Finding fabulous food near Madison Square Garden has always felt daunting, and with 13 shows in a row, dollar slices and hotdogs are going to get old fast. So I enlisted the help of my most geeked out NYC foodie friend (thanks, Quico!) to provide a guide for dining like a king within walking distance of the venue. You can find a Google map of all these locations here.
MSG Neighborhood
Jun-Men, 249 9th Ave: Solid Ramen
Larb Ubol, 480 9th Ave: – Really cheap and delicious authentic Thai food (no Pad Thai on the menu).
Tavola, 488 9th Ave: Michelin Recommended Italian
Mercato, 352 W 39th St: Another very solid Italian joint
Rocket Pig, 463 W 24th St: Good sandwich joint
Txikito, 240 9th Ave: Tapas
Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Co, 286 8th Ave: One of the best bagels in nyc.
Koreatown
Turntable Chicken Jazz, 34-36 W 32nd St
BonChon, 207 W 38th S: Incredible Korean Wings
Jongro BBQ, 2, 22 W 32nd St: Tasty Korean BBQ
Food Gallery 32, 11 W 32nd St: An all encompassing multi level asian food court
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeon, 1 E 32nd St: More Korean BBQ
Dons Bogam, 17 E 32nd S: Another great BBQ spot
Hell’s Kitchen
Shortys, 576 9th Ave: Cheesesteaks and philly style sandwiches
Taqueria Tehuitzingo, 578 9th Ave
City Sandwich, 649 9th Ave: Great Sandwiches
Totto Ramen, 464 W 51st St and 366 W 52nd St: The best ramen I’ve ever had in my life. Two hells kitchen locations one block from each other. The location further west is usually less busy and has more seating.
Room Service, 690 9th Ave: Great Thai Food
Pure Thai Cookhouse, 766 9th Ave #2: Also great Thai Food, Kris and Rhea took me here once.
Bar Bacon, 836 9th Ave: Solid bar food where every dish has bacon in it. I asked for crumbled bacon bits on my ice cream sundae and blew the servers mind, haha.
Ippudo Ramen, 321 W 51st St: The Hells Kitchen location. Very good Ramen. Although I like Totto Ramen better (It’s all about the broth), Ippudo has superior quality pork belly.
Don Antonio, 309 W 50th St: Solid Pizza in Hell’s Kitchen
Gotham Market, 600 11th Ave: Nice food court with a bunch of great NYC establishments that have counters. Including Cannibal and Ivan Ramen (featured on the latest season of the show A Chef’s Table)
Tasty Handpulled Noodles 2, 648 9th Ave: The uptown version of the beloved chinatown noodle joint.
Fest Food 