So one day before deadline, I remember I’m supposed to submit an ‘NYC restaurant guide’. I’m scratching my head in confusion here. That’s a subject for a thick book, not a blog post to be tapped out on the fly. I mean, it’s virtually impossible to even remember all the good restaurants in New York City, let alone list them with descriptions. And how many more new restaurants open each week?

And then if you start categorizing them – Romantic, kosher, pre-theater dinner, breakfast, soul food, ethnic, greasy fast food diners, rooftop lounges – Well, let’s just say that this is going to be one heck of a blog post.

Breakfast Diners: Two choices – Norma’s and Tom’s. Both equally appealing, and the only thing separating them is their location, and a little bit of a class divide. Norma’s restaurant, located inside Le Parker Meridien, serves breakfast all day long. Norma’s complimentary smoothies, the delicious Blueberry Pancakes or Eggs Benedict, all washed down with refills of fresh squeezed orange juice, is a breakfast which you can quickly get addicted to. Photo courtesy & copyrights – Le Parker Meridien

Equally addictive, and much more filling and satisfying for a hardcore foodie, is the breakfast fare at Tom’s Diner (782 Washington Avenue, corner of Sterling Place, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn) – The light fluffy pancakes, the Belgian waffles with strawberries, butter and syrup, the French toast with flavored butter, and the unforgettable ‘cherry lime ricky’. Plus, Tom’s offers free cookies and orange slices while you wait.

So if you’re quite happy to wipe the plate off or grab a takeout, jostle with the crowd as you wait in line, and you care two hoots about the decor, you might prefer Tom’s Diner. But if you want to have a peaceful breakfast with leather chairs, silver-edged tables and an airy, comfortable and upscale downtown ‘atmosphere’, then Norma’s restaurant it is.

Pre-Theater Dinner: There’s nothing better you can do to impress your date or partner than to take her to see a swanky Broadway show, with pre-theater dinner at an even swankier restaurant. And what could be swankier than vodka and caviar at one of NYC’s finest Russian restaurants? The Firebird restaurant is the perfect package. It’s located in Restaurant Row, just off Times Square and in the theater district. It’s also an authentic ‘pre-revolution’ Russian restaurant, with exquisite china, and family collectibles, has a library filled with rare Russian books, a parlor with antique chairs and empire sofas, and a grand ballroom with a domed ceiling and a skylight.

The Firebird offers private dining rooms, prix-fixe lunch and dinner, 8 and 5 course dinner tasting, and a magnificent vodka and wine list. Best way to experience life as a Russian Tsar in the pre-revolution days without ending up beheaded. Try the Ukrainian Beet Borscht, with smoked braised duck, beef brisket, pork and potato pirozhki. With the caviar and vodka. And a warm lemon soufflé for dessert. Dinner price $50 plus.

Other pre-theater restaurants include 21 Club, Marseille, Picholine, Gramercy Tavern, Broadway Joe Steakhouse and db Bistro Moderne. Since your choice of restaurant vastly depends on which show you’re going to, there is of course, a much wider choice available, but these restaurants are a pretty fair sampling of what you’ll get.

Kosher: No other name you need to know than Katz’s Deli. One of New York’s oldest delicatessens, Katz’s Deli serves up wonderful pastrami sandwiches, among other dishes.

But the thing is, it’s more than just a deli. It’s got a lot of history, and it’s more of a landmark and a star in its own right, having been featured in the movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’ starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal (the orgasm scene). Even today, the table where they sat in the movie has a taped sign which says ‘You are sitting at the table where Harry met Sally’. Photo by peasap via Flickr Info: 205 E. Houston St., New York, NY 10002 at Ludlow St.; (212) 254-2246

Other Kosher Deli’s and restaurants in NYC include Ben’s, Va Bene and China Glatt.

Soul Food: Brooklyn probably has the best food in New York City, but Harlem has the best soul food. And the best soul food in Harlem can be found at the M & G Diner. It’s as greasy as they come. And then some. The fried chicken is heavenly, the pork chops are greasy, thick and meaty, and crusty enough to make a food critic just flown in Memphis wipe his plate dry with the cornbread. The black-eyed peas taste just right, and if there’s anything missing, it’s the iced tea. If you have time to kill, you might want to help yourself to a plate of short rib sandwiches for afters, and park yourself until well past the midnight hour, cause there’s all sorts of interesting people coming here late in the night. Info: 383 W. 125th St. (near St. Nicholas Ave) New York, NY 10027; (212) 864-7326

Other soul food joints worth visiting include Charles’ Southern-Style Kitchen (2841 Frederick Douglass Blvd) and Amy Ruth’s (113 W 116th St). Amy Ruth’s used to be the place for soul food. Mostly because it combined authentic soul food with a New Yorkish atmosphere. The dishes are named after famous people, like the Rev. Al Sharpton. But ever since they got rated by the Zagat Survey, the place has gone slightly upscale, and more and more tourists keep landing up, which makes it a bit more difficult to really enjoy the food. Photo courtesy & copyrights – Amy Ruth’s Harlem

Rooftop Lounge: Rooftop lounges in New York, which offer luxury, plenty of space for groups and parties, along with sweeping views of the City skyline, are at a premium these days. The A60 lounge at the 60 Thompson Hotel is so exclusive that they allow only members and hotel guests access to the club. If you scratch the A60 off the list, the next one that comes to mind is the Plunge lounge at the Gansevoort hotel. The entire rooftop of the hotel is like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, with a huge glass-encased swimming pool with piped in underwater music, a roof garden, and two lounges.

The point is that the Gansevoort is in heart of the Meatpacking District, and that’s the trendiest area in the City today, with all sorts of fashion models and filmmakers and young movers and shakers hanging out at clubs and restaurants in the area. And the rooftop lounge of the Gansevoort is where all the action is. There’s parties and stuff going on any time you walk in – If you can walk in, since there’s lots of celebs partying there. Its well worth a shot, and even a quick look-see of the nightlife in the late evenings is well worth the visit. Info: 18 Ninth Ave W 13th St New York NY 10014; (212) 206-6700

Other rooftops in NYC include the Roof Garden at the MET, the Gramercy Park Hotel rooftop lounge and the penthouse lounge 230 Fifth.

For brunch and tea restaurants, please refer to my New York Mother’s Day post. The summary of it is that the newly renovated Plaza hotel’s Palm Court restaurant is the best option.

Fast Food: Restaurants are not just about dainty décor or posh chairs. It’s the food that matters the most. And this is where the burger joints and the hot dog restaurants which started in New York, and have now gone national, win big. The original New York branches are still there, and the food is as good as it ever was. I could write more than a few pages about all the great places where you can get some real food, which you can sink your teeth into and feel the taste of the bacon and the cheese as it melts in your mouth. But sadly, I’m running out of both time and space here. So I’m going to have to summarize the best without going into size or taste. You’ll just have to trust me on this. Photo by forklift via Flickr

Burgers – Corner Bistro (331 W 4th St) & Shake Shack (23rd St and Madison Ave)

Hot Dogs – Nathan’s Famous (1310 Surf Avenue Brooklyn)

Chicken Wings – Anchor Bar & Restaurant (1047 Main Street, Buffalo, NY)

Free Food with Drinks – Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn)

I’m not getting into ethnic restaurants here because that would open another big can of worms. How can you possibly name a Sushi restaurant (Nobu – 40 W 57th St), and not name one which dishes out a great Cous Cous (Café Mogador – 101 St. Marks Place, East Village)? Did you know that Nobu Tribeca belongs in part to Robert De Niro. And he just launched a new Hotel called Greenwich (377 Greenwich St), also in Tribeca (De Niro owns a lot of stuff in Tribeca, FYI), which will also house a branch of the Ago restaurant run by Chef Agostino Sciandri, offering pizzas, home made pasta and risotto and a Tuscan style T-bone steak prepared in the wood burning oven.

Speaking of new restaurants, one of the hottest new restaurants is Momofuku Ko (163 1st Ave, between 10th & 11th) which has a dynamic changing menu everyday, and an open kitchen from where Chef David Chang makes recommendations to customers sitting on stools across the counter. Reservations are pretty hard to come by because of limited seating space, and the fact that the restaurant opens at 6.30 p.m. and closes at midnight.

It’s been great, writing about all these wonderful restaurants, but before this starts stretching out into a couple more pages, I guess I better end it here. If there are any restaurants you like very much that didn’t make the cut, feel free to add to the comments.