New York Restaurants

Around 15,000 restaurants in New York dish up almost every type of cuisine you can think of. Other cities may have their local specialties, but no other food capital spans the earth as successfully as the Big Apple. Eating in New York isnt cheap as a result of the high cost of real estate, which is reflected in the prices on menus. The New York dining scene can be very fickle. One moment a restaurant is hot, the next its not.

Local cuisine

New Yorkers are very loyal to their favourite bagel vendors, and this round bun with a hole in the middle must be one of the citys quintessential snacks. Boiled in water and then baked, the result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior. Bagels are especially popular as breakfast food or as a base for sandwiches. New York-style pizza is unique in its large, thin and flexible slices. Tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese or a mix of provolone and white American cheese are the traditional toppings. It is often sold by the slice. The famous Waldorf salad was first created in 1896 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel by the matre d'htel. It consists of apple, nuts (particularly walnuts), celery and mayonnaise or a mayonnaise-based dressing.

Where to eat

Midtown is where the rich and conservative dine at prominent and elegant classic venues like 21 Club. The China Grill is popular with cell-phone wielding young executives. East Village is home to economical ethnic restaurants and hip bars attracting diners from all over the city. You can travel to Asia without leaving Manhattan at the hordes of restaurants lining Chinatowns lively streets, which offer every variety of Asian cuisine, usually at rock bottom prices.