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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The Reopened Spanish El Quijote, Chelsea, NYC

I'd been to an SVA program on west 23rd street. Afterward, we walked by the newly re-opened Spanish restaurant, El Quijote, at the Hotel Chelsea. The problem was their eleven tables were committed and the bar was three deep. Loving the vibe, we vowed to make a res and return. When we did, we started with their crispy Croquetas de Bacalao ($15 for 5), salt cod croquettes.  I'd recommend. It came with a ubiquitous aioli that accompanied most all their dishes. Their knowledgeable wine director, Claire, offered us some unusually delicious suggestions. The fresh tasting Garnacha Blanca, Celler Frisach  L'Abrunet Terra Alta, Spain '20 ($60) worked well with our menu choices. [...]

By |2022-07-28T16:56:09-04:00July 29th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Cuban-Chinese at Calle Dao Chelsea, Chelsea, NYC + Annie Lebovitz

I had forgotten that I'd been to the opening of Calle Dao as it was five years ago — pre-COVID — until I bit into one of their Cuban Sandwich spring rolls ($12 for 4) served with spicy mustard. One bite of these unusual spring rolls filled with roast pork, ham and salami — the makings of a Cuban sandwich — and my memory kicked in. We had arrived during their happy hour (weekdays 5 to 7 pm), grabbing a bite before we attended Annie Lebovitz speaking at SVA about her latest photography book, Wonderland. My friend ordered a dozen oysters ($24, HH pricing). In addition, we ordered the other [...]

By |2022-07-28T16:48:36-04:00July 27th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Casa Lever, Midtown, NYC

Casa Lever provides an elegant, sophisticated dining experience. I'd like to return once their under-construction gardens re-open as I hear they are spectacular. I sipped their nicely balanced Dublino, a blend of Bushmills Irish Whiskey, blood orange vermouth and Mirto liqueur, before they served our amuse bouche of creamy gazpacho. Glutton me always requests one of each of the homemade breads offered, loving a bite of each one, especially their crusts. My favorite is the rye. So worth the calories.  The attentive staff served their Parmigiana di Melanzane ($27.00) — baked tomato eggplant — in a copper vessel, hot from the oven. So hearty, it's almost enough to be a [...]

By |2022-07-28T16:46:55-04:00July 25th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Raising Money for LDNY’s Scholarships at Docks Oyster Bar, Kips Bay

Our New York chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier (LDNY) held a four-course unique lobster experience at Dock's Oyster Bar last month on National Lobster Day. The event raised funds for LDNY's scholarships. Wine pairings courtesy of Kobrand, lobster from Aquabest NYC.  If you'd like to donate to Les Dames d'Escoffier scholarships, click here.  We started with mini crab cakes made with very little filler. I popped a few too many of them as they were that good. Before our meal, we also dined on fresh oysters, deviled eggs and lobster ceviche served with Domaine Carneros Brut Vintage Cuvee 2018. Our menu consisted of rich lobster bisque with a lobster roll [...]

By |2022-07-28T16:43:03-04:00July 23rd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Casa Ortega, Wappinger Falls, NY

Fermin Ortega and his wife Mayra moved from Queens to Wappinger Falls about a year before the pandemic to open Casa Ortega with Mayra's brother Irvin Gonzaga. Albert, our friend who we were visiting, dines here twice a week. Hence, we ended up there when visiting him.  I started with a spicy, nicely balanced bloody Mary for only $7. Sticker shock for me, who's used to Manhattan prices. We started with their housemade guacamole ($12) with warm chips, salsa and salsa verde. For brunch, Albert always has their golden brown pancakes with maple syrup and crisp bacon ($10). I ordered huevos rancheros ($13), my favorite Mexican breakfast, requesting poached, not [...]

By |2022-07-28T16:40:11-04:00July 21st, 2022|Bites from the Road, USA, USA Restaurants|0 Comments
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First Gansevoort, then Buddakan, Meat Packing District, NYC

Those who know me know I'm a birthday glutton loving my own new year and celebrating with as many friends as possible. One of my gatherings last month (yes, it takes me a month to post something after I've tried it!) started at the Gansevoort Rooftop for yummy drinks and a great view. My friends initially arranged the dinner festivities on Grand Banks, the seasonal restaurant on the deck of a historic fishing boat, yet the day before the reservation, the restaurant canceled it for a private party! My fab friends scurried to re-group and find another place for our celebration. We ended up at Buddakan for a delicious and [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:12:44-04:00July 19th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rooftop|0 Comments
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The Skylit Emporio, Little Italy, NYC

About a three-minute walk from the New Museum is an Italian restaurant not to be missed. Lucky me, a friend took me to Emporio for my birthday. We sat in the back, brightly skylit room. I recommend their large leg of charred octopus ($19) over smoked eggplant puree, pine nut tahini, sweet red and yellow peppers and a lemony-garlicky Salmoriglio sauce ($19). We also shared the homemade rigatoni with sausage, porcini mushrooms and fresh ricotta ($25) garnished with crushed truffles. One of the evening's specials included a Colorado lamb steak ($34), cut from the leg with a small salad of  baby arugula, fennel and mint sitting in a chimichurri sauce. [...]

By |2022-07-16T07:05:55-04:00July 16th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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City Saucery Calabrian Chili Spread

I always made my own until I sampled City Saucery's Spicy Calabrian all-purpose tomato sauce, Same with other friends I gave jars to try. Yes, it's that good. If you're unfamiliar with the Brooklyn-based company, they source local fresh, overripe tomatoes and oddly shaped carrots that would go to waste and turn them into their sauces, one called Ugly Tomato Sauce. City Saucery makes the Spicy Calabrian sauce from tomatoes, onions, olives, carrots, scallions, EVOO, basil, sea salt and wild oregano with a kick from Calabrian chilies.  When I stopped by the booth to return an empty jar to receive $1 off my next one, I noticed their Calabrian chili [...]

By |2022-07-11T13:24:42-04:00July 15th, 2022|Food & Drinks, Just For Fun, Products, Recommended|0 Comments
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Nonna Dora’s, Kips Bay, NYC

Nicola Marzovilla, son of Dora, explained that he chose the location of his new popular pasta establishment by looking within a circumference of where his mom Dora lived. Addolorata Marzovilla — Dora — cooked for 30+ years alongside Nicola at the recently closed I Trulli. Eighty-five-year-old Dora makes about 40 types of pasta daily in a small glass-enclosed room visible from the dining room; for each variety, she also prepares gluten-free options. Not having a clue which of their eight Negroni's to try, we asked Nicola to choose for us. He decided on the Negroni Duo for my dining partner.  The Monkey 47 and Bresca Dorada vermouth are an ethereal [...]

By |2022-07-11T13:22:57-04:00July 13th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Birthday Celebration at Mexican Canyon Road, UES, NYC

Canyon Road, a cozy Mexican restaurant that my friends frequent often, is where we went to celebrate three of our four birthdays. We began with traditional Mexican starters: their guac (large, $17.95) and margaritas ($12 to $14). The dishes that I recommend are the slowly roasted duck burrito ($24.95) with black beans smothered with a rich mole poblano sauce and their seared ahi tuna tostada ($14.95). A fun place to meet friends to raise a Margie in celebration! Canyon Road Upper East Side 1470 1st Avenue New York, NY 10021 (212) 734-1600

By |2022-07-11T13:11:01-04:00July 11th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Mémé Mediterranean, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Plaza Suite

Mémé Mediterranean restaurant in Hell's Kitchen is named after brothers Alon and Jacob Cohen's mother, as it is French Moroccan for Grandma. There's also a West Village location. My dining mates started with Cava Rose Spritz  with Mezzodi liqueur, Pamplemousse liqueur, grapefruit juice and Cava Rose ($18). I recommend the nicely balanced Mémé's Manhattan ($17) with bourbon, rum, vermouth and crème de pêche to bourbon lovers. Our least favorite of the evening was their roasted cauliflower, which took more than 30 minutes to come out of the kitchen, especially compared to that version we devoured at Gupshup. They season that dish with Maghreb  (African) spices and lemon tahini ($14). Mémé's is [...]

By |2022-07-11T13:09:46-04:00July 9th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Fish Cheeks, NoHo, NYC + Rehearsal of School of American Ballet

With Fish Cheeks named one of the absolute best Thai restaurants in NY by New York Magazine and included in Eater's 38 essential restaurants in NY, I had to try it. The restaurant had a modern approach to traditional Thai dishes. Loved that their happy hour included cocktails at lunch for $11. We sampled their spicy mango made with tequila, mango and lime and garnished with a bird's eye chili and the very-Thai flavored "Thank You Ka" with white rum, coconut galangal, ginger, lemongrass and kaffir lime decorated with drops of chili oil.   The crispy rice salad and pork ($15) is delicious with crushed crispy rice tossed with shredded [...]

By |2022-07-11T13:04:05-04:00July 7th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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John’s River Oysters at The Pavillion, Midtown, NYC

I couldn't resist writing about these amazing John's River Oysters "Vanderbilt" at Daniel Boulud's upscale La Pavillion restaurant in One Vanderbilt, the new 93-story supertall skyscraper at the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. That's the building that houses the spectacular views from Summit. This time, I stopped there only for a cocktail and nibble. We sat in the cocktail lounge savoring delicious cocktails ($21). I had the perfectly balanced Cachaça Tiki made from Leblon Cachaça and Amaro Montenegro garnished with fresh mint ($21) and my dining partner had the Matcha-infused Reyka vodka with lemongrass Shochu, a distilled liquor, garnished with fresh basil. With our drinks, we ordered the [...]

By |2022-07-11T12:53:16-04:00July 5th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Perry Street, West Village, NYC

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Perry Street West Village restaurant offers relaxed elegance in a tranquil setting, something I've been researching for various meetings. We sat on the umbrellaed terrace, staring with a cocktail. I suggest their white heat ($19) made with jalapeño infused Hiatus blanco, Vida mezcal, grapefruit marmalade and Cocchi Americano over the not-so-gingery ginger Margarita made with Destilador tequila, Cointreau, ginger lime syrup ($17). If available, I do recommend their crispy soft shell crab ($28), coated — according to Suman, our server — with a mixture of Wonder flour and breadcrumbs and served with pickled caulilini (baby cauliflower) all in a sweet chili sauce ($28). I'd also recommend their chicken, [...]

By |2024-03-28T13:25:46-04:00July 3rd, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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P.J. Clarke’s-Lincoln Square, Lincoln Center, NYC + Epiphany

We chose P.J. Clarke's for its proximity to the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. We were seeing Epiphany, a well-acted confusing, quirky and slow 2-hour show sans intermission about a group who reunited at a dinner party during a snow storm. Lunch at P.J. Clarke's wasn't much better. I've restrained myself from writing negative restaurant write-ups since the start of COVID, as my heart goes out to restaurant owners dealing with the pandemic trick-down effects. That said, I have to share. My dining partner chose a cheese-topped burger with crispy fries ($21); I opted to try their beer battered fish 'n chips with tartar sauce and malt vinegar [...]

By |2022-07-05T12:28:40-04:00July 1st, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Return for Brunch to Marseille, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + POTUS

Marseilles, the French brasserie in Hell's Kitchen where we stopped for brunch before theatre, is generally consistent — ideally located down 44th Street from the Shubert Theater where we saw POTUS, the farcical show about the women behind the President that had us belly laughing. I recommend. Seems we misread the menu, thinking the bloody Mary's ($12) we ordered were part of their $21 bottomless brunch drinks with the purchase of an entree. Our waiter corrected us after ordering our second, saying that the offering was only for their mimosas. One friend started with the four white asparagus ($17.00) topped with tiny morel mushrooms and sprinkled with almond dukkah (a [...]

By |2022-05-29T09:35:32-04:00June 29th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Rooftop Bar at Nearly Ninth, Midtown West, NYC

In a hunt for a rooftop bar with a happy hour, I tripped over the Nearly Ninth website, implying that they had one Not! The website listed a happy hour, which — after we arrived — we discovered was only for the lobby bar. We decided to stay put as we were already nestled comfortably in a private corner. I recommend their nicely balanced Elderflower Spritz ($17 instead of $10 in the lobby bar), replete with Grey Goose, St. Germain, prosecco and club soda. With that, we nibbled a small serving of blue corn tortilla chips and guacamole ($18) plus some fresh veggies that our attentive waitress Savannah managed to [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:04:32-04:00June 27th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rooftop|0 Comments
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A Return to the Lebanese ilili, Gramercy Flatiron, NYC

The weather was good enough to sit in ilili's outside private unit with our windows and doors open. I started with their delicious and perfectly balanced Miss American Rye ($18) made from Deadwood Rye, Clear Creek Pear Eau de Vie, sweet vermouth, Valdespino Fino Sherry and orange bitters garnished with orange peel. I'd go back from that! We hadn't seen each other as my friend had moved to Florida like many New Yorkers and was in town as they were selling their NYC apartment. We had lots to catch up on. To start, don't miss their hummus — the chickpea purée blended with tahini and lemon juice drizzled with olive [...]

By |2022-07-03T09:16:25-04:00June 25th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Opening of Jue Lan Club Rose Garden, Gramercy-Flatiron, NYC

If you're looking for a location to enjoy good food and libations in an outdoor enclosed setting, try The Rose Garden at Jue Lan Club.  It opened last month on one of those perfect spring days with a party replete with flowing cocktails, non-stop food offerings and live music. Idyllic. All was offered gratis, yet I've added their menu prices for your info. Some samplings included their chicken satay coated in peanut sauce (3 for $22), dumplings filled with pureed edamame, drizzled with truffle oil and sitting in miso broth (6 for $20), crispy scallion pancakes with hoisin dipping sauce ($18), braised oxtail bao buns (3 for $20) spicy samurai [...]

By |2022-07-03T09:19:01-04:00June 23rd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Brunch at Upstairs At the Kimberly, Midtown, NYC

Upstairs at the Kimberly is on the Penthouse level, replete with outdoor and indoor seatings. After perusing the cocktail menu, my dining partner chose the Mistress, a refreshing blend of grapefruit juice, Pisco and Elderflower liquor garnished with a ruby grapefruit slice and I tried their Cilantro Sol's medley of tequila, pineapple, ginger and chili pepper ($19 each) that was refreshing but not spicy. Most of their brunch menu offers egg dishes, something my dining partner doesn't eat. Instead of one of those selections, she ordered their disappointing lobster roll platter of two mini brioche slightly stale rolls filled with a too finely chopped blend of lobster, scallions, red peppers [...]

By |2022-07-03T09:30:42-04:00June 21st, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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