Tag Archives: penn station restaurants

Niles

24 Jul

 Number one area I am asked to recommend dining locations for: Penn Station/Madison Square Garden. Not an easy task… and mind you, I live in the area!  If you are looking to stick somewhere close to the train or the game, there just aren’t that many locations.  But there are a few gems.  Niles is one of them.

I have brought a number of clients here for breakfast, and it always delivers.  The room is stylish and has enough room between tables that you can have an actual meeting there.

Even the bread basket is elegant.

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My eating companion ordered the chocolate chip pancakes, which she very much enjoyed.

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I had their Eggs Benedict which came on a honey wheat English muffin with smoked salmon or Canadian bacon (I chose the salmon) and breakfast potatoes.  The English muffin was crisped enough that I could cut through it (a bit pet peeve of mine is when you can cut through the blasted things), the salmon tasted great, and the hollandaise was great.  

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Niles is a nice breakfast in a nice setting. It’s in a veritable wasteland of food options, so it’s a welcome restaurant and one I have and will revisit often. I wouldn’t call it destination dining, but if you need a breakfast spot near Penn Station, this is where to go.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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Hudson Station Bar and Grill

22 Apr

To wrap up my week of lunching “West of Midtown West,” we did another team lunch at a newly opened bar and restaurant on 9th Ave and 35th Street called Hudson Station Bar and Grill.  It had a big sports bar feel, with high ceilings and TVs everywhere.

When we entered once for happy hour, there was not a single woman to be seen. Single Ladies, here is a tip: Go to Hudson Station Bar and Grill for happy hour!

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Now onto the food… we ordered crab cakes, which I couldn’t try due to the peppers allergy, but heard they were so-so.

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And wings (exact same comment as the crab cakes)

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And they have about a million sliders listed, including pulled pork:

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Cheese Steak:

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And fried chicken:

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We also got the nachos, which were a heaping pile of mess.

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And far too much for even our group of 10 to finish

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And two of us tried to be healthy and go salads, including the Chicken Spinach with grilled chicken breast, baby spinach leaves, julienne cucumber, sweet corn, diced tomato, fresh mozzarella tossed in a sun dried tomato & white balsamic vinaigrette

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And the Grill Shrimp, which had mixed salad greens tossed, seasoned grilled shrimp, sliced strawberries, shredded pear, chopped walnuts, creamy crumbled blue cheese & strawberry balsamic dressing.  I was nervous to get a salad like this at a sports bar, however, I’m pretty sure this was the best thing on the table… though still tasted like everything had been frozen for a while.

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No one really thought this place was great, but it’s convenient.  We actually wound up going back on St. Patrick’s Day, where they served a VERY small menu of all Irish dishes, and we all thought it was pretty rotten and vowed never to return.  That was solidified when a few people felt pretty ill post-lunch.

Oh well!

Total Nom Points: 4 out of 10



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Goin’ Greek

17 Sep

Mike and I decided to treat my dad to dinner at Uncle Nick’s, a Greek restaurant that just opened up this second out post at 29th and 8th Ave (their original is in Hell’s Kitchen at 51st and 9th). 

We started with the four dip sampler: Tzatziki (yogurt, garlic, and dill), Tarama (roe dip), Melitzanosalata (eggplant and tomato dip) & Scordalia (garlic and potato dip). Our favorite was the Tarama.  I failed to mention to dad that it was roe for good reason… Sorry dad!

Mike and dad both ordered the the Ellinki Compania which consisted of gyro, two pork souvlaki, pita and tzatziki sauce.  It was like a make your own gyro platter and it was DELICIOUS. 


I guess I was having nastalgia for college as I ordered stuffed cabbage (my college roommate Kim turned me onto stuffed cabbage).  I did forget, however, that greek stuffed cabbage comes in a white sauce and not tomato sauce.  I definitely missed the tomato sauce, but it was still good.

My stuffed cabbage came with pan roasted veggies.  The potatoes were especially good.

Overall, it’s not the best Greek restaurant I’ve been to, but it’s very good for the price.  They are consistently good (I’ve been to the uptown location twice and this location once before) and the service is always top notch.  I was actually quite dissapointed that we didn’t have room for baklavah!

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

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