This surprisingly good Chinese take out hole in the wall restaurant on 8th Avenue has some of the best Chinese food in Midtown Manhattan. In what still advertises video tapes, New Dynasty Inc. is a real find for customers who want a reasonable lunch or dinner that is large in portions and low in prices. Their lunch specials run between $6.60 to $7.20 for a combination platter that could easily feed two people.
The restaurant is bare bones in décor with only the illuminated signs for decoration. What is lacks in atmosphere it makes up in the quality of the food and the friendliness of the service. The family that runs the place have always been very welcoming to me on my few trips here and…
The Grilled Chicken House (or Chicken House in some reviews) is a tiny hole in the wall sandwich and fried chicken restaurant in the heart of the Garment District. The menu is has many more food items on it but fried chicken reigns supreme here. It is freshly cooked and placed in the window as the customers walk in.
It does have a diverse menu of fried chicken, grilled chicken, fried crab sticks, fried shrimp all served either with rice, french fries or/and rice and beans. The restaurant even has a selection of Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches to cater to the growing population of Vietnamese garment workers in the area.
I tried the Fried Shrimp with rice ($6.00) with a Coke ($1.00) the first time I ate there and it was delicious. The shrimp…
I came across this little gem of a restaurant one afternoon when I was walking in the Garment District and it is one of my new favorite places to go for a snack when working in the area (See reviews on TripAdvisor).
Non Solo Piada makes traditional Italian Street foods and breakfast inspired by street food you might find in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The best part of the menu here is there are all sorts of wonderful and creative items on the menu that will run $10.00 and less.
The items on the menu are split into four catagories: Piadine (sandwiches), Cassoni (stuffed sandwiches) and Piadizze (Pizzas) plus desserts and beverages. A Piadine is a warm folded over sandwich where you can see…
I came across SheShe Pizzeria on my walk around Manhattan Valley (Between 110th Street-96th Street and Riverside Drive and Central Park West) for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan” when I was walking Columbus Avenue. This little ‘gem’ has one of the best lunch specials in the neighborhood. I am surprised that the Columbia students have not discovered this restaurant.
I stopped in for lunch twice and was very impressed that such a good quality lunch can be had for $5.00 (tax included). The first day of my ‘walk’ in the neighborhood, I tried the personal pizza with a Coke. It was delicious. The owner makes the pizza fresh for you and it comes out piping hot and gooey from…
*Bloggers note: I was talked to the owner over lunch in May 2026 and the prices have gone up at the restaurant. They are not too expensive, but the prices have changed since my initial visit.
I had passed Jimbo’s Hamburger Palace many times when walking the Sutton Place neighborhood of Manhattan for my project “MywalkinManhattan.com” and decided to come in for lunch. It is a small local restaurant and most of the customers obviously have been coming here for years since the guys at the grill seemed to know everyone. Most of the locals in the neighborhood were sitting at the counter, kidding around with the cooks who seemed to know everyone by either name or site.
The kitchen is really small and there is a counter up front and two small tables
Jimbo’s is a small diner type restaurant on First Avenue and one of those small hole in the wall restaurants that every neighborhood needs and are now becoming a dying breed in areas all over Manhattan. Lucky that this wonderful little restaurant is here with a nice selection of breakfast and lunch dishes. Most items on the menu are $10.00 or less and there is something for everyone.
The menu at the counter inside Jimbo’s Place
The breakfast menu has such items as pancakes, French Toast and Omelets while the lunch menu has burgers, club sandwiches, cheese steaks, chicken cutlet, grilled cheese and mayonnaise based salad sandwiches. The portion sizes are quite large so bring your appetite.
They have a nice selection of baked items for breakfast
I had the Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe sandwich, which came with a side of French fries and lettuce and tomato and pickles. The burger was cooked to perfection about medium-well where it was cooked through with just a touch of pink to it. The meat was juicy and flavorful.
Jimbo’s Bacon Cheese Burger Deluxe
I had one their jelly doughnuts for dessert which are brought in from a local bakery and it was large, fluffy and full of a raspberry and currant tasting jelly.
The Bacon Cheeseburger was delicious
The burgers here are really juicy
On my second trip to Jimbo’s, I wanted something light on a hot day. I ordered the Chicken Salad Club sandwich, which was served on white toast.
My Chicken Salad Club
The chicken salad was full of flavor and the sandwich had a nice sized portion on it with lettuce and tomato and crisp bacon in layers and was served with pickles and a side of Cole Slaw. The chicken salad was nicely spiced and was crisp with every bite due to the fresh vegetables.
The Chicken Salad Club
They give you a nice portion of Chicken Salad
The third trip to Jimbo’s was a little disappointing. I had the Chicken Parmesan Platter, which was a Chicken Cutlet with pizza sauce and mozzarella on top with a side of fries. I was not impressed by the sauce which had no flavor to it. The fries were a tad over cooked. The second time I had the Chicken Parmesan again the sauce was much better but I skipped the fries.
The Chicken Parmesan sandwich was much better the second time
The sandwich itself was fresh and the ingredients were good quality but when put together did not have much flavor. The second time trying it, they must have changed the sauce. They made it really good this time
The Chicken Parmesan sandwich
It was a nice lunch
The service is quick and friendly and the food came out perfectly timed all the times I have visited the restaurant.
What I liked about the restaurant the most was the sense of comradery that the restaurant creates. Everyone at the counter was talking with one another and it was nice to get to know some of the people in the neighborhood and hear their perspective on what is happening in the city.
I had passed Jimbo’s Hamburger Palace many times when walking the Sutton Place neighborhood of Manhattan for my project “MywalkinManhattan.com” and decided to come in for lunch. It is a small local restaurant and most of the customers obviously have been coming here for years since the guys at the grill seemed to know everyone. Most of the locals in the neighborhood were sitting at the counter, kidding around with the cooks who seemed to know everyone by either name or site.
Jimbo’s is a small diner type restaurant on First Avenue and one of those small hole in the wall restaurants that every neighborhood needs and are now becoming a dying breed in areas all over Manhattan. Lucky that this wonderful…
While I was walking around the Sutton East neighborhood on the border of Sutton Place and Turtle Bay, I came across Lin’s Gourmet Chinese Restaurant at 1097 Second Avenue. What looks like another run of the mill hole in the wall Chinese takeout place is anything but when it comes to the taste of their food and quality of the dishes.
What is nice is that they have a good lunch combination menu with a wide selection of dishes to choose from all in the $8.00 to $8.50 price range. Each of the lunch selections comes with a side of either pork fried, brown or white rice and a choice of soup or an eggroll. The portion sizes are quite large and it…
I came across this wonderful little Vietnamese restaurant when I was walking the Turtle Bay neighborhood for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” and was looking for a reasonable meal that evening. I was pleasantly surprised. The food and service were very good and the I had a nice time talking to other guests.
The space for the restaurant is quite tight and it is a long narrow space done in all woods along the walls and in the seating. The kitchen is in the front as you walk in but you can’t see where the cooking is being done. As I walked in at 5:00pm, I must have thrown the staff off as they were eating their lunch when I walked through the door. It was funny because not even five minutes later two other parties followed me into the restaurant.
The inside of Pho 2 at 273 Eighth Avenue
The service was very pleasant and the food came out in a timely basis. I started the meal with the pork filled Spring Rolls ($6.00) which were filled with well spiced ground pork and fresh vegetables and cooked to a golden brown. They had a nice crunch with every bite and with the accompanying sauce plus some hot sauce really brought out the flavor of the pork. A little different from their Chinese counterparts.
The Pho 6 Spring Rolls a very crisp and golden brown
They are so good
The crispy Spring Rolls were served with lettuce and Ginger sauce
The Spring Rolls were crisp and light made sweeter by the Ginger Sauce
For the main meal, I had the Vermicelli Noodles with Grilled Shrimp ($10.00). Most of the time I avoid grilled anything in restaurants because it always tastes dry. Not here as the shrimp was grilled to perfection. The outside was nicely marked but the inside was moist and sweet. The noodles were smooth and cooked to tenderness that were topped with fresh greens and carrots which made the dish sweet and crunchy with the ginger sauce that was served on the side.
Their Vermicelli Noodle dishes are delicious
The Rice Noodles with Grilled Shrimp are delicious
The menu also contains lots of different items from Banh Mi sandwiches to Rice Dishes, Vietnamese Tacos and Pho Noodle Soups, so there is a lot to choose from.
The whole meal was enjoyable from the food to the service to the ladies and their little baby sitting next to me that I talked to through my meal. It is a very engaging restaurant with good quality food, nice size portions, friendly service and very fair prices.
It is nice to discover these little neighborhood gems.
*Author’s Note: the restaurant closed during the COVID-19 pandemic but Pho 5 is in Murray Hill and Pho 4 is in the Garment District to enjoy.
The Pho 2:
Pho 2 at 273 Eighth Avenue
I really miss the Pho 6 but recently discovered that there is a branch of the restaurant around the corner from where I work on Eighth Avenue and I decided to try it for lunch. I was very impressed by this branch as well.
The Classic Banh Mi Special Sandwich
I had a Banh Mi Special sandwich, which is ham, sliced pork, pate, cilantro, carrots, daikon, and lettuce on a toasted baguette. The sandwich was excellent. All the meats were so fresh and the vegetables were so crispy.
The Banh Mi Special sandwich was delicious
The baguette was toasted perfectly and the sandwich was nicely accompanied by both Plum Sauce and Hot Sauce that you could add on top from the bottles on the table. The sandwich was really reasonable at $9.00.
The Classic Banh Mi sandwich is excellent at Pho 2
The service was quick and very pleasant. The food came out quickly. The quality of the food is excellent.
The inside of the restaurant is bright and cheery.
The next time I ate at the Chelsea branch, I wanted to try a different sandwich and choose the Grilled Chicken and it was delicious. Thinly sliced pieces of grilled chicken marinated and perfectly grilled with lots of fresh vegetables on top on a chewy role is excellent.
The Grilled Chicken sandwich.
The food here is always consistent and fresh.
The chicken sandwich is wonderful.
I always enjoy eating here.
The Grilled Chicken sandwich was excellent.
Yum!
I recently returned to have dinner with a friend at Pho 2 and we each ordered a Bahn Mi sandwich and two types of Spring rolls. The food as usual was excellent.
She had the Classic sandwich with pork and pate and I had the Beef which is a combination of flank steak and rib. It was excellent. The thinly sliced meat complimented the crisp vegetables.
The beef was so tender and the vegetables very crisp.
The sandwich was a great combination of flavors.
Along with our sandwiches, we order both the Pork Spring Rolls and the Duck Spring Rolls. Both were so well cooked and seasoned. The Pork Spring Rolls were served with a Ginger Sauce and the Duck Spring Rolls served with a Hot Chili sauce.
The perfect dinner: A Beef Bahn Mi and Pork Spring Rolls
The delicious Spring Rolls wrapped in lettuce and then dipped in sweet sauce
The Duck Spring Rolls are loaded with sweet thinly sliced Duck meat.
The Duck Spring Rolls with the hot chili sauce
The Duck was so sweet and rich with the chili sauce to accompany it.
We ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls on our next trip which had delicious marinaded pork
I never realized how good these were until I tried them
A new item that they are featuring were a Soft Tacos with pork, chicken and shrimp. We tried the Pork and Chicken versions and tucked into the soft taco shells and a little plum sauce, these were delicious.
The Grilled Pork Tacos
The Grilled Beef Tacos
The Beef Tacos were just amazing
The Tacos were served two per portion and made the perfect start to our meal.
The food is truly excellent here.
The Pho Maiden Lane:
I was staying overnight in Lower Manhattan and right across the street from my hotel was Pho Maiden Lane so I wanted to try this one as well. I never realized that this was a small chain in Manhattan.
The Pho Maiden Lane at 3 Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan
This time I tried the Grilled Pork Bahn Mi with a Coke and it was the perfect sized dinner. The pork was so nicely marinaded in a soy and hoisin sauce. The taste was so amazing with the fresh vegetables and crisp bread.
The food was excellent again and the service was attentive and friendly. I will be back again in the future.
The fresh bread and well cooked and spiced meat really does make a difference
The meat is well spiced
It is a well designed restaurant for the space
I had the Vietnamese Noodles with Shrimp and their noodles were just as good as the other branches.
The Noodles are really good
The Pork Spring Rolls here are perfectly fried and filled with a wonderful spiced pork mixture and were delicious.
The Pork Spring Rolls are wonderful here
The Spring Rolls are excellent
Yum!
After dinner I walked around Lower Manhattan and the views are amazing.
I came across this wonderful little Vietnamese restaurant when I was walking the Turtle Bay neighborhood for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” and was looking for a reasonable meal that evening. I was pleasantly surprised. The food and service were very good and the I had a nice time talking to other guests.
The space for the restaurant is quite tight and it is a long narrow space done in all woods along the walls and in the seating. The kitchen is in the front as you walk in but you can’t see where the cooking is being done. As I walked in at 5:00pm, I must have thrown the staff off as they were eating their lunch when I walked through the door. It was funny because not…
In honor of Small Business Saturday I am sending out merchants I have found on MywalkinManhattan. Don’t miss the treasures you will find here at John Koch Antiques.
John Koch Antiques moved to 47-22 37th Street in Long Island City, NY.
John Koch Antiques is a store that looks like someone just emptied their grandmother’s house and loaded it into one store. The store has been in business for over thirty years and specializes in buying from estate sales. The place is loaded with furniture, accessories, paintings and assorted bric-a-brac.
I love this small, crowded antique store with it loads of Victorian and early 20’s items. There is a treasure trove of small unique gift items from $20.00 and up. I saw antique perfume bottles with the curved metal work, small salt cellars and all sorts of tea pots with flowers, animals and zig-zag designs on them.
There are all sorts of things for the office such as wooden boats, Victrola’s, metal cars and hard liqueur bottles. Paintings stare at…
In honor of Small Business Saturday I am sending out merchants I have found on MywalkinManhattan. Don’t miss this unique toy store. A real one of a kind.
I discovered this store for the first time on my walking project, ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’, when I was walking the Upper East Side. Coming from the Toy Industry (I worked for FAO Schwarz for four years in both main New York store on Fifth Avenue and the Minneapolis store for four months in 1987), I recognized the beauty and fun of the Tiny Doll House.
When I walked in I was greeted by a woman who explaining the store to another customer. One side of the store has all sorts of things to decorate a dollhouse that were all handmade like dolls, food, furniture and accessories that would be the envy of any home. Even the paints to put over a doll house mantle were hand painted (or at…
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am sending out merchants I have found on MywalkinManhattan. Books of Wonder is a unique little bookstore on the Upper West Side with a wonderful selection of Children’s Books.
This store closed in June 2021. Please see the attachment for their store on West 17th Street in Manhattan on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com.
I came across the ‘Books of Wonder’ bookstore when touring the Upper West Side on the ‘Streets & Avenues’ tour of the neighborhood and fell in love with this whimsical little children’s bookstore that I found out later was the inspiration for the bookstore in the movie, “You’ve got Mail”.
Stocked with the latest releases and many of the classics that I grew up with, the bookstore is popular with the after-school crowd and their parents. There are many book signings and readings here and the staff is very helpful when trying to find a book for a gift. Take time to look over the stacks and even pick up one or two and start reading!
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