A tourist trap where it's worth being trapped! and other New York City, NY Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Serendipity

I planned my stop here in May 2005 with some hesitation. It seemed so heavily advertised and its website dropped celeb names so freely, I was afraid Serendipity was famous for the sake of being famous. How wrong I was! There was a reason the wait here around 4 PM on a Sunday (admittedly, a holiday weekend) was two hours...this place is fabulous!

Basically everyone famous has been here, apparently! Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2005, Serendipity was/is an admitted favorite of icons such as Jackie Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Grace Kelly, Oprah, Cher, and just about every other celebrity out there.

Favorite Dish: See my following tips. But it's all about the Frrozen Hot Chocolate...it's one of those "so good, you want to cry" sorts of delicacies.

However, the dinner menu has plenty of merit in its own right! I would advice a small main course if you intend to properly enjoy the giant desserts, though!

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 212-838-3531
Address: 225 East 60th Street, New York, NY
Directions: Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
Website: http://www.serendipity3.com/

Restaurant Name: Serendipity


Favorite Dish: I ordered an appetizer and a side as my light "entree" before dessert. Both were fantastic, including the blue corn chip "nachos" spread with goat cheese and served with salsa shown here.

The smaller dish behind the nachos was my side of friend parsnips, which are delightfully crunchy and slightly sweet.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 212-838-3531
Address: 225 East 60th Street, New York, NY
Directions: Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
Website: http://www.serendipity3.com/

Restaurant Name: Serendipity

This is the main attraction and signature dessert here--the "Frrozen Hot Chocolate." (Yes, it's copyrighted that way!) It is also available as a Peanut Butter Frrozen Hot Chocolate, which is what everyone at my table chose. The base is a partially frozen hot chocolate blended with peanut butter, and in the middle of the gigantic parfair bowl is a huge dollop of sweetened, indulgent whipped cream. Top it all with chocolate shavings and let it drip over the edges, and you have a chocoholic's dream. It was truly amazing.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 212-838-3531
Address: 225 East 60th Street, New York, NY
Directions: Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
Website: http://www.serendipity3.com/

Restaurant Name: Café Lalo

This charming cafe obviously had a loyal following before it was immortalized in the movie "You've Got Mail," starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Being a fan of the movie, I was eager to visit the cafe where the two characters met. But I was even more impressed than I had expected. Besides being a beautiful storefront with floor-to-ceiling windows that are swung open to the breeze, the food here is fantastic. I had breakfast twice here on a five-day trip, and I only regret that I didn't get a chance to come back of an evening for a stab at their monstrous dessert display!


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (212) 496-6031
Address: 201 West, 83rd Street
Website: http://cafelalo.com/

Restaurant Name: Café Lalo

I'm sure the "Best Breakfast" award would be a tough title to claim on New York's Upper West Side, but Cafe Lalo must be near the top. The menu is extensive, but focuses on steamed eggs with various fillings, oatmeals, pastries, and yogurts. However, it's a brunch menu, so you can also get sandwiches in the late morning, so you're bound to find something you'll like here.

Favorite Dish: The Irish Breakfast--oatmeal with honey and whole cream, served with a scone and preserves, is fantastic! So are the steamed eggs, which are like omlettes filled with ingredients such as feta cheese, wild mushrooms, spinach, peppers, and spices (many options). The scones themselves are marvelous--served with Devon cream and the best I've had since England!

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (212) 496-6031
Address: 201 West, 83rd Street
Website: http://cafelalo.com

Restaurant Name: Café Lalo

Here's one more look at the interior of the restaurant on a lovely spring morning. The walls are covered in French art/theatre posters. We had the same server both mornings, and she was excellent.

Please note, Cafe Lalo does not accept credit cards, so bring cash!


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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (212) 496-6031
Address: 201 West, 83rd Street
Directions: Less than a block west of the corner of 83rd and Amsterdam.
Website: http://www.cafelalo.com

Restaurant Name: Grimaldi's Pizzeria

During my May 2005 trip, I set myself on the mission of finding the best New York-style pizza, and Grimaldi's wins my award! With a fantastic setting just under the Brooklyn Bridge, Grimaldi's is a no-nonsense, entertaining, casual but quality masterpiece of pizza places.

Favorite Dish: What else? The thin crust pizza! (See tips below.)

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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 718.858.4300
Address: 19 Old Fulton St. under the Brooklyn Bridge
Directions: Brooklyn--use High Street subway
Website: http://www.grimaldis.com/greatpizza.htm

Restaurant Name: Grimaldi's Pizzeria

One of the things about Grimaldi's that won me over was the fact that all diners have a bird's eye view of the pies being made. The open kitchen in the back of the room is home to extremely busy chefs who spin the dough in the air and shove the pies into the coal oven on long wooden pallets. Very entertaining!

Favorite Dish: Thin-crust pizza!

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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 718.858.4300
Address: 19 Old Fulton St. under the Brooklyn Bridge
Website: http://www.grimaldis.com/greatpizza.htm

Restaurant Name: Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Fresh mozzarella slices, crushed tomoatoes (not sauce!), a delicious wood oven-toasted crust, and your choice of any toppings...that's why this is the best in New York, in my opinion, at least. :)

Note: no reservations taken here, so come early for dinner to avoid the lines, then stop at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory down the street for dessert!

Also note: Cash only!


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 718.858.4300
Address: 19 Old Fulton St. under the Brooklyn Bridge
Website: http://www.grimaldis.com/greatpizza.htm

Restaurant Name: Lombardi's

Lomarbi's of Little Italy has a loyal following of New York-style pizza aficionados, and it holds the honor of being the oldest enduring pizza place in the States. This was the last of my three pizza meals in New York in May 2005, and it certainly is great pizza. However, my pizza preferences lie with Grimaldi's of Brooklyn or John's of Bleeker Street, with Lombardi's as a third choice.

Lombardi's pizza differs John's or Grimaldi's. Although all are baked in a coal-fired brick oven, Lombardi's uses tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes. I would also consider it a slightly "prefab" atmosphere--more self-conscious than no-nonsense Grimaldi's or John's, and the music was played a little loudly.

Although the variety of toppings here is great (with more unusual ingredients available than the others), the service when we went was not great. In fact, we ordered two pizzas at our table--one came very quickly, but after 10 minutes, when we finally asked where the second pizza was, our server acted confused and went to check, and then took another ten minutes to bring the second pizza (with a little apology, but without explanation). This may have been a fluke, but they did not go out of their way to make up for this situation.


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 212-941-7994
Address: 32 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
Directions: Little Italy
Website: www.lombardispizza.com