Being the Restaurant Friend™ is a gift and a curse. Yes, I get to dine out to my heart’s content (pro), and I have the privilege of treating my friends and family to dinner on occasion (pro). That I even get to have this job (major pro), but an unfortunate con is the inevitable text, email or a Slack message asking, “Where can I go to dinner with four people with 24 hours’ notice?”
This puts me, and every other Restaurant Friend™, in the unenviable position of having to immediately rule out about half of our favorite, in-demand restaurants. But this is where the Back Pocket Restaurant™ comes in handy: Every Restaurant Friend™ you know keeps three or four options in mind that fit the 24 hours’ notice bill. They recommend those same restaurants over and over. (It’s not lazy, it’s efficient.) These are the restaurants I keep in my back pocket — though I must insist that you give at least two weeks’ notice next time.
Lupetto
One must be extremely strategic in choosing a Back Pocket Restaurant™. Broadly speaking, it should be accessible to all tastes, conveniently located and able to fit large parties. Lupetto in Flatiron, the wood-fired spinoff of La Pecora Bianca, checks all those boxes.
The dining room is tastefully appointed with velvet-lined booths along the walls and large tables in the center. The menu is wide-ranging, with pastas, salads and a bunch of wood-fired mains — the grilled salmon “chop” with tomato butter is one of my favorite salmon dishes in the city. And, most important, there are always reservations available. As in, you could book a table for tonight right now, which is not at all an indictment of the quality of the restaurant. Lupetto is simply generous with their reservations, and unlike many restaurants appears to put the majority of its tables online. Plus it’s in that wide open section of Flatiron across from Madison Square Park that always makes my heart flutter with love for the city.
1123 Broadway (West 25th Street)
Le Crocodile
What of brunch, you’re probably asking. I was recently reminded of how much I love Le Crocodile, at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, when I couldn’t get a reservation at Chez Ma Tante in Greenpoint. (I’ve been craving those butter-soaked pancakes real bad lately.)
Fun fact: The same people who run Chez Ma Tante are behind Le Crocodile and while you can’t get the signature pancakes there, Le Crocodile hardly means settling. Beautiful dining room and excellent service? Check. Soul-affirming lattes? Check. Roasted chicken and fries or a full-blown steak at 11 a.m.? Sure, if you’re into that! Reservations? Out the wazoo. I built my own breakfast around the extremely vegetarian hen of the wood with king trumpet mushrooms, gigante beans and a sunny side egg, and a side of the not-at-all vegetarian housemade breakfast sausage. And because I’m a major adherent of “something sweet for the table,” I threw in the pancakes with maple apples and mascarpone cream. Not as butter-soaked as I’d like, but an excellent stand-in nonetheless.
Tonchin New York
Finally, there’s the well-meaning friend who is popping into town for 48 hours and would love to grab a bite with you. You absolutely cherish this friend — otherwise you would tell them, “Text me if you need any tips!” and leave it at that.
It’s OK, because we’re going to meet this friend for lunch at Tonchin, which is the only meal that feels right when the temperature is in the teens and single digits. If they’ve never had a piping hot bowl of ramen with all the accouterments before, the pork tonkotsu or the smoked dashi at Tonchin will blow their socks off. If they have had this style of ramen before, it will still blow their socks off. Either way, no one has socks on anymore and your bellies are filled with the kind of deep, primal warmth often associated with your bed first thing in the morning. Everyone wins.
13 West 36th Street (Fifth Avenue)
One Reader Question
Where in the Times Square area can you get cocktails that use premium ingredients plus yummy appetizers? — Marjorie
I love a question that I know I can absolutely hit out of the park. I have to recommend Dear Irving on Hudson on the 40th and 41st floor of the Aliz Hotel. Not only do they have very high-end cocktails and appetizers you crave (lobster guacamole, mushroom croquettes, pork belly bao buns), but the view from that high up is pretty incredible. I suggest making a reservation if you want to guarantee your spot in the bar.
310 West 40th Street (Eighth Avenue)
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