Food: ☆☆☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $
Dishes not to miss: Carrot Cake, Valrhona chocolate, Jelly filled, Raspberry
I was never a doughnut fan until I bit into one of Mark Isreal beauties at the Doughnut Plant.
Using recipes that were handed down from his grandfather, Isreal has gone from retailing his sweet treats out of a basement to owning two storefronts in New York City. He does nothing less than doughnut wizardry in these kitchens. Continue reading
Food: ☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $$
Dishes not to miss: Pork Meatball Panini , Deviled Eggs with basil pesto
The Bruschetteria is a tiny little eatery on the Lower East Side in New York City. It specializes in bruschetta, paninis and a smattering of other Italian fare. Continue reading
Food: ☆☆☆½
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $$
Dishes not to miss: Lobster Roll, Shrimp Roll, Crab Roll
Luke Holden is the grand master of the lobster roll.
Born and raised in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Luke grew up surrounded by the freshest of seafood as his father owned and ran a seafood processing company. Luke sources his seafood from the family business and that ensures using the best quality meats for his rolls. Continue reading
Food: ☆☆
Service: ☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $$
I recommend: California Rolls. Rocky Mountain Roll
This non-descript, east side Japanese restaurant serves food that is a little better than mall sushi and less than the fabulousness that Manhattan has to offer. Continue reading
Food: ☆☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆ ½
Cost: $$$$
Fit for: People Watching, Special Occasion Dining
Dishes not to miss: Tuna & Avocado Megu Style, Tuna Soy Akami & Black Truffle
Special notes: Wait for restaurant week or special promotions to eat here because the prices really hurt.
Food: ☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Dishes not to miss: Roasted Chicken
The Wright (named after Frank Lloyd) opened to the public at the Guggenheim Museum on December 11, 2009, where the Guggenheim Café used to be. This sleek, modern space was awarded the 2010 James Beard Foundation Award for outstanding restaurant design. The striking feature of this bright room is the multicolored installation titled The Horizon by artist Liam Gillick. Continue reading
Food: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Service: ☆☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆ ½
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Lunch Spot, Brunch, Dine At The Bar, Outdoor Dining
Dishes not to miss: Salsas de la casa, Quesos Flameados, Burrito de Atún
Chef Julieta Ballesteros, of Mexicana Mama fame, has traded up to Crema in Chelsea, where she serves upscale, refined Mexican cuisine.
This eatery is a place to try delightful combinations of carefully composed plates. Ballesteros has put a lot of thought into the creation of each dish. At Crema, one experiences combinations of Mexican flavors that are rare and very pleasing to the palate. Continue reading
Beard Papa’s has perfected the art of mass-producing fabulous cream puffs without comprising on taste and quality. The Beard Papa’s empire began in Osaka, Japan in 1999 and has since expanded to over fifteen countries worldwide.
All their cooking is done right on the premises. They bake up crisp choux pastry shells, which have a filling of your choice, just as you order them.
Last night, I was invited to attend a media reception organized to celebrate the opening of The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park.
Every holiday season, Bryant Park is transformed into a vibrant hubbub of activity. This tree-lined space comes alive with twinkling lights, a skating rink and unique vendor booths. This holiday fair features more than 120 artisans and merchants selling one-of-a-kind merchandise that promises to make for exciting holiday gifts.
The Lower East Side was really hopping today with New York Magazines Grub Street Food Festival at the Hester Street Fair. This food festival offered up a smorgasbord of some 70-plus-food vendors who were selling everything from lobster rolls to lollipop cupcakes.
Along with all the great food there were some amazing vendors selling their merchandise. Of course my very favorite booth was Pages of My Life Journal , where we were selling our beautiful gratitude journals for women and children.
Food: ☆☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Sushi purists
Dishes not to miss: Flash fried blowfish, White king salmon
Special notes: As of January 2011, Chef Yasuda has moved to Tokyo to open a restaurant there. However the quality of Sushu Yasuda seems to have been unaffected by this move.
Food: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
Service: ☆☆☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆
Cost: $$$$
Fit for: Special Occasion Dining, Fine Dining, Brunch, Private Rooms,People Watching
Special notes: For lunch, Eleven Madison Park offers 3 courses for $56. For dinner, they offer 4 courses for $125, or an 8 course Tasting Menu for $195.
Food: ☆
Service: ☆ 1/2
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Late night partygoers, boozy brunch scene.
Dishes not to miss: Prawn Cake Benedict
Special notes: $28 gets you 3 drinks and an entree at their MAD Brunch on weekends.
Food: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Service: ☆☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆ ½
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Foodies, Quiet conversation, Brunch
Dishes not to miss: House smoked brook trout, Kabocha squash peirogis
Special notes: Lunch offers a great prefix for $28. Dinner offers a pre-fix 4 course tasting menu for $55 and 5 course tasting menu for $65
Food: ☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆
Cost: $$$$
Fit for: special occasions, romantic evening,
Dishes not to miss: handmade tofu, grilled black cod, fig ice cream
Food: ☆☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆
Cost: $$$$
I recommend: stir fried mussels with chili jam and crispy shallots, seared duck breast in a soy broth, flourless valrhona chocolate cake
Food: ☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Groups, Vibrant bar scene, Spicy food.
Dishes not to miss: Tostadas de Atun, Mole Poblano, Calamar Maya
Special notes: Happy Hour at the Tequila Lounge is Monday to Sunday 5 – 8 PM with special bar bites priced at $3 each.
Continue reading
Food: ☆☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Dishes not to miss: Pretzel Crusted Crab cakes, Parfait of Big Eye Tuna and Salmon Tartare, Tuna Burger, Butterscotch Pannacotta, Cheesecake Lollipop Tree
Special notes: They have great lunch and weekend brunch specials. Their crab cakes and Tuna burger are the best I’ve ever had.
It’s that most wonderful time of the year – well for foodies at least.
The Village Voice held its 4th Annual Tasting Event – The Choice Eats at the 69th Armory today and of course I was there.
Food: ½
Service: ☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $$$$
Fit for: Tourists
Dishes not to miss: It’s all really bad
Special notes: Afternoon Tea is served daily in The Palm Court from 2:00pm – 5:00pm.
Tea at the Plaza Hotel sounds like the quintessential New York thing to do. Throw Eloise into the mix and you’ve got a giddy group of excited little girls.
So off we went to the Plaza hotel for the special Eloise Tea at The Palm Court and a visit to the Eloise boutique.
We couldn’t have been more disappointed!
Continue reading
Food: ☆☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$
Good for: kids, foodies, small plates, hip cheap eats
Dishes not to miss: Spicy pork slider with pesto sauce, ice-cream sandwich
Special notes: Cramped quarters/ not good for large groups, long waits unless you go right at opening time, open until 4:00 AM Thursday through Saturday, and until 2:00 AM every other day of the week.
The Meatball Shop on Stanton Street is a shrine dedicated to one of America’s favorite Italian imports – the meatball!
The concept is so simple and the execution so clever – it blows my mind.
Food: ☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Good for: Hipsters
Dishes not to miss: Crabcake, Burger
Special notes: Eat at the bar during their tasting hour for well priced drinks and bites.
(I recently heard that the New York Japonais may be closing down)
Japonais is just one more of those prodigious, Japanese inflected restaurants that you find all over New York City these days.
You enter and know that you’ve “been there, done that”.