A running list, in the order they came to mind, of favorite restaurants:
Coco Pazzo, La Esquina, Raoul's, Chin Chin, Rosa Mexicano (East Side), Orsay, E.A.T., Pastis, Balthazar, Matsuri, Ye Waverly Inn, Francisco's Centro Vasco, Indochine, El Teddy's, Cafe Cluny, Carlyle Hotel (Bemelman's Bar), P.J. Clarke's, Serafina, La Lunchonette, Cafe Boulud, Freeman's, Sant Ambroeus, Rickshaw Dumpling, Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, Bar Pitti, Kelley & Ping, Nobu and Nobu Next Door, Odeon.
[more]Kate & Andy Spade
Clinton
Clinton, the phoenix of Hell's Kitchen, is a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood that runs from 34th to 57th Streets, west of Eighth Avenue. Old, sometimes charming buildings host restaurants on their first floors and the last of many of the reasonably priced New York City apartments above. You will see retired men and women walking their dogs in pajamas by chic new eateries. Clinton is home to Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theatre, offering outstanding performances and dance classes to the general public, and the Actors Theatre Workshop.