NYC Restaurant Reviews

Our New York City restaurant reviews

Return to Serendipity, Upper East Side, NYC

Why would I return so quickly to Serendipity? Not because of its fabulous food but because my other grandkids, these two from out west, were visiting New York City this time, and I had promised them a Serendipity sundae. We arrived after a long day at the American Museum of Natural History, starting with the show at the Planetarium, and it left us very hungry as our reservation was midafternoon. I ordered the fried mozzarella sticks ($17.95) for my growing ravenous grandson, who also ordered the footlong classic served with French fries, coleslaw and pickles ($18.95). He took half home, leaving room for his Drug Store ($22.95) sundae with three [...]

By |2025-05-11T07:10:09-04:00May 16th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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**Happy Hour, Irregulars, Upper East Side, NYC

Arriving early to meet my friends for an evening of trivia at the Irregulars on the Upper East Side, I grabbed an espresso martini before the gals arrived. I connected with Mike Eagan, the owner, who highly recommended their housemade meatballs from the happy hour menu ($13).  Mike mentioned that recently, his mom had come into the kitchen and made 500 of them. I had to sample them. He is right! Don't miss these three pickleball-sized meatballs. I sopped up every drop of the sauce using the herbed garlic bread in the bowl. I recommend Irregulars's happy hour with each HH offerings that could make a meal, at least for [...]

By |2025-05-11T07:05:16-04:00May 12th, 2025|Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Bobbie Lloyd

What New Yorker isn't familiar with Magnolia Bakery? That small corner shop in New York's West Village has become a global phenomenon, now boasting 46 stores worldwide. This success is largely due to Bobbie Lloyd, their incredible CEO and Chief Baking Officer. I had the pleasure of meeting Bobbie when she joined Les Dames d'Escoffier New York (LDNY) and attended our annual conference in Phoenix, where all the New York Dames hung out. I learned that she has had a fascinating career; she served as Calvin Klein's private chef after finishing culinary school and then approached Danny Meyer at the original Union Square Cafe, where she started as a waiter. [...]

By |2025-05-10T06:59:51-04:00May 10th, 2025|Big Apple Life, City Bites, Foodie Interviews, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Sicily Osteria, Theatre District, NYC

If you're a theatergoer, I suggest dining at Sicily Osteria before your curtain. It's a warm, inviting restaurant on Restaurant Row in the heart of the Theater District and Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods. As their guests, we started with their specialty cocktails as we perused the menu. Requesting a non-sweet cocktail, our host suggested the Capri Crush made with vodka, Limoncello, St Germain, lemon juice, and egg white. It was perfect, even a tad tart. My dining partner sampled the Limoncello Spritz, a refreshing cocktail trending in Italy that replaces Aperol's bitterness with the less-complex, sunny taste of lemon. Restaurant Business recently reported that it's on trend to be the next Aperol [...]

By |2025-05-11T07:49:02-04:00May 8th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Argavi, Midtown, NYC + UN’s Focus on Woman Tour

Virginia, our passionate United Nations guide for our "Focus on Women" tour, amazed us with the figures and facts she spouted. She shared that in 1948, the UN had adopted thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we were shocked to learn that not one country honors them all. After our tour, we walked east to Argavi, a Georgian restaurant. I ordered thin slices of fried eggplant rolled around savory walnut stuffing ($16) and the traditional Khachapuri bread. I like the Adjaruli, an open-faced version topped with raw egg that gets cooked as the server mixes it with hot cheeses and butter ($18). Not to be missed. We [...]

By |2025-05-06T07:40:38-04:00May 6th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Chinatown, NYC + Statue of Liberty

We headed outside again after walking up the pedestal to and around the museum inside the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. Tickets to the crown had sold out a month before when we booked, so we could only walk the 215 steps of the pedestal. Afterward, we headed to the Statue of Liberty Museum, which opened in 2019, where the helpful rangers gave my grandkids a booklet, pencil and directions to finish the required activities. We rested while they worked on their form. We returned to Manhattan after completing their paperwork and earning their ranger badges. They wanted Chinese; They mentioned wanting Chinese as we disembarked the ferry. I [...]

By |2025-04-13T10:12:09-04:00May 4th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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RH Rooftop Meatpacking District, NYC

After walking the High Line and Little Island with my grandchildren, we headed to RH Rooftop for brunch. It never fails to satisfy or impress. Two of us ordered the Cappelletti Spritz ($18). I'm liking all the new twists on Aperol ones that are popping up on menus. Cappelletti is similar to Campari both traditional Italian aperitivi, but made with a wine base instead of a neutral grain spirit. Another a Golden Road mango wheat ale ($8). My 9-year old grandson ordered the broiled salmon and a side of asparagus, finishing the whole thing and washing it down with Fentimans rose lemonade ($7). I tried their Caesar salad ($18) with [...]

By |2025-04-13T10:20:08-04:00May 1st, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Balaboosta, West Village. NYC

With New York offering so many dining, it's hard to revisit ones you've enjoy. Like Balaboosta in the West Village. My friend reminded me how much we liked it and suggested it for our catch-up dinner. I've been traveling so much that we needed gab time over a meal. Appetizers and small bites or Mezze—my thing at Mediterranean restaurants. As we yakked, we nibbled the puddle of hummus ($17) with droplets of tahini, warm chickpeas and green s’chug, the green chilies and cilantro sauce with their warm pita. The cauliflower florets ($19) came topped with peanut tahini, mixed with pickle crumble and topped with small puffed corn-peanut balls, bamba. Interesting, [...]

By |2025-04-20T13:41:32-04:00April 17th, 2025|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at La Pecora Bianca, Bryant Park, NYC

Not all La Pecora Biancas are the same. Oh, they have the same menu, but what comes out of the kitchen depends on their staff. I met a friend for brunch at the Bryant Park location, as La Pecora Bianca offers ricotta pancakes—perfect for my dining partner, who doesn't eat eggs. We experienced a slow start with the service. My friend ordered the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes ($21), which come topped with blueberry compote and whipped crème fraîche, while I chose the Gramigna pasta—curly pasta with house-made sausage, broccolini, and chili flakes ($28). Although it took a while for our food to arrive, we didn't mind, as we had a lot [...]

By |2025-04-20T13:29:43-04:00April 14th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Nordstrom’s Bistro Verde, Midtown, NYC

The last time I ate at Bistro Verde I was meeting an out-of-town friend who had errands to do in Nordstrom. I enjoyed the experience. This time, I went with some girlfriends to play bingo with Drag Queen Linda.  An event that happens every other Thursday at the fifth-floor restaurant, as well as around the city. For the evening, the restaurant offers a limited menu with deals on food and drink. One friend and I tried their Aperol Spritz ($12), and another the house wine ($9). Between us we sampled the Angus beef dip sandwich with hot crispy fries ($20), their cilantro lime chicken taco ($10 each), Kung Pao Brussels [...]

By |2025-04-20T13:39:06-04:00April 8th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Armani Restauranti, Upper East Side, NYC

My dear friend, who appreciates good food, recommended Armani Restauranti for lunch. With memories of the superb meal I experienced at the Fifth Avenue location about a decade ago, I booked it with a Connecticut friend who was in town. We had an eye on their reasonable 2-course $75 prix fixe. The bread service is worth-the-calories with crisp skinny breadsticks, salty bread crisps and warm sour dough bread with a chewy crust. Our meal was less than stellar, including each of our first courses returned to the kitchen.  What I can recommend are the seasonal salad with pickled daikon and the Pappardelle, Courtyard Ragu dusted with Pecorino. When Conrad, the manager, [...]

By |2025-03-17T11:37:30-04:00April 5th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Burger at Pete’s Tavern, Gramercy, NYC

My friend wanted to celebrate her 70th birthday at Pete's Tavern in our hood.  It's that historic tavern on the corner of Irving and 18th that's pre-Civil War. It's the popular tavern that's been around since the mid 1800s that's served WHO. It's served the oldest continuously operating restaurant & bar in New York City, one where  O.Henry, author of the “Gift of the Magi”, was said to be a regular. And their burgers are worth it, and more than a meal.  Fries are worth the calories. Truth, I couldn't even finish, taking I  half home for dinner . When you're in the mood for a burger, I highly recommend. [...]

By |2025-03-17T11:06:45-04:00April 2nd, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Lunch at Rezdôra, Gramercy-Flatiron, NYC

Securing a lunch res at Rezdôra is much easier than dinner; maybe that's because the restaurant has lost its luster! I met a friend there for lunch, starting with an app that sounded so delicious when our server described it. That was their Gnocco Fritto, fried dough topped with Prosciutto di parma, mortadella & guanciale ($18). A simple dough topped with the various types of meat that were so nothing special (a waste of calories), we left one, consuming the meat that topped it. With pasta Rezdôra's speciality, we ordered two dishes. The first was their Anolini Di Parma, one of the best dishes I sampled in 2021. The server [...]

By |2025-03-15T12:24:05-04:00March 27th, 2025|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Frena, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Exile

Before heading to the MAP Theater's off-off-Broadway production of Exile, James Joyce's 90-minute play, which is rarely performed, we stopped into the fairly new Frena, where Taboon once was located on the corner of 52 and Tenth Avenue. It's a warm and friendly place decorated with lots of greenery from the ceiling. It is a modern Middle Eastern concept in Hell's Kitchen that — as Taboon did —celebrates that cuisine and its frena, the traditional communal Moroccan oven producing fresh, fragrant bread brushed with olive oil, Maldon salt, wild dry za'atar, We had to have that bread ($9) as the centerpiece of our meal, along with a trio of their [...]

By |2025-03-15T12:20:46-04:00March 24th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dan Leader

Daniel Leader may not be a household, but Bread Alone, his family organic bakery might be. The bakery, which began in the 80s, sold wood-fired loaves at their Catskills bakery. They currently do so through farmers markets in the area. Their fermentation process creates bread that is "better for you, tastes great and lasts plenty long—without preservatives." Dan is a James Beard Award-winning visionary, whose groundbreaking books Bread Alone and Local Breads are both IACP Award winners. His 2019 book, Living Bread, brought home a James Beard Award. He's just published A Slow Rise: Favorite Recipes from Four Decades of Baking with Heart by Daniel Leader with Lauren Chattman. The heart [...]

By |2025-03-22T07:15:54-04:00March 21st, 2025|Big Apple Life, Foodie Interviews, NYC Restaurant Reviews, xyz misc|0 Comments
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Morgan Library Cafe, Murray Hill, NYC + “Imitation of Life”

"Imitation of Life" with Sandra Dee and Lana Turner is one of my all-time tearjerkers, even more so than "An Affair to Remember," whose theme song starts my waterworks. That's the 1959 remake of the Claudette Colbert one, screened at The Morgan Library, whose personal librarian, their first Director, Belle da Costa Greene, also passed. Before the showing, we stopped in the glass-enclosed casual cafe for a bite. We shared a bottle ($60) of Whispering Angel Rosé, Provence, France, to enjoy with our two shared entrees. The Everything-Spiced Crab Cobb ($34) layers Maryland crab, tomato, Maytag Blue cheese, avocado and egg in a round. We requested the bacon on the [...]

By |2025-03-15T12:20:32-04:00March 18th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dame Gathering at Wu’s Wonton King, Chinatown, NYC

I emerged from the F train at East Broadway and was delighted to arrive at the door of Wu's Wonton King, where our Les Dames d'Escoffier chapter was celebrating the year of the snake with a multi-course meal and wine pairings. Les Dames d' Escoffier (LDEI) is a group of influential and accomplished women in the food and wine world who support our communities through grants, scholarships and mentorship. My table was adorned with a roasted sucking pig, waiting to be taken away, carved and served to the large group of us.  We started with a bowl of their rich broth soup, replete with three wontons: one filled with pork, [...]

By |2025-02-28T13:57:30-05:00March 15th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dinner at Da Andrea, Greenwich Village, NYC

My friend selected Da Andrea as the neighborhood place she'd like to celebrate her big birthday. Last I dined was lunch mid summer,  outside. This time inside the small family-style place where staff greets you as you walk through the door. It's a very friendly bistro with fine food and welcoming, attentive service. You're made to feel welcome as you walk in the door, I arrived a bit early, adorning the table with birthday beads, necklaces, a crown and a sash for the birthday girl boasting, "Its my birthday!" We like to share each course, asking Palina our friendly server, to bring them one at a time. She obliged, not [...]

By |2025-03-24T09:45:04-04:00March 13th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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**Happy Hour at Café D’Alsace, Upper East Side, NYC

Most everyone loves traditions. That's what we were hoping to start when we met at Café D'Alsace on the first Wednesday on the month. A few of us showed up enjoyed their discounted cocktails during happy hour. I sampled their refreshing Hugo Spritz made with St. Germain, fresh mint and sparkling wine ($12) and with that I indulged in their housemade truffle fries ($6). I'd recommend a stop in for their happy hour. **Happy Hour details as of 02.05.2025 Hours: 5 to 7 pm, daily What’s happy? $12 specific cocktails, $7 beer, $10 wine & bubbly, plus 3 small plates.  Charcuterie, $14, Cheese selections $6 for one chunk, [...]

By |2025-06-11T11:31:52-04:00March 10th, 2025|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Restaurant Week at LouLou, Chelsea, NYC

Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy is a charming French bistro in the heart of Chelsea, where I met a friend for lunch during Restaurant Week. We both did the two-course $30 lunch, selecting an appetizer and an entree but skipping dessert. The portions at the French bistro are generous. We each savored each bite of their frisée salad in a citrus vinaigrette topped with a poached egg and smoked bacon lardons—a classic French ingredient of small cubes or strips of fatty bacon or pork fat.  This plentiful salad could have satisfied us as lunch. Deciding to share, we asked Gabriela, our attentive server, to have the kitchen split the entrees [...]

By |2025-02-24T10:41:45-05:00March 7th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews|1 Comment
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