I guess it depends on what you like to eat. I would say jackson heights or flushing has the best chinese food in the city. Golden mall (41-28 Main street) in flushing has the best hand pulled noodles I've ever had, and I've been to asia several times.

Soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai in Flushing. I could eat them every day for a year.

Shanghai Cafe soup dumplings on Mott are pretty good. I love the noodles at Ippudo.

Check out Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations episode on outer boroughs eating. The golden mall is featured.

Cobble Hill.

Most of the high-rated Brooklyn restaurants are right there (its crazy how concentrated that is), plus you could walk to PS if you wanted... and you're near Red Hook for defontes... and you still have old school italian.. and you're just couple neighborhoods over from Brooklyn chinatown, which is apparently approaching Flushing in size, but the whities haven't invaded yet.

Then, you're also close enough to walk to downtown brooklyn and get some of the fried chicken you want to stay fat.

and juniors! (worst diner in the world, but cheesecake is pretty good).

And the fulton mall is the world capital of fast food! (I think they have 2 of everything on the same block)

So, the bottom line, be close to a subway station and you can be transported to any nabe for eating...

I'm well aware that a subway can take you anywhere. What I'm asking is, if I was in your apartment and wanted to walk to a restaurant, what would our choices be that we can walk to.

That's the eternal conundrum for me. Where I want to live for food is 100% different from where I want to live for other reasons. For health reasons, I can only eat out 2x/week, so to orient myself based on just food alone wouldn't work for me.

in my apartment you wouldn't do so well. east village.

UWS sucks for interesting eateries, beyond the usual brunch and everywhere-the-same-menu high end places.

Williamsburg is a bit too heavy on the Asian restaurants (Planet Thailand is moving on, thankfully), but there are more than enough great places to fatten you up. Miranda (Dominican-Italian), Silent H (Vietnamese), Sweetwater (American), Motorino (legit pizza), Zenkichi (Japanese), and Walter Foods (great raw bar, not-too-pretentious Nouveau American - probably my favorite) off the top of my head, are all worthy. Southside has Peter Luger's and Dressler of course. Only been to Rye (similar to Walter Foods) once and wasn't all that impressed however.

"So, the bottom line, be close to a subway station and you can be transported to any nabe for eating..."

I dunno... after a big fat meal, I don't really want to go underground and feel the stench and rumble. Especially when its hot!

"I'm well aware that a subway can take you anywhere. What I'm asking is, if I was in your apartment and wanted to walk to a restaurant, what would our choices be that we can walk to."
If you did a concentration map, somewhere in Boerum Hill or nearby (dare I say bococa or whatever focacta thing they came up with) probably does it for Brooklyn.

In Manhattan, I figure just go for the middle. From Madison Square park, going 20 blocks in any direction probably gives you the vast majority of top-rated Zagat. If you need a closer radius (say 10 blocks), maybe just south of union square.

midtown? You got your Daniel, you got your per se, you got your Jean-Georges.. and you have a little warren of hidden gems on and around Ninth Ave.

ali

bjw2103,

Bigging up the neighborhood he lives in. Shaking my head.

mutombo, stop crying. This question was posed: "What I'm asking is, if I was in your apartment and wanted to walk to a restaurant, what would our choices be that we can walk to." I could walk to A, which is a great little restaurant on 107th/Columbus, but I don't think that really gets at what was asked.

bjw2103,

Stop being so classy you are too prudent. LOL :o).

"midtown? You got your Daniel, you got your per se, you got your Jean-Georges.. and you have a little warren of hidden gems on and around Ninth Ave."

I guess we're just back to what kind of food one wants.

And how did you miss le bernadin?!??!?

I'm also a fan of bltsteak. Surprisingly good steak, and love those darn popovers.