Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

You DEFINITELY have to leave Times Square, as most of the restaurants around there nowadays are the same franchise nightmares you have wherever you came from.

I second Russ & Daughters and Katz's, and as long as you're down there you should stop at Yonah Schimmel's for knishes. SERIOUSLY.

I like going for borscht and blintzes and all sorts of Ukrainian goodies at Veselka, on 2nd Ave and 9th Street. If you're a cheese person, you should try to brunch at Artisanal on 32nd between Lex and Park, which is like walking into a huge cheese cave.

Ed Levine had a nice post on SE earlier about Thai restaurants that you might look for, but I can tell you the most authentic Thai place I've eaten at so far in Manhattan is Thai Market on Amsterdam and 107th Street, which is two or three doors down from Taqueria y Fonda, which is the most authentic pure Mexican food I've found in NYC.

Manhattan has two Little Indias, one on E. 6th Street between 1st and 2nd and the other on Lexington Avenue in the high 20s. Both places have wonderful stores for South Asian ingredients, although the best is Kalustyan's, on Lex and 28th (which is across from a cool little place called Chinese Mirch, which is Chinese food as interpreted in South Asia).

If price isn't a huge object, though, and as a special NYC treat, I would eat one evening at Union Square Cafe, which is consistently voted one of the best all-around dining experiences in the city.

And if price is REALLY no object, check out Danube, a fabulous Weimar confection serving Viennese food, as interpreted by David Bouley. It's down in Tribeca, on Hudson Street at Duane.

Enjoy! And check out the Midtown Lunch blog (http://midtownlunch.com/blog/) for places to grab street food while shopping in midtown...