NYC Restaurant Reviews

Café Bilboquet, Upper East Side, NYC

Hospitality shines at Café Bilboquet, a new elegant French cafe on 60th replete with pastries, salads, sandwiches, wines and coffees. The well-trained staff couldn't have been nicer, not only to me but to everyone. Since I was their guest, they wanted me to try almost one of every sandwich offering. I smiled as they brought me the first dish of offerings, each still sporting the price tag. Our server shared that they wanted me to know which was which. Although spelled incorrectly on the tag, my outstanding favorite is the decadent foie gras slider on brioche ($5.50), of course with a glass of Bougogne 2013 ($15) to accompany. The other sliders [...]

By |2018-01-15T07:05:03-05:00February 8th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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The National, Turtle Bay, NYC

I met a couple friends recently for lunch at The National, Geoffrey Zakarian's restaurant in the Benjamin Hotel on Lexington Avenue at 50th Street. Two of us split one of their famous "ugly" burgers with pickled jalapeño, housemade pickles, Bibb lettuce. sliced tomatoes on a bun spread with their own special National sauce. There was  almost no room for the burger! This came with perfectly cooked and seasoned fries ($21). I'd go back for that anytime. We also shared a mixed green salad ($17) with julienne sliced sugar snap peas and Daikon radishes in an Asian inspired sesame lime dressing. Yummy. Another friend had an appetizer portion of their pasta with mushrooms and [...]

By |2018-01-14T11:39:01-05:00January 31st, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Santa Fe, Upper West Side, NYC – Mexican

Attending a lecture at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, we needed to find a nearby Upper West Side restaurant, which is how we ended up at Santa Fe, a cozy neighborhood Mexican food place with great margies (only $10.50). I started with their delicious margarita ($10.50) Attending a lecture at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, we needed to find a nearby Upper West Side restaurant, which is how we ended up at Santa Fe, a cozy neighborhood Mexican food place with great margies (only $10.50); I started with one. We took our servers advice when we ordered. I had the two enchiladas suizas ($21.50), one with [...]

By |2018-02-09T16:45:39-05:00January 29th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Jones Wood Foundry, Upper East Side, NYC

I was invited back to Jones Wood Foundry, a traditional British pub, as they had added a vegan menu they wanted me to sample. I wish this warm inviting pub were in my hood, as I'd frequent it often. I was eager to again indulge in their chicken livers and foie gras mousse served with grape chutney, cornichon and toasted brioche ($16). I oh, so remembered it from last time. It didn't disappoint. Do not miss this ethereal dish. We ordered the woodland mushroom arugula salad ($15) drizzled with truffle oil from the vegan offerings, although we asked for the parmesan offered from the regular version. The "Yorky Pudd Pop-Over" ($6) [...]

By |2017-12-22T15:23:42-05:00January 21st, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Kingsley, East Village, NYC

I so looked forward to trying the fare of Chef/owner Roxanne Spruance after reading of her culinary past that included Chicago's Blackbird, WD 50, Blue Hill at Stone Barns and much more. We browsed her limited menu, trying to decide what to order. Our server (who was very well trained), provided detailed descriptions of each. The first offering — our amuse bouche — was a fresh oyster from the west coast topped with an apple horseradish. I thought that a strange selection as many people don't eat these mollusks. The service at Kingsley is outstanding; the dishes unique. Our first selection was a hearty amount of perfectly charred octopus ($18) [...]

By |2017-12-13T16:16:53-05:00January 19th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Alice’s Arbor, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NYC

Alice’s Arbor, a farm-to-table concept, invited me to dine in their wood-paneled spacious dining room in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. General manager Haroun Khalek started our adventure with a delightfully light and well-balanced cocktail. Alice's French 75 is made with St. Germain, fresh lemon juice, splashes of both Tito's and simple syrup, then topped with Prosecco ($12). We switched to wine to accompany the appetizers, having a glass of both Clovis Côtes du Rhône, an organic Grenache, Rhone Valley 2016 ($16/glass)  and the Carignan/Grenache, Domaine Des Vignes Rouges "Clémence" IGP Cévennes, France 2016 ($11) as we couldn't decide between them. Flavorful appetizers included a pan-seared Atlantic salmon cake with [...]

By |2017-11-30T15:59:24-05:00January 17th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Sushi Choshi, Gramercy, NYC

My friend suggested meeting for lunch at Sushi Choshi on Irvington Street, a place she often frequented. She ordered her standard, a fresh salad with chunks of salmon sashimi ($15) on a bed of mixed greens topped with a sliced avocado and cucumber; she had their sesame dressing on the side. It looked quite fresh and appetizing. Not so with what I ordered. I tried the chicken teriyaki lunch special ($13). The broiled chicken cubes were so overcooked, they were almost inedible. Good thing that I had filled up on the accompaniments of a small bowl of miso soup and the tiny salad with the same sesame dressing served with [...]

By |2017-11-28T12:35:48-05:00January 13th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Stella 34 Trattoria, Macy’s Herald Square, NYC

Friends came in for the holidays and asked if I'd join them for lunch at Stella 34 Trattoria modern Italian trattoria on the 6th floor of Macy’s at Herald Square. We sat window-side with views of the city, including the Empire State building. We opted to share two secondi — sandwiches with a lightly dressed mixed green salad, giving us both tastes of two different ones. Although, each was described and an oven-baked sandwich, the were not. The pizza-like breads were oven baked and then filled. A sort-of Greek-flavored one contained breadcrumb-coated chicken with sliced tomato, cucumber and Gaeta olives, pickled cucumber and chunks of feta ($18). The other was filled with [...]

By |2018-01-11T11:50:17-05:00January 11th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Co., Chelsea, NYC

Co., a pizza restaurant from Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery, is located right next door to the bakery on Ninth Avenue. I stopped in recently to sample their fare. While waiting for my dining partner to arrive, I nibbled on their yummy mixed olives — Alfonso, Picholine, Castelvetrano and Gaeta — with garlic and rosemary ($7) while sipping a glass of Corvino ($14) 2013, Zenato "Veronese Rosso Alanera."     This is the place for gourmet pizzas. We had the special of the day — a perfect crusted fig and prosciutto ($24) one topped with fresh arugula. If it's available, don't miss it. We also sampled the classic Margherita ($19) [...]

By |2017-12-15T18:11:11-05:00January 4th, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Olio e Più, West Village, NYC – back again for brunch

Lucky me, I again was invited with Olio e Più's social media guru for brunch on a Sunday midday. We started with a classic brunch bloody Mary's then moved on to their fairly new specialty cocktails. My friend had the Bergamotto martini with Italicus Rosolio, vodka, dry vermouth and cardamom ($15); I indulged in the fumo di morra ($15), a smoky blend of a single village mezcal, crème de Muré, lemon cordial and fresh basil. I recommend mine, especially if you're a mezcal lover like me. While deciding what to order we nibbled the rich olives, crusty soft bread and small peppers filled with tuna.  Our first dish was the melanzane alla [...]

By |2017-11-20T17:14:31-05:00January 2nd, 2018|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Bedford & Co., Murray Hill, NYC

I was invited to sample the fall pumpkin tasting at Bedford & Company inside the Renwick hotel on 40th Street ($39/person). Knowing that this review wouldn't post until the fall tasting was no longer available, I had asked whether at least one of us could sample something from their interesting menu.  Sadly, they chose to serve both of us the tasting menu so that's all I can share with you even thought we noticed many more interesting foods pass by my table as we were right in front of the open kitchen! My favorite presentation was the seared sea scallops (although a tad too salty for me) seasoned with citrus [...]

By |2018-01-02T11:01:07-05:00December 31st, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Ichiran Ramen, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC

My young friends suggested picking me up in their new Tesla and heading "somewhere exotic." How could I resist?  That trip took us to a seemingly a seedy area of Bushwick at a branch of a Japanese ramen chain. Ichiran serves bowls of ramen at solo "flavor concentration booths." I'm getting ahead of myself. We had a short wait (15 minutes) before we were seated on bar stools facing a wall. Each of our booths was lined with posters explaining the process and food. Each also had chopsticks wrapped in an order form, plus a menu and the pencil needed to complete it. I had to select the strength and [...]

By |2017-12-28T09:33:26-05:00December 29th, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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The Warren, West Village, NYC + Enrico IV

We had an early dinner at The Warren before heading to Cherry Lane to see Enrico IV, one of the three new plays at Cherry Lane theatre, an hour monologue about (as the publicist wrote) "a man who is mad enough to think he’s a King (any similarities to Donald J. Trump are purely coincidental)." Dinner was much better than the play! We shared their perfectly cooked Asian-style steelhead salmon ($25) over tender sauteed soy-marinated eggplant with three sticky rice tots doused and decorated with sweet chili sauce. We also shared their signature burger, topped with Cabot cheddar and onion jam, served with wonderfully seasoned fries. I'd recommend stopping in at the [...]

By |2017-11-19T08:47:13-05:00December 23rd, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|1 Comment
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Irvington, Gramercy-Flatiron, NYC + Victoria and Abdul

Talking a long walk on a Sunday with a friend is my usual MO, but with the arctic cold wave that had hit - we opted for a leisurely brunch followed by a movie. Located on the ground floor of W New York – Union Square where Todd English's restaurant used to be, Irvington was the perfect place to stop for brunch before heading to see the amazing Judi Dench in Victoria and Abdul, the amazing story of Queen Victoria's unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk Abdul. A delightful movie. We began with one of their well-balanced cocktails. My friend had the lemony French 75 with Tanqueray gin, fresh lemon juice [...]

By |2017-11-12T20:32:14-05:00December 21st, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Black Walnut, Downtown Brooklyn, NYC

I headed to downtown Brooklyn with a friend as I was invited to sample the fare of Chef Antonio Tardio at Black Walnut restaurant in the new Hilton Hotel. As their guest, we sampled much of the menu beginning with a small bowl of cinnamon-spiked butternut squash soup. Their breads, worth the calories, come with a housemade maple-flavored butter. We followed that small portions of the grilled romaine Caesar ($12) with garlic croutons topped with flavorful (yum!) white anchovies; an arugula, ricotta and prosciutto flatbread ($18); artichoke hummus served with toasted pita and roasted veggies; crisp truffled polenta fries with a tomato jam ($12); ricotta bruschetta ($10) and our hands-down favorite [...]

By |2017-11-18T07:58:57-05:00December 19th, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Sullivan Street Bakery, Chelsea, NYC

What I love most about being invited to a restaurant as their guest is when the management allows me to have small tastes of many things so that I can share lots with you. That's what happened at Sullivan Street Bakery in Chelsea recently, Jim Lahey's second outpost of the bakery. Jim was the first recipient of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Baker in 2015. We started with a small bowl of the tasty roasted butternut squash soup with chunks of green apple, pumpkin seeds and aleppo pepper ($8). Perfect for a chilly day! I'd recommend. We also sampled the zucchini Roman-style pizzas, the cipolla (a soft cooked egg with caramelized [...]

By |2017-11-06T09:32:23-05:00December 15th, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Fairfax, West Village, NYC

Fairfax is Gabriel Stulman’s cafe reminiscent of a living room with couches and small seating areas.  When I met a friend there recently, we took advantage of their too-good-to-pass special of a drink + a plate for $24 offered from 11:30 to 6:30. We chose a glass of Prosecco and a couple plates to share, requesting to the kitchen split a bowl of soup. They were so accommodating serving us each ample half portions! My chowder contained two oysters, two Roman gnocchi and lots of the rich (not too creamy) broth with fennel and bacon.   We then shared a hearty pressed Cubano sandwich with roast pork, shaved ham, Swiss cheese [...]

By |2017-11-10T10:39:37-05:00December 11th, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Rafele, West Village, NYC

Area friends had suggested Rafele, a locale place featuring the cuisine of Naples from Raffaele Ronca (who won a competition on Food Network's Chopped) and his friend Romeo Palmisano. I hadn't been until recently, but I will go back. While waiting for our food, we nibbled the delicious housemade caponata with eggplant, olives, capers, peppers, pickled onions and fresh cranberry with bread. To started, we shared their tender grilled prawn ($15), with two giant prawns arranged on a refreshing lightly dressed in lemon and EVOO arugula and butter lettuce salad. A special of the night - housemade and baked cacio e pepe papillote — cooked in parchment ($19)  and tossed [...]

By |2017-11-24T08:40:59-05:00December 9th, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Calle Dao, Chelsea, NYC

I was intrigued by the invitation to the press brunch at Calle Dao, the second location of this Cuban-Chinese restaurant in Chelsea as I had never experienced that blend of cuisines before. When I arrived, I heard that the health inspectors had just arrived for a spot inspection and we'd have to sit and wait. We all were ravenous by the time — almost an hour later — the first course and drink arrived. We were told they passed the inspection with flying colors. We sampled three of their appetizers. The one I'd recommend is the most unusual spring roll filled with the makings of a Cuban sandwich served with [...]

By |2017-11-06T09:25:48-05:00December 5th, 2017|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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