Restaurateur (And Upper West Sider) Mandy Oser Dishes On Her Favorite Neighborhood Food Spots

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

Many Oser (Photo: Twitter)

Serious Eats occasionally posts neighborhood dining guides based on the favorite spots of well-known/respected food and restaurant biz types from around NYC.

In June they featured chef Michael White, a James Beard Award recipient, top restaurateur, and Upper West Sider.

They recently ran a similar post with Many Oser — owner of popular Hell’s Kitchen wine bar Ardesia and former Business Manager and Head of Strategic Partnerships at the venerable Le Bernedin.

She’s also an Upper West Sider and gave Serious Eats her top food picks for her slice of the neighborhood.


You can read the full story at SeriousEats.com (meant to post this last week — I’m in catch-up mode).

These guides aren’t meant to cover entire neighborhoods — Ms. Oser lives at Columbus & 77th, so most of the restaurants she mentions are in that general vicinity.

The article includes a brief write-up on each spot, but here’s the quick list:

  • Pizza: Big Nick’s
  • Burgers: Telepan
  • Coffee: Joe The Art Of Coffee
  • Bagels: Bagel Talk
  • Breakfast: Fairway Cafe
  • Wine Bar: Bin 71
  • Greek: Kefi
  • Tacos: The Great Burrito
  • Light Night Eats: Ditch Plains
  • Date Night: Dovetail
  • Can’t Miss Neighborhood Spot: Anything from the Daniel Boulud “corner” [Broadway & 64th] Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud and Epicerie Boulud

Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts on these places in the comments section.

I prefer the pizza at Freddie & Peppers over Big Nick’s, but maybe that’s just me.


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Filed under: Food & Drink, Going Out, Manhattan, New York City, NYC, Restaurants, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, Upper West Side Review, UWS 13 Comments »
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  • Andrea

    That’s an unhelpful list. When I think of a neighborhood spot, I think of a unique, single store offering that cannot be found anywhere else, not the Boulud empire. I would never go to Telepan for a burger and Joe has terrible coffee (and a terrible set up). Would love to hear more unique/insipiring recommendations.

  • westsidefoodie

    Andrea, I agree about some of your comments, but there is nothing terrible about Joe’s Coffee except for the mild ‘tude you experience from regulars when you walk through the door. The coffee is excellent and the following is warranted. I only wish I lived closer! You’re right, Telepan isn’t a burger place, but nearly everything he does is great and sustainable. I can put myself in Bill Telepan’s hands and know that I am getting an excellent meal sourced from sustainable ingredients. I have never been disappointed. As for the Boulud Empire, I was unimpressed with the patisserie (overpriced dry pastries) but I did like the wine bar when it first opened. I don’t think Bin71 offers much other than pricey wines and pretentious people who have no clue what they’re drinking. I’d add Elizabeth’s Table as a good option for those who want to seek out natural comfort food, and Blue Ribbon (which isn’t really on the UWS but in Columbus Circle) for the best sushi (made by authentic Japanese sushi chefs). But honestly, as hard as I try to come up with a decent list of UWS restaurants, I always fall short. This is one of the HUGE drawbacks of our neighborhood :(

  • MyUpperWest

    I do think describing the “Boulud Trifecta” as a neighborhood spot is a bit of a stretch, but it’s her list, not mine…

    I guess the value of this as a “neighborhood guide” depends on your frame of reference. Perhaps it might be more accurate to just call it a list of where professional restaurateurs and foodies eat on the Upper West Side.

    I don’t drink coffee myself (I get my caffeine from iced tea, Red Bull, and Five Hour Energy), but I gather coffee tastes are EXTREMELY subjective — I know some people who swear by it.

    Anyway, to your point about more unique/inspiring recommendations… I’ve been toying with the best way to do a post about this for a while (i.e. crowdsourcing) and it’s on my radar. It’s something I’d like to do, just need to hammer out the specifics.

  • MyUpperWest

    I was at Elizabeth’s shortly after they opened.

    Ended up having a problem with the meal, but I attributed it to the fact they’d only been open for about two weeks and were still working out the kinks.

    Might be time to give it another shot.

    You know RedFarm is opening in the neighborhood?

  • westsidefoodie

    Honestly, I’ve only been at Elizabeth’s once and I can’t vouch for their prep but I reviewed their menu and beverage list and was impressed by the lengths they went to to be organic and sustainable. I would prefer to eat a mediocre meal made with fresh and organic ingredients to an elaborately orchestrated meal made with ingredients from SYSCO. And yes, I had heard about Red Farm- so excited! There are a few nice places around here, but generally it is a restaurant wasteland. And pricey at that!

  • Steve

    In a possibly related topic, the one staple our neighborhood is missing is a solid Chinese restaurant. Shun Lee is terrific, but too costly for every day. After Shun Lee, there is a HUGE drop off in quality. The UES and Midtown have many great options. Huge void in our hood.

  • Lauren

    I completely agree with you re: Freddie & Peppers. It’s funny, I’ve heard several good things about Big Nick’s from many people, but have been completely underwhelmed all four times I ordered from there. Maybe the in-restaurant food is better than delivery? I agree with many of Mandy’s UWS picks, but the fact that she chose Big Nick’s as best pizza makes me sliiightly suspect…

  • Tara

    What about Celeste? Lovely little UWS spot (it’s become quite trendy as of late with a long wait), but it’s small and delicious

  • MyUpperWest

    Have you been (or gotten delivery from) Grand Sichuan? (307 Amsterdam, between 74/75).

    If you like spicy food, try their Chong Qing spicy chicken — FANTASTIC!

    It’s better there, as it comes out a little crispier, but I mostly get it delivered.

    The restaurant’s strength is Sichuan specialties, but if you like more Americanized Chinese food, they’ve got good General Tso’s type stuff too.

    The dining room itself is pretty basic (and a little too quiet), but I get delivery from them regularly (almost exclusively the Chong Qing chicken dish mentioned above).

    I know some people who swear by The Cottage, and Canteen82 seems promising. I’ve gotten delivery from both and they were OK, but I wasn’t overly impressed.
    I agree that in general, the UWS is really lacking good Chinese options.

  • MyUpperWest

    I haven’t been, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Celeste.

    I’ve become far less patient in my 30s than I was in my 20s, so their “no reservation” policy combined with my increasing laziness has kept me away.

    I believe they’re also “cash only,” which irks me a bit but isn’t actually a huge deal.

    Anyway, it’s on my list of places to go one of these days.

  • MyUpperWest

    Yeah, I don’t really want to poo-poo Big Nick’s too much as it’s been in the neighborhood for 50 years and is an UWS “institution” of sorts, but I don’t think they’re food is particularly good.

    To me, their biggest selling point is that they’re open 24-hours and their menu has 4,286 items on it, so you can pretty much get whatever you want, whenenever you want.

    Still, for me it’s pretty much exclusively a late-night option.

  • Steve

    Mike, There are two types of Chinese Restaurants in the world. Restaurants that de-vein their shrimp, and all the rest. Shun Lee cleans their shrimp. I’ll research Grand Sichuan, but I have my doubts on the other two. Thanks for your recommendation. Love the blog.

  • Christina

    Agree! How about a MUW reader poll instead? :)