Villard at The Lotte New York Palace, Midtown, NYC

The über luxurious Lotte New York Palace, now offers an equally indulgent breakfast experience at its newly launched Villard restaurant.

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Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to this establishment for a complimentary meal. All opinions expressed in this post are my own

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The Egg Shop, NoLita, NYC

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Egg Shop

 

Food: ☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆½ 

Cost: $$

Must try:  Steak and Eggs, Egg Salad

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Black Seed Bagel, Nolita, NYC

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Black Seed on Urbanspoon

Black Seed Bagels

Food: ☆☆☆½ 

Service: ☆☆☆½ 

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$$ 

Must try: Salmon, cream cheese, red onion and capers sandwich

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The Cronut at Dominique Ansel’s Bakery, Soho, NYC

 

I agree I’ve arrived a little late to the Cronut mania party but I just couldn’t envision standing on line for hours, in the wee hours of the morning, waiting for something I may or may not get.

 

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Dominique Ansel Bakery on Urbanspoon

 

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Holiday Preview Breakfast with Eric Kayser ,UWS, NYC

 

I was invited to a media preview breakfast for the opening of the newest Maison Kayser on the Upper West Side, hosted by Eric Kayser himself!

 

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Maison Kayser on Urbanspoon
Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to this establishment for a complimentary meal. All opinions expressed in this post are my own
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Brunch at Hudson Clearwater, West Village, NYC

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Hudson Clearwater on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance:☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Must try: Crab Monsieur, Baby Spinach Salad

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Shopsin’s General Store, Lower East Side, NYC

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Shopsin's General Store on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆ ½

Ambiance: ☆☆

Cost: $$

Must try: Poutine, Mac and Cheese Pancake

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Bonjour Crêpes & Wine, Yorkville, NYC

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Bonjour Crepes & Wine on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆

Service: ☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$

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Little Fox Café, NoLita, NYC

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Little Fox Cafe on Urbanspoon

 

 

Food: ☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆☆½

Cost: $

(This meal was complimentary which did not affect my review.)

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Mercer Kitchen, Soho, NYC

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Mercer Kitchen on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Must try: Steamed Shrimp Salad, Pizza with Roasted Eggplant

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North End Grill, Tribeca, NYC

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North End Grill on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$$$

Must try: Grilled Clam Pizza, Upma Polenta, Thrice-Fried Spiced Fries, Rice Flaked Halibut, Butterscotch Pot de Crème

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Parish Hall, Williamsburg, NYC

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Parish Hall on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆☆½

Cost: $$$

Must try: Smoked Trout Salad, Chicken Hash

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Lady M’s Cake Boutique, Upper East Side, NYC

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Lady M Cake Boutique on Urbanspoon

Food: ☆☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆

Cost: $$$$

Must try: Lady M Mille Crêpes, Gateau au Chocolat, Strawberry Mille Feuille, Gateau aux Marrons

 

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Dominique Ansel Bakery, SoHo, NYC

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Dominique Ansel Bakery on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆½

Cost: $$$$

Must try: Almond Croissant , Dka “dominique’s kouign amann”

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Almondine Bakery, Park Slope, NYC

 

Almondine Bakery on Urbanspoon

Almondine on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$

 

The Almondine Bakery now has a second location in Park Slope!

The former pastry chef from Le Bernardin and Windows on the World Hervé Poussot has been serving up delectable treats at this French patisserie in Brooklyn for quite some time now.

Using ultra fresh ingredients, Almondine offers a host of fresh-baked French goods such as croissants, fruit tarts, muffins, macarons, baguettes, pastries and more. They serve delicious coffee using La Colombe beans from Philadelphia and a decadent hot chocolate made with Valrhona chocolate.

The Park Slope Almondine is housed in a small cozy space with a working fireplace, which seats about 25. Located right by the train station, it is really hard not to make a small detour to start your day just right!

 

Here is some of what we ate:

 

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Restaurant Information

 

* Restaurant Name
Almondine Bakery
* Overall
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
DUMBO / American Traditional
* Street Address
85 Water St ((between Main St & Washington St) ), Brooklyn, NY 11201
* Phone
(718) 797-5026
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Cannelle Patisserie, Jackson Heights, NYC

 

 

Cannelle Patisserie on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆

Cost: $

Must try: Croissants,

 

Cannelle Patisserie is perhaps one of the most unusual finds in its location at a strip mall in East Elmhurst.

This venture was brought to fruition by Jean Claude Perennou and Gnanasampanthan Sabaratratnam – both Ex- Waldorf Astoria pastry chefs.

Cannelle Patisserie offers Manhattan quality baked goods at super affordable prices. The display cases are a riot of colors, textures and artful creations such as, napoleons, éclairs, profiteroles, all kinds of baked pastries and cookies. They also offer a range of fresh baked breads, quiches, tarts and so on. Their crowning glory is their super flaky croissants, gâteau Breton, Saint Honoré and Paris-Brest

The most wonderful thing about this Cannelle – other than its ethereal offerings is how it reflects the diversity of its surrounding in both its clientele and its staff. At Cannelle, people from all ethnicities, across all ages have found a great homey neighborhood spot to stop by and linger at over fabulous eats.

 

Here is some of what we ate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Restaurant Information


* Restaurant Name
Cannelle Patisserie
* Overall
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
Jackson Heights / American New
* Street Address
75-59 31st Ave, East Elmhurst, NY 11370
* Phone
(718) 565-6200
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Tartine Bakery, San Francisco, CA

 

 

Tartine Bakery on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆

Cost: $$

Must try: Everything!

The first problem one faces in trying to get to Tartine Bakery is finding it. Located in the Mission District, the only way to identify this spot is by the huge line of people waiting outside to get their share of the outstanding goodies that are being concocted inside.

 Stepping indoors one encounters a totally different kind of problem – how not to eat the house?

The display cases flaunt a parade of stunning French inflected baked goods. There are breads, croissants, tarts, puddings, sandwiches, cakes and all kinds of bakes.

 The husband-wife team of Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt are several time winners of James Beard awards as well as many other accolades. Using only the freshest of local ingredients and organic as much as possible, the goodies served here are pretty much ‘off the charts!’

 Mark Bittman declares that Tartine Bakery is his favorite bakery in the United States – I might just have to agree!

 

Here is some of what we ate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Restaurant Information


* Restaurant Name
Tartine Bakery
* Overall
★★★☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
American Traditional / French
* Street Address
600 Guerrero St , San Francisco, CA 94110
* Phone
(415) 487-2600
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Founding Farmers, Washington D.C.

 

Founding Farmers on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆½ 

Service: ☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Must try: Fried chicken Egg Waffles, Stuffed French Toast, Fresh squeezed juices

 

Founding Farmers is an eco-friendly, Certified Green Restaurant that was built from recycled and reclaimed products. This upscale, farmhouse styled eatery is housed within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) building.

 At Founding Farmers, the menu offers American classics made from locally sourced and sustainably farmed products. The food here is very good. The freshness of the ingredients used reflects in the exquisite taste of their dishes. You must try their fresh juices the cranberry was really zesty.

 However for me the spot lacked soul. Everything from the service to the space seems cold and distant which didn’t gel with all its wonderful methodology. Everything seemed too pristine.

 I found that Founding Farmers is more a chic farmhouse accented restaurant that is just green enough for the suit types. For me, I would rather go hang at a more bohemian space like Busboys and Poets where the essence enfolds the place.

 

Here is some of what we ate:

 

Crabs Cake Eggs Benedict

 

 

Fried Chicken, Eggs and Waffles

 

 

Stuffed French Toast

 

 

Farmhouse Waffles

 

Pastrami Hash

 

Farmers Lemonade

 

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Restaurant Information


* Restaurant Name
Founding Farmers
* Overall
★★★☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
American New / American Traditional
* Street Address
1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW ((between N H St & N 19th St) ), Washington, DC 20006
* Phone
(202) 822-8783
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Busboys and Poets, Washington D.C.

 

Busboys and Poets on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆½ 

Service: ☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Must try: Crab cake Sandwiches and home home-fries

 

 Busboys and Poets is an inspired, bohemian bookstore/Cafe/ Lounge, which propounds progressive political ideologies. 

 This cheery cafe has been brilliantly decorated by carving out comfortable spaces with lounge chairs and sofas amongst walls that are adorned with multi-ethnic art and photographs. Everything here murmurs towards creativity and activism.

 

 

There are regularly scheduled poetry jams, film screenings and other shows in the Langston Room, which is a performance space. Here, one can sip on a variety of coffees or nibble on sizable portions of affordable, tasty platters of food

 

 

Busboys and Poets was named in honour of Langston Hughes (one of my favourite poets), who worked as a busboy in the 1920s whilst writing poems on the side.

 

 

 Busboys and Poets is a perfect spot for its diverse clientele to gather together to eat great food whilst being inspired to act.

 

Here is some of what we ate:

 

 Classic Benedict

 

 

Neptune Benedict with Cheese Grits

 

 

Mekhleme

 

 

Oaxaca Omelette

 

 

Crab Cake Sandwich

 

 

Falafel Sandwich

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Restaurant Information


* Restaurant Name
Busboys and Poets
* Overall
★★★☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
American Traditional
* Street Address
2021 14th St NW ((between N V St & N U St) ), Washington, DC 20009
* Phone
(202) 387-7638
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Queens Comfort: Brunch, Astoria, NYC

 

Queens Comfort on Urbanspoon

 

Food: ☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆ ½

Cost: $$

Must try: Disco Tots, Waffle Special

 

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