Big Apple Life

A collection of posts on Life in the Big Apple along with interviews with foodie friends

Hidden Leaf, Manhattan West, NYC

It's not easy to find Hidden Leaf within Manhattan West, around the corner from Zou Zou and upstairs. We met there during restaurant week for their $30 two-course lunch. Three of us decided on their meaty Yunnan BBQ ribs (three) with preserved ginger and toasted seeds sticky sauce. The other had their hidden gem salad with pickled mango red curry cashews and a shallot garlic crumble in a vegan Nuoc Cham dressing. To start, we shared an order of their shrimp and snow pea dumplings ($19 for 5). I recommend all of the above, plus their crispy Malaysian-style fried chicken with a celery-fennel salad that we savored as our entree. [...]

Great Nachos at Rosa Mexicano Restaurant, Flatiron-Gramercy, NYC

One early afternoon, we hankered for nachos for lunch and headed to the Rosa Mexicano on 18th Street. Rosa's signature nachos ($14) were a perfect amount of chips, Chihuahua cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, crema, pickled jalapeños and cotija cheese. The dish happily satisfied our craving.   I recommend it! Rosa Mexicano Restaurant Flatiron/Gramercy 9 East 18th Street New York, NY 10003-1903 212-533-3350 rosamexicano.com

Pete’s Tavern, Gramercy, NYC

I'd been looking forward to the Pat LaFrieda short rib burger and fries at Pete's Tavern since we decided to check out the holiday decorations. Pete's—located on the corner of 18th and Irving—is the oldest continuously operating restaurant & bar in New York City. When we visited, it was still decorated, celebrating its 160th holiday season.  Instead of a burger — my dining partner, who I was sharing with, wasn't in a burger mood — we started with their baked nut-crusted goat cheese over baby arugula ($19). I'd highly recommend this salad, especially with a glass of their Barbera D'Alba ($17). We then shared the New York strip steak bites [...]

By |2024-02-25T08:28:10-05:00February 14th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments

Empire Rooftop, Lincoln Square, NYC + The Gardens of Anuncia

After seeing the closing performance of The Gardens of Anuncia at Lincoln Center Theatre, we headed across the street to the rooftop of the Empire Hotel that overlooks the Lincoln Center complex for a cocktail, something to eat and the stunning view. One friend sampled their tequila and grapefruit juice Paloma, another their XOXO Gossip Girl with vodka and peach puree made bubbly with prosecco, and I sipped their trendy Old Fashioned ($20 each) with smoke added tableside (each $20). With those libations, we tried their Koreatown (aka nicely spicy) very meaty chicken wings ($20), their crisp bistro fries ($14) and their grilled lollipop lamb chops ($39), cooked medium-rare as [...]

A Birthday at Shuka, SoHo, NYC + Up & Up Speakeasy

We started our birthday celebration with drinks at Up & Up, a fun speakeasy on Macdougal, down the street from where we were heading for dinner. And, as their site says, "Yes, the ice actually looks like this!" From there, we headed downtown on Macdougal to Shuka, a restaurant serving various Mediterranean cuisines. The six of us started with many selections from their meze from the market, which included their taramasalata ($12) with crudité ($11), shaved Brussels sprouts ($14), falafel ($11), crispy cauliflower ($15), za'atar fries ($8), jeweled rice ($11) and tuna meatballs ($16).  One dish was better than the next, with the shaved Brussels, crispy cauliflower and za'atar fries [...]

A Good Burger at Friend of a Farmer, Gramercy, NYC

We had met to see the holiday lights at Pete's Tavern and grab a burger. The host put our name on the list and said he would call in about 1 1/2 hours to be seated — inside or out. Meanwhile, we headed across the street to Friend of a Farmer for a drink, selecting that night's special -- a blood orange margie ($18). We were so comfy that we opted to have our burger there. So glad we did. Before they brought our meal, the server brought their complementary cornbread topped with apple chutney. They make their Barn Burger with ground Wagyu beef, cooked to perfection and topped with [...]

By |2024-02-09T09:13:19-05:00January 27th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments

Le Rock, Rockefeller Center, NYC

None of us had been to The Rock before. It’s a fairly new brasserie from the owners of Frenchette located in Rockefeller Plaza with views of the Christmas tree, which will be there until January 13. We decide to order and sample many dishes, beginning with their bread service with a choice of spreads ($9 each) we chose the cervelle de canut ($8), an herbed cheese spread, and the chicken liver pate. I recommend the latter. Next we tried their barbadians, ($13 for 5) bite-sized pastry this evening filled with pumpkin purée and their garlicky escargot bourguignons ($26 for 5) topped with toast round to sop up the garlic butter, [...]

Brunch at the Warren, West Village, NYC

We stopped in one rainy Sunday for brunch at The Warren in the West Village, a place I had been before attending plays at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. I had never been to brunch, so wanted to sample. I had a bloody Mary ($16) to start; my dining companion tried the mimosa ($16), wishing she had ordered what I had after seeing my piquant cocktail replete with a spicy side instead of just the rim. Ain't that always the case? That's why we decided to share a couple of plates so no one had FOMO, asking our server to bring them as two courses starting with the Chilaquiles ($18) with [...]

Brunch at Electric Lemon, Hudson Yards, NYC + Here We Are

I've been recommending Electric Lemon on the 24th floor of the Equinox Hotel since my first visit, tasting their chilled deviled crab in creamy ginger dressing with crunchy celery sprinkled with ginger crumbs. Yes, that good. We stopped for brunch before heading to The Shed to see Steven Sondheim's — the legendary composer and lyricist — Here We Are,  his final musical. He died while writing it. The first act is a musical, the second more of a play. We commended our brunch with cocktails. Three of us tried the Bloody Mary, and one a "from the garden ($20) with herb-infused Hendricks gin, snow pea, celery, cucumber and shiso. We [...]

NEW! Clara, New York Historical Society, Upper West Side, NYC

After visiting some exhibits at the New York Historical Society, we headed to Clara, their new sustainably focused restaurant from the Oberon Group (Rhodera, Rucola and June Bar). The restaurant is named in honor of Clara Driscoll, who designed many iconic lamps in the museum's Gallery of Tiffany Lamps, with some of them adoring the restaurant's shelves. Clara's offered Chef Diego Moya's contemporary takes on various dishes. We shared their fried Brussels sprouts in a puddle of apple-vinegar white bean purée ($18) and the hearty wild mushroom trofie — short, thin, twisted pasta from Liguria — garnished with lots of toasted hazelnuts ($29). I recommend a visit to both Clara [...]

Il Buco, NoHo, NYC + Wick and Pour

Wick and Pour, a candle-making experience on Mott Street, was our first stop at the birthday celebration. We selected the vessel and wax color, chose an aroma blend, and then made our candle garnished—in the wax—with dried flowers. That candle experience took about 2 hours, with downtime to chat. From there, we walked north, proudly carrying out finished candles, to Il Buco, the first in the Il Buco family. On NoHo's cobblestoned Bond Street, the restaurant opened in 1994 as an antique store and transformed into a restaurant serving a seasonally inspired Italian-Mediterranean menu that changes daily. We sipped our Pegaso Zeta Viñas Viejas Garnacha ($17), seated in the back [...]

Walking the Bridge to Ignazio’s, Dumbo, NYC

When my insta-generation grandnieces visited, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, headed to Ignazio's for pizza and planned to ferry back to Manhattan. We split the Caesar salad ($15) and sipped some pinot noir ($39/bottle) while awaiting the main event. Fresh basil garnished our tomato pizza with caramelized onions, pepperoni and artichokes. I recommend heading to Ignazio's when in Dumbo. Ignazio's Dumbo 4 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 522-2100

Happy Hour *½ at Dock’s Oyster Bar, Midtown East, NYC + Gutenbert, the Musical

We laughed our way through Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in the hilarious and unusual “Gutenberg! The Musical!" These two reunited on stage for the first time since 2011 when they performed in “The Book of Mormon." I do recommend seeing it before it closes in January. Afterward, we walked across and downtown to Docks Oyster Bar on Third and 40th to sample their happy hour. We were lucky to get one of the few tables by the bar where we could take part in their HH offerings. The best parts were they had a live trio, and we could converse without straining. I started with their Old Fashioned ($18), [...]

Pizza at Norma Gastronomia Siciliana, Kips Bay + Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

We returned to Norma's in Kips Bay after seeing the talented Taylor Swift in her The Eras Tour movie. I've been told she's the current young generation's Beatles. I so enjoyed the production and that those who couldn't afford tickets to see her in concert could see her perform. After the almost 3-hour movie, we walked up 30th Street to Third Avenue to Norma Gastronomia Siciliana, my go-to place after a film at the Kips Bay AMC. Normas doesn't take reservations, which was a problem on a Friday night. We had to wait 30 minutes and then were seated in their quieter indoor/outdoor backroom with overhead heaters. We sipped the [...]

Marcus Samuelson’s Hav & Mar Seafood Restaurant, Chelsea, NYC

I started writing this post while nibbling Hav and Mar's teff biscuit and blue cornbread spread from last night's dinner. I had warmed and spread it with the honey butter our incredible server, Don, gave us to pack with our leftover bread. Be sure to get the addictive bread basket, but do not finish it, or you won't have room for the food to come. But I'm getting way ahead of myself. My friends who live in Chelsea have been raving about Marcus Samuelson's newest place, Hav & Mar, since it opened. Pete Wells (New York Times) already gave it two stars. Hav in Swedish means sea; Mar is Ethiopian [...]

Rosie’s *** Happy Hour, East Village, NYC + Solo

I love New York! Where else can you see a show and have dinner for about $50? We headed downtown to the East Village to the Connelly Theatre to see Gabe Mollica in Solo, his acclaimed one-man play about friendship, following sold-out runs at the Soho Playhouse and Edinburgh Fringe. We purchased the tickets for $4.95 from Theater Extras. We stopped at the Lower East Side Mexican restaurant Rosie's from the owners of Cookshop, Shukette and Vics. Lucky us, it was during their happy hour. We started with their margaritas. I had the chile-infused tequila picante one, my dining partner the "classic." Whenever a server stopped at our table wearing [...]

Happy Hour ** at Osteria Morini, Soho, NYC

Osteria Morini, a part of the Altamarea Group (Ai Fiori, Marea), offers the spirit of Emilia-Romagna in SoHo. They also offer a happy hour. I convinced some building mates to join me to sample it. We sat at one of the hightops in the bar area, where the HH offerings are available. We sampled some of their HH cocktails, including the Aperol Spritz  ($10), Abby's Cosmo ($10) and a Cadillac Margarita ($15). The deal of the meal is their "Burger from Akron" ($13). The tasty double cheeseburger with BBQ sauce and tartar sauce would have been even more perfect had they offered fries. We also sampled some of their fried offerings, [...]

A Return to the Met Dining Room, Upper East Side, NYC + Manet/Degas Exhibit

You no longer need to be a member to dine at the fourth-floor Met Dining room. You do need a reservation. The views are spectacular. We returned for lunch recently before seeing the extensive Manet/Degas exhibit that's on through January 7, 2024. When you enter the Met, you sign in to their virtual exhibition queue for the exhibit, which closes when capacity is reached. We did so before heading to lunch. We each sipped a glass of their crisp Chablis ($20) while we shared a few dishes. First was their house-smoked brook trout ($23) with corn blini, green onion, sour cream and topped with trout roe. I'd recommend. Also good [...]

By |2023-10-23T11:24:23-04:00November 15th, 2023|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments

A Return to Hearth for a Birthday, Lower East Side, NYC

I returned to Hearth on the Lower East Side to celebrate my friend’s birthday. I chose it not only for its good food but for the moderate sound level of the dining room. I wanted to be able to hear her without straining. I started with their Vieux Carré ($22) with Whistlepig 10-year rye, Dudognon aged cognac and a splash of Benedictine. I liked the combination. My birthday friend sipped the Chablis Courtauld-Michelet, 2021, Burgundy, France ($22). We nibbled their cecina with our drinks, a chickpea flour pancake topped with olive tapenade ($9). I recommend. She had been to Hearth before and yearned for their bun-less burger made from grass-fed [...]

Tyron Public House Happy Hour* , Washington Heights, NYC + The Cloisters

We traveled to the Middle Ages with my ex.expat group when we visited the Cloisters with historical tour guide extraordinaire Kevin Draper. We learned a lot about architecture, discovering that many of the old-looking structures throughout the museum are new, just made to look old. A few of us wanted to hang out to chat, so we headed down the hill from the Cloisters toward the Dykeman subway stop to grab a bite and drink. Doing so, we hit the Tyron Public House's happy hour. We chose some beverages from the HH menu, including the French Pool Boy rose ($12), the Krasno Sauvignonasse ($13), the Allagash white ($9) and their lager [...]

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