John –
Your hotel choices are fine, though you might want to consider one of the small, boutique hotels. Hotels in NYC are among the lowest value items you will find here.
You are most certainly correct about opportunities for great food in the LA area, but after many years of touring six continents I can say in confidence that New York is one of but a small handful of great eating cities. Prepare yourself to be amazed.
The deli experience to end all deli experiences is Katz’s Delicatessen (205 East Houston St) in the lower east side – A section of town that had been at the center of immigrant melting pots for several generations (there’s even a tenement museum not far from Katz’s that deals with the area’s immigrant history). You will get the absolutely best pastrami in the world at Katz’s, but only if you follow these guidelines: Go up to the counter and order the pastrami sandwich (one will probably do for both of you) extra lean, and then, while the deli man is watching put one or two dollars into the tip cup in front of him.
Il Mulino is a classic, Northern Italian that is very tough to get into, though in the summer you’ll do better. Exactly one month to the day before you want to eat there, at 10:00 EST call to make your reservation, and then use the auto redial a few times when you get a busy signal. In fact, consider that approach for all hot restaurants in NYC. There are alternatives to Il Mulino that we prefer: Babbo (
http://www.babbonyc.com/) is Mario Batali’s flagship, and it’s lovely. However, we prefer his down market offering, Lupa (
http://www.luparestaurant.com/restaurant.html). Less pricey, but wonderfully authentic (his osso buco is as good as mine) is Crispo (
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/35177379), a place we just discovered a couple of weeks ago on West 14th. Then therei’s this little known place so far east it’s nearly in the river, L’Impero (
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/listings...rant/limpero/), and if you go be certain to have their signature polenta appetizer.
How about French? One of the most perfect restaurants in the world is Daniel (
http://www.danielnyc.com/), Daniel Boulud’s flagship. His lesser offerings (Café Bouloud and DB Bistro Moderne) are amazing, and the latter has a $25 hamburger that is actually more than worth it. Open 24 hours a day, and still hot after over a decade is Balthazar (
http://www.balthazarny.com/), and if you go for lunch or brunch be sure to order the bread basket as well as whatever else – their breads are on a par with fine bakeries in Paris and Brussels. Other French worth mentioning are Jean Georges (
http://www.jean-georges.com/), this restaurateur’s finest (and to our tastes far better than his other restaurants) offering, and very close to as good as Daniel. For seafood there is none better in the US than Le Bernardin (
http://www.le-bernardin.com/). How about places with superb food and over 100,00 bottles of wine in their cellar? Cru (last time we assembled our own tasting menu) (
http://cru-nyc.com/), or Veritas (
http://www.veritas-nyc.com/). All these restaurants continue to be superb because their rightfully celebrity chefs still supervise the restaurants, unlike so many others (such as Wolfgang Puck, whose work, we believe, suffer from his managing business and not supervising the kitchen).
How about the best chocolate you can get in North America, and one of the three best in the world (the other two are in Paris and Brussels), la Maison du Chocolat (
http://www.lamaisonduchocolat.com/co...02f3d5 872c41)
I could go on for quite some time, but you get the idea, and I can recommend that you buy a copy of Zagat’s NYC restaurant guide. But, one more: Per Se (Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame) (
http://www.frenchlaundry.com/perse/perse.htm) has been open for about two years and the reservation process is so horrid and dismal that I wanted to hate the place when I went. It is one of the best restaurants in the world.
We’ve been to many hundreds of museums on six continents and can most highly recommend the Metropolitan Museum of Art (
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp). We’ve been members since 1986 and go between 5 and 20 times a year – We’ve still not seen the entire collection.
Other information/suggestions, or to bounce ideas off me (I need to know Steed’s & Peel’s interests and expectations),
stuart.Nordheimer@verizon.net.