I wrote about 10 of my favorite places for a good meal in New York in this week’s Taste Buds column, but wanted to share a few of my least favorite, or what I think are overrated restaurant experiences in the city. Yes, I know both lists are subjective, which is why I ask you to please send in your comments and share your favorite or least favorite New York restaurants.
1. Magnolia Bakery. Cupcakes are dry; frosting is too sickly sweet. And that line—oy! If you must go, visit the new location opening next Monday in Midtown’s Rockefeller Center, where all the other tourist traps are located. Otherwise try Billy’s Bakery instead for a truly great cake.
2. Lombardi’s Pizzeria. Dry crust, bland sauce, overpriced. Pizzeria worth its hype? Stick to Grimaldi’s on Fulton Street near the East River in Brooklyn, worth every bit of its hype.
3. Dos Caminos. The service is fine and the portions good sized, but the food is average at best, and the restaurants are way too noisy (have been to the Park Avenue South and SoHo locations). Though in a teeny tiny space, I’m a big fan of the authentic Itzocan Café in the East Village. Excellent dishes all around. 438 E. 9th St., tel. 212-677-5856.
4. Sylvia’s. Why this place still gets recommended I’ll never know. It’s been calling it in and living off its reputation for years. The vegetables taste canned; the fried chicken burnt during my last visit. Instead go to the much tastier Spoonbread, with two Harlem locations.
5. Nobu. I know I’m committing sacrilege to many, but after poor service coupled with good but not great sushi there, followed by a merely average meal at Nobu Next Door, I’ll pass on spending my disposable income here. A favorite low-key, affordable alternative: Tsukushi. No menu—you get served whatever six or seven courses the chef decided on based on what was fresh at the market that morning. 300 E. 41st St., tel. 212-599-8888.
