Fall break is fast approaching and, with a long weekend in store, those of you guys staying in Manhattan should think about getting out of Morningside Heights! When time permits, I love going on “eating tours” of various neighborhoods in the city. Here’s one for the West Village that leads you to some iconic Manhattan eats. Big points if you can hit all these stops in one go. Our tip would be to do this in groups of two or three and make sure to share some of the plates rather than try to hork down full meals on your own.

A West Village Eating Tour
Take the 1 down to 14th St. And, let your taste buds lead the way.

Dirty Bird to Go
204 W. 14th St.

A little joint with almost no seating, but some of the best fried chicken you’ll ever have. Don’t worry about anything else on the menu. Even if this weren’t an eating tour, the other options kind of leave a bit to be desired.

A Salt and Battery
112 Greenwich Ave.

Oft-cited as the most authentic fish and chips this side of the “Pond.” Make sure to be liberal with your malt vinegar. To be honest, the chips aren’t anything to write home about. Order up two large haddocks and you’re golden. We’ll direct you to some of the best fresh cut fries in the city next!

On a side note, A Salt & Battery has teamed up with Tea & Sympathy just next door (actually they even went as far as to close their original East village location). Take a little break on your tour to go into the Tea & Sympathy shop and look for some fun British goodies. Also, make sure to get a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk (it’s still an eating tour right?). British chocolate is different… the better kind of different.

Taim
222 Waverly Place

Hands down the best falafels in the city. It’s an unassuming store with seating for 6 so you could find yourself standing. If you haven’t given in and boughten a drink yet, its time to splurge here. The Lemon and Mint or the Strawberry and Date juices are to die for. Also, here’s the place you want to pick up some fries. Fresh cut shoe string fries with saffron aioli that will make you wonder why you ever ate fries with ketchup. The falafels are big and filling. If you’re too stuffed by this point, try sharing a falafel sampler platter.

Cones
272 Bleeker St.

Cones serves up some of the best ice cream/sorbet/gelato in the city. Part of the Manhattan Holy Trinity of gelaterias - Cones, Il Lab, and Grom. You know you can’t say no. There’s always room for dessert.

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There you have it! An eating tour that is sure to stuff you to the rafters. You think you can get through it? After finishing this tour, you’ll be in prime bar country. So, get out there and enjoy a night of festivities! If you do end up staying out and find yourself hungry again, head over to Joe’s Pizza on 7 Carmine St. It puts John’s Pizzeria to shame and also lets you order by the slice. The impossibly thin crust and sweet and tangy sauce always hits the spot for those late-night, drunk munchies.

Let us know if you make it through the tour. If you’d like to join the Hungry Lion for future tours. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled in the forums. Some ideas we have include a Chinatown eating tour as well as a Harlem eating tour. Got any neighborhoods you’d like to share?

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This entry was posted by Hungry Lion on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 10:36 pm and is filed under restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.