Domodomo in Jersey City

Domodomo in Jersey City

It’s been a while since we wanted to try Domodomo in Jersey City (although know that they do have a location in New York City). From the outside, the place looks amazing with its dark front and the dining room that can host close to 100 people is spacious with, interestingly, the sushi counter totally blocked from the kitchen view that is quite unusual as people like to sit at the counter to see the Chef preparing sushi and sashimi. They do serve an Omakase at specific hours and then, the eight seats reserved for this dining experience, can see the Chef preparing the sushi, otherwise, outside of this, they also cannot see…

Honest, vegetarian Indian in Jersey City

Honest, vegetarian Indian in Jersey City

Newark Avenue in Jersey City has some great Indian restaurants and our lastest discovery was Honest, a vegetarian place that serves street food.

The dining room looks like a cafeteria and I admit that I was not sure if we should order at the counter, but, quickly, a waiter indicated to us that he would take our order at the table…

Johnny Rockets in Hoboken, NJ

Johnny Rockets in Hoboken, NJ

I love Johnny Rockets! This burger joint with its 50’s vibe never gets old. As soon as you enter the restaurant, it is like going back in time, bringing memories of movies and TV Series I saw when I was a kid in France. Especially one of my favorites, the sitcom Happy Days, that I used to watch with my sisters and brother, not missing one episode. Good job for a place that only opened in 1986 in Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles: you would have thought that it started in the 50’s and was…

Baar Baar in NYC, NY

Baar Baar in NYC, NY

When Baar Baar opened a couple of years ago, everybody wanted to try this Indian gastropub where Chef Sujan Sarkar proposed a menu composed of a modern interpretation of regional dishes. So it was time for me to try and we decided to try it on a Saturday evening, for an early dinner. Yes, I like early dinners: first, of course, I can roam around the place and take photos, but I also like the quiet. So I did my thing at Baar Baar and was quite happy to be able to because their decor is stunning, cozy with a beautiful mural next to the bar.

White Mana Diner in Jersey City

White Mana Diner in Jersey City

We passed in front of White Mana Diner many times, but did not know the history being this tiny diner that sits in the corner of Manhattan Avenue and Tonnele Avenue in Jersey City. This place was built in 1939 by Paramount Diner, a company located in Oakland, NJ for the 1939 World Fair and is the sister restaurant of White Manna in Hackensack. Both diners take their name from the biblical food, manna, but lost an “n” because of a mistake when manufacturing the sign! It is said that this is in this place that the slider was invented. Surely, when you step in, you have the impression it is…

Afternoon tea at The Crosby Bar in NYC

Afternoon tea at The Crosby Bar in NYC

Their afternoon tea is fairly classic: you get scones, sandwiches and sweets, but instead of just a choice of tea, you can opt for coffee or hot chocolate. Of course, you can also have champagne for an additional fee. Interestingly, as we were eating our way through, the waiter came to our table and asked if we wanted some more! Trust me: I had enough food there!

Vietnamese lunch at Madame Vo in the East Village

Vietnamese lunch at Madame Vo in the East Village

It’s been a while since we went to a Vietnamese restaurant and I do not count the few deliveries of Banh Mi we had in the past few months. I think the last time we sat in a Vietnamese restaurant, it was at Cycle in Long Island City. So, a visit to Madame Vo was necessary. I heard about this place few times and stumbled upon it as I was looking for a reservation on Resy. Well, when we arrived at 12pm, a bit in…

Vegan lunch at Beatnic in NYC

Vegan lunch at Beatnic in NYC

You may not know Beatnic, but if I tell you that it is the rebranded name of By Chloe, it probably rings a bell. Founded in 2015 by Chef Chloe Coscarelli, the rebranding is the result of a long legal battle between the Chef and the investors of the restaurant that truly put vegan dishes on the map in New York City, making it a bit trendy. Chef Coscarelli is not anymore part of the adventure and it could be why Beatnic does not have the same aura. This fast casual place offers interesting dishes that I was looking forward to try as a non-vegetarian who had great vegan food in the past and I was…

Madame Claude Bis in Jersey City

Madame Claude Bis in Jersey City

I heard about Madame Claude Bis, a French restaurant located under the White Eagle Theater in Jersey City for some time and decided to try it. Opened by wife and husband, Alice Troïetto and Mattias Gustafsson who are both from France, I admit that the name makes me smile: Madame Claude, whose real name was Fernande Grudet, headed a network of call girls in France in the 60s. When she got arrested, she…

Boucherie in NYC

Boucherie in NYC

On Christmas Eve, we were looking for a place to eat when we finally decided to go to Boucherie near Union Square. We went there a while back, on Valentine’s Day that is a day where we rarely go to restaurants, menus being generally overpriced; so I thought it would be a good idea to do a revisit, checking first with Jodi that there would be some vegetarian dishes appealing to her.

Madam Ji in Greenwich Village, NYC

Madam Ji in Greenwich Village, NYC

Madam Ji is not unknown to me as I went there a couple of weeks ago for lunch and I was really excited to go back as a guest for dinner. It used to be Surya, that I first visited in 2015, meeting with Chef Lala Sharma, the father of Chef Abhishek Sharma who now runs the place among other acclaimed restaurants (Badshah, Swagat). Chef Abhishek Sharma explained to me that he wanted to create a sister restaurant to Badshah, a popular joint located in Hell’s Kitchen, Badshah being…

Brunch at High Street On The Hudson

Brunch at High Street On The Hudson

We have a sort of tradition with our friends Gary and Jen: first a Museum, then brunch. So this time, we went to The Whitney Museum for the Jasper Johns exhibit and then ended up at High Street on The Hudson, a place that seemed quite popular, so I was glad that we had a reservation.

From the get go the waiter told us that they only serve regular coffee: no espresso in sight.

Dino & Harry's Steakhouse in Hoboken, NJ

Dino & Harry's Steakhouse in Hoboken, NJ

There are two places that I love for steak in Hoboken: Antique Bar and Bakery with their amazing dirty ribeye, and Dino & Harry’s, a steakhouse named after Dino Panopoulos and his father, Harry, who have owned it since 1991. This place was also used in the movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, representing the Haymarket Tavern where protesters clashed with the National Guard. So we were a bit overdue, and I did not regret it! The food there was amazing. Here is what we had:

Badshah in Hell's Kitchen

Badshah in Hell's Kitchen

I have known Badshah for quite some time, the first time I discovered this Hell’s Kitchen place being mid-2017 that seems to be an eternity. We went there a month ago for a light dinner, having indulged all day in the city and then were invited to try some of the dishes. You don’t need to ask me twice: I love this place! The decor is colorful, showcasing not just the mustache that that is a characteristic of the logo of the restaurant, but also a big drawing of Chef Sharma in the back wall.

Brunch at Sonnyboy on the Lower East Side

Brunch at Sonnyboy on the Lower East Side

I found Sonnyboy, an Australian Café, while looking for a brunch place on the Lower East Side. I was not sure what to expect to be honest, but was quite glad I found it. Not that big with tables spaced enough in these times of Covid, it has a cool atmosphere and a great service.

Menu wise, I am not sure what an Australian brunch would be so I would say that it is international. To share, you can opt for their banana bread that is quite good with salted…

Dullboy in Jersey City

Dullboy in Jersey City

We were walking from Jersey City to Hoboken when we noticed a small place on Grove street with what appeared to be mismatched china tableware on the table. We were wondering if it was a tea parlor or something of that sort and a quick search gave us the answer: Dullboy is a cocktail bar. Taking its name from a line in The Shining, the terrific book from Stephen King, forever associated with Jack Nicholson’s performance, it comes from the line: « all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy », meaning that if you do not have time off work, you are both bored and boring. Well, Dullboy is…

Dinner at Casa Mono

Dinner at Casa Mono

I had Casa Mono on my radar for some time now and we finally made it for brunch. This Michelin star restaurant serves dishes inspired from the Costa Brava where the Chef, Andy Nusser, grew up. In fact he grew up in the fishing village of Cadaques that I visited when I was a kid during a memorable trip with my Dad and my brother. This place is where Salvator Dali lived for more than 40 years and there is a museum with his art that I can still picture.