Recently in New York Category

Royal Watchers in New York, will be pleased to know that they can watch the big event on Friday April 29th in style at the New York Palace Hotel!



Guests will view the Wedding Ceremony of Prince William and Kate Middleton on flatscreen TVs in the Drawing Room while enjoying a traditional English breakfast, including scones with marmalade, scrambled eggs with Devonshire cream, and breakfast bangers.

Those in attendance will enjoy an experience that is reflective of a wedding event with traditional celebratory frills, including personalized place cards, elegant floral arrangements, "In Honour Of" printed menus, and commemorative wedding "favors" (scented glass candles with an embossed crown logo). To best ensure that early risers are well taken care of it, all attendees will receive keepsake Palace slippers, and pillows and blankets will be available throughout the breakfast to ensure the "coziest" of dining experiences.

The Drawing Room is housed in the renowned Villard Mansion at The New York Palace. With its motifs from 15th-century Italian cathedrals that reflects Gilded Age grandeur, The Drawing Room features exquisite carved wood paneling and twin fireplaces.

The event, priced at $150 per person inclusive, will commence at 5:30 AM with coffee and tea service. At 6 AM, breakfast service will begin to correspond with the 11 AM wedding start time in London, and will conclude at 8 am with a champagne toast. 

It starts really early, thanks to the time difference, so one could even book a room at the hotel for the night before!

More information here.  Cheers to William and Kate!

Sherry-Lehmann has released their Unsung Heroes of Bordeaux Spring Sampler. For decades they have sought out the smaller lesser-known properties of Bordeaux that consistently excel in their quality-to-price ratio... these are the Unsung Heroes and they release a new sampler each season!  I love trying these wines because they are tasty and affordable!  Many are Merlot forward so they're quite approachable and easy drinking with nice medium body and fruit.

It includes:
* Chateau Beynat 2006
* Chateau Jouanin Cuvee Prestige 2006
* Chateau Labatut-Bouchard 2008
* Chateau Lascaux 2005
* Chateau Maison Neuve 2006
* Chateau Mayne Vieil 2006
* Chateau Peyraud 2005
* Chateau Puynard 2007
* Chateau Roland La Garde 2006
* Chateau Roquefort 2005
* Chateau Thebot 2005
* Chateau Vieux Dominique 2006

The case of 12 is $159.95.

To keep up the culinary excitement, Monday I went to the new Food Hall at the Plaza.  It's been open for a few months now, and I've been dying to go!  Even though it was a Monday night it was almost full around 8 pm.  The space is beautiful with white marble bar tops, dark wood and mosaic tile floors.  It definitely has the European flair that they were looking for!



The space is divided up into different sections, each with their own bar area: wine bar, grill, pizza, dumpling bar, sushi bar, ocean grill & oyster bar, bakery, cheese & charcuterie.  You can sit anywhere and still order from any of the sections.

Here is the pizza bar:


And the wine bar:

On Sunday night I finally made it to Jean George's new and very popular ABC Kitchen (35 East 18th Street between Broadway & Park Avenue).  The concept is organic, local, market table sort of thing... from their website: "abc kitchen has a committed focus to local, sustainable and organic seasonal produce that does not use pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides or GMOs; meat, fish and dairy 
 that is locally sourced where possible, from humanely treated pasture-fed animals free of antibiotics 
 and hormones; teas, coffees, spices, organic wines, juices and elixirs that are organically cultivated on fair trade cooperatives celebrating and honoring sustainability, artistry and our global diversity.

"

The vibe is barn meets South Beach... with rustic barn beams contrasted by white plastic chairs and white tables.  The tableware is quirky with unmatched china bread plates and vintage mixed flatware.  The food is all brought out on interesting handmade white porcelain plates and bowls with unique shapes (they sell these at ABC Carpet, porcelain dinnerware by jan burtz).



We started with the crab toast ($15) which had a nice quantity of peekytoe crab with lemon aioli on a toasted rustic bread.  It was very fresh and tasty.


I had the black sea bass ($27) with chilis, herbs, baby potatoes, spinach and lemon confit.  It was in a very light broth and not spicy at all, kind of "spa food".  The spinach was beautiful, obviously super fresh. I had hoped the dish might be a bit more spicy because of the chilis and have more flavor in general... but, while it was good, I was underwhelmed.  Maybe I caught the dish on an off night?

I have to say what really blew me away was the extraordinary salted caramel ice cream on the dessert menu. The flavor was amazing!  Just what you'd expect of a Jean Georges restaurant, so I definitely finished off the meal right!

I recently went to Maya for dinner after not having been in several years.  I got a great deal from Open Table, which was a $50 for $25 coupon.  I have to imagine that things are slow or that they want to drum up new customers for them to do that...

Maya in on First Avenue on the Upper East Side between 64th and 65th Streets.

Michelin has released its Guide for New York 2011.  At Amazon you can get it for $12.81, regular price is $18.99.

Here are the results:

THREE STARS
Daniel
Jean Georges
Le Bernardin
Masa
Per Se

TWO STARS
Alto
Chef Table at Brooklyn Fare NEW
Corton
Gilt
Gordon Ramsay at The London
Kajitsu GAINS A STAR Marea GAINS A STAR
Momofuku Ko
Picholine
Soto GAINS A STAR

ONE STAR
Adour
Aldea NEW
Annisa
Anthos (closed)
Aureole
A Voce Columbus
A Voce Madison NEW
Blue Hill
Bouley
Breslin (The) NEW
Café Boulud
Casa Mono
Convivio
Danny Brown Wine Bar & Kitchen NEW
Del Posto
Dovetail NEW
Dressler
Eleven Madison Park
Gotham Bar and Grill
Gramercy Tavern
Jewel Bako
Kyo Ya
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Laut NEW
Marc Forgione
Minetta Tavern
Modern (The)
Oceana
Peter Luger
Public
River Café
Rouge Tomate
Saul
Seäsonal
Shalezeh NEW
SHO
Shaun
Hergatt
Spotted Pig
Sushi Azabu
Sushi of Gari
Veritas (currently closed)
Wallsé
wd~50

The latest edition of the guide for New York includes 95 Bib Gourmand restaurants - more than any other city in the world. The Bib Gourmand category is known as the "inspectors' favorites," and delivers everyday excellence at a reasonable price. There were 21 new Bib Gourmand selections in the 2011 guide. The MICHELIN Guide New York City 2011 also features a broad range of quality restaurants under $25. There are 17 new under-$25 restaurants in the 2011 edition, and 127 in total.

Fifty-seven New York City restaurants earned one or more stars in the MICHELIN Guide New York City 2011. MICHELIN stars are the highest honor the guide can bestow. Having a star means that not only is a restaurant among the best in its city, but also in the world. It is a mark of consistent excellence across all categories and it is based solely on the quality of the food.

Only 86 restaurants in the world currently hold three stars. Of them, five are in New York City. In the MICHELIN Guide New York City 2011, five restaurants earned three stars, 10 restaurants earned two stars and 42 restaurants earned a single star. Ten new NYC restaurants earned stars over the past year. While "starred" restaurants have made the MICHELIN guide famous around the world, they account for just 10 percent of the total selection.

Inclusion in the MICHELIN guide is a sign of excellence no matter what the star tally or category. In fact, 715 restaurants were selected for inclusion this year. Among them, MICHELIN inspectors included 55 different types of cuisine. The MICHELIN Guide New York City 2011 also added 29 restaurants to its new "Small Plates" category. Restaurants in this category offer a unique menu, ambience and service.

I was walking by the address of one of my favorite restaurants that sadly closed (Bandol) last night and found that finally a new place has opened in the space.  It's called Carpe Diem and it looks great!  They don't seem to have a website yet.  It's at 181 East 78th Street, between Lex and Third on the North side of the street closer to Third Ave.

The menu is more Italian. I will miss the wonderful French bistro classics that they had at Bandol, but am always happy to try something new too.  I will report back after I've had a chance to try it.

A new concept in burgers has come onto the midtown New York scene with the opening of 4food at the northwest corner of Madison Ave. and 40th Street.  How can there possibly be a new concept for a burger you wonder, well how about a hole in the middle!  All of the patties have holes in the middle to facilitate even cooking.  The patties available are: beef, breakfast pork, egg, lamb, pork, salmon, turkey and vegi... so it's really more than just your basic burger joint.

The Standard Grill at Andre Balazs' Standard Hotel in NYC's meatpacking district was one of the hottest restaurant openings of 2009.  Things have calmed down a bit, but one certainly still needs to plan in advance for a dinner reservation or even weekend brunch.

The outside and front section of the restaurant have a fresh, bright bistro look with bentwood chairs and medium tone wood.


The dining room in back has a darker, kind of '50s steakhouse look with leather banquettes and casual linen dish cloth tablecloths.  Somehow it works though, in a retro chic way.

The tables in the back room come appointed with Peugeot pepper mills and little wooden bowls of fleur de sel. (bonus points for this!)  The menu is reasonably priced but portions tend to be on the smaller size.  Here is a link to the lunch menu, most items range from $10 to $20.  The roasted beet salad ($10) features baby arugula, panko crusted goat cheese and pickled red onion.  It was quite tasty although the red onion in rather short supply.  A tasting portion of the Jamon Iberico ($14) was fine, the meat quite flavorful and a bit fatty, but that's jamon for you.  It came with 2 green olives.  The main course of pan roasted sea scallops ($16) came with frisee, shaved endive, grapefruit and black olives.  The scallops were perfect - nicely browned, cooked correctly and super tasty!  The accompaniment was mostly frisee which was surprising since it's not even mentioned on the menu as being in the dish.  There were just a few slices of fennel and very few black olives.  None the less it's a good dish.  The size is what many would consider an appetizer size, which is probably why the price is so reasonable.

The wine list offers a good degree of diversity and prices.  Bottles range from $34 to $5000+. France is favored on the wine list, but there are tons of other offerings too - Spain, Italy, Australia, CA, Oregon, etc.  

If dessert had been in order, I would have tried the strawberry rhubarb crumble served with buttermilk ice cream.  I'm a sucker for rhubarb!  The dessert menu also offers some other interesting things like baked alaska and blueberry galette.  Here is the dessert menu.

Unlike many very popular restaurants, they do take reservations via Open Table which makes it a lot easier to get a reservation!  

The food hall in the basement of The Plaza is now open, officially known as "The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English".  It features a rather astounding variety of offerings: bakery, wine bar, grill, cheese & charcuterie, sushi bar & ocean grill, pizza, dumpling bar and market area!  The menu was designed by Todd English of Olives fame.

The space has an elegant look with dark woods, white marble and mosaic tiled floors.  It is supposed to evoke the feeling of European food hall.




Take a look at the menu here.  Among the offerings are golden potato pizza (shown below), butternut squash ravioli, salad nicoise, prime rib sliders and whole grilled branzino.



Prices range from $4 for a piece of sashimi to $125 for a large seafood platter from the raw bar.  Most items are pretty reasonably priced between $7 and $24.

Any pizza lover has probably been to Grimaldi's, tucked under the Brooklyn Bridge just over the river from lower Manhattan.  It's kind of a pizza pilgrimage.
 


Even though the place is kind of dumpy, it's just fun!  So I was sad to hear in the news today that it may have to close this location due to being behind on rent and city taxes, and not getting a rent renewal. Here's a link to the article at the Wall Street Journal.

It's 93 degrees in NYC today, and it feels even hotter with the humidity.  A nice frozen treat would hit the spot.

Here's where to get primo gelato in NYC and Philadelphia!

Il Laboratorio del Gelato (95 Orchard Street between Broome and Delancey, NYC) Amazing list of flavors including all the classics as well as some crazy ones like Wasabi, Basil and Tarragon Pink Pepper!



Ciao Bella (4 locations in NYC)  This brand is also sold in grocery stores, but they don't sell them the best flavors, you have to go to a scoop shop to get the best, like my favorite, cinnamon.  Other flavors include Matcha Green Tea, Asian Ginger, Italian Caramel.



Capogiro (4 locations in Philadelphia)  Unique flavors daily like Fior de Latte, Canella, Mexican Coffee, Sea Salt...  You can also order online, $60 + shipping for 6 pints shipped on dry ice.

My last Restaurant Week dinner for Summer '10 was at Fishtail by David Burke.  It's a lovely spot in an Upper East Side townhouse.  The upstairs dining room feels like they've set up tables in a space that used to some lucky person's living room.  It's really quite beautiful.

I LOVE Fulton... not only is it beautiful (decor-wise), a yummy fish restaurant (run by the Citarella people), but it happens to be a stone's throw from my house.  I don't go there very often for dinner because it's a bit pricey for a "neighborhood" spot, so it was great that they were participating in Restaurant Week (3 courses for $35, it's kind of like getting your appetizer and dessert for free)!  I went with a friend on Wed. night.



I had the chilled spring pea soup garnished with lobster, creme fraiche, lemon grass and chili oil. Then, the monkfish with charred tomato, mussels and chick peas. I also tasted my friend's organic salmon with spinach, fava and yogurt. For dessert, the strawberry shortcake.

The soup was amazing, it was non-dairy except for the creme fraiche garnish.  It's hard to get really excited about soup but this was exciting, perhaps it was the chili oil that made it perfect?  Wow, it was just delicious and it really did have chunks of lobster in it.  The monkfish was quite good, but not great, but in all fairness monkfish isn't my favorite fish because of its texture. The preparation was excellent though, with the flavorful charred tomatoes.  My friend's salmon was delicious.  The strawberry shortcake was fine, but not great.  I compare all strawberry shortcakes to my Mom's home-made so maybe its not a fair comparison.  (you know, fresh homemade biscuits, with fresh local picked berries and freshly whipped cream with no sugar - heaven)

I was quite impressed by the generous portions too.  You sort of figure that they're thinking all the cheapskates are coming out for Restaurant Week so maybe they'd be slightly less generous with the portions, but this what not the case at all.  Great, great dinner.  And it's not too late, there are couple days left of Restaurant Week!

You can read their regular dinner menu here.  Oh, and their super nice final touch is that on the way out they give you a little bag of sweets.  This one had a cookie and 2 fish shaped chocolates!  How nice is that?

I went to the Carlyle last night for Restaurant Week dinner.  What an elegant affair!  The restaurant is divided into two rooms both have table arranged spaciously so one would never feel crowded.  There are several corner tables that are nice, you sit on the banquet with velvet pillows to lean up against.



The wine list was in general pricey, but they had at least one reasonable choice in each category, which is nice. We had Chateau de Sales Pomerol, I think it was around $70? I had the field greens, scallops and rhubarb tart. The field greens were pretty standard.  The scallops were served with grilled fennel and were quite good. I loved the rhubarb tart because it was just rhubarb, not mixed with another fruit as most places do, so it had that great tart rhubarb flavor. Here is a link to the Restaurant Week menu.  The service was nice, quite proper and not snobby at all.  I thought they might have been since we both ordered from the Restaurant Week menu...  Overall, it definitely felt like a luxury experience... as it should, the Carlyle is a Rosewood property and they certainly know luxury!

Great news for those of us who are sorely missing Payard on the Upper East Side.... Francois Payard will be opening Payard Bakery at 116 West Houston Street.  It is scheduled to open in the late Summer.  Here is a rendering:



It will offer take-out and a casual dining room.  I used to stop by the Upper East Side bistro/restaurant to buy macaroons once in a while... oh, I miss those!!!  They are so good it will be worth a trip downtown!
 

Bastille Day is next Wednesday, just the excuse we needed to go out for some tasty French wine and food!

Fig & Olive serves Mediterranean food with a South of France vibe.  They are offering free rosé wine with their delicious crostinis at their Meatpacking district location!

 
While you're there why not try their prix fixe menu which is a really great value!

NYC Summer Restaurant Week is July 12 - 25.  Start making reservations now so you don't lose out!   Lunch prix fixe is $24.07 and dinner $35.


Some restaurants are participating for only lunch or dinner, but most are offering both.  You can preview selected menus at the NYC Go website and link to reservations on Open Table.  Many top restaurants are participating like: Aureole, Cafe Boulud, Del Posto, Jo Jo, Le Cirque, Nobu, etc. etc.  Also a lot of neighborhood spots.

Tribeca Grill is having a Clambake/Wine Dinner on Wednesday July 28th.  It's $75 for a family style feast with lots of great seafood and wine!  Here's a peak at the menu:


Yummy, yum, yum!!  Call 212-941-3900 for reservations.

I have been meaning to get to Luke's on the Upper East Side (242 E. 81st St. betw. 2nd & 3rd) ever since I read about them in New York Magazine a while ago.  Well, I finally made it yesterday.  They are located in the former Etats-Unis space, but it has been transformed into a Fish Shack.  The lobster roll is $14, or you can get a it with a drink, chips and a pickle for $16 (both + tax).  What interested me the most about this place is that I love lobster, but I HATE mayonaise, and almost everyone mixes the two - but here you can keep your lobster pristine (no mayo or butter!) if desired, or have it with just butter and/or lemon, and spices.  I tried it with lemon and spices... wow, I have to say they don't chintz you on lobster!  I was really impressed with the amount of lobster and gorgeous huge hunks of claw meat. (the claw is my favorite part)  The roll is nothing special, just your basic toasted hot dog roll, I didn't even eat it.  I just ate the lobster out of it with a fork, heaven!!

This is the picture from their website and yes, it really does look like that!



They even deliver, with a $20 minimum.  Check out the full menu here including soups, crab claws and crab and shrimp rolls. I hope they're successful, it's a great addition to the Upper East Side!

New York Magazine Bar Buzz has a great listing of rooftop bars. It's been 90 degrees today, so a rooftop bar is sounding pretty good!

View the list here.  Some of them are opening soon, or later in the Summer.



Shown above: rooftop bar at The Strand, Top of the Stand, 33 W. 37th Street. Wow, great view of the Empire State Building!

One of the best things to do in good weather times is go have a cocktail outside to enjoy the breeze and fresh air (okay, maybe the air isn't exactly fresh)...

Here are two places to imbibe outdoors - and up high!

Press is on the 16th floor of Ink48 (a Kimpton Hotel) in Hell's Kitchen (address: 653 11th Ave at 48th St.)  It is scheduled to open this Friday, April 16th.


Not bad, ha?  I bet this place is going to be very popular!

The Rooftop is on the 12th floor of the Empire Hotel (address: 44 West 63rd St. @ Broadway) It has views of Lincoln Center.  The food is done by the China Grill people, so you know it's going to be tasty!  You can look at the cocktail and food menu here. 

Last weekend I found a wonderful new (to me, not new in general) spot on the Upper East Side: Bistro Le Chat Noir on 66th Street between Madison and Fifth.

(Odd Fact - It happens to be diagonally across the street from where Imelda Marcos and all her shoes used to live!)  It is run by the woman who used to manage La Goulue, you can read an interview with her here. 

After a pleasant walk around the Upper East Side on Easter Sunday, a light bite was in order.  They had a really tasty and very Spring-ish lobster salad prepared with 1/2 a lobster, mesclun greens and fresh fennel in a citrus vinaigrette. The baguette they served was quite spectacular, crispy outside with a tender, chewy inside - just the way it should be.  I regret that I didn't ask who their baguette source was. You can check out the entire menu, here at menu pages. For the location, I would say it was a very good value too.

Sherry Lehmann is one of my favorite wine shops in the city. It's a beautiful store and everyone who works there actually knows about wine. Also, it's in a super convenient location (505 Park Ave. at the corner of 59th Street) near Bloomingdale's, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn.

Here are their wine picks for April:

Over the weekend I went to Esperanto (145 Avenue C at the corner of E. 9th Street). It's a South American bistro.

It was quite good!  We all shared some red sangria. ($35/pitcher).  The wine list offered several very affordable options like a $26 Rioja and a $31 Malbec.  The menu was surprisingly diverse... usually when I think of South American, I think it's going to be really heavy on the meat, but this wasn't. Also, as you would probably expect on Ave. C, the prices were all quite reasonable.  I had a delicious tuna steak with a salsa and rice ($17).  It was perfectly seared (very rare) and the tuna itself was beautiful quality - - not a bit of that stringy stuff you sometimes get with tuna.  My friend had the salmon with mango salsa ($15.50).  She gave me a taste... also delicious!


The interior is a bit quirky, but it works.  It has a cheerful and lively vibe, not dump vibe.
The service was good, a bit slow at times, but nothing dire.  Despite being quite busy by the time we left, they didn't rush us at all.  I was really quite pleasantly surprised.  I'm looking forward to going back!

There's a very good article in this week's New York Magazine about Keith McNally. (The Restaurant Auteur by Benjamin Wallace)  I've always been a fan... I LOVE his restaurants, especially Balthazar and Pastis... (sadly I still have not made it to the Minetta Tavern)

Photo: restaurantgirl.com

The article talks about, among other things, his new restaurant Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria which is opening soon on the Bowery. (282 Bowery at E. Houston St.)  Nate Appleman of A16 and Iron Chef fame is the chef, apparently this is the first time McNally has hired a "celeb" chef. Grub Street has a preview of the menu, here. The pizza is going to be thin and crispy and cooked in a wood-fired oven. Yum!

Photo: Peter van Agtmael/Magnum Photos

I hope they get it open soon, it looks great!  It's already been delayed quite a bit.  Breakfast and lunch are supposed to start on March 15th with opening for dinner following soon.

Starting this Saturday, fresh Montreal bagels from St-Viateur Bagel will be available at Mile End Deli in Brooklyn. They've carried Montreal bagels for a while, but normally they come via courier. What's new is that they are actually driving up to Montreal to pick up the bagels and driving right back so they'll be as fresh as possible! You can reserve some by pre-ordering online, here.

Image Source: New York Times

Montreal-style bagels are thinner than ours and as I recall seemed to have a bit more sugar in the dough. It's been years though since I've had one. I used to go to Montreal a lot since I went to school in Burlington, VT...

I found a City Room blog post from the New York Times that compares the bagels, read full post here. This is what they say about the St. Viateur bagels "They are hand-rolled and baked in wood-burning ovens, something that current New York City regulations would no longer allow. The process gives them a crisp and smoky crust on the outside. The bakers slip tidy lines of bagels in and out on long wooden slats, before flipping them into a bin. Their recipe was slightly different, using malt flour, and they are boiled in water with honey. And since they are skinnier, the hole is more pronounced."

There's a cute place on my block that I walk by at least two times every day... and I've been meaning to stop in for AGES... so I finally did.  The place is B. Cafe (240 East 75th St. between 2nd & 3rd).  It's a very cute Belgian cafe.  I think I was turned off a little bit because I thought it was a beer bar, and it sort of is.... but it's more than that also.

Of course they have the expected... various beers on tap and moules frites... but they also have some rather unexpected things like a roasted butternut squash salad with parmigiano reggiano and mache, seared scallops with parsnip puree, a lovely tarte tatin made not with apple, but pear...

It's quite a nice find!!  The bar is very pleasant, it even has the hooks underneath to hang you bag.  They also have a garden in back which would be pleasant in good weather.

They don't seem to have a website, but you can look at the menu and read reviews, here, at menupages.

I took this image from Google street view:

See, it's just a tiny slice of a place. It's cute though, they normally have 2 umbrellas up out front so you can't miss it...

I had dinner at Orsay on Saturday night - - as the snow was coming down outside - - thankfully I live two blocks away!

I love Orsay, it totally reminds me of Paris!  ... the tile floors, dark woods, cozy banquets, art nouveau style chandeliers, etc.

 

I had a fabulous salad of baked artichoke with corsican cheese and walnut vinaigrette on baby arugula.  Wow, just delicious!  And for a main, the seabass crusted with parmesan and orange, fennel puree and a dollop of tomato confit on top.  I didn't taste the orange in the crusting at all, which is fine with me because it seems perhaps unnecessary to the success of the dish (sorry chef!).  It was also quite good - I'm a sucker for anything with fennel!  They have a tarte tatin on the dessert menu, it's fine, but not a traditional preparation. (I am still on a quest for the perfect tarte tatin!) You can view the whole dinner menu here.

They're having a nice New Year's Eve menu, the 9 pm second seating is a bit pricey but it looks very good (entrees like lobster salad and bison steak au poivre).

On Saturday night I went to Perry St.  My friend and I had a 9:30 reservation because that was all that was available.  We arrived on time and they brought us right to our table. The room is a bit bland, modern and clean looking, but not particularly interesting.  It has a spacious feel which is nice, since so many places try to cram in tables wherever possible.

After we picked out a wine (a delicious Pinot Noir from Burgundy), they brought us an amuse-bouche.  It was a tiny cup of a creamy celery soup, served warm. It was good.

The bread was certainly disappointing.  I love bread and it is always really exciting to have exemplary bread (like at Commerce for example), but this bread was not up to par. It was a served by the slice, a white variety with a well cooked crunchy crust, too dry and not much flavor.  No second slice for me, thanks.

We decided to share the black pepper crab dumplings with sauteed sugar snap peas ($14). They are steamed (yay); I personally hate it when a nice dumpling is ruined by being fried. They were filled with all crab and the black pepper sauce on top was outstanding. It was tempting to order more!

I had the cod with lemon crumbs with sweet garlic broth and broccoli rabe ($24). I was worried about the garlic broth because I'm not a huge garlic fan, the waiter offered to bring it on the side, so that was perfect. Anyway, I needn't have worried - it was a delicious sauce with the right amount of garlic.  Not a garlic festival (as I like to call over-garlicked dishes).  The fish was a beautiful square and thick piece of cod with a nice amount of crispy lemon bread crumbs on top, balanced on top of a small mound of broccoli rabe. It was really quite delicious!  My friend had the slowly cooked salmon with passion fruit olive oil emulsion, spinach, jalapeno and black olive. She gave me a taste and the flavors of the passion fruit, jalapeno and black olive were really amazing, just what you expect from Jean Georges. I think we both picked very well!  Other menu items include a tuna burger, fried chicken, lamb chops...it's a rather eclectic menu.

For dessert, we ordered the twice baked butter cookie with coconut cream and raspberries on the recommendation of our waiter.  I had been leaning towards the fig tart, or the poached pear but they were all out of the poached pear anyway.  They seemed to forget our dessert though, so when they finally brought it out, they also brought a complimentary chocolate pudding with fresh cream and crystallized violets.  Neither of us are "chocolate people" so we never would have ordered the chocolate pudding, but I am so glad they gave it to us!  The crystallized violets were amazing and unique, and the fresh cream was un-sugared. The flavors worked so well together... In comparison I think we were both a bit disappointed by the cookie.  It was good, but not great.

Appetizers: $10 - 29

Entrees: $18 - 36.50

Desserts: $8 - 10

Overall the service was good, not snobby at all. But as mentioned above a bit uneven, we had to ask about our dessert after probably about 30 minutes...  I would go back for sure.  I thought the food (other than the bread) was all delicious and well prepared. And I'll know to get the chocolate pudding next time!

Danny Meyer's Maialino, perhaps the most anticipated opening of Fall 2009, opened last week.

There's a good interview with Meyer, here, in "The Moment" the New York Times blog. It covers the collaboration with David Rockwell on the design, the trattoria concept and opening in an Ian Schrager hotel among other things.

In today's NY Times dining section, Sam Sifton reviews the re-opened Aureole now on 42nd Street in the new Bank of America tower, A Kiss to the United States of Burgers, Fries and Sugar.  He gives it one star, "good".

Since Aureole used to be a classy affair tucked into an Upper East Side townhouse, it is very apt that Sifton calls the move south to 42nd Street "a Las Vegas event restaurant airlifted into Manhattan". 

It has a glizty look and large scale much more in common with the Aureole in Las Vegas than the New York original.

Sifton warns us that the dining room is uneven, "...It is nice in that dining room, quiet, and if your order goes well with the kitchen, you can have a good meal. If it doesn't, you'll be staring down a listless Wiener schnitzel, pale and greasy beneath a thick lemon-caper sauce, with too-tart applesauce."

The bar area is raucous. The bar menu features "an extremely good" hamburger.

Other dishes Sifton recommends are: sea scallop sandwich, sliders, pan-roasted shrimp, lobster and anything pork-bellied.

He sums up the review: "The restaurant is a love letter to an America we see reflected back at us in unflattering light: relatively happy, unthinking, desirous mostly of sugar and fat. That's Vegas for you. It's not New York."

Eek, that's not very flattering...

If you want to go to Vong (200 East 54th Street) one last time, you've got until Saturday.  Jean Georges announced today the closing after 17 years.

In today's NY Times Dining Secion, Sam Sifton gives Le Relais de Venise L' Entrecote a one star (good) rating.  (article: Hop Off the Wheel and Taste Paris)

The restaurant has no menu. It's salad and steak frites.

He describes the salad: "It is a pile the size of a softball, mixed green and red lettuces draped in a mustardy vinaigrette that in early days here was nearly as thick as a mayonnaise. Lately it has thinned out into something closer to silk. Walnuts are strewn across the top, rich and oily."

And the steak: "Your steak comes in two stages, on a relatively small plate: you eat your portion of meat, sauce and fries and then are served seconds. The beef is fine, sliced thin across the grain and as tender as cheap meat gets, a perfect midweek dinner with a friend. The fries rate higher on the crazy-good scale: salty and crisp, with tender interiors that aren't mushy even when soaked in the sauce."

The ingredients of the sauce are kept secret. Sifton desribes it as "perhaps a variant on the gravy poured out at Café de Paris in Geneva since the 1940s: butter, basically, infused with herbs and mustard and cream, with a metallic tang of chicken liver running right through its middle. Whatever it is at L'Entrecôte, you could pour the stuff over a boot and still have an excellent dinner."

Cheeses and desserts including profiteroles are available if you have room...

I have been going to Lucien in the East Village (1st Ave. between 1st and 2nd Streets) for over 10 years.  It may seem odd in a city with so many superb restaurants of different cuisines and levels of formality, but Lucien is my favorite!

The atmosphere, in all fairness, is nothing special... but it has a rustic charm that I love. I prefer to sit in the front section.  The best table is the one along the banquet that is closest to the bar, that way you can use the edge of the bar to hold some of your (tiny) table's contents... like the wine bottle or the bread basket.

Every time I go, I get the same thing.  It's terrible that I do that, but I just can't help it.  There are many other tasty things that I'd like to eat... but I have to get my regulars: endive salad, scallops grenobloise and cinnamon ice cream for dessert!  For wine, it has to be Champagne or Bordeaux (red).

Here is the endive salad.  I love how they don't mess with tradition... it's just endive, walnuts, and bleu with some traditional dressing.

Here's one of those things I should be trying... but I always end up getting the super delicious scallops grenobloise.

The tarte tatin is good... but the cinnamon ice cream is the best thing on the plate, so I've just started skipping the tarte and having them bring a martini glass of cinnamon ice cream.  It's not on the menu, but they are always happy to do it.

In today's NY Times Restaurant review, 'Culture, Staged on a Plate', Sam Sifton gives Marea 3 stars.  Marea is in the former San Domenico space on Central Park South.  The chef is Michael White, formerly of Fiamma and Vento. He and his partner Chris Cannon also have Alto and Convivio. 

In the review, Sifton recommends: Ricci; lobster and burrata; slow-poached egg; fusilli; spaghetti; Dover sole; steak; langoustines.

You can take a look at the full menu here.

Pictured Below: the Dover Sole and Fusilli with Octopus braised in red wine.

Images: Michael Falco for the New York Times

I've been going to Fiorello's (1900 Broadway, betw. 63rd and 64th) for so long I can't even remember the first time... For a while I had the great fortune of living about a block away, so I got to the know the place very well.

During warmer months they have a large outdoor eating area directly across from Lincoln Center so it's a wonderful place for the view and people watching. What I love the most though is eating inside at the antipasti bar.  The amazing team back when I used to go there all the time was Richard, Cleber and Elvis... they treated their regulars so well, always so welcoming and gracious.  You start with perhaps a proseco or a quartino of white wine... then they bring the bread basket!  Oh, the bread basket... with focaccia and this super thin paper-like crispy bread, YUM.  The antipasti bar itself is just amazing, they have vegi, seafood and meat items.  I'd always have the vegis and the seafood. My favorite thing on the antipasti bar is the shrimp and scallop salad with endive and radicchio.

The thin crust pizza is also FABULOUS.  It can be hard to eat at the bar though unless you get the prime corner spot (the one further from the door) that gives you a bit more space.  The pizza is a bit pricey at $25 for a margherita -  - but it is made with real buffalo mozzarella.  It's super, super thin - I love that!

They have a great wine list, and as mentioned above they serve the glasses in quartinos, so it's nice, a glass + a bit more.

Between the delicious antipasti and the pizza, I hardly ever made it to the real main courses!  Oh, especially because you must leave room for dessert!  As far as I'm concerned they have the BEST profiteroles in the city.  They bring out a little copper pot of hot dark chocolate sauce and pour it on right in front of you... MMMMmmmm!!!   Here's a link to the dinner menu.

I'll be going back soon!

Luke's Lobster has opened in the East Village at 93 East 7th Street. Opened by a father and son from Maine, they're bringing us some seriously insane lobster rolls!

Photo: Lee Clower for The New York Times

They use only the claws and knuckles which in my opinion is the best part of the lobster... the tail is not as tender.  The roll has 4 oz. of lobster and is $14.  The most brilliant thing about it is that they offer them with butter, mayo and seasoning OPTIONAL!  Fabulous... there is nothing worse than beautiful lobster meat smothered in mayonaise!  They also have a smaller 2 oz. version for $8.

Cafe Boulud (20 East 76th Street at the Surrey Hotel) reopens today for dinner. It had been closed for renovations.  Starting October 9th it will also be open for lunch.  The interior is a refreshed contemporary design and will feature a new bar area - Bar Pleiades and also two new private salons for up to 14 guests each.

So glad to see they've reopened - who'd have guessed that Chanterelle, who also closed for renovations, would never reopen...

The New York Times reported this morning that Conde Nast will be closing Gourmet magazine!

This is rather shocking news!  Conde Nast also has Bon Appetit, and to me, Gourmet has always seemed to be the better magazine.  Also, Ruth Reichl (the former New York Times food critic), happens to be the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine.  For real foodee people, Gourmet is THE food magazine.  This is very sad, I guess my subsciption and everyone else's will get converted into Bon Appetit.

Wow, can you believe it's 4th quarter already?  This year is going by so quickly...

The end of the year is a big gift-giving season, from the holidays to hostess gifts, I think it's good to have some extra gifts on hand for "emergency gifts".

Here are some sets available at Sherry Lehmann that are great gifts.

Veuve Clicquot Traveller's Gift Case (Yellow Label Brut 750 ml with 2 glasses) $59.95

The travel case with handles can be used  for wine, or you can remove the inner lining and use it as a bag for other things.

They also make this adorable rose version with a half bottle (no glasses) $39.95.

And this one by Pommery, Brut Royal Gift with two glasses, $32.95.

(picture with flutes not available)

Cheers!

Saturday I was running around getting errands out of the way, you know the annoying things like getting watch batteries replaced and finding special lightbulbs at Home Depot... it was 6 pm and I was finally on my way home walking up Third Avenue and I realized I was STARVING, having had nothing but a grande skim latte all day...

So I stopped in at Accademia di Vino (Third & 64th) for a quick bite at the bar.  I have walked by this spot a thousand times and thought it was certainly time to give it a try.

The bar was surprisingly full and loud (music) for the early time.  The bar area in the front is the only part of the restaurant that is upstairs, the dining room is downstairs which is why I think this space has been challenging for restaurants in the past. The bar is a bit small but nice, it has bar stool seats and several high tables with seats which are good for eating with a small group. The bar has hooks for you to hang your bag on, which I think is a great thing. It's amazing how many bars forget this small (and inexpensive to provide) detail.

I got a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine.  I think the wines by the glass were a bit overpriced, but they had a fairly nice selection.  I got the carpaccio di manzo, which was delicious except that I hadn't read the menu carefully enough and it had raw red onions on it which I don't like.  Otherwise the preparation with very lean beef, shaved fennel, a tiny bit of fresh mint, parmigiano and black truffle vinaigrette was wonderful.  I just pulled the onions off. 

The menu is very nice. They offer 3 different carpaccios, all $15, the others are salmon and tuna. They also have salumi and cheese boards, each 3 choices for $15. They have some nice salads, among them: escarole with hazelnuts, mint and pecorino and a classic endive salad with gorgonzola, walnuts and apple.

They also have grilled pizzas ($16-19), pastas ($19-25), and entrees like herb crusted salmon with lentils ($29) and rack of lamb with roasted tomato and black olive conserva ($38). Other entrees are between $26 and $64 for a prime aged ribeye for two. You can looks at the full menu here.

I am surprised to hear that the New York Culinary Experience (Oct. 3 & 4) is almost sold out!  It's a very pricey event at $1,395.  You'd think it may be a tough sell since we're still coming out of the recession.  It is an exciting prospect however to be able to cook next to famous chefs!  The schedule includes sessions like "The New American Table" with Marcus Samuelsson (Aquavit), "Modern Italian Cuisine" with Scott Conant (Scarpetta), "Chocolate Creations" with Jacques Torres (Jacques Torres Chocolate) and "Holiday Dinner" with David Waltuck (Chanterelle).  There are also Q&A sessions with Ken Friedman (Spotted Pig), Sirio Maccioni (Le Cirque), Joe Bastianich (Babbo, Lupa, etc) and Dan Barber (Blue Hill). Quite a line-up!

It's a great event if you can afford it!  Buy tickets here.  The price includes classes, breakfast, lunch and a closing reception each day.  If you buy 2 or more tickets, you get $100 off each ticket. The event takes place downtown at the French Culinary Institute (462 Broadway).

Harvest in the Square at Union Square Park is next Thursday, Sept. 24th from 7:30 - 9 PM (6 pm for VIP entrance).

It features tastings from participating restaurants, NY microbreweries and wineries (both NY state and non-NY).  This year a ton of great restaurants are participating including: BLT Fish, BLT Prime, Blue Smoke, Blue Water Grill, City Crab, Gramercy Tavern, Olives, Union Square Cafe... (and many more).  North Fork wineries include: Bedell, Corey Creek, Paumanok..

Tickets are $115 in advance and $125 at the event (if available), purchase online here.  The VIP admission is $400, purchase here.   The event is put on by the Union Square Partnership and proceeds will go towards the ongoing beautification of the park.

 

Ed's Chowder House will be opening tomorrow in the former Center Cut space at the Empire Hotel, across from Lincoln Center.  I love a good chowder!  Growing up in New England it's kind of a classic thing, my Gramma made a fabulous corn chowder and we'd get some great fish chowder in Portsmouth, NH.  I'm more of a red chowder girl now (Manhattan or Baltimore Crab).... anyway, the prospect of a new chowder house is certainly good news.

Ed's Chowder House is a Jeffrey Chodorow (of China Grill and Asia de Cuba fame) restaurant. The Ed is Chef Ed Brown.  The chowders available will be: sweet corn, new england, manhattan style blue crab, and "Ed's loaded" shellfish chowder.  YUM!

Interesting appetizers include savory lobster crumble, smoked Chatham cod cakes and scallop ravioli.  Mains include peppered tuna steak frites, herb crusted skate with horseradish mashed potatoes, jumbo lump crab cakes, Chatham cod with potato chip crust, spinach and mustard sauce.  They also have a bunch of simply grilled fresh seafood.  You can take a peak at the full menu here.  It's a seafood lovers dream!!

The design of the place looks a bit too sleek for a "chowder house" to me, but pleasant anyway.

I can't wait to try it!

The New York Times reported today that Nate Appleman, fomerly of San Francisco's A16, will be taking the helm at Keith McNally's new Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria. (McNally of Balthazar and Pastis fame)

Appleman is young, only 30, but has already earned serious praise including Rising Star Chef from the James Beard Foundation and Best New Chef from Food & Wine magazine.

Pulino's will be at Bowery and Houston and will feature a brasserie style dining room.  It is under construction, which is due to continue through December. You can check out some construction photos at Bowery Boogie, here. Hopefully it should open in mid - late December.

The U.S. Open is in full swing now.  For many New Yorkers this is the quintessential end-of-summer event.  The website Metromix New York has a fabulous food tour slide show of the Open's food offerings along with fairly detailed descriptions of each. They interviewed Michael Lockard, executive chef of Levy Restaurants, who is overseeing the entire U.S. Open dining program. As New Yorkers, we don't really know the Levy Restaurant Group because their restaurants are in Chicago (Bistro 110, Spiaggia, etc.), Los Angeles, Orlando and a few other cities.  But they have been doing the food at the U.S. Open since 2005.  (Kind of funny, you'd think a New York restaurant group would do it...)

Here are some tasty looking highlights:

Food Court - Lobster Roll (no mayo! special sauce with chili sauce, tarragon and scallions - yum!)

Food Court - Crepe with gruyere, spinach and caremelized onions

Wine Bar - Tomato Bread with manchego and serrano ham

Aces - Charred Salmon Entree with mixed beans and black sesame vinaigrette

OMG, seriously good food, right!  How often can you say that at a sporting event?  The U.S. Open is like a food festival and a sports event... I guess that's part of why I love going.

 

The New York Times reported yesterday that the Upper West Side's old stogy standby, Cafe des Artistes will close.  They had already been closed for summer vacation and were due to reopen Sept. 14, but have decided not to reopen due to a union lawsuit and the recession.

As of today, their website is still up if you want to take a peek and reminisce.

The restaurant opened in 1917. The nymph murals on the walls were painted in the '30s by restaurant patron and artist Howard Chandler Christy. He was also a resident of the building, the Hotel des Artistes, which was actually not a hotel but a residential building favored by artists.

The restaurant had been very popular over the years, but had been on a downward tilt over the last 20 years or so, since the city has had an amazing food renaissance with many excellent new restaurants and chefs.

Their menu was a bit tired.

Anyway, it is sad to see another New York classic go... 

Danny Meyer will be opening a new restaurant this fall in the Gramercy Park Hotel called Maialino (which means little pig in Italian).  The name comes from the nickname he was given while working in Rome as a tour guide during college (it evolved from Meyerino into Maialino thanks to his liking of suckling pig) .

The Gramercy Park Hotel is a super cool place itself, an Ian Schrager property with interiors by Julian Schnabel.  This restaurant will be the most recent from Danny Meyer since opening The Modern in 2005.  It will be a Roman style trattoria overlooking the park. Design will be by the Rockwell Group, the concept is a contemporary twist on the traditional warm, comfortable atmosphere of a trattoria.  It will feature warm colors, wood plank floors, etc. They will also be taking over all of the F&B for the hotel including room service and the roof bar. It will open in November and will surely be one of the hotest reservations of the Fall!

Above: lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel

New York Magazine's website has a good feature up right now, a convseration between NY Magazine's restaurant reviewer, Adam Platt and the newly departed from the Times reviewer, Frank Bruni.

'Adam Platt Talks Shop With Frank Bruni', take a look here.

It's funny, they talk about rotundness, disguises, worst restaurants etc.

Frank's book, "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater" released today.