Best After Work Drinks – Post Office
Brooklyn isn’t exactly short on options when it comes to great bars for after work drinks, but we love the ultra-casual vibe of this Williamsburg watering hole. We particularly enjoy its 30-strong list of vintage spirits and small batch whiskies. Try the powerful and oaky Berkshire Corn Whiskey, tempered by a fruity finish of cherry and apple, or the considerably milder Michter’s American, which tastes like buttered popcorn, vanilla, and candied almonds. Either pairs perfectly with classic bar grub like Pulled Pork sandwiches or Grilled Cheese, assuring a pleasant end to even the most stressful work...
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Best New Find – The Wallace
Can a former magazine publisher -turned chef- turned restaurant owner even hope to make a mark on Brooklyn’s expansive local-seasonal scene? The answer is yes if you’re talking about Jon Wallace, who just opened his first eatery in Clinton Hill with fiance Jessica Soule. At The Wallace, chef Jon manages to add spice and soul to dishes that, at less interesting restaurants and under less capable hands, run the risk of becoming tired trends. Case in point – a board of both housemade and locally sourced Charcuterie, which includes duck liver pate with diced jalapeño and plum jam, testa with pickled shallot, and Benton’s ham with chili oil (we weren’t kidding about the spice). A not-too-sweet Butternut Squash Risotto with mascarpone, pecorino romano and balsamic reduction makes a terrific follow-up, as do Braised Oxtails (tender as short ribs!) with...
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Date Night – The Castello Plan
If you’re looking for a fancy, candlelit place for a cookie-cutter first date, The Castello Plan definitely isn’t it. But there are so many other things to worry about when wining and dining that special someone, why stress over which fork to use or if you really can afford that Market Priced lobster? This intimate Ditmas Park wine bar will put you both at ease, with over 110 bottles (both absolutely affordable and well, non, depending on what you’re comfortable with), 16 Belgian beers, and a menu that goes well beyond cheese, crostini, and mixed olives. We love the Plum and Manchego Salad with arugula and toasted sunflower seeds, Butternut Squash Gnocchi with oyster mushrooms, sage and truffle oil, and Black Bass with roasted heirloom carrots, bacon-sauteed sucreine lettuce, fried shallots, and roasted poblano peppers. We also totally advocate...
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Trendspotting: Shishito Peppers
Not since jalapeno poppers have peppers figured so prominently amongst restaurants pre-entrée eating options. Blistered shishitos are inevitably listed under “bar snacks” or “small bites” nowadays, nestled between the salted edamame, southern-style devilled eggs, and sriracha-sauced chicken wings.
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Best Gastropub – The Redhead
One of our favorite places for a mid-morning stroll is the Union Square Greenmarket, or really any one of the city’s greenmarkets for that matter. There’s something so satisfying about the sight of August heirloom tomatoes, corn, hard-to-find peppers, peaches and beautiful berries of all sorts. Lugging them home and whipping up a sensational meal is a whole other story. That’s why we’re lucky to have so many talented chefs and farm-to-table restaurants that take advantage of summer’s bounty everyday. Whether it’s fresh corn stuffed into ravioli or sandwiched in a tricked-out exotic lunch treat, there are all sorts of ways to get your summer produce fix. Peaches: Grilled Peach Banh Mi at Num Pang Num Pang Address: 140 E. 41st St. between Lexington and Third Aves. Phone: 212-867-8889 Website: www.numpangnyc.com Num pang are the Cambodian equivalent of a banh mi and...
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Eat To Impress – Atera
One of our favorite places for a mid-morning stroll is the Union Square Greenmarket, or really any one of the city’s greenmarkets for that matter. There’s something so satisfying about the sight of August heirloom tomatoes, corn, hard-to-find peppers, peaches and beautiful berries of all sorts. Lugging them home and whipping up a sensational meal is a whole other story. That’s why we’re lucky to have so many talented chefs and farm-to-table restaurants that take advantage of summer’s bounty everyday. Whether it’s fresh corn stuffed into ravioli or sandwiched in a tricked-out exotic lunch treat, there are all sorts of ways to get your summer produce fix. Peaches: Grilled Peach Banh Mi at Num Pang Num Pang Address: 140 E. 41st St. between Lexington and Third Aves. Phone: 212-867-8889 Website: www.numpangnyc.com Num pang are the Cambodian equivalent of a banh mi and...
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Best Southern Comfort Cooking – Hill Country
One of our favorite places for a mid-morning stroll is the Union Square Greenmarket, or really any one of the city’s greenmarkets for that matter. There’s something so satisfying about the sight of August heirloom tomatoes, corn, hard-to-find peppers, peaches and beautiful berries of all sorts. Lugging them home and whipping up a sensational meal is a whole other story. That’s why we’re lucky to have so many talented chefs and farm-to-table restaurants that take advantage of summer’s bounty everyday. Whether it’s fresh corn stuffed into ravioli or sandwiched in a tricked-out exotic lunch treat, there are all sorts of ways to get your summer produce fix. Peaches: Grilled Peach Banh Mi at Num Pang Num Pang Address: 140 E. 41st St. between Lexington and Third Aves. Phone: 212-867-8889 Website: www.numpangnyc.com Num pang are the Cambodian equivalent of a banh mi and...
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Date Night – Pylos
One of our favorite places for a mid-morning stroll is the Union Square Greenmarket, or really any one of the city’s greenmarkets for that matter. There’s something so satisfying about the sight of August heirloom tomatoes, corn, hard-to-find peppers, peaches and beautiful berries of all sorts. Lugging them home and whipping up a sensational meal is a whole other story. That’s why we’re lucky to have so many talented chefs and farm-to-table restaurants that take advantage of summer’s bounty everyday. Whether it’s fresh corn stuffed into ravioli or sandwiched in a tricked-out exotic lunch treat, there are all sorts of ways to get your summer produce fix. Peaches: Grilled Peach Banh Mi at Num Pang Num Pang Address: 140 E. 41st St. between Lexington and Third Aves. Phone: 212-867-8889 Website: www.numpangnyc.com Num pang are the Cambodian equivalent of a banh mi and...
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After Work Drinks – Blind Tiger Ale House
One of our favorite places for a mid-morning stroll is the Union Square Greenmarket, or really any one of the city’s greenmarkets for that matter. There’s something so satisfying about the sight of August heirloom tomatoes, corn, hard-to-find peppers, peaches and beautiful berries of all sorts. Lugging them home and whipping up a sensational meal is a whole other story. That’s why we’re lucky to have so many talented chefs and farm-to-table restaurants that take advantage of summer’s bounty everyday. Whether it’s fresh corn stuffed into ravioli or sandwiched in a tricked-out exotic lunch treat, there are all sorts of ways to get your summer produce fix. Peaches: Grilled Peach Banh Mi at Num Pang Num Pang Address: 140 E. 41st St. between Lexington and Third Aves. Phone: 212-867-8889 Website: www.numpangnyc.com Num pang are the Cambodian equivalent of a banh mi and...
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Holiday Breakfast The Russian Tea Room
It’s probably hard to find a New Yorker that hasn’t at least dreamt about taking over a booth in the corner of The Russian Tea Room. Those fantasies only grow during the holiday season, when The Russian Tea Room seems pulled almost directly out of a Christmas card, with its plush red banquets, green walls, and golden samovars glittering in each corner.
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Momofuku Milk Bar
Any bakery that can make magic with Thanksgiving leftovers (ie: Momofuku’s turkey and cranberry-stuffed croissant), is bound to have a few tricks up their sleeve come Christmas. We can’t wait to try chef Christina Tosi’s festive twist on her popular Cornflake Cookies (she added peppermint), her traditional Stollen, or ingenious Cinnamon Bun Pie – a thick, cinnamon-scented crust filled with a viscous brown butter vanilla frosting and topped with honeyed oats. Snag a slice for yourself at Momofuku Milk Bar locations all over town, or at their stand at the Union Square Holiday...
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Pasticceria Rocco
Don’t let your preconceived notions of fruitcake prevent you from trying Rocco’s delectable Panettone, an oversized, cylindrical sweet bread studded with candied orange, citron, lemon zest and raisins. You needn’t worry about finishing it off in one sitting – the hearty bread makes a great vehicle for day-after-Christmas pudding, or sinfully rich French toast. Just one warning, you’ll probably find it hard to leave Rocco’s without filling a pastry box with a variety of other holiday specialties, like Biscotti, Regina and Quaresimali cookies, sticky-sweet Marzipan candies, and...
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Hot Bread Kitchen
What’s not to love about Hot Bread Kitchen? They sell baked goods to finance programs supporting low-income individuals, and everything they make happens to be fantastic. It doesn’t hurt that the guy manning the ovens is former Per Se baker Ben Hershberger, who’s debuting a rum-soaked, fruit-stuffed, almond-filled Stollen this season. That means we’ll probably end up eating our weight in cake, but it’s a bit of holiday overindulgence we can really feel good...
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Café Sabarsky
Herring, soft pretzels and sausages may not immediately scream Christmas to us, but there’s no denying that Austrians know a thing or two when it comes to making scrumptious holiday pastries. Thankfully, there’s no need to hop on a plane for a taste of Linzertorte, currently served at Café Sabarsky, an authentic Viennese café inside the Neue Galerie. A traditional Christmas confection, the lattice-topped tart is filled with raspberry jam and hazelnuts, and sprinkled with sliced pistachios, almonds, and powdered...
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Columbus Circle Holiday Market
If you’re more of an uptown shopper, there are plenty of high-end purveyors to choose from at this festive, open-air bazaar. We had our eye on a $250 hand-knit wrap-around sweater, but maybe we were just lightheaded from hunger. Better warm up with a bowl of tortilla soup from Cascabel Taqueria before you impulse buy. It’s loaded with chunks of tender chicken and tortilla chips and sprinkled with queso fresco and Mexican...
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Union Square Holiday Market
If you regularly frequent Union Square for its fabulous farmers market (as you definitely should), you’ll especially appreciate its granddaddy of a holiday bazaar, now in its 19th year. A 100-strong list of vendors peddle unique products (we’ve got our eye on antique NYC maps from Pageant Print shop), until December 24th. If you’ve waited until Christmas Eve to finish your shopping you might have bigger problems to worry about, but there’s no reason to let hunger get in the way of you participating in the last minute rush. We particularly recommend the Arancina al Nero di Seppia from Arancini Bros. Besides being a perfect, handheld mini-meal, these crispy, creamy risotto balls are flavored with squid ink and filled with tomatoes and spicy shrimp, perfect if you have to skip the Feast of the Seven Fishes in order to...
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Grand Central Holiday Fair
Grand Central’s elegant Holiday Fair features 76 micro-boutiques, and while none of them specialize in food, the terminal itself has seriously stepped up its game in the last few years. Finish off a day of shopping with a ready-to-go sandwich from Murray’s Cheese, pick up a fancy french pastry from Financier, or, if you still have a bit of cash to burn, settle in for champagne and crustaceans at the Grand Central Oyster...
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Brooklyn Night Bazaar
If you’re Brooklyn-based, you’ll adore the new Night Bazaar in Williamsburg, modeled after the lively night markets popular throughout Asia. Although an endless supply of quirky arts and crafts deserves more than a second look, this market boasts some of the best eats the borough has to offer, including barbecue from Fort Reno, steamed bun sandwiches from Baohaus, and even an Ethiopian spread from the vegetarian, gluten-free pop-up, Bunna...
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The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park
The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park are in their 11th season, and we can’t think of a better way to spend the day than by doing lots and lots of Christmas shopping and going for a spin on their ice rink afterwards. Oh wait, yes we can. Build up your strength before strapping on your skates by ordering a plate of Louisiana-style goodness from Daisy’s Grits – we especially love the succulent shrimp and green onions served over silky white...
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The John Dory Oyster Bar
Can Brits really handle the Feast of the Seven Fishes? Absolutely, if you’re talking about April Bloomfield and The John Dory Oyster Bar, her hip seafood mecca in the elegant Ace Hotel. Chef de cuisine Josh Even plans to go global with traditional feast ingredients, offering up a creamy Salt Cod Brandade, Chorizo-Stuffed Squid with Smoked Tomato, and (this is an oyster bar after all) Hog Island Sweetwater Oysters topped with Sea Urchin...
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