"For lunch, which, for the nature of my business, is my favorite time to go around to interesting and off the beaten path restaurants in New York City, a great place with counter service on 11th St. and 2nd Ave. is Momofuku Noodle Bar -- great soup and a major hang out for chefs and people in the restaurant business. Barbuto, in the West Village, is lots of fun. If you like Italian, Lupa in the Village is definitely one of the best. For lobster rolls, try Mary's Fish Camp – fantastic, and Fatty Crab on Hudson St. – funky place, great food. I love these places because aside from great food, they represent the most innovative ideas in restaurants. So, if you have two or three hours during the late morning / early afternoon, you can try a few of the places one after the other, like we New Yorkers do."
[more]Pino Luongo, Restaurateur & Author
Theater District
The Theater District has good bones but it’s a bit shabby and uneven--our euphemism for "don’t go it alone after dark". The famous old theaters are gorgeous from the inside, and some from the outside as well, and they share their sidewalks with neon and glittering storefronts. Many fine restaurants wedge themselves behind small entries to offer theater-goers quickly delivered meals pre-theater, and a relaxed evening for post-theater diners. Recently the area has welcomed big business with grand shiny new buildings, most notably Reuters and The New York Times. Consequently, we suspect, the area will soon be posh: even the Port Authority, which in the 1980s was home to a large number of the city’s homeless men and women, now has a restaurant with linen service.