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Air’s Champagne Parlor is All About the Bubbly
Beer, wine and even cider bars abound in NYC, but Air’s Champagne Parlor is one of the few area drinkeries devoted to bubbly. To be fair, the Riddling Widow briefly preceded it, but owner Ariel Arce was actually beverage director during its tenure, as well as Birds & Bubbles before that, and Chicago’s Pops for Champagne (not to mention Grant Achatz’s exclusive, original The Office) before that. Meaning her reputation as queen of Cuvèe absolutely proceeds her.
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Where to Celebrate Oktoberfest 2017
If you’re already mourning the loss of summer, Oktoberfest is a reliable way to get you over the hump. Essentially spanning the duration of fall (kicking off on September 16th this year & extending all the way to October 31st, allowing revelers to seamlessly transition to Halloween), the 16 to 18-day festival is a giddy saturnalia of German culture…
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Spotlight on the Finalists for the 2017 Vendy Awards
As a fun challenge to the James Beard Awards, the Vendy ceremony — now in its 13th year — is dedicated to honoring the very best in street food. So here’s who’s in the running during the September 16th event at Governors Island; from an artisanal twinkie baker to an upstart french toast sandwich maker, to a Chinese meat skewer purveyor, whose been tapped for the Vendy Cup…
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Pop Out Bakeware
Bakeware isn’t exactly the last word in innovation nowadays. Think about it; when’s the last time you found a cake pan that really knocked your socks off, or a state-of-the-art cookie sheet? Everything from pie plates to muffin tins have had essentially the same design for years, and we’ve just come to accept the fact that they aren’t always easy to work with. But doesn’t it drive you crazy when, no matter how much Pam or butter you use,...
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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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Restaurant Boy’s Essential Eats: Manhattan Edition
Here at Restaurant Girl, we consider knowing how to select the perfect place for dinner an essential skill. Of course, picking the ultimate spot in a city so full of choices isn’t always easy – so whether you’re looking to get down and dirty with a plate of barbecue, need a romantic (but not too romantic!) place to take a first date, or just want to decompress after work with a good, stiff drink, we’ve got five ideal options for you.
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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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Drink Spotting: Horseman’s Grogg at The Smith
Between the “Muddlers,” “Long Pours,” and “Fancy Cocktails,” The Smith has quite a selection for their thirsty diners. They’ve got some great classics like their Old Fashioned, a “Midtown” Manhattan, and a Bloody Mary (complete with vodka and a secret recipe), but it doesn’t end there.
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Our Favorite Spots for Holiday Sweets
Secret Santa exchanges, fabulous parties, and tree lighting ceremonies are one thing, but when you love food as much as we do, nothing quite beats the anticipation of eating lots and lots of holiday sweets. Whatever treats or sweets you prefer, one thing’s for sure; there are plenty of places in the city to satisfy the most decadent holiday craving.
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Where to Eat at NYC’s Holiday Markets
While it can be hard to remember to take a snack break after a busy day of exercising your wallet, there’s no need to shop till you drop. Almost every holiday market has a wealth of fantastic food stands to choose from, ensuring you’ll be refreshed and reenergized for another round of shopping in the stalls.
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Mini Pocket Pie Molds
From mini cheesecakes and macarons to bite-sized ice cream sandwiches and teeny-weeny tarts, the diminutive dessert trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. And while certain treats don’t take too much effort to downsize at home, pies definitely aren’t one of them. We once tried to make miniature pies in a cupcake tin…tried, unfortunately, being the operative term. Thankfully, these Mini Pocket Pie Molds from Williams-Sonoma have inspired us to give it another go. We love that...
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Q & A with La Villette’s Chef Christophe Bonnegrace
At age 14, Provence-born chef Christophe Bonnegrace was convinced his cooking career was over before it had started. His first job, as an apprentice, lasted approximately one week, and ended with the head chef thrusting his hands in the fryer. “I got scared, escaped the kitchen and pedaled home as fast as I could to get away from this guy!” Bonnegrace remembers. Luckily his wounds (both literal and figurative) from that grisly first experience eventually healed, setting off a...
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Chocolate Orange Biscotti
Who doesn’t love baking (and eating) batch after batch of cookies during the holiday season? We particularly enjoy making these crunchy, not too sweet biscotti, perfect for having alongside a cup of coffee or cocoa, or dipping into a glass of rum-spiked eggnog or dessert wine. We know that once you try them, they’ll become a beloved part of your holiday tradition.
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Best Places to Celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes
No one caters a celebration quite like the Italians. And if you ask any seafood lover, the penultimate Italian spread is La Vigilia, or the or Feast of Seven Fishes, traditionally held on Christmas Eve to commemorate the time spent waiting for the midnight birth of Jesus. So if you’re Italian (or never pass up on an opportunity to dig into a delicious Insalata di Mare or fragrant Zuppa de Pesce with mussels and clams) be sure to book a table at one of these holiday-ready restaurants.
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Restaurant Spotting – Mayfield
Brooklyn has been beckoning Manhattan-based food journalists and foodies across the river for awhile now. But there are still plenty of under-explored neighborhoods in the borough. Case in point: Crown Heights, which is perhaps one of the most rapidly changing sections of Brooklyn right now. The latest addition to the neighborhood is a New American restaurant called Mayfield.
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The Perfect Holiday Gifts for Foodies
There’s a lot to be joyful about during the holiday season – city streets aglow with twinkly lights, chestnuts roasting on an open fire (or in the case of most apartment dwellers, a gas-lit stove), and of course, receiving lots and lots of presents. What’s not so jolly? Tearing through Manhattan in a desperate search to find the perfect gifts for friends and family. But there’s no need to let the stress of shopping put a damper on your...
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Personalized Bamboo Cutting Board
From hand-woven potholders to mid-century modern gravy boats, we’re all about giving fun and eye-catching gifts for the kitchen. But what do you get for that foodie friend that already has everything? These personalized, pressed bamboo cutting boards make perfect, one-of-a-kind presents, sure to appeal to the most discerning at-home chef (even if it’s yourself). The great thing about bamboo is that it’s harder than most woods, making it an ideal surface for cutting just about anything. It also...
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The Best Hanukkah Latkes
With all of Christmas’s in-your-face spectacle, it can be hard to remember that a somewhat subtler holiday, Hanukah, is right around the corner. The festival of lights begins this Saturday, in fact, an eight-day celebration that includes menorah lighting, dreidel spinning, present giving, and most importantly, lots and lots of fried food. The star of any Hanukah table is undoubtedly the latke, a crispy potato pancake cooked in plenty of hot oil. When the festival of lights rolls around this year, we’re turning to this fail-safe recipe for our own latke enjoyment, and think you should too.
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What I’m Loving – Yopparai
It’s not easy to surprise me with a great, new restaurant that’s not really new at all. It makes me feel like I’ve failed as a food writer and restaurant chaser. How did I miss the memo about Yopparai? Seriously. I suggested we go for Japanese to a friend who responded, “I just went to a great spot on the Lower East Side.” When I neared the entrance, I realized I’d been to the same address for sushi just...
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Q & A with Tavern on the Green’s New Chef Katy Sparks
Katy Sparks may be a farm girl at heart, but that hasn’t stopped her from making her mark at some of the most revered four-star restaurants in New York City.
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