A Culinary Visit to New York

When it comes to dining out in the United States – or perhaps even the entire planet – there just is no place like New York. The Guru has extensive dining experience, and he says this without the slightest hesitation. A recent visit confirmed this, and added more. For example, no city offers as much variety in ingredients, cooking styles and price, and New York has no competition in terms of availability, either. Hundreds, maybe thousands of restaurants are crammed in every nook and cranny all over the city. No matter which way you turn, on almost any street corner, there are tempting restaurants, from palaces to pushcarts. Every ethnicity is represented, and every one offers sub-categories, offshoots and offspring. The experimental diner will have more choice than one can imagine, and the steak-and-potatoes person, or the vegetarian, will find more-than enough sites to enjoy those, or any other, special meals. Yes, many New York restaurants are outrageously expensive, but far more of them offer modestly priced meals. And drinks can carry a meal into the highest of price categories. Alcohol is expensive; a cocktail or three can double the dinner bill. So can wine, but in that area, at least, there are far more bargains. The listing below, in alphabetical order, covers the places we visited. We had some new tastes, and many familiar ones, and all of them met the test of, "Would we go back on another visit?" Several have been tabbed, "We will go back again on another visit," and a few rate "We will go back again on our next visit." We also dabbled in street food here and there whenever we needed a nosh (Yiddish for a between-meals snack) and found that some of the best late-night people-watching, and some elegant pastries, snacks and drinks were available at the bar of Jean-George, the west side outpost of super-chef Jean-George Vongerichten in the Trump Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle. Amma, 246 East 51st St., 212-644-8330 – An upscale Indian restaurant in a converted, crowded brownstone on the east side. A high school classmate, travel writer Arthur Frommer, who I see on his occasional visits to St. Louis, was sitting at the next table with his wife and some friends. The use of the very hot Indian oven known as the tandoori brings splendid flavor and the traditional reddish color to lamb chops and roast chicken, and even salmon is turned into something special with a marinade before roasting.  Idli upma is a first course of steamed cakes made of rice flour and ground mung beans, which chef-owner Suvir Saran heightens with spicy tomato chutney and creamy coconut chutney on the side, plus toppings like mustard seeds, curry leaves or coriander. Fried okra shows extremely different flavor and texture when it is dusted with chickpea flour and served with a strange, unusual and delicious dressing. Lamb chops with pear chutney are wondrous. Rice comes alongside, but served in an unusual manner. Three balls, red, yellow and green, are spiced with tomato, lemon and mint, respectively, bringing an entire new flavor and look. Mango lassi, thick, redolent of mango and slightly more tart than usual, makes for a glorious dessert. Bali Nusa, 651 Ninth Ave. (45th Street), 212-265-2200 – Indonesian fare in a small, narrow spot in the theater district, where all the restaurants are prepared to serve three courses in under an hour to meet curtain times. The restaurant is a bargain, with only two entrees as much as $15, and all rice or noodle dishes under $8.50. The traditional rijsttafel, a multi-course meal with many different Indonesian dishes, is available without advance notice. The menu is large, heavy on seafood, nicely spiced with peanut sauces and Javanese soy sauce. Fish mousse, wrapped in a banana leaf, was a tasty starter, as was Javanese fisherman's soup, hearty with soft fish and shellfish and a nice tang of ginger. Chicken curry was milder than the Indian variety, closer to the Thai style, but with a nice flavor of cardamom and tasty vegetables. Stir-fried calamari, with black bean sauce and snappy green peppers, was outstanding. Barney Greengrass, 541 Amsterdam Ave. (86th Street), 212-724-4707 – A classic Upper West Side Jewish delicatessen, self-crowned "The Sturgeon King" and the sort of place that exists only in New York. Superior smoked fish, whether sturgeon or salmon, and brilliant herring, with or without sour cream. Pickles abound, waiters deal off the arm in rapid-fire style. The preparation is simple, the ingredients are perfect. Bagels are in New York style – boiled before being baked, hard enough to soothe teething children – and Bialys (short for a type of roll baked in Bialystok, Russia) are chewy and delicious. Omelets, with salami or tongue, or scrambled eggs with onions and smoked salmon (lox, a word that means smoked salmon in both Yiddish and Norwegian), are steaming hot and delicious, and for a real treat, kippers (smoked herring) are a smoky, bony delight. One of my all-time favorite breakfast places, it also serves delicatessen pastrami or corned beef sandwiches for lunch and sells superb smoked and pickled meat and fish at retail. Café Luxembourg, 200 West 70th St., 212-873-7411 – A charming French bistro on the Upper West Side, with an eclectic clientele and a zinc-topped bar that is a throwback to Left Bank cafes in the Paris of the 1920s. They boast a wide-ranging French-American menu with hearty stews and soups. On a chill evening, a platter of several different sausages from various parts of France, with a dab of sauerkraut and some splendid Alsatian mustard, made for a winning first course. A seafood dish rarely seen in St. Louis, skate, was a treat: The flat skate, with wings that taste a little like scallops, is broiled to bring out all its flavor, served simply with excellent French fries. A lobster roll, with chunks of lobster mixed with mayonnaise and perhaps a little sour cream, and some finely chopped onion, served on a perfectly toasted roll, was ideal, and even the fact that the lemon tart was below par didn't bother us, mainly because a bottle of rose from Bandol, right on the Mediterranean, was so satisfying. Cascina, 647 Ninth Ave. (45th Street), 212-245-4422 – On the way to the theater, and by sheer coincidence, this is next door to Bali Nusa. It's a little wider, and a long bar takes up the front half, with sufficient room in the back to make it look like a café in a small Tuscan town, with busy waiters and a jumbo-sized maitre d'/owner/manager welcoming, seating and chatting. Lots of pizza and pasta, in addition to Italian specialties, and octopus carpaccio was a winner. Sliced very thin, then marinated, the sea creature was flavorful and tender. A sushi bar was the only site previously found for raw octopus, and this was flavored differently, but was equally tasty. Ravioli d'Alba, fresh pasta stuffed with several types of mushrooms and some truffle oil, was superb, and so was a pizza topped with tomatoes and anchovies. Thankfully, provel has not migrated to New York, or if it had, is has been rejected. Craftbar, 43 East 19th St., 212-780-0880 – Tom Colicchio was the first chef for St. Louis native Danny Meyer at the Union Square Café some 15 years ago and he since has opened three places a few blocks away. Craft, next door, is the more formal restaurant, with Craftbar a step down in formality and 'Wichcraft, a sandwich stop on the other side, even less so. But the bar and light-meal establishment is a brilliant addition to the Gramercy Park neighborhood, from lunch to late-night. Hearty split pea soup, with chunks of ham and a few fresh, superior croutons was a perfect first course for lunch, and a plate of anchovies, marinated in olive oil and not nearly as salty as those we usually see, was ideal with some greens and fresh bread. That old warhorse, tuna salad, benefitted from the addition of some capers and a garlic-heightened vinaigrette. Hot chocolate, filled with homemade marshmallows and seasoned with cardamom, was all the dessert necessary. We were eating lightly and quickly because we had an appointment across town, but it was not our first trip to Craftbar and it was just as good as it had promised a year or two ago. Grand Harmony, 98 Mott St., 212-226-2603 – Dim sum in the heart of Chinatown, in a huge room that seats about 500 people and felt like similar giant dining rooms in Hong Kong and Vancouver. The tables all seat 10 or 12, and if your party is less, then you share the table. There were very few non-Asian faces in the entire dining room at a Saturday lunch, but parties that included two, three, even four generations were prevalent, all chattering and eating. The noise level was high, the food wonderful. Parades of young servers pushing carts, in the same manner as St. Louis dim sum spots, were a constant presence and the food spanned a spectrum – dumplings of all types with many different fillings, rice noodles the size of cannelloni with shrimp, meat and rice balls that reminded us of Italian aranccini, mainly stuffed with sweet Chinese sausage, spare ribs, all kinds of steamed vegetables, some with fish sauce, sweet custard tarts, bowls of won ton soup, steaming pots of tea. A real feast with an almost overwhelming variety of dishes, many of which St. Louis diners never see. Iridium, 1650 Broadway (51st Street), 212-582-2121 – A basement music club most of the time, Iridium was a return to the past to have brunch while listening to Bob Dorough and his quartet. Before Dorough was the writer, performer and soul of "Schoolhouse Rock," he sang and played around the country, and one of his stops was in Gaslight Square, where he starred as Dove Linkhorn, the hero of Nelson Algren's picaresque novel, "A Walk on the Wild Side," which was turned into a musical with music and lyrics by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman. She was in New York recently for a cabaret appearance and Dorough sang with her. He and his group do a jazz brunch on Sundays, and it was a delight. The food was surprisingly good, and plentiful, with outstanding pastries and fresh fruit. The music was not only a happy time but also a chance to refresh our multiplication tables. Nice Matin, 201 West 79th St., 212-873-6423 – Part of a small restaurant group that deals in French regional cuisine, this busy, popular, noisy spot on the Upper West Side works with the fare known as Nicoise, as in the salad, taken from the name of the bustling, stylish Riviera town. We started with panisses, sold as a street food along the Mediterranean. They look like French fries, but they're made of chickpea flour and then deep fried. They're a little heavier than potatoes, but have their own flavor and are equally crisp and habit-forming. A tasty dip came alongside. Middle Eastern hummus also provided a fine snack with a drink. Pissaladiere, the southern France equivalent of a pizza, was crisp and cheesy, topped with some splendid tomatoes. Stuffed sardines, a long-time favorite that is hard to find in most places outside France or New York, were brilliant. These are larger sardines than the ones in the can, about the size of a smelt, and they're boned, stuffed with bread crumbs and garlic and parsley, then grilled. A winner under any circumstances. Dinner brought some of the best sweetbreads I've ever had, perfectly grilled to be sweet and delicious. The other main course was mackerel that had a flavor as if the fish had just come from the ocean. A light, lovely hint of fennel heightened the flavor, and a superior French hard cider was an ideal accompaniment. A gingerbread dessert was unusual, and showed off a pleasant pungency. New York desserts are being offered in smaller sizes this year, making it less conscience-stressing to indulge. Fans of French regional cooking can get information on the group's other restaurants, representing Paris, Lyon, Brittany, Marseilles, Toulouse and Alsace, from www.tourdefrance.com. Union Square Café, 21 East 16th St., 212-243-4020 – Danny Meyer's first New York restaurant remains a landmark even though he has opened four others, all equally successful. Reservations are vital. I asked Meyer about the reports he was to locate a restaurant here in St. Louis, and he laughed with a touch of sadness. "I'd love to," he said, "but it's very difficult to run restaurants in more than one city. More than one location is tough enough. Besides, my wildest nightmare would be to have my Mom call and tell me that she and some friends had been to lunch – and had a poor experience." Anyway, Union Square is an eclectic, all-American restaurant with some Italian touches and a wide-ranging menu that offers something for everyone. Service is matchless and the wine list is stupendous. Roast suckling pig and a perfect roast duck, with lots of fresh vegetables from as many local purveyors as the restaurant can find, made for an elegant meal, accompanied by a delightful splurge on a bottle of 1995 Mercurey. Sadly, the banana tart that had been a highlight of the dessert list, has become individual banana tarts with considerably less oomph. Veselka, 144 Second Ave. (9th Street), 212-228-9682 – "Ukranian soul food in the heart of the East Village," boasts this long-time fountain and 24-hour eatery where time has stands still in some areas, but others have seen a "two-cents plain" rise to 50 cents for a glass of unadorned seltzer, and a perfect, old-fashioned egg cream, once a nickel, now costs $2.25. The food is on the heavy side, but it's rich and delicious and reminds the Guru of his childhood. Mushroom-barley soup is almost as thick as stew and blintzes, or crepes, filled with farmer's cheese, also known as pot cheese and merely a richer version of cottage cheese, were glorious. Stuffed cabbage, available with or without meat, is another tasty and filling meal, and potato pancakes are exceptional. Artists, neighborhood folk, college students and others hang out at Veselka, and the countermen put on a gruff act for the tourists, trying to convince them that this really is New York. Morning, noon, night or any time in between – Manhattan is a special place.