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The best City Bites from New York

Danji for Lunch in the Theatre District + Kiss Me, Kate

After raves from one friend, I decided to meet another for lunch at Danji, a small Korean place in the north Theatre District where Chef Hooni Kim combines French techniques with Korean foods. I did so before heading to see Kiss Me, Kate at Studio 54 on West 54th Street. Don't miss this toe-tapping Cole Porter revival starring the amazing Kelli O'Hara. For a complete review of the show, click here. Be sure you make a reservation at this 36-seat restaurant. I'd recommend the beef bulgogi bibimbap, the national Korean dish ($17), asking for the sizzling version. That one is served with hot crispy rice crust (+$3) in a castiron [...]

By |2019-05-10T08:04:46-04:00May 14th, 2019|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Il Punto, Almost Theatre District + Yiddish Fiddler

Before heading to the uptown version of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, I returned to Il Punto for a quick dinner. This Italian restaurant is a bit off the normal pre-theatre dining path as it's a couple blocks south of 42nd street on Ninth Avenue. I knew the food is good, the prices lower than other theatre area restaurants and that it would be a mere 5-minute walk to Stage 42. Their ziti comes tossed with oven roasted eggplant in a simple tomato sauce with a mountain of shredded mozzarella ($19); the red snapper ($28) arrived swimming in a tomato, olive and scallion wine sauce and served along with [...]

By |2019-04-20T20:54:40-04:00April 12th, 2019|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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El Rancho Burritos, Hells Kitchen, NYC + The Other Josh Cohen

After going to an off-Broadway fun feel-good musical at the Westside Theatre on 43rd, we grabbed a bite at El Rancho Burritos two blocks from where the theatre. For a complete review of The Other Josh Cohen, click here. The restaurant has a takeout counter with a couple of tables. Skip the chips with guac and salsa ($6.95). The chips were okay, guacamole watery and salsa redolent of canned tomato sauce. A hearty burrito is what to order. We tried two of their signature ones. The “chili-bomb burrito,” a chili-seasoned tortilla filled with lots of rice, some beef and chunks of stewed jalapeños topped with some red sauce ($9.75) and an Al Pastor Burrito ($10.75) [...]

By |2019-03-17T17:05:59-04:00March 11th, 2019|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Grand Sichuan, Chelsea, NYC + Malpaso Cuban Dancers at the Joyce

One freezing evening on our way to the Joyce Theatre, we stopped into Grand Sichuan restaurant directly across the street.  To get rid of the chill in my bones, I had a bowl of their steaming hot, hot and sour soup ($2.95).  Although I've had better (especially homemade), it was good. Good enough for me to decide to return when I'm at the Joyce again. At the Joyce, we saw the exceptional Cuban Malapaso Dance Company with their classically trained dancers and stayed for the curtain chat with founder and executive director Fernando Sáez and some of the company. I highly recommend seeing the Malpaso Dance Company perform when they're in town. Grand [...]

By |2019-01-13T14:28:01-05:00February 15th, 2019|Big Apple Life, Theatre|0 Comments
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The Polynesian a Tiki Lounge at the Pod Hotel + Noura

After seeing Noura, a play inspired by Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at Playwrights Horizon, we began looking for a place to get a nibble. (For a review of the play, click here.) A few doors east of the theatre, we found the Polynesian, a new — less than a year old — lounge inside the Pod Hotel. Actually, our noses followed the enticing fatty aroma to the restaurant. They offer a multi-page exotic island drinks menu plus a few bar snacks. We skipped the tropical for regular beverages and shared a couple items, all of which I'd recommend:  the spicy Persian cucumber salad ($12), sliders on sweet buns ($18 for three) and — of course — fries. [...]

By |2019-01-18T18:44:02-05:00February 11th, 2019|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Charlie Marshall’s Wine Bar: Dianne & Elisabeth, Theatre District, NYC + Pretty Woman

Just north on Tenth Avenue past Charlie Marshall's first restaurant, The Marshall is his newest Dianne and Elisabeth, named after Charlie's business partners' mother and his own mother. D&E opened in 2016. Like his eponymous restaurant, this is also farm-to-table small plates with main courses inspired by seasonal ingredients. I've been twice recently. The first time, a group of us stopped by after seeing the Broadway version of the iconic movie Pretty Woman, a show that we all thoroughly enjoyed. Most pundits did not, click here for a complete review. The second, we were Charlie's guests. Since I sampled so much, I'm sharing the dishes that I am suggesting you try.  I can never [...]

By |2018-12-17T15:21:51-05:00January 12th, 2019|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Middle Eastern Meal at The Palomar, Chinatown, London + Company

I had been hearing about the new London production of Company — the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical comedy about life, love and marriage — from my NYC theatre friends who are producers of the show. Company opened at London's Gielgud Theatre in November to rave reviews. And so, while across the pond during the holidays visiting family, I took the Eurostar to London to see it. What a delight! Marianne Elliott’s new production stars Rosalie Craig in the central role of Bobbie, Patti LuPone, Mel Giedroyc and Jonathan Bailey. Before the show, we stopped in at the Palomar for some small plates, each meant to be shared. Once ordered, the food arrived quite quickly [...]

By |2019-01-07T10:37:13-05:00January 6th, 2019|Theatre, World, World Restaurants, World Travel|0 Comments
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High in the Sky Manhatta, Financial District, NYC + Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof

What incredible views and spectacular service at Danny Meyer's (Union Square Hospitality Group) newest restaurant Manhatta in the Financial District. The hospitality begins as you check your coat on the ground floor before ascended to the 60th floor and continues throughout. Manhatta offers a 3-course prix fixe menu at $78 per person. Like Union Square Hospitality Group's other locations, this is a non-tipping restaurant, meaning gratuity is included. Dave, the friendly sommelier, came by and poured us each a glass of Pierre Gerbais champagne while we soaked in the amazing views even on a foggy night! Be careful not to fill up on their wonderful crusty bread with a chew interior [...]

By |2019-01-02T09:34:30-05:00January 2nd, 2019|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Moroccan CousCous at Kish-Kash, West Village, NY + Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

Fans of Einat Admony's Balaboosta (a Yiddish term that means the perfect housewife and mother) will enjoy a visit to her newest place Kish-Kash (named for the special sieve traditionally used to make the small semolina pasta). This North African casual dining couscous restaurant specializes in hand-rolled, hand-sieved Moroccan couscous and authentic North African Jewish cuisine. I was intrigued, having read about her opening earlier this summer as the first-ever couscous bar in New York City, featuring the couscous topped with braised meats and fish, plus salads, challah with hummus, pickled veggies and wines from North Africa and Isreal. The hummus that comes with challah ($9) was fine. I also liked the [...]

By |2018-12-23T09:36:09-05:00December 22nd, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Brunch at Burger & Lobster, Midtown, NYC + The Lifespan of a Fact

I had been to Burger & Lobster but not at the Midtown location nor for brunch. Having been invited to sample their fare, I headed there one Sunday morning before seeing The Lifespan of a Fact. An amazing cast of Cherry Jones, Daniel Radcliffe and Bobby Cannavale star in a new play where a fact checker (Radcliffe) is assigned by an editor (Jones) to fact check John D'Agata's essay (Cannavale). A true tale. For a full review, click here. The welcoming Times Square location restaurant has 300 lobster traps lining the entrance and all sorts of fish paraphernalia hanging from the rafters. We sat at a booth and ordered a build-your-own Bloody Mary to start the meal. [...]

By |2018-12-23T09:53:03-05:00December 19th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Legacy Records, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + The Play That Went Wrong

Before theatre, we walked way west to 510 West 38th Street to dine at Legacy Records, run by Delicious Hospitality the company behind Charlie Bird and Pasquale Jones. I suggest Pasquale Jones over Charlie Bird. At Legacy Records, I tried the Pac Man (basically a Manhattan) made with Sazerac 6-year Rye, Cocchi Americano Rosa and Baines Pacharan de Aranon ($18). We ordered their warm crusty bread that came with sprouted seed bread, cultured butter, salt and rosemary lardo ($8) to nibble while we perused the menu. Be careful about eating too much bread, as it's that good that you want to. From what I hear, the crudo is what to have, but I don't [...]

By |2019-01-16T07:44:43-05:00December 9th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Etcetera Etcetera, Theatre District, NYC + Days of Rage

Etcetera Etcetera, a restaurant on West 44th Street close to the theatre district, has a warm spacious setting with decent service. The food is sadly quite mediocre, at least what we sampled before we went around the corner to see Days of Rage at 2nd Stage. To be fair, perhaps because we ate there on a Monday, it was the chef's day off. We shared tough (over handled) veal meatballs screaming for a smidgen of salt (5 for $28) that oddly came with fries. Those fried morsels were the best part of what we ate. We also shared eggplant parmigiana ($19) that looked good -- but was also missing seasoning. The best [...]

By |2018-11-02T12:19:50-04:00December 7th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Fabulous LES Find: Le French Diner + The Hysteria of Doctor Faustus

Before heading to the Seeing Place Theatre on West 4th to see The Hysteria of Doctor Faustus, we got a bite to eat at a place where I know I'll return. That now-closed play explored a pact made between the devil and a man who thinks he has nothing to lose. It sparked memories of the musical comedy Damn Yankees also based on that Faust legend. Le French Diner is a tiny restaurant with surprisingly wonderful food! This small storefront does not have many seats. Having arrived at 5:30 as the manager was opening up, we asked to be seated at that window-side table. "If a party of four arrives, we'll [...]

By |2018-11-12T09:31:12-05:00November 12th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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A Few Visits to Bond45, Theatre District, NYC + Waverly Gallery

You might think that Bond45 restaurant would be located on 45th Street. It used to be until about a year ago when they moved one block north to 46th in a much larger space.  I had serendipitously made a res before I had received the invite from their publicist to sample the new breakfast buffet. A group of us dined there prior to seeing Kenneth Lonergan’s acclaimed memory play about a feisty and chatty grandmother’s final battle Alzheimer’s disease, starring an amazing cast including Elaine May, Joan Allen, Lucas Hedges, David Cromer and Michael Sera. The first thing I noticed as I walked through the door and was led to my table, was [...]

By |2019-01-16T07:49:50-05:00November 10th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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A Quiet Dinner at Four Cuts Steakhouse After Bernhardt Hamlet

Theresa Rebeck’s new play, Bernhardt Hamlet, stars the amazing Janet McTeer as Sarah Bernhardt, an actress with enough star power to play Hamlet during a very chauvinistic time. “There are five kinds of actresses: bad actresses, fair actresses, good actresses, great actresses. And then there is Sarah Bernhardt,"  wrote Mark Twain, a line uttered in the play. The play is based on a true story as Bernhardt did play the legendary Prince of Denmark in an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. For a full review, click here. After the play, we sat down to a leisurely dinner in the welcoming elegant dining room of Four Cuts Steakhouse in the Sutton Place area of the Upper [...]

By |2018-10-19T20:50:06-04:00November 2nd, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Churrascaria Plataforma, Theatre District, NYC + Desperate Measures

Desperate  Measures, the musical-comedy western loosely based on Shakespear's Measure for Measure, recently moved from the York Theatre across town to the New World Stages after what I heard was its three-time extended sold-out run. I went to see this show again, one that my friend Bill Castellino directed and choreographed and I enjoyed it as much the second time! Pure fun! After the performance, I went with Bill and some of his friends (including actress Gayle Turner) across the street to Churrascaria Plataforma, a Brazilian steakhouse for a drink and nibble. Such a friendly place, I do recommend for drinks after theatre and heard that that is what it's [...]

By |2018-09-15T15:31:41-04:00September 15th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Manhattan’s Only Distillery – Our/New York and Bar

I recently joined Untapped Cities, as some friends and I wanted to do one of their events. We figured for $10 a month, we'd try it out. Through them, I attended a tour and vodka tasting at Our/New York, which opened in May. This small-batch, micro-distillery Manhattan’s first since Prohibition. It is part of Pernod Ricard, the French-based wine and spirits company. Before the tour, we tried their too sweet for me Excelsior '64 cocktail made from their vodka, lavender, elderflower and sparkling wine. I was happier with the straight vodka we tried after learning how it was made. OUR/New York is not only a distillery, it's also a bar [...]

By |2018-08-13T17:52:11-04:00September 13th, 2018|City Bites, Food & Drinks|0 Comments
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Spring Natural Kitchen, Upper West Side, NYC + Twelfth Night

After picking up our tickets to see the musical version of Twelve Night at Shakespeare in the Park, we headed west to find a place to grab a bite. Wanting only a nibble on this very hot evening, we decided to share the guacamole ($13), which was flavorful but served with a plethora of stale colored chips. With that, I sampled their happy hour Upper West Side Manhattan ($7),  nicely done. As our main, we shared the quite small chopped salad ($17) that looks better in the photo than it was: all the "chopped" items are sprinkled on top. The menu described it as mesclun, romaine, shredded kale, roasted corn, [...]

By |2018-08-12T15:46:53-04:00September 11th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Tagine, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Mary Page Marlowe

On our way to see the Mary Page Marlow at The Tony Kiser Theater, we stopped into the dark Moroccan restaurant Tagine, as it was one of the nearby restaurants offering a discount with our subscription.  Six women play the main character of Tracy Letts’ play at different times of Mary Page Marlow's life from infancy to her golden years. For a complete review of the show, click here. Before ordering, we asked to sample the two wines by the glass that also came by the bottle to decide what to order. We opted for only a glass of the Carta Sauvignon Blanc ($12/glass), which is not worth trying. Seeing Mary Page [...]

By |2018-08-08T07:42:59-04:00September 9th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Pastrami Queen, Upper East Side, NYC + Little Rock

Next time that we join a scavenger hunt, we decided we'd do so in an area smaller than the 843 acres of rolling hills we know as Central Park. That was where we had needed to find 52 locations in 2 hours while attending an Untapped Cities scavenger hunt in conjunction with the Museum of the City of New York! Hungry for sure, we opted to head to Pastrami Queen on Lex where we shared one of their "our world famous" giant overstuffed lean pastrami sandwich ($18). The friendly staff  — knowing we were sharing — divided that in thirds! Yes, thirds, which was almost too much to eat as we [...]

By |2018-09-04T15:58:01-04:00September 3rd, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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