Big Apple Life

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

Le Midi, My Neighborhood Bistro

Le Midi is the warm and welcoming bistro in my hood that I've written about before. They offer a happy hour (HH) from 4 to 7 daily, including weekends; Sundays HH begins at noon. I stopped in recently to enjoy the $8 HH cosmos, made with vodka, Triple Sec and cranberry and lime juices plus their burger with sauteed cremini mushrooms, Gruyere & fries ($16). It hit the spot and didn't break the bank. I recommend a trip to Le Midi. Le Midi Bistro East Village 11 East 13th Street New York, NY 10003 (212) 255-8787 www.lemidinyc.com/

By |2019-07-21T10:19:53-04:00July 20th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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800 Degrees Woodfired Kitchen, Kips Bay

I was out of the country when 800 Woodfired Kitchen had their reopening event. They had been temporarily closed for a couple of months due to a mechanical fire. I spoke with the publicist to see if I could check it out. The restaurant is located across the street from the Empire State Building, making it a good stop for tourists. The only menu item that I sampled that I can recommend is the woodfire, roasted jumbo artichoke sprinkled with pecorino and smoked salt served with lemon butter ($15). To enjoy, we pulled off those outer petals, dipped each into the sauce then pulled through our teeth to get the [...]

By |2019-08-15T13:04:02-04:00July 16th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Beaubourg, Brooksfield Park, FiDi, NYC + Historical Tour

With my Ex-expats group, we took a historic tour let by Kevin Draper, one of the owners of the New York Historical Tours company.  During the 2-hour tour,  I gained a new respect for Alexandar Hamilton and learned about the Fraunces Tavern that's celebrating its 300th birthday this year. I vowed to gather some friends to visit the museum and restaurant sometime this summer. (That's the tavern behind Kevin in the photo.) After the trek around lower Manhattan, we headed to Beaubourg in Le District, a place I had been a couple of years ago when it opened at Brookfield Place. Sadly this time, I had to engulf and run.  [...]

By |2019-07-21T09:06:23-04:00July 12th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Café D’Avignon Bakery For Lunch, Midtown, NYC

Café D’Avignon, known for their bakery products, recently opened their first standalone café in Midtown. I met their publicist there to try their fare. We sampled their freshly made pastries ($3.50 – $6), including the unusual baklava croissant and my favorite the croissant filled with almond paste. We also tried the spinach feta quiche ($8) topped with toasted almonds and a croissant sandwich filled with goat cheese, roasted tomato and spinach that I would have preferred on a baguette. I'd also recommend their breads. Café D'Avignon is a good place to stop in for a bite while shopping near Herald Square or to pick up some goodies to take home. [...]

By |2019-07-05T10:06:56-04:00July 4th, 2019|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Book Group at Bistango at The Kimberly Hotel

Some book group members only have a pied-à-terre in the city, not large enough to host luncheons at their home so they opt for a prix fixe menu at some restaurant. That's how we ended up at Bistango at the Kimberley Hotel, discussing Michele Obama's autobiography, "Becoming," a book we all liked. I can't say as much for the meal other than their super attentive service. We all did the $24.95 prix fixe menu, starting with the plentiful arugula salad in a light lemon balsamic vinaigrette. Sadly the eggplant in the Parmigiana needed lots more time in the oven; we might not have noticed so much if the entree had [...]

By |2019-07-05T10:05:10-04:00July 2nd, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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A Trip to Harlem’s Tison Cafe for Ethiopian Food

I'm familiar with Ethiopian food as that was the culture I selected for a Culinary Arts graduate project at NYU. To serve for my presentation, I made all the foods from scratch, including the spicy doro wot (the berbere-seasoned chicken stew considered the national dish) and the injera (the sour, springy Ethiopian teff-based flatbread). I was flabbergasted that all other students brought in takeout for their projects! Knowing the cuisine, I was looking forward to a trip to Harlem's Tison Cafe for their  Ethiopian and other Mediterranean foods. I tried their Kafa Martini, their version of the espresso martini. Although the menu described it as made with vodka, coffee and [...]

By |2019-07-05T09:52:06-04:00June 28th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Return to Jones Wood Foundry for their June Specials, UES

Jones Wood Foundry's monthly seasonal menus give me cause to return for a tasting now and then to this Upper East Side English pub with consistently good food. Each time I return, there are a few starters I must have as they're that good. Don't miss either the smooth and creamy chicken and duck livers to spread on toasted brioche ($17) and of course the irresistible humongous Yorkshire pudding (popover, $7). We also ate the seasonal gooey grilled Cheddar & Stilton sandwich with pickled jalapeños. It came with a small serving of chilled tomato soup ($12), which I found unnecessary. This grilled cheese teawich, as its called, was so successful [...]

By |2019-06-22T15:30:52-04:00June 18th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Hunky Dory in Crown Heights + Frida Kahlo Exhibit at Brooklyn Museum

I had been given the edict to find a place for lunch after going to an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. Sadly by the time you read this, the amazingly interesting exhibit "Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving" ended. This show was the first in the US to present a collection of her Tehuana clothing, pre-Colonial jewelry, and other personal objects — even her hand-painted corsets and the prosthetics she used. Hunkly Dory, a sustainable all-day cafe and bar, is about half a mile from the museum. It's the project of Claire Sprouse, whose experience includes Sunday in Brooklyn and ABV in SF. You order and pay for your food [...]

By |2019-06-22T15:25:08-04:00June 14th, 2019|Big Apple Life|3 Comments
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Brunch at Augustine in the Beekman Hotel, Financial District

I hadn't yet seen Brookdale Battery Park Retirement Home where my friend had just moved her mother. We made a Sunday date to head downtown to see the facility and take her mom out to brunch at Augustine in the Beekman Hotel. Their fairly new chef Markus Glocker splits his time between that restaurant and Bâtard, a Michelin-starred Tribeca restaurant. We thought a bistro brunch called for Bloody Marys ($17). Once we took a sip, we both wondered whether they had forgotten to add the vodka. Our waiter Matthew played dumb when we mentioned the issue. We split a smoked salmon and avocado omelet($21), their flavorful burger ($25) topped with [...]

By |2019-06-10T15:36:43-04:00June 2nd, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Paris and West Village Visits to Jody Williams’ Buvette

So enjoying Jody Williams Buvette when I had eaten there that I decided to head to her Paris establishment when I was there recently. That visit in the City of Love made me hunger for another trip to the West Village one. In the 9th arrondissement in the Pigalle neighborhood of Paris, we shared a croque forestier, Jody Williams vegetarian alternative to the croque-monsieur sandwich with layers of Gruyere with roasted mushrooms and hearty French bread (12 €), some roasted fresh beets  (9 €) topped with Roquefort crème fraîche and a lightly dressed salad with celery olives and tender chicken (15 €). We also indulged in her heavenly mousse au [...]

By |2019-04-24T11:38:10-04:00May 30th, 2019|Big Apple Life, World Restaurants, World Travel|0 Comments
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A Return North River Lobster Co. Boat, A Bit More Pricey

A boat ride in New York City is always a treat and often a surprise to locals as well as visitors. I discovered the North River Lobster boat when it began sailing in 2014. At that time the sailings were free. Yes, free. Today it costs $10 for the boat ride. Cocktails come in all sizes from a 12-ounce cup ($15) to 64-ounce pitcher ($55) with a 24-ounce tall lighthouse ($25) in between. We had ordered the regular ones so when a lighthouse was delivered, silly us to think that was the regular size. Decent drinks, not light on the alcohol. And in 2014, the over-stuffed lobster roll costs $16. [...]

By |2019-05-26T19:17:07-04:00May 26th, 2019|Big Apple Life, Other happenings|0 Comments
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KungFu Kitchen + the Miro Exhibit at MoMA

I tripped across KungFu Kitchen looking for a budget-minded convenient place to meet my friend’s new beau (who we adored). We had come from a member-hours visit to the Joan Miró exhibit at MoMA, meaning we saw it without the crowds. This Shanghainese restaurant claims that it had been voted New York's best hand-pulled noodles and steamed buns, although I couldn't locate the source of that online. (Let me know if you do!) We tried both. Their crab and pork handmade "Xiao Long Bao" steamed soup dumplings were good ($9.95/6), but not as good as I have had elsewhere. Better were the pan-fried chicken dumplings ($9.95/6) that take 20 minutes. [...]

By |2019-05-29T09:32:37-04:00May 20th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Dongbei Cuisine at Auntie Guan’s, Chelsea, NYC

It's often a good sign to be the only Caucasian when you're in an ethnic restaurant as we were when we walked into Auntie Guan's Kitchen. Offered here are dishes of the Dongbei cuisine of China’s northeastern province, something I'm not familiar with. Luckily I had read a number of reviews that gave us some idea of what to order as did their menu with colored photographs of each dish. We started with both the spring roll ($4.99) and pickled cabbage with pork fried dumplings ($7.99 for six). Don't miss the "green bean sheet jelly with sesame sauce" ($10.99), being sure to toss all the clear mung bean noodles with [...]

By |2019-04-19T17:55:00-04:00May 18th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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Hudson Yards Grill at Hudson Yards + The Vessel

We planned an entire Hudson Yards day with an art exhibit at The Shed followed by walking the Thomas Heatherwick designed structure called The Vessel and dinner at Michael Lomonaco's Hudson Yards Grill. When the attendant told us it would only take 30 minutes for us to walk to the top of the 150-foot tall structure, we laughed. It didn't. The steps are done in such a way that you don't feel as if you're climbing stairs. It's an interactive fun network of steps and landings to experience on the walk to the top. There is one elevator. The day we were there they were only allowing those who had [...]

By |2019-05-29T09:34:27-04:00May 16th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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A Return to Mary’s Fish Camp for a Lobster Roll + Fat Cat

I've been a fan of the lobster roll at Pearl Oyster Bar since my first bite. I recently was reminded that chefs Rebecca Charles and Mary Redding had once been sweetheart partners owning the restaurant together. When they split, Rebecca kept Pearl and Mary opened Mary's Fish Camp not far from the original restaurant also serving the classic roll. I was surprised to find a line outside Mary's Fish Camp before it opened on a Monday night. I'd been to Mary's before, but this time I tried the lobster roll on a mission to compare the two. Mary's is a fun small space reminiscent of a seafood house on the [...]

By |2019-05-13T12:32:53-04:00May 8th, 2019|Big Apple Life, Rambling|0 Comments
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Cedric’s at the Shed + Trish Donnelly Art Installation, Hudson Yards

To celebrate my friend's big birthday, we planned an entire Hudson Yards day starting at an art exhibit at The Shed. We're still laughing about Trish Donnelly untitled and basically unlit art installation — except for the natural light coming through a verticle opening — in a capacious room filled with large redwood tree trunks with bandages on the cuts and a pile of branches. Like other attendees, we kept looking for more! There wasn't any. We used our extra time that we had allocated to the art show before walking The Vessel to sample the just-opened Cedric's, the only place to get a bite inside the Shed. It's a [...]

By |2019-04-27T12:25:01-04:00May 4th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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A Stop at Tacuba After a Visit to the Richard Avedon Foundation

After learning that I was unable to attend the tour arranged by my ex-expats group, I contacted the Richard Avedon Foundation to see if I could go on my own. They were incredibly accommodating. Before going, I read up on this American fashion and portrait photographer. Richard Avedon (1923–2004) was born and lived in Ne York City. The New York Times obituary wrote that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century." While there, we saw much of his work, both on the walls and in the ultra-organized archives. We also met with Executive Director James Martin, who had worked [...]

By |2019-03-17T18:45:35-04:00April 30th, 2019|Big Apple Life, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Milos Wine Bar + Soundtrack of America,The Shed at Hudson Yards, NYC

Like many other New Yorkers, I headed to Hudson Yards following the buzz. This night, I had tickets to the Soundtrack of America at The Shed — their new arts center — and wondered whether we could find a casual affordable bite before the concert. We narrowed our options to the Milos Wine Bar and Mercado Little Spain. The former's a casual version of Estiatorio Milos, the pricy Mediterranean seafood restaurant the latter from Chef José Andrés and the Adría Brothers. We found the Mercado, located on the street level,  too chaotic, crowded and noisy. If we wanted a seat, we'd almost need hover to get one. Milos Wine Bar, [...]

By |2019-04-28T10:39:56-04:00April 26th, 2019|Big Apple Life|0 Comments
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The Soft Non-Opening of Home Base Bistro, Murray Hill, NYC

I headed to the soft opening of Home Base Bistro on the date of my invite. When I arrived, I found an empty restaurant and a surprised owner/chef John Sierp wondering why I was there. As far as he knew the opening was the following day. I found the email with the date to show John, who couldn't have been nicer. He sat us down at the bar to have a drink, while he went into the kitchen to whip us up something to eat. I had an Old Fashion while I learned about John. He's a native New Yorker who has been featured on a variety of prominent television [...]

By |2023-07-11T11:16:27-04:00April 22nd, 2019|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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A Trip to Pizza Beach for the Launch of Chanmé Frosé

"I want to invite you to the official launch party for my client, Chanmé Frosé, the first ever frozen rosé available in a portable package," read the invitation for the party at Pizza Beach on the Lower East Side. I drink the bartender's special Chanmé Frosé frozen drink cocktail with the addition of Aperol and a splash of watermelon juice. Would be quite refreshing on a hot summer day. Pizza Beach's buffet included blistered shishitos, some meatballs and a few of their pizzas, each with a chewy crust as I like, cooked in wood-fired Italian Al Forno ovens. We sampled the Tulum, a California inspired one, with grilled avocado, cherry [...]

By |2019-03-11T10:07:56-04:00April 20th, 2019|Big Apple Life, Other happenings|0 Comments
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