by Andie McCoyd

Created on: April 28, 2009   Last Updated: April 29, 2009

As someone who actually lives and regularly eats in New York City, I'm wholeheartedly disappointed by tourists' decisions to dine exclusively at over-priced theme restaurants or worse, over-priced chain restaurants that exist in their hometowns when they have every kind of cuisine for every possible price range at their full disposal.

However, as a local, that's all easy for me to say anyone new to a city, just visiting for a few days, is not going to know about all the diamonds in the rough. So, here's a few tips from a local, for a real fun New York eating experience.

Pre/Post Theatre Dining If you're seeing a Broadway show, or just leaving one, forget about the Theatre District. Walk just a few blocks over, and suddenly, there's quieter, less crazy, and infinitely tastier neighborhood to behold. Head over to Tout Va Bien on 51st Street and 8th Avenue. With its cheery string of Christmas lights, cozy wooden tables, and walls pasted with old black and white photographs and Toulouse-Lautrec prints, Tout Va Bien feels plucked right out of some quaint little Parisian village. The prices are reasonable, the dishes authentically French and authentically delicious, and the portions generous the marinated mussels for $17 could feed two! The restaurant is BYOB, so you and your date can bring a bottle of wine to celebrate your New York adventure there's no corkage fee, so enjoy a sauvignon guilt-free. If you forgot to pick a bottle up, the house wine list boasts a wide variety of wines and prices. It doesn't hurt that the restaurant is family-owned the staff is friendly, attentive, and entertaining, whether they're good-naturedly bickering with one another in half-French and half-English, or complimenting your outfit choice and the dish you ordered.

Tout Va Bien 311 W 51st St between 8th & 9th Ave

The New York Diner All right. There is a whole hell of a lot of dispute over New York diners, which ones are good and which are awful. My pick for awful? Ellen's Stardust Diner the decor is kitschy and cute, sure, but the prices are unbelievable, the service appalling, and the food bland. Good? Try Morning Star on the corner of 57th Street and 9th Avenue. The menu is enormous order anything, and you'll be thrilled. When you ask for a medium cooked burger, you get a medium cooked burger and it's a really good burger. Another family business that will make you feel immediately at home the staff are attentive, quick, and chatty: they'll want to know where you're from, how long you're staying, what you've seen, and they'll be itching to recommend fun things for you and your family to do. Also, try the chocolate cake for the sake of your happiness.

Morning Star 401 W 57th St at 9th Ave

The Kosher Deli Well, yeah, duh, Katz's. Sure, it's expensive, but this is the one tourist attraction I will endorse, because the sandwiches are enormous. The cold-cuts are only the best, plus, it's endless fun, watching the surly, swarthy meatcutters hack at what will soon be your sandwich while the hungry crowd clamors to order. If you're lucky, you'll get the table where Sally teaches Harry a thing or two about women in When Harry Met Sally. Bonus: order a cherry soda, and the waitress is sure to call you "sugar," regardless of your age.

Katz's Delicatessen 205 E Houston St at Ludlow St

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