American Cuisines
The Darby – The Fun Date
When all else fails, keep things lighthearted and simple. A good time doesn’t have to mean fussy tasting menus and knockout views. Sometimes, the best dates are just straight up fun… with great food, of course. What’s more fun than a live musical performance with music you can sing along to every night of the week? The Darby’s got their own, house band and most evenings end up on the dance floor, singing along with the band. That’s just the beginning. Then, there’s the raw bar, studded with oysters, and the menu, created by the talented Alex Guarnaschelli. If oysters aren’t your (or her) thing, share the Crispy Zucchini Blossoms with Heirloom Tomato Vinaigrette, or the Grilled Octopus with bacon and pickled jalapeños. But the real pièce de résistance is the 2.5 pound Maine Lobster cooked with dry vermouth,...
Read MoreThe Roof at NoMad – The Trendy Date
We know how much people love trying new restaurants, so we think it’s smart to kill two birds with one stone: Take a date to a hip, new spot. (Even if you don’t like your date, you still tried a new spot.) The newly opened Rooftop at the NoMad Hotel is one of the hottest new openings and perfect for the occasion on many counts. Head up to the roof and you’ll find phenomenal, panoramic views of the city and a terrific ultra-seasonal cocktail menu. With the Eleven Madison Park team behind the hotels many menus, you know the food is going to be exceptional. Nibble on Radishes with Butter-Dipped Fleur De Sel or Salmon Rillettes and see how the night unfolds. If it’s looking good, stay for dinner and try the Strawberry Gazpacho, the Black Bass with Summer...
Read More
Gramercy Tavern
As if you needed another reason to visit this Gramercy institution, chef Michael Anthony just won the James Beard award for best chef New York. Truth to be told, we’d come for the impeccable service and cozy, farmhouse-style setting and the first-class cocktails, like the mortoni (Danny Meyer’s take on a negroni) and the concord grape crush. The menu depends primarily on the season, but if you spot ramp custard or any custard at all, order it.
Read More
Eleven Madison Park
If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind dining experience, consider Eleven Madison Park – a temple of haute French cuisine. With its vaulted ceilings, marble floors and sweeping views of Madison Park, the stunning art deco setting is reason enough to spend an evening here. Then, there’s the fact they won the James Beard award for Best restaurant in 2011 not to mention that Daniel Humm won best chef in the country just a few years ago.
Read More
Blue Hill At Stone Barns
Located on the lush acres of Stone Barns, Blue Hill is a working farm, educational center, and best of all, one of the best restaurants in the country. Go early while it’s still light out so you can stroll the property and admire what’s for dinner. The embodiment of farm-to-table dining, Blue Hill’s menu is literally a list of seasonal ingredients, many of which are grown in its own backyard, including the Berkshire pigs!
Read More
Dishpotting: Zoe's Grilled Octopus
It’s strange how some restaurants manage to remain under the radar these days. You’d think what with twitter, facebook, food magazines, newspapers, and a billion food blogs that it would be next to impossible. You can find a quick blurb about the opening of Zoe on Grub Street as well as a restaurant listing on Metromix, but there should be much more buzz around this newcomer. Zoe opened on the Lower East Side in August in the former Satsko space. The room is newly and minimally outfitted in modern Danish trimmings with unique accents, like a church pew (shipped from North Carolina) along the back wall of the dining room. Though the restaurant only opened recently, it seems like the kind of neighborhood spot that’s been around for years. That is, except for the food, which is...
Read MoreRye – Restaurant Reviewed
*** – Three Stars Address: 247 South 1st., nr. Roebling St. (Williamsburg) Phone: (718)218-8047 Cuisine: American Vibe: Timeless neighborhood haunt Occasion: Group dinner; Date; Bar bites. Hours: Seven days a week. Dinner, Sun-Thu, 6p.m.-11p.m., Fri & Sat, 6p.m.-12a.m. Don’t Miss Dish: House-smoked sturgeon; Duck confit; Meatloaf; Average Price: Appetizers, $15 ; Entrees,$20 ;Dessert, $9. Reservations: Reservations recommended. Capsule: A neigborhood restaurant worth venturing out of your own for in Williamsburg. Have you ever envied a neighborhood for their restaurants? I have. There are so many great places to live in New York with so menu great restaurants. But if I ever mustered up the courage to search for a new apartment and pack boxes, I’d head to Williamsburg. That’s where Brooklyn’s dining scene really was born. Places like Stone Rose, Peter Luger, and have been around forever, but...
Read MoreTipsy Parson – Reviewed
**** — Four StarsAddress: 156 Ninth Ave, at 20th St.Phone: (212)620-4545Cuisine: Southern-inspired comfort cuisineVibe: Charming brownstone Occasion: Casual date; Group dinner; Bar dining.Hours: Dinner, Mon-Thu, 5:30p.m.-11a.m., Fri & Sat, 5:30p.m.-12a.m., Sun, 5:30p.m.-11a.m; Brunch, Sat & Sun, 10a.m.-4p.m.Don’t Miss Dish: Hush puppies; Catfish; Brussel Sprouts ;Sweet potato pie; Tipsy Parson dessert.Average Price: Appetizers, $12; Entrees, $23; Dessert, $8.Reservations: RecommendedPhoto Credit: Jennifer Calais Smith Capsule: Warm hospitality and wonderful cooking at Tipsy Parson in Chelsea. How great would it be if you could go out for dinner in your pajamas? Unless you’re going to a local diner, eating out requires a certain amount of sacrifice. You have to jump on the subway, walk in the rain, hail a cab, and look slightly presentable. Or, you could just sit on the couch and eat mediocre take-out. As much as I wanted to...
Read MoreAbe & Arthur’s – Reviewed
**Two Stars Address: 409 West 14th St., btwn. Ninth & Tenth Aves. Phone: (646)289-3930 Occasion: Group Dinner: Night out Hours: Dinner, mon-Wed, 6p.m.-11:30 p.m., Thu-Sat, 6p.m.-1:30a.m., Sun, 6p.m.-11p.m. Don’t Miss Dish: Tuna tacos; Strip steak, Apple cobbler Average Price: Appetizers, $ Entrees, $ Dessert, $12. Reservations: Highly Recommended. Capsule: Carnivores in Clubland. Maybe I’m getting old, but I like a little separate between church and state at dinner. I don’t care less about who’s sitting at the next table than what they’re eating for dinner. I was definitely in the minority on the nights I dined at Abe & Arthurs, a new restaurant that opened over a month ago in the old Lotus space. The Meatpacking District is much better known for its nightlife than its dining scene, but there are a number of wonderful exceptions, like Scarpetta,...
Read MoreThe Mott
The Mott: A cozy find with thoughtful cooking pops up in Nolita Cuisine: Modern American Vibe: Charming downtown nook Occasion: Casual date, group dinner, intimate evening Don’t Miss: Fluke crudo, ricotta gnocchi, duck breast with spinach and figs Price: Appetizers, $11; entrees, $22; desserts, $7 Reservations: Recommended Phone: 212-966-1411 Location: 173 Mott St., at Broome I have to admit: Dinner’s a lot more affordable when there’s no alcohol on the menu. But most people like to have a drink with dinner. These days, you need one. Or two. It’s hard enough to open a restaurant, never mind a sobering one. The Mott, a new establishment in Nolita, had to debut without a liquor license. There was some saga about how Emma Cleary, a former owner, parted ways and took The Mott’s liquor license with her. But you know what?...
Read MoreThe Standard Grill
The Standard Grill: High life on the High Line – at a reasonable price Cuisine: American Vibe: Bustling High Line haunt Occasion: Night on the town, date, group dinner Don’t Miss: Octopus with sweet potato & chilies, lamb chops, rainbow trout with currant and pine nut relish, shaved lime-mint ice Price: Appetizers, $9; entrees, $18; dessert, $7 Reservations: Recommended Phone: 645-4646 Location: 846 Washington St., at 13th St. Hip usually comes at a cost. When a restaurant’s hip, you can’t get a reservation or you can’t afford one. If you somehow manage to get a table, it’s too noisy to hear yourself eat or too early to eat. The Standard Grill’s different. It’s undeniably fashionable and entirely affordable. The dining room’s filled with celebrities and everybodies. The restaurant opened in the Meatpacking District, right underneath Andre Balazs’ Standard Hotel...
Read MoreHotel Griffou
Hotel Griffou: Setting the bar high for drinks Cuisine: Retro-American Vibe: Subterranean swank Occasion: Night out; impress a date; cocktail cravings Don’t Miss: Every cocktail; lobster thermidor fondue; deviled crab croquettes Price: Appetizers, $10; entrees, $25; dessert, $9 Reservations: Recommended Phone: (212) 358-0228 Location: 21 W. Ninth St., bet. Fifth & Sixth Aves. The cocktails at Hotel Griffou are phenomenal. There’s one called the Trophy Wife. I wanted to dislike it based on its name alone, but it’s excellent – a vibrant mix of cachaca, Champagne and passionfruit puree. My favorite is the Tarbell, a soothing combination of cucumber vodka, elderflower liqueur, cucumber and mulled red grapes. It’s the kind of drink that’s a little too easy to drink – as is the Mexican Rose, made with tequila, strawberries, lime and a fragrant dose of cilantro. The Griffou isn’t...
Read MoreMonkey Bar
Cuisine: American Vibe: Swanky supper club Occasion: Stargazing; see and be seen. Impress your date. Don’t Miss: Monkey bread, Nora’s meatloaf, sticky toffee pudding Price: Appetizers, $13; entrees, $25; dessert, $9 Reservations: Highly recommended Phone: (212) 308-2950 Location: 60 E. 54th St., near Park Ave. Monkey Bar isn’t really a restaurant. It’s Graydon Carter’s uptown dinner party. The editor of Vanity Fair began dabbling in restaurants a few years back when he revived the aging Waverly Inn. Some people like buying vintage cars. Carter likes buying vintage restaurants and restoring them. Monkey Bar still looks like the original, 1930s supper club – rich red-leather banquettes, brass trimmings, monkey lamps and a 65-foot mural of New Yorkers along the walls. Most of the servers wear white steward jackets with long tails and striped patches on the shoulders. The dining room...
Read MoreTable 8
Cuisine: Contemporary American Vibe: Clubby chic Occasion: Group dinner, casual date, scene-y supper Don’t Miss: Rabbit sausage, scallops on wilted spinach, baby chicken Price: Appetizers, $9; entrees, $24; dessert, $9 Reservations: Highly recommended Phone: (212) 475-3400 Location: 25 Cooper Square, between Fifth and Sixth Sts. On a busy night at Table 8, it’s easier to get a drink in the rest room than the dining room. Instead of handing out hand towels, the restroom attendant pours Prosecco. It’s not the best of times for diners or restaurants, but considering how hard it was to get a reservation, Table 8 seems to be doing just fine. The first time I tasted Govind Armstrong’s cooking was at a Mediterranean restaurant called Chadwick’s in Beverly Hills over five years ago. That’s where he first came up with the concept for Table...
Read MoreBubby’s
Cuisine: American comfort food Vibe: Country chic diner Occasion: Late night munchies; neighborhood bites; after-work hangout Don’t Miss: Jalapeño Bloody Mary, mac and cheese, blueberry sour cream pancakes; Michigan sour cherry pie Price: Appetizers, $8; entrees, $16; dessert; $5. Reservations: Accepted Phone: (212) 219-0666 Location: N Moore St & Hudson St, New York, NY 10013, USA Ron Silver worked the breakfast shift at Florent 15 years ago. Then he became obsessed with pies. That’s when he opened Bubby’s, a pie shop – a pie shop that became so popular he couldn’t resist turning it into a restaurant. But breakfast was still in his blood, and so was the concept of late-late-night dining, which is how the current Bubby’s evolved. I’ve eaten brunch at Bubby’s in Tribeca tons of times. They make a spicy Bloody Mary, great house-smoked salmon Benedict...
Read MoreButcher Bay
East Village fish shack Butcher Bay’s no keeper Tuesday, March 10th 2009, 4:00 AM Sunshine/News (Butcher Bay serves up fish in the East Village.) Not quite everything you hope for in a fish shack. 511 E. Fifth St., near Avenue A. (212) 260-1333 Dinner: Mon.-Sun., 6 p.m. until late. CUISINE: Fish shack VIBE: Down and dirty East Village OCCASION: Neighborhood dinner, bar bites DON’T-MISS DISH: Scallop pan roast, steamed mussels with bread AVERAGE PRICE: Appetizers, $6; entrees, $17. No desserts. RESERVATIONS: Not accepted. A hell of a lot has changed at 511 E. Fifth St., near Avenue A. It used to be called Seymour Burton. It wasn’t the prettiest place to look at, but the food was wonderfully hearty. And they had a great burger. Now Seymour Burton is Butcher Bay, a wanna-be Pearl Oyster Bar. Adam Cohn,...
Read MoreButtermilk Channel
524 Court St., at Huntington St., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, (718) 852-6872 CUISINE: American comfort food VIBE: Country B&B OCCASION: Casual date, bar bites, kid-friendly family dinner DON’T-MISS DISHES :Maple- and bacon-roasted almonds, delicata squash tart, duck meatloaf AVERAGE PRICE: Appetizers, $8; entrées, $16; dessert, $7. RESERVATIONS: Accepted for parties of four or more Owner Doug Crowell named his new restaurant in Carroll Gardens after a shallow strait that runs between Governors Island and Brooklyn. Once upon a time, farmers used to walk their cattle across this strait during low tides. That was more than a hundred years ago, but I imagine that back then a corner restaurant might have looked like Buttermilk Channel. A single candle flickers in every window, and a clunky wood dresser stands along the edge of the room. Wooden pews from a church down...
Read MoreThe John Dory
A little like Le Bernardin in blue jeans. Address: 85 10th Ave., near 15th St.Phone: (212) 929-4948 Seven days, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.Cuisine: SeafoodVibe: Kitschy fish shackOccasion: Posh counter dining, date, group dinnerDon’t Miss Dishes: Razor-clam ceviche, chorizo-stuffed squid, oyster pan roast, sautéed cod milt:Average Price: Appetizers, $16; entrées, $28; desserts, $10Reservations: Highly recommendedThe John Dory If you could draft a fantasy restaurant team, who would you pick? It depends on what’s on the menu, of course. Italian? I’d take Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. British pub? I’d take Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield. (Have you eaten the deviled eggs, devils on horseback or Roquefort burger at the Spotted Pig?) These people are first-round draft picks, in my opinion. Together, they could open a restaurant called Dumpster, serve trash, and people would probably line up. So I’m not surprised that...
Read More10 Downing
10 Downing St., at Sixth Ave. (212) 255-0300 Tue.-Wed. 6 p.m.- 12 a.m.; Thu.-Sat. 6 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sun. 6 p.m.- 12 a.m.; closed Mon. CUISINE French-inflected American VIBE Bustling downtown eatery OCCASION Casual date, neighborhood bites, family or group dinner DON’T MISS DISH Trout tartare, squid ink agnolotti, coffee-scented semi freddo AVERAGE PRICE Appetizers $10; entrees $24; desserts $8 RESERVATIONS Recommended Here’s the first thing you need to know you about 10 Downing. Order the charcuterie, especially the duck liver mousse and the duck prosciutto. There’s a lot of charcuterie in this town, even housemade charcuterie, a lot of it obligatory, a lot of it ordinary. I overlooked the 10 Downing charcuterie on my first two visits. When it comes to the table, pay attention because the chef is paying attention. Here’s the second thing you need to know....
Read MoreBraeburn
Bistrong overdirects his menu at Braeburn. 117 Perry St. between Hudson and Greenwich, (212) 255-0696 Open seven days; lunch, noon- 4 p.m.; dinner, 5:30-10:30 p.m. CUISINE: AmericanVIBE: Cozy corner spotOCCASION: First date, group dinnerDON’T-MISS DISH: Smoked brook trout, breast of duck, pumpkin cheescakePRICE: Appetizers, $12; entrées, $26; desserts, $6RESERVATIONS: Accepted The other day, I called Braeburn. The general manager answered, “Thank you for calling The Harrison.” Then he hung up, embarrassed. It was a natural mistake. Almost half the staff comes from The Harrison, a Tribeca restaurant that embodies the idea of American bistro cooking. In fact, some dishes make you feel like you’re at The Harrison and some dishes make you wish you were at The Harrison. What The Harrison does in a relaxed way, Braeburn does in a way that’s both fussy and tiny. After an appetizer,...
Read More