I'm going to NY, NY next week and was wondering what are some good resturants to dine at would be i'm up for about anything.
Manhattan is too expensive. Bring your own food.
I used to have an excellent recommendation - the Manhattan Chili Company on 43rd and Broadway, but they appeared to be out of business the last time I was in the city (still not sure how that happened, as the place was always packed with people, especially the pre-theatre crowd).
Some good places to go that aren't too overpriced...
Restaurant Row is a block on 51st? 52nd? between 8th and 9th Avenues. Pretty much every place on the street is good, and you can get a three course dinner for around $25/person if you go with the nightly fixed rate. As it's also in the theatre district, you can be certain of getting fast service - just make sure to get a reservation whenever possible or come early, as these places frequently get mentioned in <i>Playbill</i> as choice spots and draw crowds. Likewise, Amy's Breads (somewhere on 9th between 52nd and 42nd, google for the address) is a great place for a quick lunch or dessert as long as you're there during their limited hours. Seating is four tables, though, so don't dawdle if you don't have to.
Euro Diner (43rd between 7th and 8th IIRC) is good, but nothing special. I had breakfast there once.
Avoid eating in Times Square whenever possible, it's overpriced. If you go six blocks in any direction away from it, you'll find diners and small restaurants that are way cheaper and serve significantly better food.
If you want Japanese, there's a small market/ramen counter on 41st between Madison and Park (if you reach the library you've gone too far!). Their prices seem good enough, but I've never tried the food (vegetarian + Japanese soup = no go). They're also right by Book Off, so you can pick up some cheap manga while you're in the neighbourhood.
Generally speaking, street food is also good in NYC, and it's a cheap way to go although variety can be lacking. Ditto, grabbing an apple or something from a street vendor is always a plus if you can find one, as their quality tends to be higher than in the (overpriced) groceries and cheaper as well. Ditto, if you find some kind of Hot & Crusty kind of place that does sandwiches/pizza/salad bar you can generally get a quick lunch (or dinner or midnight snack) at a good price. Various names for this kind of store are all over the city, just walk around enough and you'll find one.
I wish I could offer more advice, as I visit NYC 2-3x/year and eat out a lot when I'm there, but so much of that is "I'm at 65th and 3rd and hungry, what's nearby" or "What's close to (insert theatre name) that we can get in and out of in time for curtain?". There are thousands of restaurants in Manhattan, so you can't go far without hitting one. If you don't get any advice that you feel is worthwhile here, see if you can grab a copy of Time Out New York (a weekly magazine) before you go from the local bookstore, as it will have a bunch of listings and reviews.
Go to Chinatown if you like Chinese food... there is a place that sells 5 dumplings for 1 dollar... it keeps me afloat when I have no money and I go there D:
Watch out, some of those dumplings are reknown to spark off food poisoning.
In Lower Manhattan on 9th St. east of St. Mark's (4th Ave) there's a whole row of Japanese noodle houses.
In Gramercy Park (2nd & 3rd Ave in the 20's) the streets are flooded with restaurants.