Tim Zagat talks restaurants

Photo credit: Urbanite

Tim Zagat is the creator of Zagat Survey.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

As a rule, Tim Zagat, founder of Zagat Survey will not divulge his favorite restaurants. He leaves that to the reviewers.

But we asked Zagat to give us some of his honest opinions on those that rank highest in his book, the city’s restaurant bible.

Top deli: Barney Greengrass

541 Amsterdam Ave., btwn 86th and 87th sts., 212-724-4707

“It’s a wonderful place to get Jewish soul food,” said Zagat. “It’s like they’ve been pouring brine over the floors for 100 years. It’s a favorite overall on the West Side,” he said.

Top pizza: Lucali

575 Henry St., btwn Carroll St and 1st Pl., Brooklyn,718-858-4086

Zagat admits that he’s never been there, but has heard the square, thin-crust pizza is great. One of his absolute favorites is Patsy’s pizza [in East Harlem], which he grabs every time he’s on his way to his country house in Duchess Country. “It’s thin crust and it’s very well toasted,” he said. But, he added, “nothing divides people like their taste in pizza.”Top seafood: Le Bernardin

155 W. 51st St., btwn Sixth and Seventh aves., 212-554-1515

Zagat described this French restaurant as “elegant to the nth degree French seafood, done by one of the best chefs in America,” referring to Eric Ripert. Zagat also pointed out that very different places, like Milos and Pearl Oyster Bar, often rank second and third. “There’s a lot of really good Greek seafood in the city,” he said.

Top steakhouse: Peter Luger

178 Broadway, Brooklyn, 718-387-7400

“I think we should give them the award in perpetuity,” said Zagat, mentioning that this Williamsburg landmark has ranked No. 1 for more than 20 years. “There’s no one else who’s even close. Year after year they’re running away with it,” he said.

Top Italian: Babbo

110 Waverly Pl.,btwn MacDougal St and Sixth Ave., 212-777-0303

For years, the top Italian honors belonged to Il Mulino, but for the past several years it’s been Babbo. “Between Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, they are producing brilliant food,” he said. But in the classic style of the Zagat guide, Zagat mentioned one drawback too: “It’s so popular that it can be hard to get in,” he said.

According to Tim …

Tim Zagat’s outlook on the restaurant climate is more positive than many media reports have shown.

“You may become more selective on the menu and you may go to less expensive restaurants,” he said, “but we all have to eat.”

Zagat contends that there’s a huge value in going out to eat. “The vast majority of New York City restaurants are ‘BATH’(Better Alternative To Home) restaurants. Over 500 restaurants in Zagat are less than $25 for dinner. That’s less than you can make it for, especially when you take into account the time it takes you to prepare and clean up,” he said.

Zagat said he’s been through three recessions, and found that generally there are more openings than closings.

Now, he said, is actually a good time to be in the business. “We’re in a restaurant revolution in America,” Zagat said. He cited tax laws that favor eating out(business-related meals can be expensed), white collar jobs that pay their employees’ restaurant meals if they work after 9 p.m. and the largest increase in women in the workforce.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Delicious
• Digg
• Stumble Upon