Chomp on

5 Quintessential New York Restaurants

Of the city's thousands of restaurants, some of which come and go in the blink of an eye, a few have become celebrated institutions "" places to visit as much now for their character, atmosphere, and clientele as for the food itself.

Accompany Kristina Pentland from travel publishers Rough Guides on a gastronomic tour of New York City: sample oysters that taste like they've just been dragged out of the sea, towering deli sandwiches, or the most mouth-watering steaks to be found for miles

Grand Central Oyster Bar
Lower level, Grand Central Terminal, 42nd St and Park Ave

Down in the vaulted dungeons of New York's main railway station, Grand Central, this is one of the most atmospheric oyster bars and fish restaurants in the world.

The fabled Oyster Bar draws midtown office workers for lunch and all kinds of seafood lovers for dinner who choose from a staggering menu featuring daily catches "" she-crab bisque, steamed Maine lobster, and sweet Kumamoto oysters.

Prices are moderate to expensive; you can eat more cheaply at the bar.

Balthazar
80 Spring St between Crosby St and Broadway

It's still hard to get a table in this recreation of a 1920s Parisian brasserie "" and well worth the wait. One of the hottest reservations in town, Balthazar's tastefully ornate Parisian decor and non-stop beautiful people keep your eyes busy until the food arrives.

Then you can savour the fresh oysters and mussels, the exquisite pastries, and everything in between. It's worth the money and the attitude.

Second Avenue Deli
156 2nd Ave between E 4th and 5th Sts

An East Village institution, this Jewish deli serves up marvellous burgers, hearty pastrami sandwiches, matzoh ball soup, and other deli goodies in ebullient, snap-happy style "" though not nearly as cheap as you'd think.

Old Spitalfields Market

The capital's premier wholesale fruit and vegetable market until 1991, Old Spitalfields Market now hosts a large, eclectic and fairly sophisticated selection of shops and stalls selling crafts, clothes, food and organic fruit and vegetables.

Half the market was recently knocked down to make way for yet more boxy, glassy offices, but the red-brick and green-gabled eastern half of the original building, built in 1893, survives.

Peter Luger's Steak House
178 Broadway at Driggs Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Manhattanites trek to Williamsburg to the steakhouse to beat them all, serving hunks of meat the size of a house. Catering to carnivores since 1873, Peter Luger's may just be the city's finest steakhouse.

The service is surly and the decor plain, but the porterhouse steak "" the only cut served "" is divine. Cash only, and very expensive; expect to pay at least $60 a head.

Katz's Deli
205 E Houston St at Ludlow St

Probably the most "New-York" of the city's innumerable eateries, Katz's is a Jewish deli serving archetypal overstuffed corned-beef sandwiches into the wee hours of the night.

It's celebrated for its jaw-achingly huge pastrami sandwiches "" and as the location of Meg Ryan's faked orgasm in When Harry Met Sally.