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I second La Esquina downstairs. You couldn't possibly get any trendier, and dark. The food is actually good as well.

FYI - "izakaya" is not specifically a sake bar, it's a place to drink (bar) with food. A gastropub seems a better description. I would say more people drink beer even...

I second Gotham. How about also the Modern? Park Avenue Autumn?
Casual dinner - Lupa if you can get a table, Blue Hill, Blaue Gans...

Sorry, I meant LES in the above post.

Ann Marie,

I suppose it all depends on your expectations of "good", but I think very very few people who live in NYC would go to Little Italy for Italian food. But they certainly uphold a certain image of the old school American Italian restaurants, and that in it of itself may be good fun for a visitor. But if good food is truly what you are after, you might want to try elsewhere - in the neighborhood, Falai (also has a bakery/cakes) as well as Emporio are pretty good. You will not get spaghetti with meatballs or stuffed manicotti at these places though. Parisi's is a great place for huge sandwiches; and literally all the customers are local firemen and Italian Americans who have been going there for years.

omg!!! looking at that sign, i just realized where the term "pot stickers" comes from (i'm japanese but we read chinese characters). I figuratively understood why they were called pot stickers, but always thought it was some crude american translation. In my non-Chinese understanding the first character symbolizes grandeur or ample-ness. It's the "tsu" in tsunami (nami means wave - so big wave) So I see it as VERY BEAUTIFUL POTSTICKERS.

oh when i was your age, i started getting really into restaurants, this would have been such an awesome gift!

for cheap-ish or casual food
shake shack
ippudo
david's bagels or ess-a-bagel
kossar's bialys - and donut plant next door
shopsins
burger at peter lugers (lunch only) get a side of bacon - a must
red egg for dim sum

a nicer dining experience
lupa
spotted pig
eleven madison (lunch would be nice and less formal)
gramercy tavern

If you're in the Chinatown area, this might be right up your alley.
www.lunchstudio.blogspot.com

Many of the Indian or Pakistani owned delis will have Aero Bars (a couple on 2nd ave in the east village for instance). And then, Myers of Keswick in the west village is the Manhattan equivalent of this store - http://www.myersofkeswick.com/

Ask any Vietnamese person (which I'm not) and they will tell you that there aren't any. But I think there are some hopeful ones popping up run by young Vietnamese food lovers, who are dissatisfied for precisely the above mentioned reason. Stay tuned! Other than that, Xe Lua on 86 Elizabeth is pretty good.

Another super easy way to make them: In college we used to just drop hard boiled eggs into the pickled beets jar (eat the beets, keep the vinegar).

We got 2 tables recently for about 25 at Hill Country. Everyone pays for their own food too, so it's kind of nice if you are concerned about friends having to split the tab, etc.

Liberte is great! Could I also recommend Cream on Top - Brown Cow Coffee? They discontinued my favorite Lemon Flavor... Don't get turned off by the Coffee factor, it's amazing!!!