There's no more authentic way to start your day
in NYC than with a fresh-baked bagel, such as at
the bohemianMurray's Bagels in Greenwich
Village.
Get in line with the locals and make up
your mind among standard flavors ($1 each) and
organic options ($1.35 each) and supplemental
spreads.
If you're in the mood for a bona fide
diner experience, the East Village'sStage
Restaurant is rich in character and couldn't be
more humble in ambience and prices, slapping
down filling plates of eggs and bacon.Veselka is
another East Village favorite, serving Ukrainian
soul food (blintzes, potato pancakes, borscht) 24
hours a day.
For lunch, try the sandwich of the moment: the
Vietnamese bánh mì, sold at a number of take-
out shops.
Spicy-sweet meat (pork, beef,
chicken, steak, pâté) in a crisp baguette runs
under $10 atNum Pang, near Union Square;
Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches in the East Village
and in Downtown Brooklyn; and at Baoguette's
three branches around town. Need a hit of sugar
to make it through the afternoon? Take a
chocolate-chip-cookie break at the sublimeCity
Bakery, off of Union Square.
And who says you can't find a good, cheap
dinner in Manhattan? AtJoe's Shanghai in
Chinatown, it can be as little as $10 per person,
since dishes are shareable (don't miss the crab-
and-pork steamed buns) and pots of tea are free
(the restaurant also has locations in Midtown and
Flushing, Queens).
The landmarkArturo's, on the
edge of SoHo, has terrific coal-oven pizza and
frequent live jazz. In addition to low prices, both
bustling venues have the same brusque service
in common.
If you're not quite ready for bed, try
a low-key downtown nightspot like the Lower
East Side'sClandestino, playing good music till
4am, or The Magician, also on the Lower East
Side, where happy hour is from 5 to 8pm every
day of the week.
Doing the Scene
Balthazar is an unwavering classic: the theatrical
SoHo space is always full of movers and shakers.
Breakfast is the easiest time to snag a seat for
fresh-baked pain au chocolat and a bowl of
cappuccino. For lunch, head to David Chang's
seminal restaurant,Momofuku Noodle Bar, in the
East Village.
This media darling is known for pork
steamed buns, flavor-packed ramen and a cool
playlist on the sound system.
While you're in the East Village, fight your way
into the tinyAbraço for a café cortado.
The coffee
bar's incredibly devoted following swears it's the
best coffee in the City. The olive oil cake, among
other eclectic snacks, is also amazing. Another
sweet spot to hit nearby isDessert Club,
ChikaLicious, where the smooth-frosted, luscious
cupcakes are worthy of a magazine shoot.
Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich's Otto does not
have a happy hour, but if you find yourself in
Greenwich Village, there's no more pleasant place
to be among in-the-know New Yorkers who stop
in for an afternoon quartino of wine at the bar.
Then it's on to dinner at Keith McNally's lovingly
restoredMinetta Tavern, a bistro with loads of
Greenwich Village history and classic French fare.
For a stylish nightcap, wend your way to a
speakeasy likeDeath & Co. (in the East Village) or
Employees Only (in the West Village).
Cocktail
specialists agree that both are can't-miss.
Blowout Meals
In town for a break-the-bank birthday or
anniversary? The moneyed class can be found at
breakfast atNougatine, a sunny, contemporary
café adjacent to the infamous Jean Georges, off
Central Park. The continental breakfast here
features dreamy pastries fresh from the bakery.
Norma's, within the swanky Le Parker Meridien
hotel, offers a dizzying selection of pancakes,
French toast and egg dishes, along with a dare-
you-to-expense-it lobster frittata topped with 10
ounces of sevruga caviar for $1,000.
Daniel Boulud is one of New York's titans in the
food world, and hisdb Bistro Moderne is a
classy, fashionable spot for lunch, serving the
richest burger in town: sirloin stuffed with braised
short ribs and foie gras, sandwiched in a
Parmesan bun and accompanied by pommes
frites.
Peter Luger is far less fancy when it comes
to decor—not much has changed since it opened
in 1887—but is equally celebrated for its half-
pound prime-beef burger, offered only at lunch.
Peter Luger's highly prized, marbled steaks are
worth making the trip over the Williamsburg
Bridge to Brooklyn.
TriBeCa's gorgeous Brandy Library is the place to
whet your appetite before dinner; its catalog of
rare spirits is a real eyepopper—how about a
Pierre Ferrand cognac from 1914 or a Springbank
single malt distilled in 1969? Classic cocktails are
also on hand.
To have dinner at Batali and
Bastianich'sBabbo, which still thrills after more
than 11 years in business, means some planning
ahead. Even in this economy it's arduous to get a
prime-time dinner reservation.
When you taste
his mint love letters with spicy lamb sausage and
deconstructed osso buco for two, you'll know
why. Wind down with a drink at the luxurious
Bemelmans Bar, in The Carlyle hotel, or step into
the intimate, romantic Café Carlyle and see who's
playing jazz—it might even be Woody Allen and
The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band.
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