8 Restaurants in 12 hrs NYC

[tkern]

I'm being sent to NYC with a couple other guys with the mission to eat at 8 restaurants in 12 hours. They have to be in close proximity so they can be walked to and we're on a tight budget. The purpose of this is to pull our heads out of DC for a second and see whats going on. Areas on the table now are Brooklyn and Chelsea, possibly meat packing district.

I'm looking for suggestions of a cluster of restaurants.

[slowtyper]

The hardest part will be avoiding lineups! Good luck, sounds like fun but IMO the requirements will mean you will be eating at cheaper/fast food style places rather than restaurants so not sure if thats what you are going for. Around St Marks place there is like a little Japanese area. Lots of izakayas and little food stalls that you could get in and out quickly, then move on to another area for something different. You could hit a couple izakayas, japa-dog, a japanese street style snack store, and more in a short period of time.

[JBroida]

talk to mattrud... this is his kind of thing

[Korin_Mari]

St. Marks for cheap and quick eats:
1. Sundae and Cones (for ice cream)
2. Otafuku (Takoyaki and okonomiyaki)
3. The Spot Dessert Bar
4. Criff Dogs (Bacon wrapped hot dogs)
5. Pom Frites (Belgium fries with a bunch of dip choices. I like the rosemary garlic dip the best.)
6. Zaiya - Japanese bakery. I haven't been there in a while, but their yakimochi (chewy bread with red bean) is pretty amazing. It doesn't look as nice as Panya, but the bread tastes better.
7. Yakitori Taisho

My few regular restaurants:
1. Soba Totto (They have a soba specialist and yakitori)
2. Blue Smoke (RIBS. I love ribs.)
3. Joe's Shanghai (Soup dumplings!)
^^^ Those are all scattered around but they are all very good.

Enjoy New York!!

[Salty dog]

Oh god! You'll be crazy by number 5 on any list.

[JohnnyChance]

I recently did something quite similar to this in Chicago. Our third night was 9 places in about 12 hours.

First, are you interested in a particular type of restaurant or cuisine? There are a ton of good ethnic restaurants in NYC obviously, not all of which are applicable if you are looking for places similar to yours.

Also, I think you will have to hit 2 or 3 neighborhoods if you want to go to 8 quality affordable places, especially if you want some variety. Which isn't that big of a deal. Travel time shouldn't be a problem if you plan a route properly.

I usually end up in the East Village and the LES. But I like cocktail bars/speakeasys and there is a good concentration of those in that area. Plus Matt is there and always worth a visit. You guys should visit him and there are some good places nearby you can hit as well.

I suggest making a list of every suggestion you get, finding them on google maps and "starring" them. Then you can zoom out and see all your starred items and see where they are concentrated and hit those areas. Places to add to your list are Momofuku Ssam Bar, Kuma Inn, The Breslin, Fette Sau, Fatty 'Cue/Crab, Ippudo, Takashi.

[mattrud]

talk to mattrud... this is his kind of thing

I dont really have the time to do that kind of a thing. But I like challenges.

[heirkb]

I know that at least with Ippudo, your best bet would be lunch or putting your name down and going to eat somewhere else while you wait, lol. It'll be an hour if you're lucky, but usually around 1.5-2 hrs of waiting IME. Not exactly what you want if you have limited time.

[slowtyper]

Then you can zoom out and see all your starred items and see where they are concentrated and hit those areas. Places to add to your list are Momofuku Ssam Bar, Kuma Inn, The Breslin, Fette Sau, Fatty 'Cue/Crab, Ippudo, Takashi.

Oh man I love Fette Sau...I crave that all the time.

Fatty Cue was okay but I didn't think was crazy good.

Also a bit out of the way, so you probably won't hit it, but I absolutly love Do or Dine in brooklyn.