HELP! !NYC restaurant that is NOT booked SOLID??

[aliceinwonderland]

Argh!! I was hoping to take my parents to Babbo's (in the Village), because we found it by accident last time we were in NYC(we even walked in with no reservation) and LOVED it, but we called and they're booked solid till NEXT Saturday...we were hoping to go this Sunday...Any recomendations for neighborhood type places (with no tourists) and good food??

MANY thanks!

PS. there's 5 of us, that might make it a problem!!

[jk3]

Just a few suggestions: Blue Hill, Gavroche, Po, Friend of a Farmer (Gramercy Park), Eleven Madison + Tabla...This time of the year it's probably difficult to find a place without tourists since NYC is packed with tourists through New Years.

Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks Jenn, will try right now!

ETA: ALSO,is Lupa any good?? They seem to have really lat elunch or REALLY late dinner spots open...

[psophia17]

I thought Babbo's was a touristy spot when I was there - Mario Batali, the chef, has a bunch of shows on the Food Network.

Non-touristy spots are tough this time of year in NYC, but you can find them. When I ate there last, John's Pizzaria didn't take reservations, and it's amazing. They have two locations, one uptown and one down. I prefer the Times Square location, and they have a wider selection of stuff on the menu and more ambiance, but the downtown has good food, too. The uptown location's website is http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/index2.htm. I highly, highly recommend the calimari and tiramisu - YUM.

Again, I don't believe they take reservations, but you might want to call and check. Also, they tend to be swamped just before and just after the Broadway shows, so you're best off timing things accordingly. And they're very child-friendly.

HTH, and have a great time :)

[chrissyhowie]

Eri,

Why don't you try www.opentable.com ? It lets you see availability and book the reservation online for many NYC restaurants.

Another suggestion is Maya -- I love this restaurant.

Also, if you are thinking about Tabla, I would recommend calling to see if they have openings at their downstairs Bread Bar instead of the main restaurant. The Bread Bar lets you order a la carte versus the $51 tasting menu upstairs. (They have *fantastic* cocktails there too!)

Have a great dining experience :9!

[chrissyhowie]

Lupa is really good. All of the Batali restaurants have got great food and atmosphere.

I am totally jealous that you have eaten at Babbo. That is the restaurant that I keep hinting to my DH that would be the ultimate "surprise" dinner date for us ;), if he could ever plan ahead enough to get the reservation!

[Marisa6826]

Babbo is definitely a tourist attraction because of Mario Batali. I ate there a couple years ago for my birthday. I thought the food was nice but not "Oh my God!", IYKWIM. We did a taste menu with an accompanying wine tasting menu. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were a couple tables from us.

Hands down, my all time fave restaurant in NYC (and I've been to more than I care to admit ;) ) is Da Silvano. It's about the same level as Babbo in terms of cost. The food is amazing and the service is quite good. It's just north of Houston Street on Sixth Avenue (260 6th Ave. NYC).

Another great one, although not as high end (and not as well known) is Primativo on 14th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue (202 W. 14th St, NYC).

A very, very good friend of ours originally from Florence has gone to both these restaurants with us and swears by both of them.

Claudio used to be the manager of Primativo, but I think he left to run a new restaurant for the owner somewhere in the 50s. Their bruschetta is to die for! Even Sophie LOVES it!!! BTW, they have a great little private room toward the back for small parties (I think it can fit about 12-16 people). We have been to Primativo probably two or three times and each time the food was consistently amazing. The have a really unusual wine list too. The owners are from Tuscany.

I don't hesitate to suggest either one. Both have liquor licenses, BTW.

-m

[Marisa6826]

Friend of a Farmer is one of our old haunts. GREAT brunch!!!!

Jonathan lived off of Gramercy Park when I was dating him and we used to go there quite regularly. They have amazing corn bread ;).

-m

[Marisa6826]

Patsy's is another fabulous place for brick oven pizza. They don't take credit cards, but it's totally worth it.

They have several different locations, although the original one is on University Place at about 11th Street.

They don't take reservations, but it shouldn't be a big deal. They are also quite child friendly, although there really is no convenient place to change a dipe at hte Univeristy Place location.

What about Chinatown?? My absolute fave is The Peking Duck House on Mott Street just south of Bayard Street. We even had our rehearsal dinner there for our wedding. They DO take reservations, BTW.

-m

[aliceinwonderland]

I did NOT realise how famous this place was!! That is, until today when we were told they were booked thru next week, and DH went online and found all the raves about it...

A year or so ago when we were still in Boston we did a Chrismas getaway to NYC, and DH had made reservations at a place he found online. Then, once we got to our hotel (small one in Washington park??), we saw this little place "Babbo" accross the street and thought it was convenient and dined there instead. We walked in, with no reservations, and we got sat right away...I got the feeling it was a local neighboorhood place because the tables were so close, I got to hear the entire conversation of the ladies siting right next to us, and they were DEFINATELY New Yorkers ;)

We've been to our share of Italian restaurants, but this was completely different Italian to me. I get the feeling restaurants in NYC are a lot more adventurous than the ones back in Boston ;)

Philly I do not know because we're broke and only go out to brunch now!! p:
Thanks ladies!!