"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
Need a snack?
When your blood sugar drops precipitously between scouring MOMA's many floors and a rousing skate at Wolman Rink, you might stop by a Korean deli for a pick-me-up. Don't overlook the city's other ubiquitous font of snacks: health food stores. No longer do these stores' foods taste indistinguishable from their packaging. Along most of the avenues you'll find these often yellow-awning'd stores packed with snackables, from dried nuts and fruits to actually tasty soy sandwiches, bento boxes, and usually fresh-squeezed vegetable and fruit juices.