Heartland Brewery
Restaurant Girl visits Heartland Brewery on her search for the best fall cocktails.
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Seasonal Eats: Digging On Squash
Some people don’t know this, but you can eat almost every part of a Squash — from the shoots to the seeds, flowers and leaves. So the next time a big storm hits, you might consider stocking up on a few squash. Besides, fall is when squash really comes into its own, ripe for roasting, pureeing and whipping into soup. While summer’s ripe with soft squash the likes of zucchini and patty pan, hard-shelled winter squash make for great centerpieces for the dinner table. Their thick, unique-looking shells protect their insides for months, so you can use them as decor until you’re ready to cook them up. Their sweet, rich flesh bring a taste of autumn to the table. There’s lots of different types of winter squash, including Kabocha, Turban, Buttercup, and Fairytale Pumpkin Squash, and they’re all used...
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Mission Chinese’s Fusion
After years of working late nights as a line cook, Bowien found that he and his colleagues were always searching for the perfect Asian junk food to eat after work. Hence, Mission Chinese was born.
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Miranda’s Latin-Italian
What happens when a Mexican chef falls in love with an Italian front of the house guy? Tuck into Miranda for dinner and you’ll get a pretty good idea. The love child of husband-and-wife culinary team, Sasha and Mauricio Miranda, this homey Williamsburg spot, furnished with brick walls, oak floors and reclaimed mirrors, makes you feel a lot like you’re dining in the couple’s kitchen at home. The menu fuses the vivacious cultures of Latin America and Italy, featuring dishes, like Arancini made not with ground veal and beef, but with Chorizo and a garlicky tomato fonduta. Instead of the typical Italian ragu, the Pappardelle at Miranda is made with a deliciously intense, Mole-Braised Lamb Ragu. It’s comfort food with a delicious twist. At brunch, the menu veers towards the Latin American influence with Huevos Con Mole and Pernil (slow-roasted...
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Flor De Mayo’s Chinese-Peruvian
With two locations on the Upper West Side, Flor De Mayo is beloved by its neighbors. Perennially busy and sparsely decorated, this Chino-Latino joint has been serving crowd-pleasing dishes for more than 30 years.
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La Caridad 78’s Chinese-Cuban
Another Chino-Latino fusion restaurant on the Upper West Side, La Caridad has been an institution since the sixties. Established by Chinese immigrants who lived in Cuba before the revolution, La Caridad specializes in working-class fare from both countries.
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Chinese Mirch’s Indian-Chinese
As spice is the common denominator between the regions, (mirch means “spicy” in Hindi ) everything on the menu at Chinese Mirch packs some heat, even a bowl of egg drop soup.
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Vermilion’s Indian-Latin American
The woman behind Vermilion, Rohini Dey, is a force to be reckoned with and what Time magazine dubs, “a culinary superstar.” Following stints as an economist for the World Bank and a consultant at a Chicago financial advising company, Dey, a New Delhi native, was inspired to leave her finance career behind and launch a very novel restaurant concept. Her idea was to celebrate the shared Arabic and Portuguese culinary influences in Latin and Indian regions and the result are dishes, like Duck Vindaloo Arepas and Artichoke Pakoras with Eggplant Coconut Sauce. The drink menu is just as international and unique, featuring a mix of lassis, aguas frescas, and “herb and spice” Latin cocktails. Not to mention that Vermilion’s an unusually sexy restaurant for such seriously ethnic cuisine: The bi-level space is sleekly outfitted with white woven chairs, glossy wood...
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Indochine’s French-Vietnamese
Another serendipitous result of colonial history, French-Vietnamese cuisine combines buttery Gallic extravagance with the fresh, peppery flavors of Vietnamese chilies, cilantro, and lemongrass. Indochine has been serving this sexy fusion of flavors for over twenty years. The room itself feels like a tropical vacation with palm trees, wicker chairs and twirling ceiling fans. Settle into the swanky digs and start with the Duck Confit Salad, a combination of chopped duck, Napa cabbage, carrots, pear tomatoes, orange, apple, coriander, anointed with a Vietnamese vinaigrette. There’s a Five Spice-Roasted Hen and Glazed Duck Breast on Bok Choy with Vidalia Onion Sauce. One of our favorites, a delicious take on the classic French stew, the Vietnamese Bouillabaisse is brimming with sea scallops, prawns, shrimp, baby squid, mussels, and cabbage in a lime leaf and galangal sauce (galangal is a peppery root used...
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Seasonal Eats: Pumpkins
For those of you aren’t familiar with our pumpkin obsession, it’s a serious fetish that we indulge in freely this time of year. With November upon us and Halloween past (and sorely under-celebrated this year!), the timing couldn’t be more perfect to savor this fall fruit well into winter.
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Seasonal Eats: Apples
Did you know there are over 7,500 varieties of apples in the world? Yep. You could eat a different kind of apple every day of the year and not make a dent in the possibilities. Right now, it’s Apple Picking Season, which means a flavorful spectrum of apples. Sure, you can get those shiny Red Delicious apples all year round, but don’t even bother eating those ’til we’re deep into winter and this season’s juicy crop are long gone. If you can’t get out of the city to go apple picking for the day, you can always head to the Greenmarket where they bring the apple farms to you. The choices can be overwhelming, so we’ve set up a little guide here for the next time you’re trying to decide which to bake and which to eat. If you’re...
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Empellon Cocina’s Pumpkin Seed Cake
Dessert isn’t usually the first thing most people think of when going for Mexican food. Then again, you wouldn’t think an acclaimed pastry chef would open a Mexican joint and leave the pastry department to his wife. You’ll want to broaden your horizons and save room for dessert at Empellon Cocina. Alex Stupak pushed the envelope at WD-50 and he continues to do so at his innovative and modern Mexican. One of the best things they’re serving at the restaurant is a Pumpkin Seed Cake. What arrives on the plate is a long, rectangular slice of moist, spicy cake, topped with crumble, strawberries, cajeta, and drizzled with brown butter. The final touch is an ice cream quenelle. Heck, we’d pop in for a shot of tequila and this blissfully complicated sweet...
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Dovetail’s Pumpkin Soup
People have been talking about Dovetail’s Pumpkin Soup for years. While it’s not technically new, it just keeps getting better with age. Owner and chef John Fraser made a splash when he first opened his ambitious seasonal American restaurant on the Upper West Side, earning praise and a Michelin star in the process. This fall, he’s upped the ante on one of his now signature dishes. This season’s version is a luscious, yet light broth (made with pumpkin juice and whole pumpkin puree), scattered with Pomegranate Seeds, Granny Smith Apple Pearls, and Pumpernickel Croutons for crunch. The final touch is the unique addition of homemade Marshmallows, spiced with Vadouvan, a French curry blend typically made with onions, shallots, garlic and cardamom. And if you’re still craving pumpkin come dessert, order a scoop of Dovetail’s Pumpkin Ice...
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Park Avenue Autumn’s Pumpkin & Molasses Cake
This midtown spot not only include a change in the menu but the entire décor and space as well. Park Avenue Autumn is here until late November, with a menu that highlights the season’s best, including Roast Chicken with “Pumpkin Pie”. Except this year the talented Richard Leach has added a new and exceptional sweet to his dessert menu, a Warm Pumpkin & Molasses Cake. A stunning arrangement of four components that include a warm and deliciously dense Pumpkin Cake, sweetened with molasses, alongside a a Sour Cream Panna Cotta Bar, and Chilled Molasses...
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Coolhaus’s Pumpkin Cookiewich
You might be thinking that it’s starting to get too cold for ice cream. Well, it’s never too cold for ice cream, especially not where the Coolhaus truck is concerned. We’d wait in line for one of their killer Ice Cream Cookiewich in rain, sleet or snow. This fall, Coolhaus is featuring lots of terrific, autumnal flavors, like Baked Apple, Balsamic Fig and Mascarpone, and Pumpkin Ice Cream — a flavor we think pairs perfectly with their Ginger Molasses, Chewy Brownie or Oatmeal Cookies. What are you waiting for? Go chase down a...
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Sugar Sweet Sunshine’s Pumpkin Eggnog Pudding
We’ve been fans of this teeny Lower East Side bakery and its pies, cakes and cupcakes for years. We love the story of these two ladies, Peg and Deb, who met while performing in The Music Man, living parallel lives of auditioning and working together at Magnolia Bakery. They launched this itty bitty bakery over nine years ago and we think it gets better every year. Come October, they roll out their moist and surprisingly light Pumpkin Cake. But the best card they’re holding is the Pumpkin Eggnog Pudding Cake, a mildly spiced trifle layered with moist Pumpkin Cake and a thick and luscious Eggnog Pudding....
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Four and Twenty Blackbirds’ Apple Rose Pie
Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a favorite among curious customers who aren’t afraid to try something new. The menu changes daily, allowing for ample experimentation in the kitchen from Melissa and Emily Elsen, a team of sisters. With only one oven in a small rustic looking pie shop, Melissa and Emily pump out each pie by hand every day for one customer at a time.
Read MorePies ‘N’ Thighs Concord Grape Pie
Pies n Thighs’ fried chicken is so good you might forget that they are also all about pies. You can purchase the Apple, Banana Cream, Key Lime, Choco Peanut Butter Crunch, Sour Cherry, and Smores Pies whole or by the slice.
Read MoreFirst Prize Pies’ Apple Cider Cream Pie
Ever since Allison Kave won the 1st Annual Brooklyn Pie-Off back in 2009, her pies have been getting tons of attention from New Yorkers. It’s not just the quality of the pies that makes us love this place, but the innovative offerings on their menu. Kave dreams up everything from Greek Honey pie, with a consistency somewhere between custard and cheesecake, to Mexican Chocolate Cream pie dusted with a kick of cayenne and chile, and Apple Brandy. Even her apple pies are different, like Apple Brandy or Apple Cheddar. Still, there’s something about her Sweet Potato Pie that soothes our comfort food cravings like nothing else. It’s the combination of luscious sweet potato, maple syrup, molasses and rum. Though they don’t have a shop yet, you can pick up orders from Roni-Sue’s Chocolates on the Lower East...
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Momofuku Milk Bar’s Crack Pie
Momofuku Milk Bar Pastry Chef Christina Tosi’s Crack Pie is the ultimate holy grail of pies. Many have tried to replicate this pie (especially now that Milk Bar has a cookbook out) to no avail. Why is it called the Crack Pie? Well, it’s so good that it’s the only fitting description is that it’s “as good as crack.”
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