Customer Reviews

The Slow Food Guide to New York City: Restaurants, Markets, Bars

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a frequent traveller to Italy, I have found the Slow Food Guide to be invaluable for restaurant recommendations throughout that entire country. The Slow Food organization has consistently provided knowledgeable reviews of places that offer traditional regional cuisine for excellent value. Now that Slow Food is expanding its scope to other cities and countries, I am happy to report that its New York guide also provides reliable reviews of some of the city's best eating establishments.

Note that, unlike Zagat, the Slow Food guide is not meant to be comprehensive. Instead, the contributors have chosen to write about a handful of some of the best restaurants for each cuisine category, ranging from cheap takeout places to famous four star establishments. Inevitably, some noteworthy restaurants have been left off of the list -- but those that have been included are highly worthy representatives of their respective cuisines.

Also, unlike Zagat, the reviews contain far more knowledgeable insights about ethnic restaurants in the city. Instead of providing entries about places that are popular but have watered-down cuisine for Western tastes, the contributors provide descriptions of outstanding and occasionally lesser-known restaurants that serve more authentic fare. In particular, the guide highlights some of the best ethnic restaurants in the outer boroughs, which are too frequently ignored by the Zagat reviewers and clientele. For example, the guide recommends Sripraphai Thai restaurant in Woodside, Queens -- and their inclusion of this relatively overlooked gem indicates that this is a guide well worth following.

In summary, the Slow Food guide is not necessarily meant to be a comprehensive survey book like Zagat's, but its focus on some of the best New York restaurants -- regardless of cost or borough -- makes this guide potentially even more valuable to New York visitors. I look forward to seeing more excellent city guides appearing State-side from the Slow Food organization.

I have them all - Zagats, Time Out NY, NY Magazine - way more than I have room for. And yet, I added this book to my "collection" and I have found a few gems that have made the purchase of the book worth the money. Because food is so expensive and the price of a meal doesn't always equate to its quality, you need all the advice you can get - especially in NYC. Also, I feel it's important to support the people who are trying to make a difference by producing a great product.

Take Lupa - a Mario Batali partnership. The staff, decor, freshness, price, variety, creativity, presentation and professionalism separate it from the pack. The write-up in this book matches my experience. It's a special place and is described by someone who knows food.

I use it in conjunction with other books to fine tune my visits. Especially useful for new restaurants or visits to new areas of the City. I call it cheap insurance.

So much more comprehensive and caring than Zagat's. Thoughtful reviews and insights into the City's more worthwhile restaurants and food stores. Great for visitors and NYers alike. I just bought a dozen of these as holiday presents.

I LOVE and RELY ON my Slow Foods of NYC book. It's really a great resource--thorough with a special focus on restaurants that use local/organic produce. I use it far more than my
Zagats!

Firstly, I would like to respond to the reviewer who called it a "comically inept production." Beyond being completely clueless and having probably not read the book, the reviewer clearly has no understanding of what the book, and the slowfood movement, are meant to be. He chides the fact that the author cites Katz's and other fast-food like restaurants and reviews them well. The fact is, Slowfood is not the antithesis of food prepared quickly. It is opposed to a culture that creates restaurants like McDonalds, quite different from a restaurant that gets its food to you quickly that the book might have mentioned. McDonalds, and the type of fast food that the movement opposes, presses out pre-frozen, tasteless, chemically concocted and near-poisonous masses of protein and starch. Restaurants such as the many taquerias and sandwich shops noted in the book are different. They are run by people who care about their food and make it by hand every day. They produce real, tasty food that happens to come out quickly. To deride the quick serving restaurants noted by the book because they go against the Slowfood theme is simply ignorant.

As well, the book does not aim to be a repeat of the many books that once and again laud the many grand and expensive restaurants of Bocuse and his peers. It aims to be a guide for those who want to find the many tasty ethnic "dives" in a city best known for its ethnic diversity.

And in that spirit, it excels. The book had loads of cheap and tasty restaurants that, even though they often had fast service, stayed true to the book's mission and served fresh and tasty food.

To also deride the book by saying "Clearly, this thing was put together by amateurs" is once again remarkably ignorant and thoughtless. The majority of today's tourbooks are complete frauds. I just came back from Mexico after going to several of the worst restaurants in the country (I'm convinced.) I've had great food there and was perplexed as to how the Fodors book could have had the food (and our hotel) so wrong. Sitting at the restaurant, I noticed a phrase on the menu that seemed familiar. Looking into the tour book I saw the exact same phrase for the restuarant. The menu had several starred (literally) "special" items. The only recommendations in the book were the starred items on the menu (all of them,) and the descriptions of the items came straight off of the menu. The writer had never even gone into the damn restaurant.

All of which is to say that "experienced" tour book writers are often far worse than amateurs. The "amateurs" in the Slowfood book take the time to eat at and review hundreds of hidden restaurants you couldn't find anywhere else, and they actually do the reviewing themselves (and a good job).
I've tried loads of NY food guides, and this one was truly the best I've found.

For anyone who just moved to the city, or is a visitor looking for the best, authentic "New York" food, this is the guide! The variety of food and options for dining out in this city are completely overwelming. I found that the way this guide is organized and the in-depth write-ups on restaurants and markets to be very helpful in finding the tastiest treasures of New York City.

My expectation was bigger. It's another City Guide with no new tips. It's need more refined information about places. It is a copy of other good guides.

A guide to restaurants, markets and bars in New York City, written by New York locals and Slow Food members.

Slow Food has the principles of tradition, conviviality, sustainability, as well as an emphasis on homemade foods.

This guide is divided into three parts: Cuisines (African, British, Vegetarian, Scandinavian, Latin American etc.); Special Foods and Nightlife (Wine Bars, Coffe and Tea Houses, Brunch etc.); and Food Shops, Markets and Producers (Farmers' Markets, Fish and Seafood Markets, Ethnic and Specialty Food Markets etc.). Each description includes the types of meals found at each location, the atmosphere, address, telephone number and average cost for a meal.

There are a few black and white photographs. Most are scenic shots of New York City, while others are photos of people creating meals at restaurants. This guide seems to be quite helpful and useful despite my not being able to actually go to New York City and try the book out personally. Though having said that, I will have to say, it is definitely much more detailed than the Zagat books.

Try this little gem out. It is more detailed than Zagats and written by locals! The amount of entries in this book are over 500! There are sure to be some wonderful gems for you to discover on your next trip to New York City!

This book covers the spectrum of eating at a street cart or a high-end restaurant. You'll discover gems right in your own neighborhood that you weren't aware of before and also have the chance to explore other regions of the boroughs. A must-have guidebook for food lovers who live in New York or are coming to visit.

Any book that characterizes Katz's Delicatessen as a place to "see and be seen" is not a great source of dining wisdom, although it's good for a laugh. Clearly, this thing was put together by amateurs -- amateurs who write as if they've just arrived in New York and haven't quite figured it out yet. And they don't stay on topic very well: there are far more fast-food joints than you'd expect to find in a slow-food book. There may be a book to be written about slow food in New York. This isn't it.