Rambling

Random musings on Life in the Big Apple

Tri Dum West, Upper West Side, NYC + Almost Opening Night Merry Wives

I had secured opening night tickets to the Delacorte Theater to see the adaptation of Shakespeare's Merry Wives. For non-New Yorkers, the theater is outside in the middle of Central Park. We decide to try a Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side that was only half a mile walk from the theater. That's because I've been looking for restaurants that are a mile or less from the stage to recommend for The Public Theater's Patron program. As we were seated at Tri Dum West on Columbus Avenue, our server placed some pickled radishes to nibble while persuing the menu. We first chose our apps, of course getting some dumplings, [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:32-04:00August 8th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Happy Hour at 1803, Tribeca, NYC

I met my friend at 1803 in Tribeca for its happy hour. Inspired by New Orleans and named for the year of the Louisiana Purchase, 1803 offers fare you might enjoy in the French Quarter. Although they had balconied seating, we opted to dine outside. We started with martinis to wash down the half-dozen charbroiled oysters ($15) served with sliced bread to sop up the Cajun butter. So good, I would have eaten another order! Not so the baked cheese-filled jalapeños ($9) topped with shredded tomatoes. What I liked better was the blacked Cajun shrimp ($9 for 5) with spicy aioli. Also good is the mini cheddar burger ($12) with [...]

By |2023-09-02T19:39:51-04:00August 6th, 2021|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Newly Opened Dame, MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, NYC

The British restaurant Dame, one of the new hot eateries in the Village, offers a limited food menu. The two lengthy wine menus list what the owners think James Bond and Austin Powers would drink. We chuckled when Ayla, our fab server, described how they keep the pretty mussels for the dilled heirloom cucumber dish, pureeing the ugly ones for its garlicky sauce ($17).  We also enjoyed the three large grilled prawns in a light sauce with Sungold tomatoes ($22). I'd suggest the restaurant skip the langoustines (or find a meatier shellfish) to put on the kedgeree. The seafood didn't add anything to the flavorful curried rice and smoked fish [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:50-04:00August 4th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Terra, SoHo + Salomon Arts Gallery Exhibition Donald & Victor: Under the Influence

After visiting the Whitney Museum, we started walking on the Hudson River Parkway south toward Tribeca. Before dining, we were stopping in at the closing party of the Salomon Arts Gallery exhibition "Donald & Victor: Under the Influence." The show contained paintings by artist (and podiatrist, as we learned when we spoke to him) Don Hershman and photographs by his late partner Victor Arimondi. After the event, we ate at the bar of Terra, a cozy wine bar serving small plates. (Sidewalk seats are also available.) We sipped Montepulciano ($16 for a large pour) as we ate. The dish not to be missed is their stewed calamari ($14). Squid cooked [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:58-04:00August 2nd, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Great Pizza at Ignozio’s, Dumbo, Brooklyn

The four of us met at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge to walk across it to check out some locations for one of our fall ex-expat events. We stopped at the not-yet-fully-open TimeOut market for a tour of their facilities, then headed to Ignazio's, a pizzeria on the corner of Water Street almost under the Brooklyn Bridge for lunch. We shared the large lightly dressed three-apple miso salad ($11) with arugula, mixed green, apples, olives and a large slice of Auricchio provolone cheese. Ordering our thin-crusted large ($28) pizza with fresh mozzarella and plum tomatoes, we each added a topping ending up with meatballs, caramelized onions, mushrooms and [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:30-04:00July 17th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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San Carlo Osteria Piemonte, SoHo, NYC

We arrived at San Carlo Osteria Piemonte during happy hour. Nico, our adorable server who was a friend of my friend, convinced me to try the Mezcal Negroni, an Italian cocktail, during happy hour ($10). I liked the smoky twist. My friend had his martini. He poured a glass of the Tuscan Le Palaie Bulizio, 2013, while we nibbled the unusual eggplant meatballs served over flavored tomato chunks ($15 for four fried croquettes) and the grilled Spanish octopus ($23) with a flavorful chickpea and diced veggie salad. Nico suggested two of his favorites pasta dishes for us to share and split them for us. We had half homemade meat ravioli [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:39-04:00July 15th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Neighborhood Antonucci Cafe, Upper East Side, NYC

Renowned Italian restaurateur Tony May mentioned that Antonucci Cafe has the best chef in NYC. How could I not try it? That and I've been looking for restaurants that are a mile or less from The Delacorte to recommend for The Public Theater's patron program. With our sliced bread, we were served a delicious baked tomato sauce with warm goat cheese. An additional portion will add $5 to your bill. We split a crispy sauteed soft shell crab with ramps ($24), followed by housemade orecchiette a pork sausage ragu with ricotta and fennel ($28) and a flavorful fava bean and arugula salad ($ 22) with slivers of aged pecorino. The [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:29:21-04:00June 19th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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As Seen on Shark Tank: Pasta by Hudson, Chelsea, NYC

One of the best restaurants to dine at indeed is the one where you're known. We headed over to Pasta by Hudson, a fast-casual fresh pasta bar between 20th and 21st Streets on Seventh Avenue as my friend is a friend of the owner, Brandon Fay. They had met and befriended when Brandon was Managing Director of Trattoria Dell’ Arte. Brandon recently appeared on Shark Tank with his concept, getting an investment of $150,000 in exchange for 30 percent equity. We had to try it. Brandon greeted us with a taste of their frozen strawberry frosé ($11) while we perused the menu. We then ordered wine ($9 a glass) with [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:31:29-04:00May 12th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Montebello, Midtown + Calder at MOMA

  Classic cooking from the area near Trieste, Italy, is the inspiration for Montebello, a northern Italian white-tablecloth restaurant. I had chosen it for their proximity and prix fixe $29 lunch as a place to dine after going to the Calder: Modern from the Start exhibit at MOMA.  I highly suggest making a res if you haven't been yet. It's open through August 7, 2021. Our attentive waiter said that they had just recently reopened and were not offering the special lunch menu at this time. We were already seated comfortably at our white-tablecloth-covered table looking at the menu. One friend ordered the battutta di pollo, their hand-pounded then grilled chicken [...]

By |2021-10-31T10:06:49-04:00May 11th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Cocktail Hour: Jungle Bird, Chelsea + Jungle Bird Cocktail Recipe

A new friend from my recent Cancun trip was heading to the city from Philly for a modeling gig and suggested we meet while she was in town. We met at the Jungle Bird cocktail lounge. They have a limited menu. It's a place to drink, not to eat. Bring your earplugs if you have them. Yes, it's that noisy. The bar is based on the eponymous tiki drink ($15) said to be invented at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton in 1978. This cross between a Negroni and a daiquiri has only five ingredients. Rum, Campari, pineapple and lime juices and simple syrup.  The flavor elicited memories of many fun times [...]

By |2021-11-08T09:16:03-05:00April 24th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling, Recipes, Starters|2 Comments
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Society Cafe in Walker Hotel, Greenwich Village, NYC + Highline

The Society Café, located downstairs in the Walker Hotel, offered live music the Sunday we stopped in for brunch.  I've been dining inside ever since I became fully vaccinated. Almost felt as if life was beginning to return to normal. We started with classic brunch cocktails. My dining partner sipped a bellini ($10) while I tried the bloody Mary ($13). I ordered the Shakshuka ($18), their poached eggs with a tomato sauce with shishito peppers and chorizo and a side of Parmesan Fries ($6).  The shakshuka looked inviting. I attempted to eat one of the eggs. They were so overcooked and rubbery, I couldn’t get my fork thru it. Their [...]

By |2021-11-08T09:16:03-05:00April 14th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Seafood at Seamore’s, Chelsea, NYC + Artechouse

We chose Seamore's Chelsea location to meet for a bite as it was a couple of blocks from Archethouse where we were going to see "Submerge - with classic blue with the Pantone color of the year 2020," a display open through January 3, 2020. I started with their unusual Fig Old Fashioned made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, caramelized fig syrup and angostura bitters ($16). My friend sipped a glass of Chardonnay ($15) from Macari, North Fork, Long Island, 2016. We both ordered their Maine lobster rolls ($28), an oblong (hot dog) bun stuffed with lobster held together with only a soupçon of mayo sprinkled with chives. My dining partner [...]

By |2021-01-19T14:38:17-05:00January 7th, 2021|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Yoon Haeundae Galbi, Koreatown, NYC

COVID-19 is getting me to discover neighborhoods to dine when looking for a halfway place to meet uptown friends. This time we stumpled upon Yoon Haeundae Galbi in Koreatown, a place I'd recommend for lunch. We started with their huge steamed Galbi dumplings ($13 for four) filled with ground short rib, chives and tofu. Almost a meal in itself. We each smartly chose one of their lunch specials. One friend had the grilled mackerel ($20) while I had the sirloin bulgogi ($22), with us both choosing flavorful hot kimchi stew as our accompaniment. My other friend chose the galbi bibimbap in the hot stone bowl ($18) with marinated short rib [...]

By |2021-01-03T08:34:41-05:00December 24th, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Times Square Meal at Lillie’s Victorian, NYC

The Times Square location of Lillie's Victorian is on 49th Street, which used to be a bustling area filled with theatres goers. Sadly no longer. We met there as it was a half-way point between downtown and the Upper East Side to grab a bite. We, of course, started with cocktails. I sipped my very smoky Old Fashioned ($15); my friend their Writers Block ($15), consisting of cucumber-infused Vodka, Elderflower with a splash of seltzer. We shared their traditional Caesar Salad ($14) and then Lillie's half-pound cheeseburger from a certified Angus beef blend that came with fries ($17.50). We changed to their Parmesan ones (+$2). Loved that they cut the [...]

By |2020-12-19T14:34:36-05:00December 21st, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Dos Caminos, SoHo, NYC

Being in the mood for Mexican, I met a friend at Dos Caminos at the corner of Houston and West Broadway in SoHo. The Cadilac margarita with Espolon Resposado tequila with Grand Marnier and lime juice ($16) was quite tasty and not too sweet. We enjoyed that with their made-to-order guacamole with a trio of salsas — salsa verde, roasted tomato & habañero — and warm corn tortilla chips ($17, small). We were off to a good start until I headed to the restroom. I was appalled to see how filthy it was at the start of the weekend at 6 pm on a Friday. I can only imagine what [...]

By |2020-12-19T14:55:43-05:00December 14th, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Central Park Walk then A Bite at Eats, Upper East Side, NYC

After a stroll through Central Park, we walked over to Lexington to grab a bite at Eats, an American bistro. We sat outside under their tent to block some of the wind and near a heater to keep warm. My dining accompanied enjoyed the EATS vodka mule  ($15) and I had a Bulliet Old Fashioned ($15). We each ordered their lamb burger ($23) medium-rare served topped with fresh Pico de Gallo on a toasted pretzel bun.  My lamb was tasty even though it was overcooked.  ( For the best lamb burger, go to  L'Express in the Gramercy-Flatiron area.) Both being fry lovers, we had asked for ours slightly well done. [...]

By |2020-12-19T14:54:00-05:00December 12th, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Breakfast at Oscar’s Place, West Village

One COVID silver-lining is that neighborhood restaurants are on the rise.  Oscar's Place, in the West Village, is one of them. It's not a place to see or be seen. Instead, it's a place to dine outside without the crowds. Simple, decent food. We each had Oscar's Classic English Breakfast ($19.95) with eggs. I had mine poached; my dining partner scrambled. That came with crisp bacon, Myer's pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms, fried tomatoes and baked beans. The menu stated Amy's bread but instead, we were served plain sliced bread ($1.25) with butter and jam.  My friend ordered a glass of orange juice ($5.75). I'd recommend it for an away from [...]

By |2020-12-19T14:46:02-05:00December 8th, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Returned to Pera, Midtown East, NYC

I first dined at Pera Midtown ten years ago; since then I've been dining at and enjoying their SoHo location. ​I met a friend who had just moved back to the city; the restaurant was about halfway. We shared a bottle of Cortese, Moncalvi Gavi di Gavi, Piedmont, Italy ($45) while nibbling a few apps.  We started with the Pera dip trio ($17) that oddly was served with fried pita chips instead of their soft and warm traditional bread. Disappointing. Also not up to par was their spicy pepper “muammara” with marinated pepper paste, roasted bell peppers and walnuts as the nuts had turned rancid. Our waiter replaced that with [...]

By |2020-12-07T15:59:59-05:00December 6th, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Return to Friend of a Farmer on Irving, Gramercy, NYC

Since my friend didn't go out much, we booked a table at Friend of a Farmer for our meal mid-afternoon to avoid as many people as possible. I had their grass-fed burger ($18) topped with sautéed onions, Cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, sliced tomato, fresh arugula and bacon. I had to cut this delicious burger in half to manage eating it. It came with a side of their yummy fries. My friend's grilled chicken ($16) with avocado, sliced tomatoes, onions and mozzarella cheese all wrapped in a flour tortilla was a bit disappointing as it was quite bland.  It came with a side salad.  Good thing we ordered some extra fries. [...]

By |2020-12-07T16:04:57-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Lamb Burger at North Square, Washington Square, NYC

I had dined at North Square on the northwest corner of Washington Square many years ago. The yummy lobster and crab cake that I so loved was no longer on the menu. My dining partner recommended their lamb burger that came with pickled veggies, lemon aïoli and French fries ($16). It was good, yet I much prefer the one served at L'Express and would recommend that if you're looking for that dish.  At this attractive outdoor space, the service is very attentive and friendly.   North Square Washington Square Area 103 Waverly Pl New York, NY 10011 (212) 254-1200 northsquareny.com

By |2022-04-20T14:56:30-04:00November 8th, 2020|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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