NYC Restaurant Reviews

Our New York City restaurant reviews

Pascalou, Upper East Side, NYC

An UES friend had suggested the small split-level French-bistro Pascalou on Madison during my search for restaurants for The Public's patron program. I was told that the food was good, portions hearty and not to miss the chocolate souffle. After bridge one morning, I met an UES friend there. We sipped a glass of Veuve de Vernay Rosé Brut ($12) while deciding what to order as their menu is quite huge with a large variety of offerings. Not the typical French bistro ones. We agreed on their fettucine of vegetables ($20) - long strips of squash and carrots in a flavorful tomato sauce, topped with grated Parmesan and served with [...]

By |2021-09-23T07:08:10-04:00September 23rd, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Return to Claudette for Brunch, Greenwich Village, NYC

I'd been to Claudette a couple of times, but never for brunch. I like its location with tables on Fifth Avenue just a bit North of Washington Square. The service was great. At brunch, though, the food was in need of tweaking.  The shakshouka — a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a tomato sauce — screamed for seasoning. A little salt and pepper did help. My dining partner mentioned that his beet salad ($16) with dollops of yogurt, thin pear slices and toasted almonds over chicories (radicchio and endive) needed something to "jazz it up." I'd suggest Claudette for lunch or dinner, perhaps not brunch! Claudette Greenwich Village 24 [...]

By |2021-09-24T08:20:55-04:00September 21st, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Al Fresco Dining at The Blue Mezze Bar, Upper East Side, NYC

A friend who lives in the Upper East Side near The Blue Mezze Bar had suggested dining there. She mentioned that it is the sister restaurant of the Mediterranean A la Turka a few blocks south that she liked. I decided to try it, meeting that friend there for dinner recently, We sat outside in their large terrace area along Second Avenue.   We selected two mezze from the chilled section and their lamb chops. We then chose a bottle of the Don Migel Gascón Reserva Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina ($79), 2018. The wine was smooth and elegant with notes of chocolate and dark fruits. It went well with both [...]

By |2021-09-24T08:35:11-04:00September 19th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Angelina’s in NYC: Angelina’s Paris, Bryant Park, NYC

My first visit to Angelina's (226 Rue du Rivoli, Paris) was with my two, then young, sons on their inaugural European trip in 1992. I've been back to the original cafe (opened in 1903) — and so have my sons — many times for their hot chocolate. It's like drinking a melted chocolate bar.  One cup of this can satisfy more than one; it's almost too rich for one person. This hot chocolate — a blend of three kinds of African cocoa from Niger, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire — is not to be missed. I'd been wanting to go to the New York Angelina Paris located adjacent to Bryant Park [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:26:12-04:00September 17th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|1 Comment
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L’Express, Gramercy-Flatiron, NYC + Madison Square Park Bubble Man

On our way to the playground on the northern end of Madison Square Park, we bumped into the bubble man entertaining kids with his giant bubbles. He did so by both enclosing families in large bubbles and giving kids ropes connected to two sticks for them to dip into his soapy water bucket to produce free-floating ones.   We headed to L'Express, a French bistro on Park Avenue South at the corner of 20th Street after my granddaughter made new friends at the playground. I had my usual warm chèvre salad ($16) missing the traditional tomato confit and black olives. This time they offered the warm goat cheese atop crisp [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:26:19-04:00September 15th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Lunch at El Vez and Burrito Bar, Tribeca, NYC

Around the corner from both the Conrad Hotel (with the 16th floor Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar) and the Irish Hunger Memorial, is El Vez and Burrito Bar, a Mexican restaurant with lots of outdoor space. We weren't there for either, instead, it was because of its proximity to Brookdale Battery Park City home for seniors where my friend's mom lives. We three shared both their nachos and shrimp tacos. The Macho Nacho ($19) consisted of melted queso, black beans, salsa ranchera, sour cream, pickled red onion, jalapeño and chorizo over a layer of fresh tortilla chips. Nicely done. Also good are their shrimp tacos ($17 for three) although not as [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:13:09-04:00September 13th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rooftop|0 Comments
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Don Giovanni Restaurant, Chelsea, NYC + King Nyani

Reservations are not needed on weekdays to stroll along the Highline, a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail. That park was created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan. It's currently from Gansevoort Street by the Whitney Museum to Hudson Yards. We were strolling north along the park on our way to see King Nyani. Getting hungry somewhere near the 23rd street egress, we left the park and walked toward 10th Avenue. Don Giovanni's restaurant's awning claiming "The Best Brick-Oven Pizza in Town" caught our eye. That and it was the only thing open. We shared their large ($24) Margherita classic [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:26:32-04:00September 11th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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A Return to Glur Thai, Chelsea, NYC

Glur Thai is a 19th Street restaurant that I had discovered earlier this year. It's a teeny spot with a couple of outside tables and a handful inside. I returned to find out whether it was consistently good. I again tried their crispy vegetable spring rolls ($8 for four) served with a pineapple chili sauce and their green curry ($14) with brown rice (+$2), yet this time I had shrimp (+$3) instead of pork. My friend wasn't sure how spicy he could handle, so we ordered all dishes medium level of spice, which was even spicier than my last visit. We added one additional dish to our order — gra [...]

By |2021-09-12T09:43:28-04:00September 9th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Return to Casa Mono, Gramercy, NYC

I always have an amazing meal at Casa Mono, the Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant on Irving Place just east of Union Square. It's is currently owned and operated by Joe Bastianich and Andy Nusser. We noticed a white Malvasia from Lanzarote on the menu as my dining partner had recently been to that northern and easternmost volcanic island of the Canary Islands. He described how the vines are produced in the volcanic soil in holes below the surface. We ordered the Bermejos Malvasia Deco 2020 Lanzarote ($57) with apple and citrus notes with a slight mineral finish from the volcanic soil. It went so well with all we ordered. I had [...]

By |2021-09-12T09:40:49-04:00September 7th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Beef Renang at Medan Pasar, Lower East Side, NYC

THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW PERMANENTLY CLOSED. There had been a bit of buzz about Medan Pasar, a new Malaysian restaurant on the lower east side, so I made a res and headed there to lunch with a friend.  I was pleasantly surprised to find both inside and outside seating at this take-out-only store-front restaurant. We had made our selections before we arrived based on what we had heard and read. From what we had, I'd only recommend the two entrees. Skip the prawn fritters ($6 for two), crunchy from the crackling shells of the unpeeled shrimp yet neither accompanying sauce enlivened the blandness. Also, I'd skip the also bland rojak [...]

By |2021-09-13T15:10:58-04:00September 5th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Mediterranean Cuisine at Leyla, Upper West, Side, NYC + Merry Wives at The Delacorte

Found Leyla, a Mediterranean restaurant, in searching for places less than a mile from The Delacorte as a potential one for The Public's Patron program. We were seated in the tiny garden in the back. The meal started strong with their beetroot carpaccio salad ($14), thinly sliced beets, topped with fresh arugula drizzled with a lemon oil dressing and garnished with four 1-inch balls of goat cheese rolled in herbs. I'd recommend that. My dining partner had eaten pide, the Turkish flatbread cooked in a brick oven, describing it as looking like a small pizza. Our slow-cooked short rib pide ($15) was different; it resembled strudel with the dough wrapped [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:26:47-04:00September 1st, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Finally, Dinner at Silver Apricot, West Village, NYC

I'd been trying on Resy to get a reservation at Silver Apricot, the new hot American-Chinese restaurant serving small plates since I started reading rave reviews about it. Lucky me, I was able to grab a res as it popped up as I must have looked just as someone canceled. It was worth the wait. Silver Apricot is led by Simone Tong and Emmeline Zhao (Little Tong, fame) plus a team of alumni of wd~50, Eleven Madison Park and Per Se.  First, we ordered from their beverage menu featuring an all-domestic wine list opting for an Analemma Godello/Albarino ($98) from Mosier Hills Blanco 2018, Columbia Gorge, OR. Unusually good with [...]

By |2021-09-13T15:16:13-04:00August 30th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Atogirl Popup, Rockefeller Center, NYC

Earlier this summer, a group of friends and I met at Rockefeller Center for an unusual outdoor summer dining experience. As fans of the amazing Atoboy, we had to grab a weekday reservation for their curated menu of drinks and bites set against a stunning backdrop of St. Patrick's Cathedral and the NYC skyline. The limited menu consisted of two three-course menus ($57) plus a few extras. Between us, we had ordered both menus and shared the beloved Atoboy fried chicken with peanut sauce (+$22). Everything is served at once on disposable bamboo plates with bamboo utensils to eat with and plastic cups to drink from. With only a beer [...]

By |2021-10-31T10:06:35-04:00August 26th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Lunch at Nordstroms’ Bistro Verde, Midtown, NYC

Like at Nordstroms' department store, the service personnel at their fifth-floor Bistro Verdo, flagship restaurant is top-notch. I met a friend there recently for lunch. We decided to share two of their salads, one grilled shrimp the other a wild salmon Niçoise. The first contained three shrimp with organic baby greens, heirloom tomatoes, grilled corn, shredded queso fresco and crisp tortilla crisps  ($19.50) with the cilantro-lime vinaigrette on the side. The other included wild salmon atop organic baby greens, haricots verts, heirloom tomatoes, a halved egg,  potato chunks, kalamata olives and capers ($19.25), with the Dijon balsamic vinaigrette on the side. I would recommend either as they're both fresh and [...]

By |2021-08-30T13:21:19-04:00August 24th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Masala King, A Midtown Indian Restaurant, NYC

Needing to stay in Midtown between doctor appointments, I stopped into Masala King for a quick bite asking to see the printed menu. When the server handed me the menu, she mentioned that the prices may be a bit — one or two dollars — higher. I photographed it for reference as I always do, then flipped through the many offerings to find a spicy chicken dish. I chose the Chicken Bhuna with onions tomatoes and green chili served with basmati rice. I had to laugh when I saw the $24 price tag, as the printed menu said $16! More than a bit higher, don't you think? At least the [...]

By |2021-07-16T14:39:33-04:00August 22nd, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Back to Via Carota with a Res, West Village, NYC

A silver lining of the pandemic is that it's now possible to make a reservation at Via Carota! One friend and I began with a refreshing Aperol spritzer as we sat down. Being with food folks, we ordered more than I traditionally do for our so-called "research."  And so that everything didn't arrive at one, we requested the dishes arrive in waves instead of all at once. Our first wave included the layered salad with buttery lettuce, fresh peas and prosciutto ($21). My fav. With that, we had an addicting pile of fried zucchini strips sprinkled with sea salt ($19). The next wave included grilled artichoke hearts. The ones that were trimmed [...]

By |2021-08-27T13:04:48-04:00August 20th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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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 [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:03-04:00August 18th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Stout: a Pub near Grand Central, Midtown, NYC

Consider grabbing a drink at Stout if you're looking for a pub near Grand Central to meet a friend before catching your train. The snack to have with that libation? I'd recommend their hearty portion of salt & pepper calamari fried along with lemon slices and banana peppers all served with a Meyer lemon aioli ($15). The palate-cleansing lemon slices offer a nice change of pace. My dining partner enjoyed their night's special of a sweet potato flatbread topped with whipped ricotta, grated asiago, fresh arugula and balsamic onions so caramelized it tasted like jam ($12). Stout Midtown 60 East 41st St (between Park and Madison Ave) New York, NY [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:13-04:00August 16th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Lunch at Pastis, Meatpacking District, NYC

Pastis was packed inside and out. Luckily we had booked an outdoor table as the noise inside can be deafening. I tried their Pastis Frosé made from rosé wine, vodka, Lillet and lemon — that's an alcohol-imbibed frozen slushie ($16) while my dining partner has a glass of rosé, the Aix-en-Provence, Gotham Project "Sabine" ‘20 grenache, syrah, cinsault ($13). We asked that our food be served in courses, starting with the heirloom tomato and stone fruit salad with fresh regular and micro basil. Wished I had a little salt for that fresh salad and more fruit instead of cucumbers. That said, it was tasty. We followed that with a bowl [...]

By |2021-08-14T07:44:29-04:00August 14th, 2021|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Hudson Garden Grill + Kusama at Bronx Botanical Gardens

This hot summer we experienced Yayoi Kusama’s connection with nature and immersive installations at the Bronx Botanical Gardens on an overcast day. Kusama: Cosmic Nature will be open through October 31, 2021. We lucked out being seated at Hudson Garden Grill, the only sit-down restaurant a the gardens, as the clouds opened up. We started by sharing the local Lioni burrata and prosciutto with roasted peaches and heirloom tomatoes drizzled with basil oil ($17). One friend had the Cobb salad ($22), fried chicken layered along with tomatoes, greens, avocado, bacon, gorgonzola and hearts of palm all in a ranch dressing. Another ate the salmon ($27), cooked medium as requested with [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:22-04:00August 12th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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