When Eleven Madison Park announced that they would switch to a plant-based restaurant, a lot of people could not believe it, thinking that it would be a mistake. I was not one of them. Don’t get me wrong: I am a non-vegetarian, but also appreciate a good vegetarian or vegan meal. I think that there is a place for everybody’s choice and sometimes the label put on something seems to stoke a fire, even in the culinary world. Think about it: a margarita pizza is vegetarian.
As Jodi’s friend, Jackie, was visiting for Alaska with her daughter, we ended up at Alice’s Tea Cup on the Upper West Side. It’s been a while since we went to this whimsical place, the last time being for their afternoon tea. As you can guess, the name comes from Alice in Wonderland and, if you did not guess before going, you get a hint as you enter the restaurant, although the first thing you get is the smell of the delicious cookies and scones that they sell.
So I was curious to see their menu and immediately saw one item that made me want to try it: the Hang 10 burrito that is a Cali burrito. I never had a Cali burrito until I traveled to San Diego and had one at Lucha Libre, one of the known restaurants there. Simply put (and hopefully not insulting anyone), it is a burrito where the rice has been replaced by French fries. It was made with chopped steak, lettuce, Jack cheese…
I recently saw a post from Hoboken Girl saying that the best burger in the city is at 10th and Willow Bar and Grill. So I had to check it out as for me it is between Antique Bar & Bakery and O’Neals, but you never know!
We decided to go on a Sunday for brunch. The place was empty at the time we went and we got the impression they did not care much for us, maybe because we did not order alcohol. Who knows? So it took a while for our order to be placed. We started off with their fried goat cheese balls.
Have you ever been to a restaurant and have this feeling that things are not going to go well from the get go? This is what happened when we went for dinner at Terra in TriBeCa, after going to the New York Academy of Art for an exhibit where Jodi had a painting. It started with the host who barely said hello and apparently did not like the fact that I asked for a table that was not next to the sidewalk. Then, a first waiter came and took our order for drinks (I had a Mint Julep), before a second one came for the same thing. When we told…
It has probably been 17 years since I have been to Sorrento’s, an Italian joint that serves large subs. So, as we were going to Freehold, I had a special request: to go to Sorrento’s for lunch. I admit that when we arrived, I did not recognize the place, not that it mattered much, as long as their menu was still mouth watering. And it was! Imagine: they serve subs with a bunch of meat, like ham, turkey, roast beef, salami, prosciuttino, chicken, roast beef or capicolla, that you can complement with cheese, and combine together in any way you prefer, making their 18 inches sandwiches even more decadent (yes…
There are few places in Hoboken where I would go for seafood. Halifax of course, at the W Hotel, and then The Stingray Lounge that I discovered few years ago. Located on the North part of Hoboken, they offer some delicious dishes that would satisfy any seafood lover: lobster, shrimp, crab or oysters to name a few. If you are vegetarian, it might be a bit more challenging, although they do not make a fuss about, like some restaurants would and I truly appreciated that they removed the meat from their cheese and charcuterie platter and did not charge us the full price that is often what restaurants do.
Beer gardens (biergarten in German) are great places for a comforting meal and it is really good to have Pilsener Haus and Biergarten in the North part of Hoboken. Interestingly, the crowd on weekends is made of families for lunch and early dinners, that is the crowd I prefer, usually quieter…Of course, going there, you expect beer and they have a large selection of beer on tap, in bottles or cans, as well as wine, ciders and sodas if you do not like beer.
We have some sort of tradition every year, although the past couple of years we did not do it with Covid: we go see the open studio of Peter Drake who is an amazing painter and the provost of the New York Academy of Art, and then go eat at Cecconi’s, a popular spot in Dumbo. I love this place: the outdoor has this beautiful new of Manhattan where you can have a relaxing brunch.
I have been to Pera few times, each time enjoying the delicious mediterranean cuisine that they offer on their menu. There are dishes for vegetarian and non-vegetarians, people with a love of fish or meat. In fact, I find their menu quite mouth watering and one of the things I like there is their salads that allow multiple combinations; they have three different types of salads: watermelon and feta, market salad (shredded romaine hearts, dill, scallion, feta cheese, lemon and olive oil) and the…
I have been a huge fan of Fire & Oak since I discovered it last year: ok, you would think that, as it is located in the Westin Hotel, you would get some hotel food, being a bit lost with the variety of dishes on the menu, but in fact, they serve some delicious food. So it was my pick for my birthday, wanting to try their ribeye for quite some time.
I recently discovered Wokuni, located Midtown East. This place, that opened in 2018, is quite impressive with its very high ceilings and large bar that give you the hint right away that this is not your typical Japanese restaurant and that you are there for a treat. Seafood is at the forefront of their story, but the menu offers sea, land and air delicacies, prepared in an elegant way. For starters, theIr…
When Laurent Tourondel launched Skirt Steak next to L’Amico, his other venture, the lines in front of the restaurant, result of a Tik Tok fortunate publicity, discouraged me to try it right away. So it was time to try. The concept is not unknown: salad, steak and fries as the sole menu, has been what Le Relais de Venise has been proposing for decades. But Laurent Tourondel made it hyped (or Tik Tok did). The differences between Skirt Steak and Le Relais de Venise? In a nutshell:…
After the croissant-donut aka Cronut (and the subsequent versions with things like muffins that never took off, it seems that the new craze is the mochi-donut, a Japanese take on a staple that truly represents America. You might have heard or had mochi, these chewy rice cakes made with glutinous rice, that gives a chewy texture. Now, Mochinut (and others), combined them with a cake donut, shaping them in a way that they are perfect for Instagram, helping to spread the word about this new trend. We found Mochinut’s location Midtown, that they opened few months ago and went a couple of times, enjoying their offerings, Jodi happy seeing coconut mochinuts and me, enjoying the Nutella…
Last year, I went to Jacob’s Pickles on the Upper West Side and I am still drooling just thinking about the meal I had there: delicious, comforting, with large portions, their fried chicken and even their grits being some of the best I ever tried.
So we decided to try their sister restaurant: Maison Pickle, also on the Upper West Side. This is the kind of place where you need a reservation, people being crazy about their menu. And I admit that we could not stop looking at these huge plates leaving the kitchen. There were two things that were popular: the pull apart bread and the French dip….
I discovered Brooklyn Chop House few years ago, thanks to my friend Benny who proposed to go there for dinner. I used to tell people to go there as the food was always delicious, with an extensive menu that had not just cuts of meat, but also Chinese dishes. Interesting combination, the “Chop” of the name referring not only to the meat but also to the chopsticks, a nod from Stratis Morfogen to Philippe Chow with whom he had few ventures. So, we got invited to try their gigantic new restaurant in the heart of Times Square, where…
I discovered Industry Kitchen last Winter, as we were looking for a place in the Financial District. We first went for lunch and then, I could not wait to go back for dinner, everything in that place being great: from the food to the atmosphere. Pretty big, they have installed a bunch of small cabins outside for people who did not want to dine in their large dining room because of Covid, each cabin being equipped with a heater as the temperatures were definitely not for dining out. We ate in their dining room…
