Bonnie from BiteoftheBest.com

About Bonnie Tandy Leblang

Blogger Bonnie Tandy Leblang has been covering food since before it was hip to do so! She’s penned magazine, newspaper and syndicated food columns in addition to cookbooks. Follow her on twitter @BonnieBOTB and on Instagram@BiteoftheBest and at @BonnieBOTB "I eat for a living!” is her mantra, sharing what she’s sampled so you’ll know where (or where not) to go, plus what food products and gadgets to try. For her full bio go to the about us page.
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Brunch at Claudette, Greenwich Village, NYC

A carafe of their rosé spritz ($30), with blood orange juice and orgeat syrup, started our afternoon as we waited on our brunch entrees. We had lots to catch up with, as last we broke bead was before the pandemic. Deciding to share two entrees from their brunch menu, we asked Darius, our fabulous server, to deliver them as separate courses, starting with the classic Maghrebi shakshouka ($17), poached eggs in a flavorful tomato sauce. Weirdly, the last time I was at Claudette's, it screamed for seasoning. This time, it was perfection. Darius had them split the perfectly cooked medium-rare burger in half before serving it with a pile of [...]

By |2024-02-25T08:37:00-05:00February 24th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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David Burke’s Latest: Park Avenue Kitchen, Midtown, NYC

David Burke's latest restaurant, Park Avenue Kitchen, offers lots of menu whimsy, as do his other locations. It's his signature. For instance, when we stopped by recently for dinner, his crabcake ($25) was enclosed with pretzel sticks and served with chipotle aioli, his signature maple-glazed clothesline bacon gets snipped and served tableside, and the bread service offers two giant gruyere popovers and jalapeno cornbread sticks with spiced butter. I washed those down with the unusual smoky Oaxacan Old Fashion made with mezcal, tequila and chocolate bitters ($18). The two menu standouts included the tuna and salmon tartare with avocado, a shaved vegetable salad in a yuzu vinaigrette ($23), and the [...]

By |2024-02-25T08:35:43-05:00February 21st, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Ravagh Persian Grill, Upper East Side, NYC

A large group of us met at Treadwell on the UES to compete in their Monday night trivia as advertised on their site and at their restaurant. We had brought a couple of ringers. When we arrived, they told us they had replaced trivia night with college football. We quickly regrouped and decided to find a place to dine. You don't generally go to Treadwell for the food unless you're there to play trivia. I had been to the Murray Hill location of Ravagh Persian Grill after a visit to the Morgan Library, so I knew it was a good substitution. We were seated at a table in the bar [...]

By |2024-02-25T08:34:06-05:00February 19th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Ardesia Wine Bar, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice

Before heading to MCC Theater to see Walk on Through Confessions of a Museum Novice's final performance, we stopped at Ardesia Wine Bar across the street from the theatre for a bite. It's a perfect location for MCC theatergoers. We shared a few of their tasty snacks. I highly recommend their fried cod fritters - fish without chips. The finger-sized fried fish tasted like fresh cod fingers instead of menu-described salt cod ($14).  Also recommended is their roasted cauliflower with a panko-gremolata ($12). Next, we split their duck banh mi with duck breast and duck liver mousse, pickled carrots, cilantro and siracha on a Sullivan Bakery strecci ($15). We liked [...]

By |2024-02-25T08:31:06-05:00February 16th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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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
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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 [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:02:40-04:00February 11th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rooftop, Theatre|2 Comments
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**Happy Hour and More at Chez Messy, Washington Heights, NYC

Chez Messy, a spirited tapas lounge in Washington Heights that opened last summer, offers tapas, craft cocktails and flamenco dancing. I headed north with a friend to sample their happy hour, the regular menu and their flamenco dancers. We got off the 1-train at the 157th Street subway stop, across the street from this whimsical tapas lounge. As we perused the menu, our waitress served us an amuse of a mini cast iron skillet filled with warm, pitted olives with serrano ham and an adorable 3-inch carafe of their specialty sangria. A real treat. We arrived in time for their happy hour. I'd recommend our cocktails: my Old Forester smoky [...]

By |2025-04-14T08:02:00-04:00February 9th, 2024|Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Notable Speakeasy: Raines Law Room, Chelsea, NYC

Raines Law Room owes its name to an 1896 law authored by John Raines that said only hotels could serve liquor on Sundays. And only to the guests. Lawmakers designed this law to curtail alcoholic consumption by working men who spent Sundays drinking in saloons. Many places became hotels with "rooms" to sell liquor on Sundays. Speakeasies are having a resurrection in New York. These somewhat hidden bars are popping up, some attempting to recreate the hide-from-the-cops-and-drink-bootleg-whiskey thing. They all have great cocktails to enjoy. After a visit to the Rubin—a Himalayan art museum up the street—we stopped at this hot Chelsea speakeasy for one of their unusual cocktails. We [...]

By |2024-02-09T10:23:14-05:00February 6th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Speakeasys|2 Comments
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A Le Bernardin Revisit, Midtown, NYC

Le Bernardin always pleases. If you are unfamiliar, Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin has received 4-star reviews from the New York Times and has held that rating—the Times’s highest—since it opened in 1986. It as had Michelin's highest rating, three stars. We chose our cocktails after chatting with Brandon, our fabulous server and bartender. I had the 51st Street Manhattan made with Michter's rye, dry vermouth, Amaro Averna, Bénédictine and Angostura bitters ($27) and my dining partner, whose belated birthday we were celebrating, had the Caspian Moon made with saffron-included Blue gin, vermouth, cardamom bitters and rose water ($22). Our first item from their lounge menu was the plentiful rillette made [...]

By |2024-02-09T10:26:24-05:00February 4th, 2024|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Worthwild, Chelsea, NYC + Momix at The Joyce

A large group of us met at Worthwild, a pub on Ninth Avenue and 20th Street because of its proximity to The Joyce, where we were off to see the amazing MoMix dancers. Our friends had been a few times before and decided the best way to dine was to share a few appetizers and cocktails. We sampled their garlicky shrimp with polenta & harissa ($24 for four shrimp); their burrata with green harissa and crisp naan ($22); the grilled wild greens with pine nuts ($27), four large scallops with pesto and pickled cauliflower ($25) and, my favorite, the the grilled octopus with smoked potatoes with sliced Spanish olives. Worthwild [...]

By |2023-12-25T08:25:39-05:00February 1st, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other, Theatre|0 Comments
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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 [...]

By |2024-02-12T09:33:07-05:00January 30th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Speakeasys|0 Comments
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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
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Tatiana, Lincoln Center, NYC

We each had hovered over our computer at 12 pm, 28 days before we wanted a reservation at Tatiana, Kwame Onwuachi's hot new restaurant at Lincoln Center inside David Geffen Hall. No luck. Instead, we met outside the restaurant, hoping to get one of the six bar seats. Four people were already ahead when we arrived just after 4 pm. Lucky us. At 5, we were seated at a table and instructed they needed it by 7 pm. Kwame's is a small 64-seat restaurant—named after his culinary muse, his sister—that takes inspiration from his diverse background. We tried their fancy Jell-O shots, followed by margies. I had their spicy one [...]

By |2024-01-25T07:13:08-05:00January 25th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Gotham Bar & Grill, West Village, NYC

In November of 2021, Gotham reopened after being closed for 18 months during the pandemic with new owners, a new menu and Ron Paprocki as executive chef. I stopped in for lunch recently with a friend. We made it easy on our server, ordering the greenmarket prix-fixe 2-course $39 lunch with the $25 wine pairings. The soup bowl with crumbled sourdough croutons, pickled fresno peppers and chopped cilantro came first, followed by a server pouring the flavorful soup into the bowl. We ordered their bread service ($6) to accompany it.  With that, we sipped a Chateau L’Escarelle, Rhône Blend, Côtes De Provence 2022. Next was their wild mushroom trofie — [...]

By |2024-01-24T10:35:25-05:00January 23rd, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Heritage BBQ, San Juan Capistrano, CA

Who knew that California BBQ could be so good? After my grandson's performance as King Triton in The Little Mermaid, we headed south to San Jan Capistrano to meet some friends for a BBQ at Heritage. (He, by the way, killed it!) The line to order reminded me of the line in Austin outside Franklin BBQ, although not nearly as long. People do wait for good BBQ. Heritage opened in Orange County in the summer of 2020, the first BBQ place to get approval to use the 1,000-gallon Texas-style offset barrel smokers, where food smokes in a long horizontal chamber while charcoal and smoke wood burn in a firebox attached to [...]

By |2023-12-17T09:23:49-05:00January 20th, 2024|Bites from the Road, USA, USA Restaurants, USA Travel|0 Comments
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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, [...]

By |2023-12-18T12:22:25-05:00January 18th, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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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 [...]

By |2023-12-13T09:45:44-05:00January 16th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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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 [...]

By |2024-03-19T14:22:09-04:00January 14th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|2 Comments
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Tavern on the Green, Central Park, UWS, NYC

Our annual tradition as the holidays commence is to meet at a classic New York institution for our seasonal luncheon. This time, we booked the iconic Tavern on the Green, surrounded by tourists as it was at Rolf's. We each began with a glass of Rose Côtes de Provence VieVité, 2020 ($64) while taking in the views and perusing the menu. We shared their fresh burrata with intensely flavored fire-roasted grape tomatoes ($24). Worth it.  One in our group ordered the chopped veggie salad ($24) with haricots verts, radish, jicama, asparagus, butternut squash, tomatoes, corn, fingerling potatoes, avocado, carrots and Bermuda onion topped with ($10) perfectly cooked salmon. After seeing [...]

By |2024-01-15T12:20:32-05:00January 11th, 2024|City Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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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 [...]

By |2024-01-14T13:44:56-05:00January 8th, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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