In checked out a couple of places that Tony dropped in. First of all, these places are all full of Tony groupies, at Ali's Kebab cafe that meant the entire restaurant population. All very nice & interesting people though!

Ali's kebab cafe was awesome. Great food, greta personality of the chef... Just perfect. Brain is sooo good.

Now Cafe Glechik on the other hand was pretty mediocre in terms of authentic Russian food: They don't serve liquor at all, so that was certainly misleading in the show. The bortch was way too sweet and not sour, tiny bit of sour cream, some of the bread was of the wonderbread variety instead of good unsweetened rye bread. Another famous Ukranian soup, solyanka, was also lacking acidity and was sos-so. The salad oliver, a staple of Soviet cuisine, is called stolychnaja here, but good. This is a Russian diner OK, but to portrait it as quintescential authentic and good was hyped up. For somebody who traveled Russia this should have been apparent.

Prune: I can't imagine that this is a chef's dream. This is hyped up trying to be special. Some of combinations don't work together at all and are not comforting: sellery, anchovis and almonds???? Radish and butter? I had to try the bone marrow and that was special and worth it. The other very uncomfortable thing about this place is how small it is. You sit squeezed in there and people constantly squeeze through between the narrow table. All in all a very uncomfortable stay. They make very good drinks and as a bar it works well.

The report on the Pig's head was kind of pointless. OK, so they have a special kitchen mere mortals cannot attend. So what's the point of showing us that? I want to see food covered that I actually have a chance eating one day, particularly if it's in an accessible location.

I realize that this is not a food critque show. But in the sense that it should represent New York's diversity, I think Tony could have selected better. And if the honesty is so important to him (see blog Romania), well then I expect that here too.

Just like New York Broadway Shows mixed experience, it all depends on one's personal taste. Due to NY's diversity, there are so many types of cuisine to choose from, I mainly use the Michelin Guide and it is right on the money. Using this guide, I had amazing meals at some of the finest New York Hotel restaurants.

While you are in NYC, there are so many New York City Attractions to choose from, especially looking for Broadway Shows, restaurants, etc., and if you are new in the city, it is best to check with the New York City Hotel concierge where you stay at.