New York diners may be shaking off recession-era habitsNew York diners may be shaking off recession-era habits

Has the New York dining scene finally begun to claw its way out of the doldrums brought on by the deep economic downturn? The 2012 Zagat Survey of New York Restaurants seems to think so.


Tim Zagat, co-founder with his wife, Nina, of the eponymous restaurant guidebook series, suggests that Gotham’s struggling restaurant industry “has stabilized and may be turning upward” — speculation he bases on the collateral data accompanying this year’s volume.


One metric offered as evidence of the nascent upturn is the number of noteworthy restaurant openings and closings tallied over the past year. Zagat counted 135 openings in 2011, which, while no match for the steroid-injected 2005, when 187 places debuted, still is up over 2009’s lackluster figu...