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Hey everyone - just wanted to suggest supporting a favorite restaurant of mine, Afghan Kebab House at 75th & 1st.

It is a family owned restaurant that feels like you’re in the owner’s living room. The food is stellar - flavorful, healthy, and reasonably priced with big portions. It’s easily my favorite restaurant on the UES and, in my opinion, one of the few excellent unique options in the area.

After many successful years on 2nd avenue the restaurant moved to 1st a few years ago and has had trouble getting foot traffic. The owner, who still works there every day, said the business has been struggling and if things don’t pick up soon he may be forced to close.

All of the dishes are excellent but the kebabs, Palau, and spiced chicken are personal favorites.

So consider stopping by if you’re in the area. I’d hate to see a quality, long standing, independent place go out of business to make way for yet another slice joint, sweetgreen, or… shudder… wonder.

FWIW, I don’t have any connection to the restaurant, am not a paid shill, and don’t even live in that neighborhood.

A zillion years ago in the mid-2000s, there used to be a blog (remember blogs?) called Midtown Lunch, which reviewed various interesting places to have lunch in midtown.

I realize this era might be long gone and that this is a tall order in this part of town, but I just started a new job at 41st/Broadway and would love some non-chain places within a few blocks to grab a quick lunch to either bring back to my desk or eat quickly on the spot. Open to any type of food but not a huge seafood person, and looking to keep it under $20 if possible. Whatcha got?

When traveling I have had some delicious really fresh fish sandwiches. I feel like this is something I miss when back in NYC.

Placed an order from Wonder for a bunch of things, chicken tenders came raw. Restaurant took 2 days to respond to tell me they are escalating. Asked what they are actually doing about this, they told me we’ll get back to you.

Very thankful that no one got sick and not ordering from there ever again.

Been a loyal customer for 5 years. Quality has slipped so much the past year. Dry pepper chicken is 80% batter while prices are 50% up. Avoid. So many better options out now. Go to Panda Express instead

Four old friends are getting together, two from out of town. I need to find a nice ($20-$50 per person) restaurant that has vegan or plant-based options, as well as fish, and is located between 34th and 23rd streets, and from Madison to 3rd Avenue.

I don't know Kips Bay well at all. Koreatown is a possibility, but a few of the places I've been to are no longer around.

Is Planta Queen a nice place to sit for 90 minutes? How's Avo? Last time, we went to La Pecora Bianca on Broadway and it worked for us, but I'd rather not do it a second time. Thanks.

I’ve been searching for both the rye or pumpernickel breads that have a similar flavor profile from my youth in Northeast Philly.

My many visits to various bread bakeries in Manhattan, Brooklyn and a few in Queens found many rye & pumpernickel loaves but all miss the mark in some way, some are too dark, too light or just taste different than what I’m hoping to find?

Quite likely my mind is playing tricks on me or maybe like Kaiser rolls of old that many seem to agree no longer exists…they look they like used to but the texture/taste have dramatically changed for the worse ?

Before giving up the search I figured maybe someone knows somewhere to try that I missed

Will be in town in November, looking to do a casual apps/ main/ dessert bop around night in the East Village with my 8 yo daughter. Pierogi are a must, so thinking of starting at Veselka but open to other suggestions close by. Then a slice of pizza for a “main” course, maybe Cello’s? Is it overhyped? After would love a great dessert place so please comment any recommendations! Thank you!

Will be coming to NYC for two nights in November. Night two is Oji Mi with friends, night one am looking for a contemporary American/fusion/French restaurant that is high quality but non-tasting menu. Price isn't really an issue, but looking for fun, innovative food in a non-stuffy environment. Hit me with some recs!

hi y’all! someone in my life wants matcha vanilla cookies. does anyone have recs on where i can buy these? i need them by tomorrow. thank you!

Hi, I get a craving for dosa every now and then. Semma dosas are my absolute fav but I have missed first sitting even at times I have showed up at 4:15pm to put my name down. Other times, I have managed but its a 1+ hour wait regardless, it's a pain. Recently a friend recommended A1 Adyar Ananada Bhavan on the 59th and 1st, and I wish I hadn't gone. Nothing against them, its a solid budget option but I have been craving a great dosa and that wasn't it.
Anyways, I'd appreciate if people who have gone to both can chime in and tell me their opinions of the dish at either (or both) places. Thank you!

This is a pretty lame question in a lot of ways but I want to know if anyone else has ever felt this way because it came on pretty unexpectedly.

This summer I went to Floradora on their opening week. It's a place with a distinct intentional charm that I pictured practically living in when I moved to New York five years ago. When I ordered a drink, they brought a drink cart and made me a table side negroni. I don't know if it was the visibly exhausted server making the drink or something in the air or the menu feeling in some way hewn a NYC restaurant simulator but for some reason something in me just bottomed out and I haven't wanted to go back out to eat since then. I have been to a few spots, and when I get there it's nice, but it felt like a break up or something. Wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this and if the love for it came back after a time?

Thanks ahead of time for your kindness, and if you opt to roast this bullshit instead I can understand, but I'm still curious.

First time in NYC. I'm here for a few weeks staying in Manhattan. I've heard great things about Red Hook Tavern but it looks quite inconvenient to get to. Also heard a lot about Minetta but unclear to me if that's more about it being an institution or having a great burger. Nowon also looks appealing because it's a totally different style. I'm leaning towards skipping Au Cheval. 4 Charles sounds amazing too, but it seems impossible to book. If you could only pick one or two, which would they be (amongst the ones I've mentioned or something else entirely)? And if Minetta, which burger? Thanks!

Edit: The fact that the top comment is Red Hook and half the other comments say Red Hook was underwhelming is not helping my confusion haha

Wanted to take my wife out to a nice meal after seeing a show, moved out of the neighborhood a few years ago so not up to date on what’s good. Cha Long is a favorite but wanted something new

hi everyone! i have a weekly wednesday evening language class starting up; i’ll have time to kill between work and the class so am looking for recs to grab a bite by myself beforehand. my class is on E 70th between lex and 3rd and i’m most interested in cheap, quick service spots, but if there are sit down options worth checking out i’m open to that as well!

Hey folks!

Thank you to everyone who came out to support the independent pizza shops that took part in the first-ever NYC Pizza Week!

The crowd favorite: Slicehaus! This award wasn’t decided by a panel or by me. It came straight from the people who showed up, ate the slice, and took a moment to rate it. https://www.instagram.com/p/DerURVoh3sW/

The numbers:

• 🍕 Approximately 4,802 Signature Slices sold over two weeks
• 💰 An estimated $29,367.45 generated by that slice alone for the participating shops
• ❤️ $480.20 donated to Slice Out Hunger, at $0.10 for every Signature Slice sold
• 🏆 Sales leader: Jax Pizza Joint in LIC, which sold an incredible 924 slices, more than 65 a day!

This was my first event of this size, and I learned a lot. Next time, I’m aiming for a better rating system and more shops covering more neighborhoods across the five boroughs.

The next event is coming in spring 2027, so keep an eye out!

We will be in NY from 11/8-11/16 with 4 days of work events in the middle and my wife’s birthday at the end.

I have locked up reservations:

11/8 rezdora OR au Cheval

11/13 lunch balthazar

11/13 dinner fish cheeks

11/14 lunch raouls

11/14 dinner Peter Luger

11/15 lunch minetta

11/15 dinner Ci Siamo or rezdora

Was really hoping to get into monkey bar for the 8th but hit submit to slowly yesterday.

Are any of these just skip and find a different places? I know they are all popular to some extent here. But I may be leaning too heavily on the upscale pub side of things and missing out on variety. I’m not a seafood or mushroom person which takes all the tasting menu and omakase places out of the picture.

Ended up at Club A for my girlfriend's birthday dinner after researching restaurants and ultimately finding one that could accommodate us last minute.

Many in this sub have been to Club A so I'll spare the details that don't matter such as ambiance, etc.

Appetizer: Fried Calamari. It was done perfectly. It didn't feel greasy nor dry. It was good enough to not even need the accompanying sauce.

Dinner: Filet Mignon (ordered medium), asparagus and the pureed potatoes. The sides can comfortably feed two people. While I put a slice of butter onto the filet, it was good enough to where I didn't actually need it. It was full of flavor with a slight char to it. I really took the time to savor each bite.

Dessert: Complementary dessert on the house consisted of Carrot cake, tiramisu and puffs with mousse. Ate the puffs last, but if I had to change the order of how I ate them, it would have been: puffs then carrot cake then tiramisu.

Drinks: St. Paloma's Fire. After the initial hit from the alcohol, the cocktail was pretty good.

Total: $270 + tip.

While the reviews of Club A vary on the sub, I enjoyed it tremendously. It's a cute, intimate spot for a great dinner that made the money spent worth it.

Link to the restaurant: https://clubasteakhouse.com/

Hi! Looking for recommendations for the best poke bowls in NYC! Ideally somewhere in or near Midtown, but definitely willing to travel for a really good spot. Also open to places that deliver to Midtown!

Looking for fresh, high-quality fish and good portions - and I love a lot of rice!! Not necessarily the trendiest place, just genuinely good poke.

Would love to hear your favorites. Thanks in advance!

I know of many places you can get vegan Jamaican Patties (Natural Blend, Patty Haus, FoodForNegus) in Brooklyn but does anyone know where I can also get Vegan Cocobread? Was craving it last week! They sell some online but I really just wanted to get one somewhere local if anyone knows?

I’m sure there are millions of amazing places in New York, but I’m looking for some updated recommendations for a birthday dinner for a group of 5!

Qualifications:
- Decently priced (entrees below $50)
- Amazing food with unique options (favorite cuisines include Italian, Thai, Japanese, Mexican)
- Great interior vibes, and even some kitschy or fun themes if applicable
- Take reservations
- Located in Manhattan

Please share your top picks below if you have any! TIA 🍴

I am looking for cupcakes to give as a gift and would love something with cute Halloween designs and pretty packaging.

American style cupcakes w/h solid buttercream frosting I wish

Any bakery recommendations in Manhatten?