HOME > Chowhound > Manhattan >


help asap sat nite picky eater

Need idea for dinner probably around 8 30 or so, 3 adults and 1, 9 year old..will have car most likely parked near moma 53rd 5th..so can drive anywhere but dropping off dinner guests after dinner upper west side so prefer midtown and higher and west..one of the guests is mostly macrobiotic eats fish send no gluten etc,, another guest trying not to eat gluten,child loves neat hates salad and chickpeas..was thinking veg Indian but didny think child would like it at all but he does like chicken tikka, rice etc...Thai could work..as long as there are some not spicy options, also please check doh site only "a" places will be ok, and not "a" with bad history,, seems this is getting tougher to find,, thank you for any help you can offer,,, an all veg place might be ok depends on menu...also moderate price pleases, thanks

  1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit)
  1. You know that doh A can be bought with money , right? In other word, it's all bullsh*t for the city to make more $$.

    1. The original comment has been removed
      1. i think a lot of us on the board tend to ignore the health code rating system, so being asked for suggestions with such restrictions is difficult. not only do you want an A-rated place, but you want a place that has consistently been A-rated.

        Not far from MoMA, and on the way to the UWS, is Szechuan Gourmet, a board-favorite for Sichuan. Was it Frank Bruni that said it's the one restaurant he continuously returns to? They have fish dishes, gluten-free rice dishes, non-spicy meat dishes, and all at very affordable prices. they were also shut down by the DOH just a few weeks ago and for several days. i ate there almost immediately after it reopened and many times since. Never a bad meal. Never thought it was unsanitary.

        1. re: coasts

          I'm a regular there (I actually had lunch there again today), and like you, I've never gotten sick from eating there, but I did find the quality of their chicken in the cold dish to be a little dodgy at times, as in off, but not quite bad. Therefore, I tend to avoid that dish.

      2. What range is moderate for you?

        3 Replies
        1. re: Pan

          Apps 12 and under mains under 20, I am in queens where restaurants are often less expensive, it's just gotten very expensive for me to afford to eat in the city for comp food in queens..didn't used to be like that,,,, honestly if the kid ate falafel I'd take them out to taim because I like their food and it's cheap..Indian or Thai that we could share thought might work,,, I've been to szecz gourmet don't think it will work with them, they didn't like spicy tasty or little pepper in queens ...thanks for the suggestions,,,..I'm trying to check out a lot of options..

            1. re: janie

              Well, I think the best Thai restaurant in the 50s is Wondee Siam (the original location on the east side of 9th Av. between 52nd and 53rd Sts.). It's not as good as the best Thai restaurants in Queens, but it is consistently good, and it's a lot easier to get them to make things non-spicy than spicy. I also really like the red snapper with ripe mango strips that's on their "Secret Thai" menu (which isn't secret and is not their actual Thai-language menu, which I've seen only once). One issue is that the place is small and cramped. So you could also consider Pam's Real Thai. I've had trouble getting spicy food there, so you probably have little to fear in terms of excessive spiciness, whereas Wondee can pack a wallop when they want to.

              I don't think I've been to Pure Thai, which Kathryn recommends, unless it's the noodle specialist place (which didn't impress me much but might be fine - it certainly wasn't very spicy at all.)

              I don't know if I can wholeheartedly recommend an Indian restaurant in the neighborhood, but Ariana Afghan Kebab House is not bad and, though not as inexpensive as Wondee or Pam's, would fit in your price range. It's also got some decent decor.

          1. "also please check doh site"

            Perhaps you would get more responses if you checked the DOH site and found places that you think would work for your group and then asked about specific places.

            1 Reply
            1. re: valerie

              I agree.

              I can't keep track of a restaurant's history of DOH grades.

            2. DOH grading is extremely arbitrary and seemingly set up to favor chain restaurants/places that don't do real cooking, etc.