Special Dining Experiences

Food Splurge: Places to Empty Your Wallet

New York can often be silly with excess, especially when it comes to food. This is, after all, the city where a restaurant offers a seasonal double-truffle burger for $99, and a breakfast joint recently pushed a caviar-stuffed frittata (that's an omelet with salty fish eggs) for $1,000. But in this city, there is never a shortage of people who are willing to fork it over just for the pleasure of eating in a restaurant with a bunch of stars from some prestigious reviewer. The waiting lists for reservations at these places are sometimes months long. We, of course, would never waste our hard-earned money on such a frivolous thing as perfectly prepared and presented food in a memorable environment where the customer is really treated like royalty. Or would we?

Well, you only live once. So if you are going to go for it, here are five of New York's most expensive and best restaurants:

Daniel, 60 E. 65th St., between Madison and Park avenues (tel. 212/288-0033; www.danielnyc.com). Neo-Renaissance features -- rich mahogany doors, elegant Corinthian columns, and a soaring terra-cotta-tiled ceiling -- make an ideal setting for acclaimed chef Daniel Boulud's faultless classic-goes-country French cooking. His eight-course tasting menu goes for $175, while you can get away relatively cheap here with a three-course prix-fixe for $96.

Jean-Georges, in the Trump International Hotel & Tower, 1 Central Park West, at 60th Street/Columbus Circle (tel. 212/299-3900; www.jean-georges.com). Another New York Times four-star winner, the signature restaurant of Jean-Georges Vongerichten is the ultimate special-occasion restaurant. And it better be a special occasion if you are going to shell out around $100 for his tasting menu, not including wine.

Le Bernardin, 155 W. 51st St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues (tel. 212/554-1515; www.le-bernardin.com). Always one of the top New York restaurants in the Zagat guide, Le Bernardin also garnered four stars from the New York Times. So I guess it must be good. One of these days, when I save up enough money to pay for the $150 tasting menu, I hope to find out.

Masa, 10 Columbus Circle (tel. 212/823-9800). This sushi joint in the Time Warner Center became a major conversation piece when the Times gave it four stars. The conversation was not so much about the undoubtedly exquisite sushi prepared by genius chef/owner Masayoshi Takayama, but more about the price, starting at $300 and sometimes climbing to $500 per person for the chef's omakase (chef's choice) lunch or dinner.

The Essential New York Eating Itinerary

New York has countless restaurants of quality and variety. If you want a sampling of true New York cuisine, follow the "required eating" itinerary below. Whether you jam the stops below into 1, 2 or 3 days, a gargantuan appetite is required.

1. Bagels with Lox

Start your food tour at Barney Greengrass, the Sturgeon King (541 Amsterdam Avenue; tel. 212/724-4707), where they have been making that famous combination, bagels and lox, since 1908. If there is anything more satisfying than a fresh, out-of-the-oven bagel with a schmear of cream cheese and a slice of lox, I don't know what it is. This might be one of the most popular breakfast items in New York.

2. Cuban/Chinese

There used to be dozens of Cuban/Chinese restaurants in Manhattan, most on the Upper West Side. The boom began in the late 1950's after the Cuban revolution and the beginning of the Castro regime. Chinese-Cubans emigrated to New York and opened up restaurants serving both Cantonese-style Chinese food and traditional Cuban food. A few are left, and my favorite is Flor de Mayo (2651 Broadway; tel. 212/663-5520. Here I can order a big bowl of wonton soup followed by a huge plate of yellow rice and black beans.

3. Chicken and Waffles

You're out late, maybe listening to jazz at one of Harlem's many clubs, it's getting near dawn, and you can't decide whether you want dinner or breakfast. You can't resist the fried chicken, but waffles sound good, too. So you try both -- maple syrup melding with the hot sauce; sweet with savory. The birthplace of this dish is said to be Wells Chicken and Waffles in Harlem in 1938. Wells is long gone, but chicken and waffles live on. For the best rendition, go to Amy Ruth's (113 W. 116th St.; tel. 212/280-8779) for chicken and waffles, as well as grits and fish cakes -- another outstanding combo.

4. The New York Oyster

There was a time when New York was more the Big Oyster than the Big Apple. The local harbor beds overflowed with oysters and the mollusk helped feed the city. You can recall those glory days at the Grand Central Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station (tel. 212/490-6650) where, since 1913, oysters have been the specialty. Order them on the half shell from Long Island, Washington State, Maine, Virginia, or Canada, with the Metro North commuter trains rumbling in the background. It's a true New York eating experience if there ever was one.

5. A Slice of Pizza

Toss on some red pepper or garlic, and eat it standing up to capture the grease before it stains your clothes. That's the way we've been eating pizza in New York for years. The classic New York slice, however, has been on the decline ever since the chain pizzerias have corrupted the landscape. For the best "slice" head to Joe's Pizza (7 Carmine St.; tel. 212/255-3946) in the Village, open late, satisfying your cravings.

6. The Hot Dog

This might be an obvious choice, but I don't think so. You can find carts selling cheap hot dogs throughout the city. You might be tempted to try one just to say you did. And I think you should; it definitely is a New York experience. But even better, take the train out to Coney Island and sample a Nathan's Famous dog right on the boardwalk (1310 Surf Ave.; tel. 718/946-2202). Maybe it's the salty sea air. Maybe it's the crisp skin of the hot dog, or the way it's perfectly fried. Whatever it is, you won't forget your Nathan's hot dog on Coney Island.

7. The New York Strip

Some of New York's oldest restaurants are steakhouses, and for good reason. They keep it simple. Some might have sawdust on the floors, others clay pipes on the ceiling, or photos of celebrities on the walls, but that is about as fancy as they get. What they do is serve quality, properly-aged meat cooked to perfection and presented in a no-nonsense, no frills manner. And no one does that better than Peter Luger in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (178 Broadway; tel. 718/387-7400).

8. Ice Cream with a View

If you've been able to sample the above essential New York eating experiences into 1, 2 or 3 days, finish your tour off at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (1 Water St.; tel. 718/246-3963) where the homemade ice cream is absolutely delicious and the view at river's edge of Manhattan, just below the Brooklyn Bridge, is equally stunning.