Other happenings

Odds ‘n ends posts about things happening in NYC area , plus leftover posts from original BIte of the Best site

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 [...]

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 [...]

@Nine, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Circle Line

To kick off the summer, we took the Circle Line 2.5-hour guided tour around Manhattan Island, sailing on three rivers and passing under 20 bridges with breathtaking views of the NYC skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Yankee Stadium and so much more while a guide narrated every detail of the trip. After the cruise, a few of us went looking for a bite to eat, stopping at a hotel on West 42nd, whose restaurant wasn't open yet. Their staff recommended @Nine, a Thai place around the corner on Ninth Avenue. @Nine offers an all-day happy hour with martinis, margies and cosmos for only $9. I sipped their martini, [...]

Shopping at Union Square Market with Chef Charlie Marshal

What fun it would be, I thought, to shop at the farmers' market with a chef! I did so recently with Charlie Marshal (The Marshal). We decided to meet at Union Square Greenmarket early one April Saturday morning. That market began with just a few farmers in 1976 and has grown to about 140 regional farmers, fishers and bakers selling their products four times a week. Charlie visits on Saturday mornings. These farmers are like friends, as Charlie has been shopping at the market for ten years! His secrets: Charlie ordered ahead and gets wholesale prices; otherwise, he mentioned, he couldn't afford to shop here and pass the costs to [...]

Great Jones Distilling Co: Tour, Jazz and Food, NoHo, NYC

We visited the Great Jones Distilling Co, Manhattan’s first legal whiskey distillery since Prohibition as media one afternoon. Our tour included an overview of the story, ingredients, process and equipment used to brew the three Great Jones whiskies – Great Jones Straight Bourbon, Four Grain Bourbon and Rye. After the tour, we had a guided tasting of their whiskeys, aged four years in American white oak, and were offered $10 off any single bottle purchased after the tour.  The Straight Bourbon has a light to medium body with a creamy and peppery taste; the Four Grain Bourbon is also medium-bodied, yet oaky and better (my favorite); the Rye is complex [...]

Enoteca Maria, Staten Island, NYC + Dionne Warwick, St. George Theatre

Not knowing how long it would take to get there, we took an early ferry to Staten Island for our 5:30 dinner at Enoteca Maria, next to the historic St. George Theatre, where we were seeing Dionne Warwick. We arrived before the restaurant even opened, yet were welcomed and seated at the front window table to chat and people watch out the window. Instead of chefs, rotating Nonnes cook with Italian grandmother Maria the constant. Our night's menus include foods from both an Egyptian Nonna and a Japanese one. We asked Safa, our informative server, to course our selections as we had the time before their latter 7:30 seating, which [...]

The Norm @ Brooklyn Museum + Thierry Mugler: Couturissime + The London Sunday Times

We booked The Norm—the restaurant in the Brooklyn Museum that relies on local produce to serve global flavors—after attending the Thierry Mugler: Couturissime exhibit. The show is the first U.S. retrospective to explore this French designer's edgy, intriguing universe and his iconic scent Angel inspired by nighttime stars. It's a scent I've been wearing since 2000 when I received a sample at Denise Rich's first fundraiser for "Gabrielle's Angel Foundation." That nonprofit raises funds to fight leukemia, lymphoma and related cancers. It honors the tragically short life of her daughter, actress/writer Gabrielle Rich Aouad, who died from leukemia in 1996 at the tender age of 27. Months afterward, on a flight to Paris, I [...]

Food Tour of Arthur Avenue, The Bronx with Susan Birnbaum

The first stop on our tour was for Albanian spinach burek (byrek, burek, börek), the classic Albanian stuffed fillo at Tony & Tina's Pizzeria, 2483 Arthur Ave, 718.733.8094. We spent lots of time with Dave at Mike's Deli inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, 2344 Arthur Ave, 718.295.5033, where he showed us how to make both fresh mozzarella and burrata, the soft shell wrapped around a creamy center of torn mozzarella strings and cream. We sampled many types of fresh cheeses plus their house-made pasta in tomato sauce.     We picked up some sliced sausage from Calabria Pork Store, 2338 Arthur Avenue, 718.367.5145, famous for their homemade fresh and [...]

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 [...]

New Handcrafted Cocktails and Bar Bites at Fogo de Chão, Midtown, NYC

This time my visit to Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian steakhouse, in Midtown was for a press event to introduce their new bar bites and cocktails. The culinary art of churrasco and the fresh, seasonal ingredients found on their Market Table inspired these new menu items. While we sipped the new cocktails, the staff passed their new bar bites.  We sat at the bar with Hugo, our friendly bartender making these new cocktails. My favorite was the Samba Squeeze Martini made with Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka, St- Germain, blood orange and guava. The other new ones include: Desert Rose: Patron Silver, Aperol, lime and aquafaba, garnished with angostura bitters [...]

Amata, Midtown, NYC + Carlton Fine Arts

COVID had kept us apart, so we had lots of catching up to do, including a belated birthday celebration. Before dinner at Amata, we met at the Carlton Fine Arts gallery on Madison to see their Pop Art Festival, having read about it in a friend's real estate newsletter. We headed west to Amata being the first seated in the dining room at this midtown Italian restaurant serving Neapolitan fare. We started with cocktails, my friends each having their Le Grand Fizz ($17) with Grey Goose Poire and St. Germain liqueur and I had their Old Fashioned ($17). We then split their white salad with endive, artichoke hearts, hearts of [...]

Boqueria West 40th, Midtown, NYC + Spectacular Costumes

We headed to the immersive pop-up "Spectacular Costumes From Stage and Screen" exhibit in Times Square featuring more than 100 of the industry’s most beautiful and complex garments. This exhibition offered close-up looks at Hamilton, The Lion King, The Marvelous Mrs. Mazel, Moulin Rouge and more. The proceeds from this exhibition raised money for the Costume Industry Coalition Recovery Fund, an alliance of over 50 NYC-based independent artisans and small businesses.  If you missed it, keep an eye out for next year's opening of the Museum of Broadway. After the exhibition, we walked a couple of blocks south for lunch at Boqueria for some Spanish fare. We sipped their Sangría [...]

Zia Maria, Chelsea, NYC + The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

"The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain" recounts the story of an African American veteran killed during a conflict with White Plains police officers who were sent to check on him when he accidentally set off his medical alert device. I recommend this hard-to-watch movie. It won the audience and the critics' awards when it premiered at the Austin film festival in 2019; it just opened in theaters. Faison's haunting performance of Kenneth Chamberlain deserves an Oscar nod. With the buzz it's creating, the White Plains District Attorney is reviewing the case. After the screening and talkback with actor Frankie Faison and actor-producer Enrico Natale, we headed across the street to Zia Maria [...]

Wagamama, Midtown, NYC + MoMA Cézanne’s Drawings

After visiting the vast Cézanne Drawing exhibition at M0MA, we headed to lunch in the area. This show, open through September 25, consists of more than 250 rarely shown works in addition to some of Paul Cézanne's paintings. After the museum, we headed a few blocks to wagamama, the Asian chain from London, with consistently good service and food. I hadn't yet tried this Midtown location as it opened right before the city closed for the pandemic. Their crispy wok-fried bang bang cauliflower ($8) coated in firecracker sauce is one of my favorites. I also like their steamed, then grilled, pork dumplings (gyoza) with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce (five [...]

A Mexican Floating Restaurant at Pier 81, La Baraca, NYC

About 10 years ago, I introduced the Bite of the Best community to The North River Lobster boat. This year, the Circle Line added a new floating restaurant serving Mexican fare. Like the lobster boat, La Baraca sails multiple times per day from Pier 81 on the Hudson River at 41st Street. You'll need to purchase a pass ahead of time. The vibe is relaxed, many of the drinks are tequila or mezcal based and the food is classic south of the border. After boarding and being seated by one of the staff, we settled in and perused the menu. My sailing partner sipped the classic margarita served on the [...]

Back to The Lightship Frying Pan, Chelsea, NYC + Classic Harbor Cruise

After twenty of our group of ex-expats took the Classis Harbor Architecture Tour, some of us walked the few blocks north from Chelsea Piers to The Frying Pan for something to eat and to continue the fun afternoon.  Our tour had taken us around Manhattan island as we sipped bubbly while the tour guide, a member of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA),  provided insightful narration covering New York’s iconic landmarks, modern architecture and engineering masterpieces. Their new way of ordering is great for a large group wanting to split the bill. Each person scans, orders and pays from the QR code unique to each [...]

City Winery at Pier 56, Hudson River Park, NYC + Ex-ExPat High Line Tour

Our ex-expat group met at King Nyani, the giant bronze ape in Bella Abzug Park, earlier this summer to begin our High Line art installation tour. Julie and I researched the current High Line art installations. From the Plinth on the Spur to the newly installed Retainer, we shared what we had learned about the ever-changing art. We exited the High Line at 14th Street to dine in the Hudson River Room at City Winery. We were seated at one long table. Everything looked amazingly fresh. A few ordered the Kale Caesar ($14, +$8 for added chicken), a few others tried Sophia's Poke Bowl ($18) with tuna, quinoa, kale, carrots, [...]

Miss Korea BBQ, Koreatown, NYC + Pin Cushion Art Installation in the Fashion District

Before lunch at Miss Korea BBQ, I stopped by The Garment District Alliance information kiosk to see how it had been transformed into a giant pin cushion composed of 50+ bales of curly willow, nine wisteria bales, and hundreds of silk flowers and butterflies. There's also an enormous bronze needle and large button in this public art sculpture, one of the many ever-changing art installations on the streets of Manhattan.  The giant pin cushion, created by Patricia Gonzalez and Carlos Franqui of Floratorium, will be there through the summer. The 8-foot bronze "Garment Worker" by Judith Weller nearby is currently a permanent installation.       If you go see [...]

An Local Institution: Donohue’s Steak House, Upper East Side, NYC

Trying to keep the restaurant reviews on BiteoftheBest fresh keeps me from developing relationships with neighborhood haunts as I don't return that often to local places. One of my upper east side friends shared her favorite local place, Donoghue's Steak House, a midtown institution with devout regulars. Donoghue's is a neighborhood place you know about, not one you discover visiting their website. There isn't one. It's been around since 1950, offering good, fresh pub food.  It also was featured on Billions — season three, fourth episode on Showtime —  when some of the show's characters met at this locale to decide how to handle one of the other characters. My friend [...]

The Pop-Up: Thaimee Love, West Village, NYC

Thaimee Love is a pop-up restaurant in the West Village from Thai Chef Hong Thaimee. She serves market-driven Thai comfort food. I was looking forward to sampling, especially after visiting Chiang Mai, her city, just before the pandemic lockdown. Take note if you go that they have no liquor license. There is a liquor store up the street, which is where we got a Gruner Veltliner thinking it would go nicely with the cuisine. It did. We couldn't decide among the three small plates offered and so chose the sampling Ruam Mit Platter for two ($28). It included slices of fried yams and Kabocha squash — "Chiang Mai Fries" — [...]

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