Fast Casual Restaurants
Sandwiches: Lenwich, Potbelly, Subway, ‘wichcraft, Pret a Manger
Salad: Just Salad, Chop’t
Burgers: Shake Shack, Five Guys
Falafel: Maoz, Chickpea
Mexican: Chipotle, Dos Toros, Moe’s Southwestern Grill
Frozen Yogurt: Pinkberry, 16 handles, Yogurtland, Tasty D-lite
Continental: Panera, Cosi, Hale & Hearty
We wouldn’t encourage you to eat at chains when you visit, but it’s a matter of personal preference and of course there are times when it makes sense. We won’t comment on each one, but we’ll give a special shout out to Lenwich (formerly Lenny’s – they have some really crazy mile-high and healthy sandwiches), Shake Shack (I mean you kind of have to while you’re in NYC), Maoz, and Panera. But Cosi gets a special shout out for its flatbread. When you get a sample of that flatbread straight out of the oven (they have samples throughout the day) all you will think about is how you can stand there eating sample after sample without them kicking you out. Their warm flatbread is fantastic.
Sit-Down Restaurants
Burgers: 5 Napkin Burger, Bareburger, Umami Burger
Mexican: Dos Caminos, Rosa Mexicano
Steak House: Del Frisco’s, The Palm, Capital Grille, Morton’s Steakhouse, Ruth’s Chris
Pizza/Italian: Olive Garden, Uno Pizzeria and Grill
Continental: Applebees, TGI Friday’s, Ruby Tuesday
Seafood: Red Lobster, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Again, we’d recommend sticking to restaurants that you cannot find outside of NYC to truly take advantage of the wonderfulness that is NYC cuisine, but if for whatever reason you’d like to eat something more familiar, we’d give a shout out to Bareburger (actually, we may encourage you to try this place regardless – it’s pretty great and has a cool concept), Del Frisco’s (mainly for it’s delicious lemon cake the size of your face), and The Palm (mainly for its chocolate cake that’s even bigger than the face-sized Del Frisco’s cake).