After trying the burger for brunch, I was looking forward to try other items at Hudson Tavern and went back, again for brunch, but also dinner. I admit that I was not disappointed and I prefer this place to The Madison Bar and Grill or City Bistro. What makes them different? The variety and quality of food that you would not expect in a bar.
Located in Weehawken, right before entering Hoboken and kind of in the middle of nowhere, sits Hi-So Thai, a Thai restaurant as its name indicates. We have been wanting to go there few times in the past, but the location did not really appeal to us. So, finally, we decided to go for dinner on a Thursday. The large place (bigger than it seems from outside) was not crowded at all. Ordering was fast and it started well, my deliciously refreshing Thai iced tea arriving within minutes.
Rodizio restaurants (all you can eat style Brazilian restaurants, churrascaria referring to a steakhouse) can be fairly expansive, especially when you go for dinner, so, Restaurant Week is the perfect occasion to indulge with unlimited meat (if you are vegetarian, you can also go for the buffet). But, of course, they will not serve all the choices they offer for dinner, conscious of the price difference.
I had so much fun at Jeremy's Ale House in the Financial District. I went yesterday and our first encounter with Jeremy Holin, the owner of this dive bar was quite surprising: he made us taste an heirloom tomato that he found that had a succulent taste. Not that he was selling it as a dish or anything in his bar, but just because he wanted to share his discovery with us. That's Jeremy and it definitely shows the person he is: generous and incredibly friendly. One thing he said that I still remember is "Saloon is not a business: it is a way of life".
It's been a while we wanted to go to Blue Water Grill, the seafood restaurant located in Union Square. So, we decided to go for restaurant week, thinking that it would be a good way to try this fancy place. It is fairly big, with two floors that were packed. We got a seat next to the station where they prepared the seafood and could observe the staff relentlessly opening oysters or preparing seafood platter that looked amazing.
If you are well versed in French gastronomy, you probably know who Paul Bocuse is: he is an icon in France and his restaurant, L'auberge du Pont de Collonges is the only restaurant in the world that had three Michelin stars for 50 years in a row. Some, like me, may think that Paul Bocuse serves classic French cuisine, but in fact, he is said to be the father of the nouvelle cuisine, a lighter, more delicate cuisine that focuses on presentation.
You may think that Byblos is a Greek restaurant, but it is in fact Lebanese, taking its name from a city in Lebanon that is a popular tourist destination. This place, opened in the Flatiron district in 2012 by Executive Chef Sabeh and his wife Sonia Kabouch is an offshoot of their original restaurant opened in 1990 in Murray Hill, but unfortunately destroyed by a fire years later.
It's been a while that I wanted to eat in an Indian restaurant in Jersey City, keeping a list of places in my notes gathered during conversations with my coworkers. I ended up at Raaz on a Saturday for lunch, going with one of my colleagues who was visiting from India. He went to this place few times and liked it, even if some of the taste was a bit Americanized.
It has been a while since I wanted to try Hill Country Chicken. The name says it all: it is all about chicken, although if you do not like this delicious bird, you have some alternatives there. I went there with one of my colleagues from India, after he told me that he loves chicken, but never tried it fried before.
After seeing the documentary Cartel Land, that I highly recommend, Jodi and I were in the mood for Chinese food. As we walked towards Chinatown, I suddenly remembered a place I wanted to try on the busy Saint-Marks: The Bao. It was 7pm on a Saturday evening and I was not sure if we would get a table, as this place got lots of attention for its dumplings. When we arrived, we immediately got a table and did not have to sit at the communal table located in the back of the dining room.
Reservations are definitely required for dinner (we went on a Friday night) and for brunch, although, for the later, there were still tables available. This place is totally different from the one downtown: bigger, brighter and a bit more elegant, although not at the level of The Cuban, but still, a notch better, with colorful paintings on the walls. For dinner, it is also quite noisy, the Cuban music being blasted, forcing the patrons to shout to be heard. Fortunately, this was not the case during brunch...
I have been looking forward for our lunch at Noma for a while and was really excited to go to what has been considered the best restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 and ranking third best in 2015. I was first surprised by the location of the restaurant that I imagined outside the city, next to a forest where the Chef and his crew would get some of the unusual ingredients they use in their menu on a daily basis. I was wrong: it is located in an old warehouse on the waterfront in the Christianshavn neighborhood, in the center of the city.
I like bar food and enjoy a brunch in a bar. But what I do not like is the noise level that can be pretty high, especially when there is a game on TV. That explains probably why it took me so long before going to 1Republik in Hoboken. But we made it, on a Sunday, showing up at 11:30am. I admit that it was not our first choice, but I am glad we did as the food was fairly good. Time wise, it was perfect as the noise level increased as the time passed, to a point when I was glad to leave...
Located in the heart of Herald Square and at the tip of K-Town, The Harold is a bistro I did not expect to find there: good food and nice service, the menu offers a good variety of dishes that can satisfy a wide range of customers. I admit that I went there to try their lobster roll, but, unfortunately, they served it only for lunch.
Bon sang! I probably just found one of the best burgers in town! Well, I would not specifically say that I found it: we saw it on the 5 Best Restaurants, a TV show on the food network that will make you salivate. They cover any kind of food: burgers, pizza, ice cream...The first episode we saw was on burgers and ranking number 2 was Sebastian's Steakhouse burger.
La Masseria is with Toni Di Napoli, my favorite Italian restaurant in the Times Square area. Although a bit pricey, it's menu offers some classic Italian dishes in a decor that would make you forget you are in the heart of the city. In a farm, La Masseria is the building where tools to live animals are housed, representing the freshness of ingredients and authenticity of the cuisine. This explains the decor, especially the farm tools hanging on the walls.
No need to cross the ocean to get some good fish and chips: A Salt and Battery (a play on assault and battery) is probably your spot if you are craving this so British specialty..or if you are curious about trying some fried candy bars (I guess anything can be fried).
This is a very small joint with very few seats.
