What To Eat Around Madison Square Garden

Congratulations, you've found yourself at Penn Station. Whether you're catching the Amtrak, a Knicks game, or the New Year's Eve Phish show at Madison Square Garden, immersing yourself in the Penn Station complex can be a painful experience. And a doubly bad one if you're looking for a meal. We're here to help with that. Some of these suggestions are slightly outside of the five-block or so radius we'd normally try to keep you in, but they're all worth the walk.

The Spots

Easily the most useful addition to the West 30s since Kristaps Porzingis stepped foot into Madison Square Garden (that's a basketball joke), L'Amico is the nice, Italian-ish restaurant this neighborhood desperately needed. It's located next to the Eventi Hotel and helmed by Laurent Tourondel, both of which are less important than the fact they're serving great pizzas, pasta, salads, and other things you definitely want to eat.

Located a block off the main stretch of Koreatown, this new homestyle Korean restaurant looks like a cross between a library, an East Village apartment, and a movie studio. The food happens to be fantastic as well – don't miss the spicy seafood stew.

You just got off the LIRR. The guy next to you was drinking Four Loko (yes, they still exist). What are you going to do now? Get in the soul-crushing taxi line? Wander around and maybe see what's happening at the Port Authority? No, you're going to grab a friend, walk over to Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong and have Koreatown's best BBQ experience.

Want to do K-Town, but faster, lighter, and cheaper? Hit Kunjip for soups, stews, rice cakes, and bimimbop. You'll be in and out in 45 minutes.

A full-on steakhouse dinner may not be the first thing you think of as you emerge from the armpit of New York City. But if you want to impress out of towners by pretending you're a member of a 1920s supper club, take them to Keens.

If there's any time to try Danny Meyer's hotel lobby pizza place, let a trip to Penn Station/MSG be the time. Your best move is to hit it for brunch.

A new spot that lets you build your own arepa. The fillings are quality, and perhaps most importantly, they're served in a box that's ideal for train transport.

We've considered starting a lobbying group to bring more Sweetgreens to salad-deprived neighborhoods (please come to the East Village, thank you). Nomad/Flatiron area, BE GRATEFUL. It may be a bit of a walk from Penn Station, but you need that kale bowl.

There's no better place to drink fancy drinks and eat fancy burgers in this area than the Nomad Bar. The bar als serves a pot pie version of The Nomad Restaurant's famous truffle chicken as well as a truly excellent burger, which is reason to visit no matter where you're coming from.