Some of you might know Surya, an Indian restaurant located on Bleecker. It used to be in another location on the same street before closing in 2012 because of a rent increase as well as damages caused by Hurricane Sandy. Three years later, the Sharma family restarted the adventure, in November 2015. At Surya, Chef Lala Sharma crafted a menu inspired by Colonial India, with the basis that, during the colonial years, the Indian culinary scene has been influenced by waves of settlers from England, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands who arrived to the subcontinent and brought with them flavors unknown at the time. I met Chef Sharma who showed me how a nan bread is made in their tandoor, a sight that I always like watching as I never imagined before that it was done this way.
Off The Hook is a raw bar and seafood place in the heart of Astoria, a bit off the beaten path. When we went for brunch there, we met with one of the owners, Bes, who explained to us that they opened this place two and half years ago with the idea of doing something different from the other seafood places in the area that were mainly Greek, proposing many different dishes focused on fresh seafood, whether served raw, fried, baked, etc. Opened 7 days a week, they get their seafood from the Bronx fish market, as well as from other local merchants.
I met Chef Didier Pawlicki at his two other restaurants: Le Village, located in the East Village, and La Sirene that is next to Taureau. Each time, I could sense the true passion he has for food, but also the importance he gives to his patrons, ensuring they would have a good time in what I would qualify as neighborhood restaurants. Yes, this is the way I would qualify all of his restaurants. Maybe it is because of their size, but I truly believe it is because of the atmosphere.
I was thrilled to try Frankie and Ava's, a new Italian eatery from long term resident Frank DiGiacomo, that opened last Wednesday.
You're going to tell me: does Hoboken need another Italian place? Well, why not if the food differs from the others? At Frankie and Ava's, it might not be the choices that are different, the menu offering pizza, hot or cold sandwiches, antipasti...Lots of components, such as mozzarella being made on premises.
When I got invited to try donuts at The Doughnut Project, a place that opened mid-October this year in the West Village, I was thrilled: I love doughnuts, but really the ones that are different and bring this delightfully fried dough to another level. This is what The Doughnut Project is about. Of course, if you want a regular one, simply glazed, you can ask, but it would not showcase what this place brings compared to the other "doughnutteries".
H & S Giovanni's is one of those multiple pizza joints in Hoboken that are worth knowing: cheap and good. Like others, they serve a large menu from pizza to pasta to sandwiches. I would say that the restaurant has two main areas: the one facing the counter for the curious and the dining room (they have two areas with a nicer set in fact), that is a bit more comfortable.
I went to Mastro's steakhouse a year ago and had a good time, the only negative being the noise level that was quite high. So, when we went back with my colleagues, I was curious to see if the experience evolved one way or another. As I had meat that week, I made a point to focus more on seafood, not that I thought that it would be healthier, especially when you will see what I got...
House of 'Que is a new BBQ restaurant that just opened two weeks ago in Hoboken, replacing 3 Thirty Grill that closed earlier this year. Overlooking the New York skyline, this place is fairly big and has a concept, BBQ, that is not that widespread in the mile square city, the only true competitor in that category being The Smoking' Barrel, located uptown.
TriBeCa has this reputation to be the place where the rich and celebrities live, with its high end restaurants and amazing lofts. In the last two years, I have been discovering this area and I definitely found places that you would probably not expect if you never went there and just been mesmerized by the sight of this neighborhood in TV shows or movies. Square Diner is one of them.
We passed in front of Edward's so many times , seeing that place crowded as well as the poster from Time Out saying it is one of the 50 best brunch places in New York, that we decided to go for dinner on a Friday night. Not surprisingly, we got our table in this place that had a bistro feel. Yes it was crowded and noisy, especially around the bar area. Menu wise, it looked like a mix of cuisines, that is never an issue if executed well.
When I went to Pho Nomenon in January 2014, I was not that thrilled and even said:
I have mixed feelings about that place: it was cheap and decent, but the food was not to the point where I would want to go back quickly.
What convinced me to go back was their Banh Mi sandwich. I love a good banh mi that I discovered at Banh Mi Saigon in Little Italy few years back. Cheap and tasty, I love the sweet and savory taste of this sandwich, that is even better when the baguette has a slight crispiness.
STK is definitely not your usual steakhouse, getting away from the manly atmosphere classic steak joints sometimes have. No, it is modern and combines not only a restaurant, but also a lounge, like Mastro's does. So, there, the noise level is quadruple, the music from the DJ forcing people to scream to get heard.
We were looking forward to having brunch with our friends Jen and Gary and I was in charge of finding a place in the city. Knowing that Gary was, like me, a fan of burgers, I looked for a restaurant with an extensive menu. That is how we ended up at The Ainsworth. I mean, just seeing their mac and cheese burger made me drool and I could not wait to try it.
It has been a while since we ate at The Vegetarian Dim Sum House in Chinatown, and so, after our last trip to Joe's Ginger, we decided to go back and see if the food was as good as we remember.
Bangkok City is a Thai restaurant located on the main street, Washington, in Hoboken. It is a fairly big place, and they offer a basic Thai menu, if it was not for the frog legs that I had there from time to time...Yes, not that many French restaurants serve them, but Thai restaurants often do (I think they call it Kha Gob). But, also often, you can taste that they have been frozen as they get this fishy taste that is so recognizable.
I was really looking forward to going to Ruth's Chris in Weehawken for two reasons: first I love Ruth's Chris that I consider one of the best steakhouses I ever been to (and trust me: I went to many); second because somebody told me one time that the Midtown location was good, but not the others. So, it was a way to see if this place was consistent across locations.
After trying the chocolate Babka at Breads, near Union Square, I kept dreaming about what else they could have that would be as delicious. We went few times back and tried different things that convinced me that it is one of the best bakeries in New York. I know: it is a big statement, but I stick to it.
Lobster roll might be the almighty sandwich for me. Seriously, who got such an idea to make a sandwich with lobster? Well, in fact I do not care that much about that and surely care about where to find a delicious roll. I believe the first time I tried a lobster roll was at The Red Hook Lobster Pound truck during a food truck festival at South Street Seaport.
You should have seen our faces when we saw Ample Hills Creamery at The Gotham West Market! We heard about this ice cream parlor from Jodi's cousin, Rebecca who recommended it. We went a couple of times and, each time, we got some amazing creamy and rich ice cream.
It has been a while since I wanted to try The Chicken Factory in Hoboken. It is a small place that serves Korean dishes besides their own version of wings and drumsticks, smothered either with a soy and garlic sauce or a sweet and spicy sauce. For instance, they have bibimbap, bulgogi, japchae or Haemul Pa Jeon that is a seafood scallion pancake. Then, if you are vegetarian, they do have few options for you: vegetarian bibimbap, garden salad, coleslaw, kimchi, etc.
Far from K-Town, Kori is a Korean restaurant that is a true finding in Tribeca. I like their statement:
In Korean, KORI means “connection,” which represents our vision of connecting healthy Korean cuisine with New Yorkers in the finest way possible.
Yes, it is an elegant Korean restaurant with an elevated menu. Not a big place for sure and you'd better have a reservation.
I admit that we hesitated before going for lunch at Casual Thai in Hoboken, a delivery few years ago going wrong from the time it took to get our food to the food itself not being good. But I was thinking that sometimes, deliveries do not give justice to restaurants; for instance, pizza is not as good when delivered as it usually steams in the box. Same for burgers or hot sandwiches.
If there is something for which Sarabeth's is known for, it is its brunch. Believe it or not, but I never went there and only tried some of their jam that you can find in some supermarkets. So, we decided to go to the one in TriBeCa on a Sunday. We had of course a reservation as the place was packed.
How did I end up at Dallas BBQ in Times Square? I simply wanted to eat BBQ and my favorite, Southern Hospitality, was full. I think I should have gone to Brother Jimmy's, although it was not really in the area where I was...I mean, the service at Dallas BBQ was very good, being courteous and efficient, but the food did not meet my expectations and I kind of left me still craving some delicious ribs...
Meaning everything is fine in French, Tout Va Bien is a family restaurant that has been serving a classic French bistro menu since 1948. It is a small place with a decor quite cluttered iwith so many French artifacts all over, from photos to littles statues, to soccer club flags, as well as the French songs playing in the background (Charles Aznavour when I went there), creating definitely a certain atmosphere close to what you would find in some restaurants in France.
I was thrilled when I heard that Del Frisco's Grille would open in Hoboken end of September 2015. We decided to go there for brunch and then dinner to check it out. It is a fairly big place, with a view to the kitchen and pass that is in the back, a view that I always find interesting, especially in that place, where you could see the staff lining up, waiting for the dishes to be ready and giving the last touch, like the brush of mix of salt, pepper and butter on the steaks.
Eating at Tikka Indian Grill is like traveling far away from the trendy Williamsburg neighborhood. The food there is amazing, especially if you like spices and discovering flavors and aromas that will astonish you during the entire meal. There, owner and Executive Chef Mallika Khan, who is from Bangladesh, crafted a menu inspired from her mother's recipes, covering many parts of India.
I cannot remember the last time we went to Rice Shop in Hoboken and why did not come back, until we went back...Yes, we were disappointed by the food to say the least. It started well, with a very good Thai iced tea that is one of my favorite beverages with its delightful sweetness counterbalancing the bitterness of the tea.
Maria's Mont Blanc was on my list of restaurants to try, few people recommending this place that serves European cuisine and is one of the rare restaurants in New York to have raclette, a dish found mainly in Switzerland and France, where cheese (racket cheese) is melted and then eaten with such things as potatoes or dried meat.
I discovered S'Mores in this country, this treat not being known at all in France. Even roasting marshmallows, that we call chamallows, is pretty uncommon there. So, I decided to make my own version of a S'Mores pie, layering a Graham cracker crust, a fudgy brownie and some torched marshmallow. An easy recipe that will satisfy adults and kids!
At Dosai, I got to meet with the new Chef, Hemnath Nagaran, who explained to me that he was proposing dishes mainly from South India, few of them being from the North, based on his mother's recipes. Dosai might be a kosher vegetarian place, I can tell you that I did not mind not having any meat the day we went: the food was fantastic and some of the dishes not that commonly found on menus of Indian restaurants here.
I was thrilled to go to Ocean Prime the day after their opening. Located midtown, this American restaurant replaced Ben Benson that closed several months back after facing a rent increase. Like Mastro's across the street or STK, few blocks away, it boasts an elegant decor that is both modern and classy, and a service that is perfection.
I was craving Italian food and found Max in TriBeCa. This place was definitely crowded when we went on a Friday night and I was surprised to see so many families with young kids. It had this neighborhood feel for sure and I was looking forward to trying their dishes.
I discovered olive oil cake a couple of years ago, eating in an Italian restaurant. Since then, I never hesitate to order it for dessert, often preferring it to the popular tiramisu. And in fact the best olive cake I ate, that inspires this recipe, was at Maialino. So, I decided to make my own: an easy recipe for a succulent cake...
Second Avenue has some interesting spots to eat and I should probably go there more often. That is where we found BarKogi, a Korean restaurant serving traditional Korean specialties as well as some interesting fusion dishes, such as Korean fried chicken or a Korean BBQ inspired burger: the short rib bulgogi burger.
Patiala is a small take out joint that takes its name from a city in southeastern Punjab, in northern India. Located few steps from The Madison Square Garden, it is more a grab and go eatery, the seating being very limited.
Don't desperate to find a Jimmy John's near you: this supposedly gourmet sandwich joint is a franchise. Their sandwiches are delicious and made fresh in less time you will have to read the menu. Gourmet might be a bit of a stretch, but they for sure have good sandwiches. First, what makes them real good is their bread that is apparently made daily: this is a fantastic bread and, as you know 50% of a success of the sandwich is the bread. The rest of the ingredients is also apparently fresh. For instance, they make daily their tuna salad.
On a Saturday night, we were decided to go eat Ramen and our target was Tabata Ramen, close to Port Authority. But, on our way, we noticed this place called Boi Noodle House, a Vietnamese restaurant that had ramen on the menu. From the outside, it was a bit difficult to see that it was a restaurant, but the A on the door attracted my eyes that are always looking for restaurants while walking around (Yes, it drives Jodi crazy sometimes, but I cannot help it).