Big Apple Life

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

Rooftop Happy Hour at STK Downtown, Meatpacking District, NYC

Once nice weather hits, rooftop cocktails are de rigueur. That's why we headed over to STK in the meat-packing district for a happy hour drink to celebrate my friend's birthday.  First things first. We ordered our cocktails (regularly $21, hh pricing $11), my friend selected their Spiced Watermelon made with Patrón Silver, St. Germain, watermelon, lime and jalapeño.   I ordered their Not Your Daddy's Old Fashioned made with a hearty pour of Woodford Reserve. The old fashioned has become one of my pandemic go-to cocktails. I'd recommend STKs. My friend ordered their beef tartare ($7) simply served in three crispy wonton-like cups for easy snacking. I tried their sauteed mini-salmon [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:05:23-04:00May 6th, 2021|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings, Rooftop|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 |2025-05-29T15:08:05-04:00April 24th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling, Recipes, Starters|2 Comments
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Taam Tov, Midtown (Diamond District), NYC

Taam Tov, which means good taste in Hebrew, is a Bukharian restaurant located two floors above 47th Street. It's the traditional cuisine of the Bukharan Jewish community. If you weren't looking for it, you'd probably miss it. I met a friend there recently for lunch.  Neither of us was very familiar with this Jewish cuisine. Our first dish was the Manty ($15.99), five large steamed thin dough dumplings filled with beef.  We also ordered the "Falafel Salad,"  sadly not with greens as I would have thought but with six falafel balls in a pool of hummus. And no bread for dipping. ($12.99) Our main dish was the bakhsh ($15.99), the [...]

By |2021-11-01T07:16:28-04:00April 22nd, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 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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A Flight at Birreria Rooftop, Flatiron, NYC

After a long walk on one of the first gorgeous spring days, I decided to stop by a rooftop restaurant for a cocktail. I wanted to continue to enjoy the weather.  Figured I'd respond to texts and emails. I ended up at Eataly's open rooftop restaurant Birreria. Great space. None of their cocktails talked to me. I decided to step outside my drinking comfort range to sample their Negroni flight. I say that, as a Negroni was never my drink. I was so glad I did. The Negroni flight ($25) contained three 2-ounce smoked Negronis made from Campari, Carpano Antica Vermouth and Blood Orange, with each one better than I [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:05:53-04:00April 9th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings, Rooftop|0 Comments
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The Modern Georgian Chito Gvrito, Gramercy, NYC

Another Georgian restaurant, Chito Gvrito, opened in my hood. I looked forward to sampling and comparing it to Chama Mama on West 14th Street that I had sampled last summer during the pandemic. As we sat down on the blanket-covered metal chair,  we ordered the classic khachapuri, the freshly baked cheese-stuffed bread, knowing it would take at least 15 minutes to bake. We chose the ajaruli cheese pie ($14), the traditional open-faced one that comes topped with a fresh egg and chunk of butter. When ours arrived, the server offered to ready it by tossing the melted hot cheese with the egg to "cook" it.  As I had learned at [...]

By |2021-11-08T07:34:00-05:00April 5th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dulce Vida Cafe, Upper East Side, NYC + Met Costume Exhibit

About Time: Fashion and Duration, the Met's black and white costume exhibit, ended early February. I was lucky enough to see it before that.  (Scroll down to see one costume!) After the exhibit, where folks were socially distanced, we walked over to Lexington Avenue to have brunch at a small Columbian restaurant. Sadly, they were out of their spicy fig margie that we each wanted to sample. Instead, we each ordered the jalapeño pineapple one ($12) with orange liquor, jalapeño and pineapple juice. One requested no peppers, one regular and one double the jalapeños (that's spicy-lovin' me). Wanting to sample their arepa ($9.75), a corn pancake that's eaten in Colombia, [...]

By |2021-11-01T09:51:14-04:00March 12th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Cheap Eats at Three Times, East Village, NYC

A seated lunch for two in Manhattan for $20? It's true. I ended up at 3 Times on Broadway as I had read about it serving the Chinese snack of shi bing tong commonly enjoyed at festivals and wanted to sample that dish. When I arrived and didn't notice it on the menu, I asked the server about this pan-fried wrap filled with pork, squid, rice noodles and lots of veggies. Sadly, they no longer offer it. We stayed anyway as I had brought a bottle of chilled Loimer Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal to enjoy with our meal as 3 Times didn't have a liquor license. We ordered one lunch special [...]

By |2021-11-01T09:51:47-04:00March 3rd, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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A Mistake That Landed Me at Glur Eating Thai, Chelsea, NYC

I blame my COVID-blurs brain for my mistake. I arrived at a restaurant in Chelsea to meet friends for dinner on the wrong day. Laughing at myself (what else could I do?), I headed toward my home. I walked past Glur, a small Thai restaurant on West 19th, noticed the "A" in the window and decided to stop for a meal, sitting in their tiny heated tent. I began with their crispy "Vegetable Spring Roll," which contained four small rolls filled with carrots, cabbage, corn and vermicelli noodles. Delicious, especially when dipped in their homemade pineapple sweet chili sauce ($8) with some of their hot sauce that I added. I [...]

By |2021-11-01T09:53:52-04:00February 28th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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NYC Installation at GCS + lunch at Benoit, Midtown, NYC

We met at Grand Central to see the new permanent art installation that's located above the entrance to the subway. This mirrored-glass pop of color with over 5,000 individually cut pieces of glass in more than 70 colors is the work of Jim Hodges, called "I dreamed a world and called it Love." Sadly half of the installation was covered with plastic as there is construction in the station. I don't suggest heading there to see this unless you're there to take a train or subway. Our visit took only a couple of minutes, basically as long as it took to descended and then ascended steps to the subway entrance. [...]

By |2021-11-08T07:34:22-05:00February 26th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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A Return to Il Gattopardo, Midtown, NYC

Returned to Il Gattopardo, midtown, to meet an Upper East Side friend who will only travel downtown on the Q. I walked, as that's my exercise. As in previous visits, our server first put mini arancini filled with a smidgeon of veal ragu, peas and mozzarella as an amuse-bouche from the kitchen to tickle our palates. After negotiating the wine, we ended up with a Pinot Nero 2018 Masut da Rive ($70). We then shared grilled octopus ($24) as I wanted confirmation that is was as wonderful as I thought on my last visit. The tender sliced cephalopod with the roasted fingerling potatoes, celery hearts and Castelvetrano olives, lemon juice, [...]

By |2021-11-08T07:42:19-05:00February 23rd, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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NYC Installations: Bombora House, Gansevoort Plaza, NYC

My walks to art installations took me to Gansevoort Plaza to see Bombora House, the colored-glass piece by Brooklyn-based sculptor Tom Fruin made possible through the NYC Department of Transportation’s Public Art Program. It's a large illuminated, stained glass-like house surrounded by smaller house-shaped sculptures. “Bombora refers to a large wave with its own frequency. Surfers will wait for the bombora to roll in. It’s a large wave at the end of a set of waves, same rhythm, different frequency or same frequency, different rhythm. It brings the fish in!”  explained neighborhood resident and artist Melinda Brown in the art's promotion. Fruin’s Bombora House represents the wave of cultural and [...]

By |2021-11-08T07:47:36-05:00February 17th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Disappointment: Only Apps No Lunch at Market Table, West Village, NYC

After perusing their menu online — one that's chockful of interesting vegetable combinations — we were looking forward to dining at Market Table in the Village. We arrived during their scheduled lunch hours and — after ordering our cocktails — learned that the lunch menu wasn't available, we could only order their bite-size apps from their Happy Hour menu. Since we were already comfy in their outdoor three-sided structure that had heaters both next to us and under the table and we had our drinks, we decided to stay and order their antojitos (literally "little cravings") or bite-size appetizers at $1 each. I started with their Eagle Eye cocktail, a [...]

By |2021-02-14T07:47:13-05:00February 11th, 2021|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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GupShup Brunch, Flatiron, NYC

I met some friends outside at GupShup for a Sunday brunch. We three ordered their Dirty Pineapple cocktail, described to us as a margarita with pineapple instead of lime. This pink drink contained El Tesoro Blanco Tequila, garam masala-washed pineapple, Thai bird chili, sweet hibiscus and lime.   We ordered two of their everything kulcha, freshly baked in their tandoor oven. One with salmon and cream cheese ($16) the other with egg and avocado($12).  I'd recommend. Their food is good, timing not so. We didn't receive the kulcha until after we got two of our entrees. One arrived 10 minutes later! I had their lamb keema (ground lamb in a [...]

By |2021-01-18T08:44:25-05:00February 8th, 2021|Big Apple Life|2 Comments
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Donna Margarita, Upper East Side, NYC

Donna Margarita is a small Italian trattoria one that I had been to before after an event at Streicker when we were still meeting in person. Oddly, it was the friend whose birthday we were celebrating who I was with. We had our meal in four courses, starting with their namesake pizza, the Margarita, topped with mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce and a few basil leaves ( $18). Next, we shared their linguine alle vongole, pasta with white clam sauce ($28) and garlicky broccoli-rabe ($10), followed by tender eggplant parmigiana ($25). Since we were celebrating a birthday, we ended our meal with a cheesecake cupcake topped with a lit candle [...]

By |2021-02-14T08:08:16-05:00February 2nd, 2021|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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NYC Installations: Doors for Doris, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, NYC

One walk to the southeast corner of Central Park was to see Doors for Doris an art installation presented by the Public Art Fund.  This installation created from a collection of discarded marble remnants from various renovation projects and stone yards around the city examines how our culture values and utilizes materials. Sam Moyer (b. 1983, Chicago, IL) created a massive three-part sculpture, with a title that pays homage to Public Art Fund founder, Doris C. Freedman (1928-1981). The three-part sculpture made from stone marks the threshold between Central Park’s boulder-filled terrain and Midtown Manhattan’s built environment. The polished stones contain the markings and shapes of their original uses. They [...]

By |2021-02-01T11:49:19-05:00January 30th, 2021|Other happenings|0 Comments
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An Octopus Tasting at Taverna Kyclades, East Village, NYC

My friend was on a quest for the best octopus in the city; many articles mentioned Taverna Kyclades in the East Village as one of the best. She planned to stop by and buy a gift certificate for her themed "octopus" present for a friend. We decided to sit and sample their charcoal-grilled octopus ($24.95) before heading to dinner, enjoying a glass of Moschofilero, Mantinia, Greece ($10) with it. She opted not to buy that certificate as the octopus was merely okay, nothing special. The staff, though, was lovely, even serving both of us galaktoboureko (semolina custard baked in filo) gratis. Taverna Kyclades East Village 228 1st Avenue New York, [...]

By |2022-08-20T14:08:44-04:00January 20th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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NYC Installations: King Nyani in Bella Abzug Park, Hudson Yards

Destinations give my city walks a purpose. And so I've begun walking to the various art installation around the city. After my visit, I upload my photos on Instagram, which post to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Seeing these musings, my friend and theatre critic Sandi Durrell (TheaterPizzazz) wrote asking me to pen an article about my explorations during COVID for her site. "Nothing keeps a wanderer like you down!" And so with this article, I'm introducing a new feature about the free art installations around the Big Apple. The first one is King Nyani (Swahili for “gorilla”),  a gigantic bronze gorilla statue (the largest in the world, in fact!) located [...]

By |2021-11-02T07:24:53-04:00January 17th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|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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Warm Soup after Bryant Park Holiday Mart, NYC

My ex-expat group has traditionally had a December outing to visit one of the city's many holiday shops followed by our holiday luncheon.  This year was a tad different. Ten of us met and shopped at the Bryant Park Holiday Mart 2020, open through January 3rd, 2021. Because of the pandemic, we didn't plan a luncheon. Three of us brave soles ate outside (yes, outside) at Bryant Park Grill, after asking them to turn on the gas heaters. When the server requested our drink order,  I thought a second, then asked if they could make an Irish Coffee ($15) to both warm my innards and hands! That sparked one friend's [...]

By |2021-01-03T08:38:08-05:00December 28th, 2020|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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