best restaurants, flatiron, gramercy, east v., les, unions.

All due respect to Eleven....I'll take Union Square Cafe every time.

I love Union Square Cafe, as much for what it represents as for what it is. what a transformational decision Danny Meyer made when he selected that location. The transformation would have happened anyway, but not in quite the same manner.

the front room at Gramercy Tavern deserves a special shout out also.

Danny Meyer = special I think. I have never had a bad meal in any of his restaurants. Although I thought his book was sort of treacly ("hug" your customers in different ways throughout their visits - things like that - I have to say that it works. For me anyway.

The only Meyer location that I don't care for is the casual portion of The Modern. Service just isn't the same, probably because the vast majority of the clientele seems to be tourists, and it would be hard for the waiters to be overly enthusiastic about forming lasting relationships with the clients under those circumstances. The fine dining room there doesn't suffer from this issue.

The book was a bit much.

i missed this the first time around...come on guys...start posting

aboutready..love the front room at gramercy tavern...

ShakeShaq
BLT Prime
BlueWater Grill

Tabla is not too shabby.

Legit non-sushi Japanese - Yokocho - 9th and 3rd Ave (Stuyvesant St.)

let's turn this to best and best value. julia, try cacio e vino, i coppi, peasant (if you can tolerate the pretensions of a non-english menu), little giant, perbacco (snotty attitude, sometimes, not as cheap), apizz, pylos, absinthe, buenos aires. barbossa, mercadito, brick lane, novita, bar stuzichini, bar breton, bread bar at tabla, pamplona, giorgio's.

Also consider Mermaid Inn, Hearth, Knife&Fork, Prune, Tamarind, A Voce, CraftBar (like more than the other version) for more special occasions. Haven't done the momofukus yet, so can't opine.

i could go on, which is one of the reasons i live where i do.

You live downtown, and you haven't done Momofuku. Shame on you. Don't know if it's still there, but I also like Rairaiken and the original Dumpling Man. Not to mention the banh mi places that proliferate.

I think Prune & Craftbar are over-rated, as is Mermaid Inn.

If you do make it to Momo, get the Berkshire pork appetizer buns & get the Momofuku ramen (with the egg). I can never finish but it's such good work trying.

mermaid inn, no (as in I think it's OK, although for the hood it's not superb value). prune maybe. craftbar possibly. i used to love craftbar, but honesty forces me to concede that one. but the options are fab down here.

10023, the idea of berkshire pork sets me to salivating. I know i need to do the momos, and I will. And report back. Where is Rairaiken? Don't know.

Tamarind, a voce in Flatiron.