New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [207]
Tamarind.
$$$ | INDIAN | Many consider Tamarind Manhattan’s best Indian restaurant. Forsaking the usual brass, beads, sitar, and darkness, you’ll find a lustrous skylighted dining room awash in soothing neutral colors and awaft with tantalizing fragrances. Your welcoming hosts, owner Avtar Walia and his nephew, general manager Gary, practically reinvent charm. The busy kitchen offers multiregional dishes, some familiar (tandoori chicken, a searing lamb vindaloo), some unique (succulent venison chops in a vigorously spiced cranberry sauce, she-crab soup with saffron, nutmeg, and ginger juice). The more intriguing a dish sounds, the better it turns out to be. | 41–43 E. 22nd St., between Broadway and Park Ave. S, Flatiron District | 10010-5310 | 212/674–7400 | www.tamarinde22.com | Reservations essential | AE, DC, MC, V | Subway: N, R, 6 to 23rd St.
Wildwood Barbecue.
$$ | BARBECUE | Prolific restaurateur Steve Hanson’s latest venture has been smokin’ since day one, appeasing rabid barbecue aficionados. Pit master (and former Queens cop) “Big Lou” Elrose deserves credit for excellent ribs: succulent lamb and saucy baby back. Dine at the bar or at adjacent high tables, where the animated scene is fueled by whiskey and potent mint juleps. Families should settle in the dining room for fiery fried jalapeño slices called “bottle caps,” shareable platters of apricot-glazed chicken and pulled pork, and towering carrot and chocolate layer cakes. A crafty combination of reclaimed wood, distressed garage doors, recycled paper, blackboards, and bell jars has made a trendy Manhattan block feel kitschy and comfortable. | 225 Park Ave. S, at 18th St., Flatiron District | 10003-1604 | 212/533–2500 | www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/wildwood_bbq | AE, D, DC, MC, V | Subway: 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R to 14th St./Union Sq.
GRAMERCY PARK
This leafy, high-rent neighborhood is anchored by Gramercy Park, a locked, private park that takes up a city block. Access to the park is restricted to nearby residents and businesses, including guests of the Gramercy Park Hotel. With its historic homes and tucked-away bars and restaurants, it is a scenic, interesting neighborhood for an afternoon stroll.
BLT Prime.
$$$$ | STEAKHOUSE | A masculine, vivacious space is the showcase for bold, appealing Franco-American cuisine. Menu specials are scrawled on a blackboard. Everything is served à la carte, and prices are high, but so is the quality of every dish. Former restaurant namesake Laurent Tourondel’s signature steaming-hot Gruyère popovers remain on the menu. They’re light and buttery with an addictive texture. Although there are poultry, veal, and lamb dishes, from lemon-rosemary chicken to a lamb T-bone, steaks are the main event. The dry-aged USDA prime steaks—pulled from a 30-foot-wide dry-aging room—are broiled at 1,700 degrees, spread lightly with herb butter and offered with a choice of sauce (the béarnaise is perfection). | 111 E. 22nd St., between Lexington and Park Aves., Gramercy Park | 10010-5400 | 212/995–8500 | www.bltprime.com | Reservations essential | AE, DC, MC, V | No lunch | Subway: 6, R to 23rd St.
Blue Smoke.
$$ | BARBECUE | Ever the pioneer, Danny Meyer led the way for barbecue in Manhattan with a United Nations–like approach representing regional ‘cue styles. The menu features Texas salt-and-pepper beef ribs, saucy Kansas City–style ribs, and tangy North Carolina pulled pork on brioche buns. If mac ’n cheese is a weakness, many insist there’s none better than Blue Smoke’s. Or for something lighter, start with deviled eggs and a blue cheese–topped iceberg wedge. After dinner, waddle downstairs to Jazz Standard, one of the best jazz clubs in New York. | 116 E. 27th St., between Lexington and Park