We’re leaving for a vacation/college visits trip in a week. Will drive NYC to Boston to Chicago with numerous stops on the way. We love good food and haven’t been on the East Coast for years. I’ll be grateful for any suggestions of restaurants, especially in NYC and Boston, which are really awesome but not super-fancy or terribly expensive. Somewhat fancy is OK because we’ll also celebrate out 20th anniversary! We like all kinds of food but especially European and Japanese.
SRV and Row 34 in Boston, Oleana and Safra in Cambridge.
If you take I90 between Boston and Chicago and skirt along the Great Lakes, stop for a meal at the original Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse.
I’m surprised others haven’t chime in with some recommendations yet…
What is your route from Boston to Chicago??? If you drive the turnpike through Ohio to Chicago you could stop in Toledo for Tony Packo’s!! http://www.tonypacko.com/ Made famous by Klinger on M.A.S.H, great hungarian food (I recommend the stuffed cabbage rolls, the paprikas dumplings and gravy and apple strudel - and don’t forget a good helping of the Packo pickles and peppers!
Also, a “dog” with all the fixings. 
Go to the original location, maybe 15 minutes off the turnpike (if that) and it will be a fast meal in a fun place. Check out the famous signed hot dog buns!
If you can’t eat at Dinosaur’s in Syracuse the one in NYC is very good too. (Though our current favorite BBQ is now PikNik in Tarrytown.)
Japanese: https://www.sakagura.com/
@abasket we actually are going through Ithaca, Niagara Falls and along the Canadian side of the lake to Ann Arbor.
I was with the owner of SRV just the other day. It’s a great place. He also owns Coda & Salty Pig.
How long will you be in town? What area of the city are you staying in?
Here’s a list of restaurants I’m comfortable recommending:
O Ya for Asian cuisine.
https://o-ya.restaurant/o-ya-boston/
You can’t go wrong with a Barbara Lynch restaurant like Sportello or No. 9 Park. You can walk across the street from No. 9 Park after dinner and stroll through Boston Common.
http://www.sportelloboston.com/
Ken Oringer’s Toro for tapas.
http://www.toro-restaurant.com/
Neptune Oyster is a tiny little seafood restaurant in the North End.
http://www.neptuneoyster.com/710y7apqe1234i7jk5197u6npf84bh
If you want Italian in the North End my go to is Mama Maria’s.
ReelHouse is a great new spot in East Boston. It has a beautiful view of the Boston skyline across the harbor. You can actually call their water taxi to take you from downtown to the restaurant.
https://www.reelhouseboston.com/
Hopefully this helps.
+1 to Mamma Maria. And for cannolis, ricotta pie, and other Italian pastries, Modern Pastry over Mike’s. Don’t buy the hype about Mike’s.
In Ithaca - https://moosewoodcooks.com/
^#6 O Ya for “Asian”, haha most expensive meal I have ever had in my life!!! It’s a sushi place that specializes in sake wine. Would I go again? Yes. Would I take my whole family? Maybe not.
NYC:
IchiUmi, 6 E 32nd St: Inexpensive, all you can eat sushi and hot pot. Sushi is fresh, but not fancy. The hot pot ingredients are very extensive.
Dons Bogam, 17 E 32nd St: Korean, not the cheapest, but very good barbecue. Reservation is needed.
Kun Fu Little Steamed Buns, 14y E 55th St: Chinese water dumplings, try the water dumplings, hot beef noodle soup, Shanghai fried buns.
Flinder’s Lane, 162 Ave A, Australian Restaurant, 5-7 happy hours, fresh oysters and half price wine. Food is Asian Fusion.
I go to Freds at Barneys on Madison Ave. It is mostly New Yorkers, grandparents, families, but dressed up. I was upset that I missed Springsteen having dinner there one night before his show. Reservation is needed.
If you want some recommendations for more expensive and sit down experience, I can also give few recommendations, but often you would need reservation weeks if not 30 days ahead.
Ithaca:
Ale House for bar food. On weekends they have live band.
Maxie’s Supper Club, good seafood, a lot of locals.
Just a Taste, good tapas, can be a long wait sometimes.
Carriage House Cafe, favorite breakfast place for people, need to get there before it opens. They also have good light menu for lunch.
ZaZa Cusina, good Italian, more formal sit down.
Collegetown bagels, a lot of students go there for food. Food is good and casual.
Dinosaur catered at both of my kids’ graduation party. We are going to use them again for D1’s wedding (welcome party the night before).
@oldfort -
I had no idea there is an Australian restaurant in Manhattan. I think I will take my d’s bf’s parents the next time they visit. They are Australian, but have lived in the US and/or Europe for many years.
Even though I work in Manhattan, I very rarely eat out there so I can’t even recommend any restaurants.
@techmom99 - my nephew sometimes works at another Australian restaurant in NYC on the upper west side called Burke & Wills.
Since you’re going through Ann Arbor, two fun suggestions:
https://www.zingermansdeli.com/ An institution - amazing sandwiches, pickles and fun to browse. AMAZING cheese shop and pick up some bagels or a loaf of bread for the road!
http://www.fritabatidos.com/ This is a go to for us - my 20’s kids love it and we do too. Not fancy, but oh so good and unique. Be sure to get a batido!
You could even eat at Frita’s and take a nice walk to ZIngerman’s for dessert - I recommend hummingbird cake or gelato!
Some recommendations for the Boston area:
Island Creek Oyster Bar (Boston)
Terra (upstairs in Mario Batali’s Eataly)
Mooncusser (a fairly new seafood restaurant in the city) or you could drive out to Concord, MA where they have another excellent restaurant (80 Thoreau)
Toro (tapas–no reservations for dinner, so plan to wait or go early or late)
Cambridge:
Les Sablons
Cafe ArtScience
Oleana
These are pricy, but have wonderful food and are great for a celebration dinner:
Les Espalier (Boston)
O Ya (Boston)
Menton (Boston)
Is it real kangaroo on the menu? My D and her bf are vegan-ish, but some of the other stuff on the menu looks interesting. I honestly didn’t realize that Australian cuisine was so different. Thanks, though, I will tell my D and the BF to check it out.
Yes, it’s real kangaroo. I didn’t try it, but my nephew has and he said it was good.
@yucca10 - I had a really nice dinner in NYC for my birthday a couple of years ago at Café d’Alsace:
@abasket We actually lived in Ann Arbor for three years, who can ever forget Zingerman’s!