Restaurants in New York City
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Market Table
Address: 54 Carmine St., at Bedford St. Phone: (212)255-2100 Cuisine: Seasonal American Vibe: Quintessential neighborhood spot & grocery Occasion: Casual date, neighborhood dinner Hours: Dinner, Mon-Sat, 5:30p.m.-12a.m. Closed Sundays Don’t Miss Dish: Gnocchi with short ribs; Pan roasted chicken. Drink Specialty: Rotating wine selection. Price: Appetizers, $9-$12; Entrees, $17-$29; Desserts, $5-$9. Reservations: Reservations recommended Not just another trip to the market… Shop for groceries and you’ll be tempted to stay for dinner at Market Table. What looks more like a corner grocery store is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after tables in town. The only entrance to Market Table’s dining room is by way of an adjoining grocery shop, a makeshift preview of what’s on the menu. Think general store meets butcher shop, where customers can purchase anything from exotic dried fruits to burger patties. Yes, this is...
Read MoreBobo
At Chez Bobo, beauty runs only skin deep. 181 W. 10th St., at Seventh Ave. (212) 488-2626 Dinner: Mon.-Thur., 6 p.m.-11 p.m., Fri-Sat, 6 p.m.-12 a.m., closed Sundays. CUISINE European bistro VIBE Brownstone chic OCCASION See-and-be-seen dinner; cocktails. DON’T-MISS DISH Tarte flambee PRICE Appetizers, $8-16; entrees, $18-26; desserts, $7. RESERVATIONS Recommended Checking in for dinner at Bobo feels like you’re checking into a bed and breakfast – in the West Village. Reservationists answer the phone, “Bobo residence.” Hosts greet from behind an antique desk. The only thing missing is the little bell on the counter. Once you pass the hostess desk, you feel as if you’ve entered a European dinner party or a chic supper club with homespun charms. Chef Nicolas Cantrel’s European bistro menu similarly follows suit: bouillabaisse, steak frites and tarte flambee. Owner Carlos Suarez has also...
Read MoreFiamma
Fiamma is reborn, better than ever. 206 Spring St., near Sullivan St., (212) 653-0100 Dinner: Mon., 6 p.m.-10p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 6-11 p.m.; Fri., 6 p.m.-midnight; Sat., 5:30 p.m.-midnight. CUISINE Modern Italian VIBE Civilized glamour OCCASION Special occasion, intimate date DON’T-MISS DISH Tuna crudo, Le Marche lasagna PRICE Prix fixe, $75; desserts, $12. RESERVATIONS Highly recommended When chef Michael White departed Fiamma Osteria, restaurateur Stephen Hanson (founder of B.R. Guest Restaurants) was forced to find a chef capable of protecting his upscale Italian’s star stature. Fiamma had never been just another B.R. Guest restaurant. It was the luxury convertible in an 18-car garage filled with reliable, hospitality-driven establishments (Dos Caminos, Ruby Foo’s). Hanson seized the opportunity to upgrade: He changed the plates, the menu, tweaked the decor and even dropped the “Osteria” from its title. Most importantly, he secured chef Fabio...
Read MoreBacon Hits Happy Hour
This weekend we stumbled upon a truly peculiar cocktail at Double Down Saloon, the New York spin-off of an infamous Las Vegas bar. This artful dive bar serves up a house-infused bacon vodka. Committed to his peculiar vision, the owner has special bacon flown in from Kentucky, which he then fries up and soaks in high-quality vodka to create a “Bacon Martini” or Bloody Mary. And if bacon vodka wasn’t sufficiently audacious, each martini is topped with a juicy stick of Slim Jim to gnaw while sipping. Bartender Joan likens the libation to “a good scotch.” Address:14 Avenue A, just above Houston St.Phone: (212)982-0543doubledownsaloon.com Until we eat again,Restaurant Girl**Don’t forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl’s weekly...
Read MoreTailor
Expect the unexpected. 525 Broome St., between Sullivan & Thompson Sts. (212) 334-5182 Dinner: Sun.-Thurs., 6 p.m.-midnight, Fri.-Sat., 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Closed Mondays. CUISINE Progressive American VIBE Stylized speakeasy OCCASION Adventurous dining DON’T-MISS DISH Passionfruit poached char, Crumble cocktail. PRICE “Salty” small plates, $15-$17; “sweet” small plates, $11-$12; cocktails, $13-$15. RESERVATIONS Reservations accepted Tailor is an adventure in dining – a walk on the wild side of food. Pastry chef Sam Mason demonstrated his innovative technique at WD-50, home of molecular gastronomy and cutting-edge cuisine. At his funky, new SoHo restaurant, Mason unleashes an unusual vision of “salty” and “sweet” small plates. His menu obscures the line between savory and sweet, food and drink, and just about everything in between. Picky eaters beware: Chicken and vanilla ice cream make no appearances on the menu. Think foie gras with peanut...
Read MoreBLT Market
1430 Sixth Ave., at Central Park South; (212) 521-6125 Lunch, 11:45 a.m.-2 p.m., Mon.-Fri.; brunch, 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun.; dinner, Mon.-Sun., 5:30-10 p.m. CUISINE Seasonal New American VIBE Farmhouse chic OCCASION Family dinner, pampered affair DON’T MISS DISH Veal-and-pork ricotta meatballs, American kobe skirt steak. PRICE Appetizers, $12-$21; entrees, $26-$38; desserts, $9-$11. RESERVATIONS Recommended. When the chef launched BLT Steak, he lured with freshly baked popovers just as suavely as he persuaded with a succulent porterhouse. Now Laurent Tourondel runs a booming corporation: BLT Fish, BLT Prime and BLT Burger are all notches on his rapidly expanding belt. At BLT Market, he bows to both seasonal and artisanal themes. It’s impossible to miss the signs. Just check in at the hostess stand; whitewashed shelves are stacked with artisanal goods: domestic olive oils, as well as vinegars and syrups from...
Read MoreLos Dados
73 Gansevoort St., near Washington St. (646) 810-7290 Hours: Dinner, Sun.-Thurs., 5:30-11 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 5:30-midnight CUISINE Regional Mexican VIBE Dimly lit, cavernous space OCCASION Festive group dinner, night out DON’T-MISS DISH Grilled shrimp & Yucatan pork achiote tamal. PRICE Appetizers, $7-$17; entrees, $13-$19; desserts, $7-$10. RESERVATIONS Recommended. Baskets of tortilla chips and kitschy Mexican shrines might be the last thing you would expect from the Meatpacking District, especially from David Rabin and Will Regan, the pair responsible for such exclusive clubs as Double Seven and Lotus. Here, no clipboard-wielding hostess or velvet rope stands between you and the entrance of Los Dados, the district’s first Mexican eatery. Parties and clusters of strangers congregate over Margaritas along a communal table in a dimly lit dining room. Regan and Rabin have enlisted chef Sue Torres to execute “Mexican home...
Read MoreAccademia Di Vino
1081 Third Ave., near 64th St. (212) 888-6333 Open seven days a week, noon-midnight. CUISINE Italian VIBE Sprawling wine cellar OCCASION Neighborhood bites, casual family affair DON’T MISS DISH King salmon crudo, truffle pate pizza PRICE Appetizers, $4-$15; Entrees, $14-$45. RESERVATIONS Recommended Apparently, New York can never have too many Italian eateries. At least, that’s what the latest battery of restaurateurs is banking on this season. Enotecas, vinotecas, trattorias – they are the latest incarnations of Italian fare. Accademia di Vino aspires to be all three. In the landscape of the upper East Side, partner Anthony Mazzola (‘Cesca) tempts fate in a space that has housed several short-lived pursuits – Mainland, Wild Tuna and Ollie’s – to name a few. Mazzola has recruited chef Kevin Garcia, who also helms ‘Cesca’s kitchen, to undertake an ambitious menu. Its street-level wine...
Read MoreCrave Ceviche Bar
946 Second Ave., near 50th St. (212) 355-6565 Dinner: Sun.-Wed., 5:30-10 p.m., Thu.-Sat., 5:30-midnight. CUISINE Creative ceviche VIBE Lively neighborhood haunt OCCASION Solo flight, casual date DON’T-MISS DISH Spicy yellowfin tuna; Kona kampachi PRICES $8-$25 RESERVATIONS No reservations accepted There are those few precious restaurants you contemplate keeping to yourself. It is a selfish act, though not an unreasonable one, as a way to safeguard tiny haunts harboring gutsy chefs and even gutsier flavors. Crave Ceviche Bar is one of those rare finds in a part of town better known for its happy hours and expense-account dinners. Candlelight dances about the beachy nook, marked with white paneling, wood floors and exposed brick walls. Scribbled on a blackboard are not daily specials, but the names of hopeful diners anxious for one of 21 seats. This is the first obstacle. The...
Read MoreCentro Vinoteca
Address: 74 Seventh Ave., nr. Barrow St. Phone: (212) 367-7470 Dinner: Mon.-Sun.CUISINE Inspired Italian Vibe: Stylish West Village clamor Occassion: Night out downstairs, intimate date upstairs Don’t miss dish: Rabbit involtino, fennel pollen-crusted porkchop Drink Specialty: 25 well-priced quartinosPrice: Appetizers $3-$18; entrees $19-$36; desserts $8 Reservations: Recommended a week in advance This is chef Anne Burrell’s domain. Visible through an open kitchen, Burrell (Felidia, Savoy) dons a cowgirl skirt and a newly minted executive chef coat, her spiky-haired likeness stitched onto the sleeve. She’s the embodiment of a rock star chef: ambitious, saucy and thrilled to be making her long-awaited debut. These traits texture nearly every fearless dish on the Italian menu, a welcome detour from the garden variety trattorias of late. Owner Sasha Muniak (Gusto, Mangia) and designer Thomas Juul-Hansen have morphed what was formerly Lemongrass Grill...
Read MoreWakiya
The dressed-up Chinese at Wakiya gets lost in translation. 2 Lexington Ave., at 21st St. (Gramercy Park Hotel) (212) 995-1330 Dinner: Mon.-Sat., 5:45 p.m.-11 p.m, Sunday, 5:45 p.m.-10 p.m. Cuisine: Contemporary regional Chinese Vibe: Moody Asian den Occasion: Swanky night out Don’t Miss Dish: Shanghai soup dumplings Drink Specialty: Cucumber martini Price: Appetizers, $6-$34; Entrees, $13-$38; Desserts, $9-$14. Reservations: Highly recommended Designer-clad servers amble down a red carpet that streams through Wakiya’s glossy dining room, flourished with floor-to-ceiling red tassels and dark wood tables. “It’slike a catwalk,” Richie Notar, a managing partner of both Wakiya and Nobu restaurants, enthusiastically notes over the phone. “Women love it.” On one visit, I spied Anna Wintour dining front row center. I nearly expected she might pull out a pad and jot down her impressions of Wakiya’s fall food collection. As fashionable as...
Read MoreElio’s
1621 Second Ave., at 84th St. (212) 772-2242 Dinner: Mon.-Sun., 5:30 p.m.-midnight Cuisine: Authentic northern Italian Vibe: Boisterous, cozy classic Occassion: Family affair, festive occasion Don’t Miss Dish: Spaghetti frutti di mare Price: Appetizers, $8-$17; entrees, $17-$38; desserts, $8-$12 RESERVATIONS Recommended Some restaurants never change – it’s precisely what people love about them. Unlike newcomers who bend to the latest culinary whims du jour, there remain a few steadfast institutions that succeed simply by resting on their laurels. There is the timeless glamour of lunch at the Four Seasons and the inimitable nostalgia of a hefty porterhouse at Peter Luger’s. Then there’s the charming lure of old-world Italian at Elio’s. Upper East Siders have been loyal members of this “clubhouse” for nearly 26 years. With its dark wood paneling and handsome wainscoting, the decor reinforces the supper club aura....
Read MoreSea Salt
You haven’t truly eaten at Sea Salt until you’ve shopped for your dinner in the fish market tucked into the back corner of this East Village nook. There lies the best of what chef Orhan Yegen has to offer – an icy display of seafaring wares. To Yegen, these aren’t just fish: This is his religion. “I’m the only one who truly understands them,” he declares matter-of-factly over the phone. “I taste and tune the fish. That’s my talent.” He designed much of the restaurant himself, painting the broad, creamy stripes that wrap themselves around the space, accented with butcher block tables and black and white photos – a bit Miami Beach meets Mediterranean seascape. Tables spill onto a span of Second Ave., brimming with students and artsy types. An impossibly outspoken and restless nomad, Yegen has rambled through...
Read MoreGemma
The cuisine is secondary to the parade of fashionable downtowners. 335 Bowery, at Third St. (212) 505-9100 Dinner: Seven days. Breakfast and lunch: Monday through Friday. Brunch: Saturday and Sunday. CUISINE Modern Italian trattoria VIBE Casual bustle OCCASION Group dinner or date DON’T-MISS DISH Four-seasons pizza; cedar-plank-roasted sea bass. DRINK SPECIALTY Acqua di Gemma – sparkling and flat water filtered and bottled in-house, $4 a bottle. PRICE Appetizers, $5-$12; entrées, $14-$39; desserts, $3-$10. RESERVATIONS Available only to Bowery Hotel guests. So go early, and prepare to wait at the bar. As the masses descend upon this decorated spot – dripping with candles, wine bottles and chunky chandeliers – it’s become clear that Gemma has managed to wed the glamour of exclusivity with the democratic accessibility of a no-reservation policy. Owners Sean MacPherson and Eric Goode have seamlessly bridged the...
Read MoreCentro Vinoteca's Devilish Dish
The newest Italian to descend on the “boot-saturated” West Village reveals a determined kitchen with ingenious little twists on food that manages not to take itself seriously. With Felidia, Savoy and numerous stints as Batali’s sidekick on Iron Chef America, Centro Vinoteca is Anne Burrell’s solo show. While it’s still too early in the game to jump to any conclusions, I’m compelled to bask in the sheer delight of their truffled deviled eggs. Now twice bitten, these nibbles proved themselves to be no fluke. Let’s break them down, shall we? Behold, these hardboiled whites; deceptively simple groundwork for wickedly creamy puffs of black truffle-specked yolks, doused with truffle oil & sprinkled with fresh chives. Here’s the clincher: they’re a mere $4. I’ll never see a deviled egg quite the same way again. Address: 74 Seventh Ave., at Barrow St.Phone:...
Read MoreRevel’s Garden
I’ll admit: The Meatpacking District has most recently evoked unfortunate memories of emasculated steaks at STK, inebriated hordes swarming Tenjune and many a wintry night battling for a taxi. Revel has revived my hope for sanctuary in the midst of the madness. Once known only as the “Bar With No Name”, this spot has recently gotten an actual name, a menu and a phone number to boot. Call me old-fashioned, but personally I’m partial to the reservation system and food. A girl’s gotta eat. Owner Paolo Secondo (Barolo & I Tre Merli) has implemented an international menu with delicate Mediterranean undertones. With a backyard garden that seats 80 and dishes, the likes of spaghetti with lobster and bay scallops with chestnut honey & bacon, the Meatpacking District suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting. That is, until you try to hail...
Read MoreThai Select
Address: 472 9th Ave., at 36th Street Phone: 212-695-9920 Cuisine: Modern Thai Vibe: Buddhist-Zen Hours: Sun-Thu: 11:30am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 11:30am-12am First Bite Impressions: Unexpected delight Note to Self: Order the mojito Don’t Miss Dish: Tamarind Duck- Crispy duck served with smoked tamarind soy sauce over a bed of baby bok choy Price: Appetizers, $5-10; Entrees, $9-18. Reservations: Reservations recommended. A diamond in the rough you might say, at 36th Street & 9th Avenue there lives a quaint and nondescript new Thai restaurant that is anything but mundane Woks abound with jumbo shrimp – plump & delicious – glass noodle pad thai’s and the duck I dare contend is as crispy on the outside & juicy on the inside as any you’ll find in Chinatown. Pad Thai spring rolls are double-rolled for an extra crunchy effect and even gimmicky pork poppers with...
Read MoreSolace
Address: 406 E. 64th Street, at 1st Ave. Phone: 212.750.0434 Cuisine: American Nouveau Scene: Upper Eastsiders Hours: Dinner, Mon-Sun, 5:30pm-11pm; Lunch, Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm; Brunch, Sun 11am-3pm. First Bite Impressions: Simply inconsistent Don’t Miss Dish: Salt Cod and Gnocchi Ragout Don’t Bother Dish: Bay Shrimp and Chorizo Risotto, Proscuitto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Price: Appetizers, $11; Entrees, $25. Restaurant Girl Rates: 6 for food, 6 for atmosphere Reservations: Accepted & recommended for prime-time. Tucked into a quiet railroad-style nook on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, modestly emerges the modern American Solace. Unlike most restaurants that razzle dazzle us to garner attention, husband-and-wife duo, David & Mary Regueiro have instead set out to lull their “suburban” clientele. Decor The space is simple, perhaps to a fault: creamy leather banquettes wind their way around the edges of the dark wood beam-accented minimalistic dining room,...
Read MorePark Avenue Summer
Address: 100 E. 63rd. St., at Park Ave. Phone: 212.644.1900 Cuisine: Summer-inspired American Scene: Mixed bag Hours: Dinner, Sun-Thu, 5:30-11pm, Fri & Sat, 5:30-11:30pm; Lunch, Mon-Fri, 11:30am- 3pm; Brunch, Fri & Sat, 11am-3pm. First Bite Impressions: Splendidly summer Don’t Miss Dish: Soft shell crabs with strawberries, soy & avocado Price: Appetizers, $16; Entrees, $32. Reservations: Accepted & recommended for prime-time. Park Avenue Cafe had fallen into the category of steadfast old-timers, wrestling with the demands of a new generation of diner, who eat as stylishly as they dress, while still trying to appease seasoned regulars. That is, until Alan Stillman’s son recently took over the restaurant’s reigns. Michael Stillman first tempted fate when he transformed the seafaring Manhattan Ocean Club into Quality Meats, a chic new steakhouse species. At Park Avenue Summer, he’s again ventured out on a limb...
Read MoreRayuela
Address: 165 Allen St., btwn. Rivington & Stanton Sts. Phone: 212.253.8840 Cuisine: “Freestyle” Latin American & Spanish Scene: Island chic Hours: Dinner, Sun-Thu, 5:30-11pm, Fri & Sat, 5:30-12pm; Brunch, Fri & Sat, 10am-5pm. First Bite Impressions: An admirable work in progress with a truly inspired cocktail menu Don’t Miss Dish: Ecuadorian seafood stew Price: Appetizers, $13; Entrees, $25. Reservations: Reservations accepted. Chef-owner Maximo Tejada (Patria & Lucy) & restaurateur Hector Sanz couldn’t have chosen a more favorable season to introduce New Yorkers to their sexy, tropical oasis with a freestyle menu that liberally wanders through Latin America & Spain. While Allen Street’s only just beginning to reap the benefits of a Lower East Side dining boom, this Latino-bent newcomer has undoubtedly made aesthetic strides on this otherwise bleak street. Rayuela’s airy, two-story space is furbished with natural wood tables,...
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