parties, are below ground. At street lever diners are offered a seasonal menu of
American bistro dishes and a delightful food market.
Travelers to New York City are usually indefatigable,
roaming through Times Square’s neon glow, climbing the heights of the Empire
State Building, and filling boats bound for the
Statue of Liberty. But rarely do they cross the river to the outer-boroughs,
whose residents contemptuously are termed “the Bridge-and-Tunnel-Crowd, by Manhattanites who live in “the city.” Addie Tomei, owner of Savory Sojourns,
helps out-of-towners combine their interest in restaurants and food into the
perfect New York Culinary vacation. Addie knows everyone--the grocers, chefs,
butchers, even people walking along the streets, all of whom she greets with
hugs and kisses. She’ll arrange for cooking classes or make dining
reservations at places you couldn’t get into. She leads groups as small as 6
and as large as 26 on 5 to 6 hour tours all over New York City. A retired
English teacher, Addie’s an exciting enthusiastic woman, much like her
daughter, Academy Award winning actor, Marisa Tomei. Once you meet her, you’ve
found a new best friend. I only wish I had known about Addie on
previous visits. Instead I plowed through guidebooks and spoke to friends and
friends of friends, most of whom had never visited any place outside of
Manhattan. Addie gives you an insider’s view into the culinary and cultural
heart of New York City and its many diverse neighborhoods. I had never
been to Queens except in a cab on my way from Kennedy or LaGuardia airport to
midtown. Only a 15 minute subway ride from Manhattan, Queens neighborhoods of
Jackson Heights and adjoining Astoria, Elmhurst, Woodside and Flushing are home
to the newest wave of immigrants in the Northeast. You can sample a dozen exotic
cuisines at food markets and restaurants clustered in the space of a few
blocks—South American, Greek, Indian, Italian, or Asian. 
L’Actuel, 145 E. 50th St., 212-583-0001. This is New
York’s brasserie of the moment featuring delicious modern French
cuisine. Chef/owner
Jean-Yves Schillinger is a Michelin-starred Alsatian chef.
Layla, 211 W. Broadway, The newest of Drew Nieporent-Robert
DiNiro’s restaurants; this one has middle eastern food in an exotic setting;
belly-dancing nightly.
Payard Patisserie and
Bistro, 1032 Lexington Avenue.
Regional French breakfast, lunch, and dinner served. Chef Francois Payard’s
pastries are as beautiful and delicious as rare gems. Chef Philippe
Bertineau’s bistro classics will transport you to Paris.
Petrossian Café &
Boutique, 911 Seventh Ave. French
chef Philippe Conticini assembles incredible pastries and savories; ice creams
made to order on the spot; along with caviar and smoked fish.
Roy’s, 130 Washington St., 212-266-6262. Roy
Yamaguchi, the owner of Roy’s Restaurants in Hawaii, Seattle, California and
Tokyo has come east to New York featuring Euro-Asian fusion cuisine.
Russian Tea
Room, 150 W. 57th St. Right near Carnegie
Hall, this landmark restaurant was reborn under the tutelage of Warner LeRoy.
Four floors of dazzling interior design. A “must see” destination.