A few touristy questions.....please help (Hope, Benson: restaurants, versus, bars)

[ohiogirl22]

I think a fun semi touristy place to eat is Cafeteria on 17th and 7th. Its open 24/7 and it's a good place to grab lunch at. Or dessert. My friends and I often stop in for Chocolate Lava cake and Lechi(?) martinis

[kap121483]

I'm from Chi-Town originally, as well, and spent a year in NY. NY ain't got NOTHIN' on our pizza and hot dogs.

Trust.

You want good pizza and hot dogs, stick with your own city's Portillo's and Giordano's.

[Coney]

Originally Posted by noladarling

KATZ is a tourist trap. 15 bucks for a sandwich? No way!

I haven't been to Katz's since they revamped the menu, but Carnegie's is the pits and not really authentic (pickles, coleslaw, and rye bread should be on the table) Probably Ben's Best (not the Ben's chain) in Rego Park is better. I don't eat at delis in Manhattan any more. There are a few Long Island ones that I like better and they do charge $12-$15 for an overstuffed sandwich.

[nycphotoguy]

Best pizza - Di Fara in Brooklyn. The Q train stops half a block away at the Ave J station.

It fits the bill of what you asked for - sells by the slice, zero ambiance, and you may have to eat at the counter. It's been open since the 60's, and only one guy has been making the pizza all those years. He's in his 70s now and moves as slow as molasses, so you'll likely wait a half hour to an hour depending on when you go, but part of the experience is watching him work. After the pie is done, he takes it out (sometimes with his bare hands, cheese still bubbling), cuts fresh basil leaves off the sprout, spreads a healthy amount of parmesan cheese that he just ran through the shredder over the pie, and pours extra virgin olive oil all over it. Everybody I've taken there leaves saying it's the best slice they've ever had.

If there's a line at the door, ignore it. There's no rhyme or reason to ordering there. Walk past it and try to get the attention of one of his kids that take orders. That's your best bet. And make sure he's open when you go. Now that he's getting up in age, he takes a couple extra days off. I think he's open wed - sun, and he takes a break from 4:30 to 6:00.

My 2nd choice would be Patsy's in East Harlem. You can get a slice there quick and cheap, it's been open since the 30's, and it's a great thin crust slice.

Enjoy!

[whosez]

Originally Posted by G.Costanza

That made no sense. You either buy a pie or a (mostly triangular) slice

I meant a triangular shaped slice

[whosez]

Originally Posted by ohiogirl22

I think a fun semi touristy place to eat is Cafeteria on 17th and 7th. Its open 24/7 and it's a good place to grab lunch at. Or dessert. My friends and I often stop in for Chocolate Lava cake and Lechi(?) martinis

Sounds good. That's not too far from where we're staying. We're on 35th between 7th and 8th

[whosez]

Taxi is picking us up in 27 hours to whisk us off to O'Hare for our flight to NYC! Very excited!!

[bklynmomof3]

Originally Posted by nycphotoguy

Best pizza - Di Fara in Brooklyn. The Q train stops half a block away at the Ave J station.

It fits the bill of what you asked for - sells by the slice, zero ambiance, and you may have to eat at the counter. It's been open since the 60's, and only one guy has been making the pizza all those years. He's in his 70s now and moves as slow as molasses, so you'll likely wait a half hour to an hour depending on when you go, but part of the experience is watching him work. After the pie is done, he takes it out (sometimes with his bare hands, cheese still bubbling), cuts fresh basil leaves off the sprout, spreads a healthy amount of parmesan cheese that he just ran through the shredder over the pie, and pours extra virgin olive oil all over it. Everybody I've taken there leaves saying it's the best slice they've ever had.

If there's a line at the door, ignore it. There's no rhyme or reason to ordering there. Walk past it and try to get the attention of one of his kids that take orders. That's your best bet. And make sure he's open when you go. Now that he's getting up in age, he takes a couple extra days off. I think he's open wed - sun, and he takes a break from 4:30 to 6:00.

My 2nd choice would be Patsy's in East Harlem. You can get a slice there quick and cheap, it's been open since the 30's, and it's a great thin crust slice.

Enjoy!

How did you ever get to ignore the line at DiFara's? You're either cutting the line or slipping a few bucks to the kids who take orders to avoid the line!
Your wait time of an hour is only if you're one of the first few in line (which will be very unlikely, unless pulling a fast one like yourself)!
Yes, DiFara's is known for the best - but I went once and waited over two hours for a pie. Was it good - yes. Was it worth waiting 2 hrs. for - definitely not!
It also lost a bit a flavor while I observed the old guy take the extremely hot pie out of the oven with his bare hands (I couldn't quite get over envisioning flakes of burnt skin settling into the crust!)

[nycphotoguy]

Originally Posted by bklynmomof3

How did you ever get to ignore the line at DiFara's? You're either cutting the line or slipping a few bucks to the kids who take orders to avoid the line!
Your wait time of an hour is only if you're one of the first few in line (which will be very unlikely, unless pulling a fast one like yourself)!
Yes, DiFara's is known for the best - but I went once and waited over two hours for a pie. Was it good - yes. Was it worth waiting 2 hrs. for - definitely not!
It also lost a bit a flavor while I observed the old guy take the extremely hot pie out of the oven with his bare hands (I couldn't quite get over envisioning flakes of burnt skin settling into the crust!)

I tried to be a good citizen and wait on the line, but I saw too many people have their orders taken that came in after I did. I've never seen the line get serviced in any kind of logical order, so now I always just walk right past it and get as close to the counter as I can and try to get the attention of one of the kids. And it's always good to hang around and see if someone isn't there when their pizza is ready, because they give it away immediately if you step outside for a minute (it's happened to me!). I once walked in and had a fresh pie in 5 minutes because the person who ordered it wasn't there to claim it!

[Biskit]

I've tried most of the well known deli's in NY and nothing compares to Hershel's in Reading Terminal in Philly. Hershel's will change your life. The only thing that comes close in NY in my opinion is Mile End on Hoyt in Brooklyn. The meat should always be charred at the edges and melt off the bone succulent. Most NY deli's sell dry meat that doesn't taste fresh at all.