The Oak Room

Ah yes, the Oak Room at the Plaza. The pinnacle of 5th Ave's tourist's attractions (2nd just after the now-closed Tavern on the Green). Step right up and pay $75 for a brunch! It's a great place to go if you have people in town - i.e. either friends for brunch or clients for dinner, but definitely not a place I would go when I want to meet up with buddies. Great, fantastic food. Service was professional (as expected).

Spice Market

One of Jean Georges' restaurant has been a hit with a lot of people, but not for me. They basically serve a $30 per plate asian-street food where you can get it for less than 50 cents anywhere in Asia. Truly not worth the money. Also, since it's located in meatpacking hell, this restaurant is a hot spot for debutant wannabees. So overall, this restaurant is a thumbs down for me. Not a great crowd, pretentious wannabees, overpriced food.

Masa

This was one of my splurges of the year. I've luckily been there twice now. Impossible to get reservations, but such a great restaurant to go to. I have to be honest, the flavors are extremely sophisticated for me. The menu seems simple: tuna, lobster, beef, sushi rolls (of course)... but what comes out are these small plates of artwork. Artwork that you can see, touch, taste and experience. It's pretty amazing. But, it is extremely expensive to go there. You don't come here to get 'full' on food. You come here for the tasting experience.

Quite honestly, I think I rather to go to Nobu. You won't get the same experience, but you'll get the same type of sophisticated flavors with much more affordable prices.

Masa is impossible to get reservations, but you can always do a walk in at Bar Masa. You'll get a similar menu, and you can pick and choose your budget range.

Masa and Bar Masa is located in the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle.

Sushi Samba on Park

This is a great place to go for unique sushi flavors. There are two rooms, the red room and the main room. The red room can get a bit loud, but it's still a great place to catch up with friends. Get the Chawan Mushi that's only available in the summer time. The sea bass is a bit of a cliche, but it's good. Tons of sushi plates to try from. Some are hits, some are misses.

This awesome restaurant is located on Park Ave. close to 20th street.

Buddakan

Buddakan is one of those expensive places where you have to try, at least once. It has a beautiful decor and beautiful lighting. Not to mention beautiful people. It's a gorgeous restaurant, but with a hefty price. Located in the Meatpacking district, I think this restaurant has become a bit of a cliche. After being shown on that movie, tourists and first-timers love to come here and just order appetizers, which annoys me because the food here is actually really really good.

Food? I love the Sechuan Crusted Rib Eye. Pecking Duck is amazing. Lobster is great. And the Sea Bass is very yummy.

Buddakan
75 9th Ave New York, NY 10011 Get Directions

(212) 989-6699

* approximate times

- buddakannyc.com

Forge

You have to go to Forge. It is an awesome restaurant. It's new American food cooked up by Marc Forgione. The food here is amazing. It changes depending on what's fresh in the market. I had the Foie Gras and the Chicken Nuggets. Yum. The name 'nuggets' is misleading, but these balls of chickens are delicious. The scallop, the duck and the ribs are all delicious. The crowd here is great too. Not pretentious, but low-key down to earth people. The waitstaff are excellent. Definitely recommended!

Forge
134 Reade St New York, NY 10013 Get Directions

(212) 941-9401

* approximate times

- www.marcforgione.com

Nobu

I was fortunate enough to go to Nobu several times and try their Omakase dinners. It's basically a set of 7-8 courses that the chef prepares for you for the evening. There are different levels of Omakase. I've only tasted the 'low' and 'middle' priced. It's an amazing experience in a beautiful restaurant. The price is high, but really worth it.

Surprisingly though, I think the sushi at Nobu is a bit bland. I think they've done a spectacular job on their main course dishes. If you ever get the broiled black cod or the baby abalone, then it's your lucky night.

Nobu

105 Hudson St

New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-0500

Balthazar

I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. On one hand, I enjoy the food, but sometimes the crowd can be very annoying. And the waitstaff can get very snotty. But the food is great. So if you can tolerate the crowd (tourists and pretentious crowd), just get your friends together and be in your own bubble and ignore everyone else. You're good to go, because you'll definitely enjoy the food.

Balthazar is in SoHo on Spring St. (just right by Broadway)

Craftsteak

I think this is one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city. I have a soft spot for high-ceiling restaurants - especially in NYC. I went to Craftsteak with a friend on a very late night reservation. Unfortunately, we didn't really order any steaks because we weren't feeling steaks by 11 pm. So we ended up ordering the chicken and fish - which were actually very good. Also, you need to order tons of sides with the main dishes, which can drive up your bill. I think this is a great restaurant for those with large groups that want to stay for hours.

Benihana

Aaah. Benihana. The classic tourist destination. I admit, this tepanyaki restaurant can be somewhat of a cliche. But I'm going to be honest, I always enjoy myself when I eat here. The chef's acrobatic cooking stunts can be fun to watch. And I always love seeing how my food is cooked. Things are classically Japanese-American. And they're always good. The Surf and Turn has always been my favorite.

Gilt

Gilt is located in the New York Palace Hotel. This beautiful restaurant offers New American dining at its best. Everything is served in either a Prix Fixe or a Tasting menu. And the menu changes every now and then. And everything is excellent. The atmosphere here is a bit stuffy though, not relaxing at all. So it's a great place to have business dinners where you 'kinda' need to set a budget for people. Just order a bottle of wine for the table and you're all set.

BLT Prime

I've posted five Asian restaurants in a row now. Let's go somewhere else. BLT is an expensive steak restaurant. I enjoyed the food, but didn't quite enjoy the atmosphere. It was a bit too stuffy for me. I had a steak... good... but not memorable. I actually enjoyed their side dishes much more than the steaks. Someone else actually paid for me, so I didn't complain. Hah.

Craftbar

Craftbar was an 'okay' experience. I like the Baby Chicken. The crowd can get a bit annoying and loud. But it's a good place to meet up with friends and move on somewhere else. Prices are a bit pricey for what you're getting. As an American dining, this restaurant loves chick peas for some reason. It's everywhere and in every dish. If you love chick peas, great. If not, then you might want to stay away from some of the popular dishes.

This place is located on Broadway near 20th st.

Pastis

Pastis is one of those restaurants that you have to eat at, at least once. I always go there when I have a few friends from out of town. Brunch is always good, atmosphere is good, prices are a bit much. But overall, it's worth the money. I always get the Burger for brunch. My friends like the pate, but I think the taste is a bit too smokey. The Lobster is quite amazing here if you're in the mood for it. Plus, you have to experience the Meatpacking-brunch-hype sooner than later, this restaurant is a great place to start that.

This resturant is located across the Gansevoort Hotel in Meatpacking on W. 12th.

duvet

A copycat of Bed. However duvet still has its own identity and crowd. The crowd can get a bit much and annoying, but they're fun to dance with. Food is good, but the concept of eating a steak on a bed is a bit tricky. You're really there for the 'after dinner' crowd. It's not really a place to dine. You can reserve a 'bed' for dinner and keep it throughout the night, but every party on your bed must order dinner. Dinner can get pretty expensive for what you get. I had the sliders and it was upwards of 30 bucks. Overall, it was a good experience. Do I want to come back? sure.

This place is located on 21st st. in a row full of clubs - near 5th.

Buddha Bar

I went to Buddha Bar out of pure vanity. I wanted to see what the fuss was about. And to be quite frank, I wasn't that impressed. Food was overpriced and the restaurant itself is a glamorized Chinese restaurant with better lighting. Gee, let's put a huge golden Buddha in the middle of the room and call it Buddha Bar. There's a concept. The food itself was not memorable at all. Asian fusion category gets lost in translation these days. It's worth checking this place for drinks (and their CD store), but not the food.

This place is located in the Meatpacking district. It's on the west side of W. 12th. Just around the block from Pastis.

Sushi of Gari

I was at Sushi of Gari because everyone keeps talking about their Omakase Sushi menu. And I must agree, it's quite good. This small place in Hell's Kitchen presented some of the most interesting sushi tastes I've ever experienced. And they're all created (or designed) to eat without soy sauce - which is awesome. Soy sauce is always high in sodium and I'm a health nut anyway.

Try out this place when you need to impress someone who loves sushi. It's located on the north side of 47th St between 8th/9th in the restaurant row.