Group of 4 or 6 of us going out on Friday night, including a couple that comes to town only like once a year and usually goes out with family to some pretty tired places.

I'm not thinking great today -- what other options should I be suggesting here? Nothing hoity toity, and an Asian bent is preferred.

I was thinking:
* Ssam Bar for Bo Ssam (I have a reservation for 6 already)
* Omakase at Seki/Gari/Yasuda, which I'm totally down with (as would our friends), but this gets pricey and while I love sushi, my experience is that this is not really a great event for a group
* Danji, but I really don't want to wait in some long-ass line
* Barn Joo, I've heard good things but never made it over there.

About 2 years ago, we took them to South China Garden on Elizabeth and had one of the best Chinese meals I've ever had (very upset that they lost their lease btw), ordered like 6 things and a ton of beers for the table and just had a blast (and it was dirt cheap, not that that's at all a requirement).

We're an adventurous crew, so feel free to suggest something on the weird side. Even if we don't go this weekend, at least my fiancee and I will go at some point.

So what am I missing guys? TIA.

Posting to add mission chinese to my above list. Can't believe I didn't remember that.

I was about to add Mission myself although potentially long wait as well unless you reserve a week in advance.

Also, probably a bit on the low end for what you are looking for but Mono+Mono is awesome Korean fried chicken (same people as what was at one point know as Bonchon in K-Town). It is in a really cool space in the East Village.

Also heard good things about Uncle Boons but never been.

I went to both EMP and Marea when I was in NYC end of last year. EMP blew it out of the park in a way that is difficult to explain.

Not sure why it's being ignored, but can anyone provide the a la carte menu at EMP?

Thanks. Uncle Boons looks like a fun menu, and I will add that to the list. I had Bonchon but haven't tried M+M, so I will have to get on that between drinks and the train home at some point. Thanks for those.

What I ended up doing was just sending them the following list and telling them to check out the menus and let me know what blows their skirt up, so to speak. I'll TR whatever we do, but I'm kind of rooting for Mission Chinese or something Korean.

* Bo Ssam @ Ssam Bar.

* Omakase/Sushi sub-Gari/Yasuda/Seki: Sasabune, Ushiwakamaru.

* Japanese: Hakata Tonton, Jukai, Kyo Ya
[obviously an enormous range in $$ and style here; I got a strong rec for Jukai, and I've never been]

* Modern Korean: Danji, Barn Joo
[Danji is Korean tapas, and BJ is a Korean-inspired gastropub]

* Traditional Korean: Do Hwa
[This menu looks pretty great, and I've seen the name pop up a few places; looks solid for BBQ or not-BBQ]

* Hipster Chinese: Mission Chinese

Nope

Giving them a call is the only way and I doubt they will tell you the whole menu. Plus they may not know until it's too late to easily secure a seat. The duck is a regular feature but I was told it isn't offered all the time. When I had the tasting at EMP, they offered us an option of the duck or the lamb.



I'll emphasize how good a value the tasting is at EMP compared to a la carte- the portions are identical. Even in general..15 of the best dishes of food in the world for $195? Hell yes.

Per Se, where I've never dined, has the previous day's ala carte menu available online if you google wisely: generally "Per Se menu tkgr"

http://www.tkrg.org/upload/ps_menu.pdf

I'd believe that Per Se is better on average per dish. EMP had some minor inconsistencies both times.

I've heard the Per Se lounge is an awful value. Then again, Elevages Perigord is the finest foei gras there is, and this is already a $40 additional charge to the regular tasting menu, so the opportunity to walk into the lounge and purchase such a food at said price is very tempting, considering it is prepared by one of the best kitchens in the world. I'll throw two Jacksons at that no problem. I don't buy the "you could eat a full meal of X at Y" argument either. This is a once in a lifetime food if you're so inclined, and it's so rich that you could eat it walk out and not need dinner. Continuing eating is a personal choice.

Wyman,

I haven't been to the NYC one, but I've been going to mission Chinese since it was a popup out of a truck, and it's def interesting and good, but super overrated IMO. I get it sometimes here because they deliver, but i never go to the restaurant because there's always a wait and I just don't think it's worth waiting in line for. If you do go, lemme know and I'll let you know what's good if they have a similar/same menu as here.

Thx El D. Feel free to make suggestions, since we probably will go there at some point anyway.

I'm hoping to hear back from Ushi that they have a cancelation as the crowd wants sushi and I'd rather be in the village than like UES so we can go out afterward. I've got a res at barn joo for later in case we don't get in (I know, dick move, but whatever - when I made the res on opentable I had my pick of *every* half hour, so I'm guessing they aren't full).

I'm going to be in NYC from the 12th to 16th September. Are there any sports I can take in at this time? From the UK so looking for something a little different from what I'm used to.

One more thing

Can anyone recommend a decent blues bar? I remember being in one 10 years ago when I visited, down near Washington Square Park iirc and it was a great night.

Just saw this option today - http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_de...lace_to_go.htm

Looks like it would have been perfect but is just opening.

Also for a cool experience try Aburiya Kinnosuke. A bit hidden in midtown but everytime I have been I have been with the only white group there. Phenomenal stuff and pretty sure it is sister restaurant to Yakitori Totto.

Hideo-san sized beer. Got that reservation at Ushi, let us gogogogo.

Thank you to everyone who responded really book of Mormon. Another question... My boyfriend wants to go to Pony Bar but I don't like beer, can someone kindly confirm that they sell other drinks?

I'm pretty sure they only sell beer. I'd never go there for anything but beer, but I can't remember any beer bar in NYC serving anything but beer. They probably don't have the license to serve other alcohol.

took three seconds to look at their webpage

http://hk.theponybar.com/the-pony/

The Duck was the one standout dish that I recall from my dinner at EMP, truly amazing. If you like what Daniel Humm does with duck - and who wouldn't? - you should also see what he does with chicken at The NoMad. It may not quite match the duck at EMP, but they turn a simple roast chicken into something amazing. When the waiter was taking our dessert order, I jokingly asked for a bowl of the sauce from the chicken . . . sure enough, when he brought the desserts, he also brought a bowl of the sauce! His tip went up considerably at that point.

A French friend of mine who now lives in the city claims that the food here is nothing close to what you find all over France--at least not food that's somewhat reasonably priced. I disagree and drunkenly offered to take him out to a few places to illustrate my point. (Obviously, this was just an obnoxious excuse to go to awesome restaurants.)

Now sober, I feel a bit of pressure/anxiety to impress. So, I'd love suggestions for indisputably awesome places in the under $50pp or so range. I think I'm more interested in places with really good quality ingredients and execution than I am in places that are creative/interesting.

The price tag is low because he's a poor grad student

union square cafe should fit the bill

Perfect. I've been meaning to go there forever.

Union square cafe looks good. Would you need to book a table for dinner or could you just turn up on the day?

i haven't been in a while, but i would guess you'd need a reservation.

union square cafe is very good and yes youll probably need a reservation

Reserved a table for this Thursday, which is the day we arrive in the U.S. Will let you know how it goes

Yeah. This with a bottle of burgundy would do the trick. I've always figured there's some awesome traditional roast chicken dish in a French restaurant somewhere that would better all the delicious over the top chicken preparations I've eaten elsewhere.