We were meeting a friend in town, so we frantically looked for a restaurant near their hotel. We stumbled onto this randomly because it offered burgers, which seemed like an easy success. Our friend previously lived in NYC, but they were under a budget. I was able to make a same day reservation for three people at 6 PM on a Sunday evening without any issues. The restaurant is located right across the street from Madison Square Garden.
Jean-Georges is a highly rated French-ish restaurant owned by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It has garnered two Michelin Stars, and in his empire, this is his flagship restaurant. We’ve already been to several, including Jojo, Four Twenty Five, and The Fulton. This restaurant is also very easy to get a reservation a few days in advance, so you don’t really need to snipe unless you want a very popular time. Just a note that this is located across the street from Columbus Circle.
The Iron Bar and Lounge is located in the middle of the Theater District along 8th Avenue and 45th Street. We walked into this restaurant because my partner was craving for a burger, and it was between this and Junior’s. Because the World Cup festivities have just begun, there were a lot of people inside just coming early to watch sports on TVs. We were able to walk with 2 people around 4:30 PM without any reservations.
The Independent is a New American joint that is close to the Theater District. Because we had a show to catch and running out of options, we walked into this restaurant on a late Saturday afternoon without reservations. The restaurant has a pretty small menu, and it’s slightly different than your pub style food. For the price, we thought this could be a quick and good way to try this out.
Bartolo is a Madrid-style taverna in the West Village area, and it is a nod to chef/owner Ryan Bartlow’s nickname when he was working at Michelin-starred Akelarre in Spain. The restaurant when it opened was wide open for availability, but quickly became impossible without planning to get a reservation. Coincidentally the week prior, I was randomly trying to find a place to try, and I was able to book a reservation for 2 for 5:00 PM on a Friday evening. I was curious to see what this one had to offer considering we’ve been to several Spanish restaurants in the city already.
Dumpling Wang was a new restaurant that opened in Long Island City pretty recently. With the large influx of new Chinese restaurants opening, this whole area is starting to become like a mini-Flushing area. The caveat is the prices are not Flushing prices, so you’d have to wonder if the value proposition is comparable and if the food also is decently tasting. When Dumpling Wang first opened, there were large lines, and people were complaining about the service. We were able to walk in at 4:30 PM on a Sunday without any wait or issues.
Cuerno has been on our list for quite a while. We ended up seeing an early afternoon show, so I was able to book this restaurant for 5 PM for 2 the day of. Cuerno is an authentic Mexican steakhouse known for fire-grilled prime steaks, bold Northern Mexican flavors, and refined dining. Outside of the restaurant, the whole area smells like grill and charcoal. When we entered, we checked in, but we had to stand around for a few minutes.
Shmone is a Michelin-starred Greenwich Village restaurant, known for Chef Eyal Shani’s neo-Levantine cuisine. Although this is Mediterranean, I wanted to see how it represents Israeli and Middle Eastern. Keep in mind that Michelin Stars are awarded for the food alone. We were able to make a reservation a few weeks in advance without any issue. Do note that this is adjacent to their wine bar which is not their restaurant.
As we prepare to move further away from Astoria, we’ve been on a mission to try different Astoria restaurants that are the epitome of Astoria. The next one on our list is Bahari Estiatorio. This is conveniently located off the N/W Broadway exit, and it serves authentic, rustic Greek comfort food. The kitchen is open-air, so you can see the cooks making the food. When we arrived on Friday at around 6:30 PM, it was mildly packed, but we were able to walk in for 2 people.
Loukoumi Taverna was recommended and suggested online for a nice Astoria Greek restaurant. Since we’re planning to be exploring Brooklyn more, we wanted to try more quintessential Astoria restaurants. We’re huge fans of the mainstream restaurants like Taverna Kyclades and Hamido Seafood, so we wanted to see what else there was to offer. This one was raved about for the food, so we took the N-train to Ditmars and walked about 10 minutes to this restaurant. We were able to walk in for 2 people at 4:30 PM on a late Saturday afternoon.