Cocktail Wizard has a literal meaning at The Cauldron, a bar with an experience that you would never expect on the busy Stone Street. Even my GPS was not able to put it correctly on the map! That’s maybe a sign that this place is for the ones who know…if you see what I mean…
Upstairs is where a 1h45 minute class takes place, where you will make two cocktails (I believe that only the welcome drink could be ordered without alcohol,…
One of my favorite Greek restaurants in the city is Molyvos, a place that has been there for years and that I was glad to go back to after my restaurant dining hiatus. It did not change besides the fact that the dining room was not as lively as it used to be and the fish station was closed. Still, we had a great dinner with some classic Greek dishes. Here is what we had:
When Le Privé, a French restaurant located in Hell’s Kitchen, cancelled our reservation for our dinner on a Friday evening (not the first time), I was thinking that, anyway, there are plenty of places in New York we could go to for a last minute change of plan. And that is how we ended up in Koi Bryant Park. I love this place, located in The Bryant Park Hotel. Modern, with an impressive ceiling that gives an intimate atmosphere to the dining room, dominated by the sushi counter where you can slightly see the Chefs crafting the dishes.
I was really looking forward to try La Grande Boucherie, a french restaurant located Midtown Manhattan. This place, that replaces Remi, an Italian joint that has been there for years, is huge and impressive! Two floors, a gigantic bar with a selection of alcohol that would make any wine store jealous, a fish station (small compared to the meat selection they have) and a classic decor with a bit of nostalgia.
Last Wednesday, I attended a Chef’s table dinner organized by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce (IACC), at Levante, an Italian restaurant located in Long Island City that is not unknown to me as we went few times when Jodi had her art studio close by. Located a few blocks from the Court street subway station, it is not a long ride from Manhattan, so I was all for it. The idea behind the series of events organized by the IACC was not to promote a restaurant, but more to showcase Italian products from wine, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to pasta. And the way they did it was by crafting dishes from the various regions of Italy.
Do you remember what your last meal in a restaurant was before the lockdown due to COVID in March 2020? I can still remember Friday March 13th: Jodi met me in the city and we decided to walk around to find a place. Danji was on our way and we were wondering if we could get a seat there. Well, the restaurant was as empty as the city. There were probably only 4 tables occupied, including ours. It was for sure weird considering that this place was always packed. But I admit that I liked it, not just because we got the full attention of the staff, but also because of the noise level that was perfect!
As we were in Florida for Thanksgiving, we got to go to The Coop in Winter Park for lunch. This casual place serves Southern specialties with of course chicken, fried chicken in fact, in various ways: fried, roasted or even in dumplings. And if you do not like chicken, you can opt for shrimp and grits, fried catfish or meatloaf.
As we were going to Florida to visit our friends Pam and Pat for Thanksgiving, we decided to spend a couple of days at Disney, especially to visit their new Star Wars Park that opened last August and that is located in Magic Kingdom, as well as eat at some of the international restaurants in Epcot (reservation needed for sure). Before I talk about the food there, let me tell you few things about the park: it was very crowded with some of the attractions having long lines (2 hours for the Millenium Falcon ride that…
Taking its name from a region in Italy, Apulia in Hoboken is a true find. I admit that I prefer lunch over dinner, the place being quieter, especially in the winter when you have no other choice than eating inside.
Menu wise, they offer pasta (not homemade) as well as succulent Neapolitan pizza that has a fantastic crust that is puffed up on the outside and very thin in the center, nicely…
We spotted Ammos Estiatorio while dining at Urbanspace Vanderbilt, next to Grand Central Terminal and decided to go there for Valentine’s Day. Surprisingly, the place was not that crowded and they sat us at one of the tables upstairs, an area fairly quiet.
We ditched the Valentine’s Day menu that seemed pricey ($95 per person) and preferred ordering from the menu, sharing few appetizers. Here is what we had:
Alright: I admit that I thought that L.A. Burdick was the outpost of a chocolate store from Los Angeles. It is in fact the project of pastry Chef Larry A Burdick who decided to open his own venture back in 1987 after successfully working at Bouley for few years. And we only found recently his chocolate store located on Prince street, a day we were looking for a hot chocolate, the weather being perfect for it. The first time was a grab and go, but we came back a couple of weeks after to sit at one of the few tables.
It’s been a while since I wanted to try Sweet Chick, a popular restaurant that started years ago in Williamsburg and has now expanded with several locations in New York, one of them being in Long Island City. It is the one we visited on a Saturday morning, going early as, each time we passed in front of it, it was packed. We got lucky as there were only few tables available at 11:30am and got sit between to groups who unfortunately were a bit loud.
Long Island City will never cease to amaze me. Often mistaken for Long Island, this small city in Queens, right next to Astoria has great restaurants, but many New Yorkers who would be ok to go to Brooklyn for a meal, think that it is too far. Well between the 7 or E lines to name the main ones, it takes as much time to go there than going fron the UWS to Chelsea once at Port Authority. I mentioned M Wells Steakhouse that is one of the best, but now, I am totally excited about Maiella, an Italian restaurant located right behind the iconic Pepsi Cola sign on the waterfront.
We were craving Indian food on a Saturday for dinner and looked up for places Midtown when we stumbled upon Chola, a place that was on my list of restaurants to try. We were there at the time they opened, our brunch that day being quite early as I wanted to try another spot downtown. Taking its name from a Tamil dynasty in southern India, Chola is not new: it opened in 1998. Elegant, with a very courteous staff, it was for sure not crowded at that time and I liked it: less people equal less noise and they gracefully gave us a corner table that is normally for four people, allowing me to side sit as Larry David would say.
We were near Union Square for some errands one Saturday morning when I remembered that Tsurutontan, the Japanese noodle place was around and thought it would be a good idea to go when they open as we passed few times in front of it and there were always people waiting. After checking on Google Maps, we showed up before the published opening time of 11:30am, feeling victorious that we were the first ones there. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that the opening time was in fact 12pm and…
So we are back at Narcissa! After trying their brunch few weeks ago, we were curious to see how the dinner would be. And we were not disappointed except with the desserts that are too fussy unfortunately.
When we arrived, I was surprised to see that this place was not crowded for a Friday evening, thinking that maybe people focused on places that proposed a Restaurant Week menu, Narcissa not being one of them. I am not going to complain though as the lesser the diners, the lower the noise level.
It’s been a while since we went to Basta Pasta, a couple of blocks from Union Square and, as we had to be in that area, we decided to go back there for dinner. I could not believe how packed this place was, from the beginning to the moment when we left, several people waiting near the entrance for a table at 9pm. For sure, the kitchen was a bit backed up, a large table not helping, but our waiter did a good job keeping us posted as to when our dishes would come.
After a first visit at Kellari Taverna, a Greek restaurant located two blocks from Bryant Park, I decided to have dinner there again with Jodi on a Friday evening. The first time I went (no photo, sorry), I was really excited as their fish (they serve fresh sustainable fish that is on a beautiful display) was very good: I first was going for the barbounia aka rouget aka red mullet, but that day they did not have any. So I had the filet of sole that they deboned for me perfectly and was the star, not smothered with any sauce So you could really get its delicious taste.
