I’m a foodie. I’ve been cooking as long as I can remember and there’s very little I won’t eat. In some ways, I was a more adventurous eater when I was a kid but I feel that my taste buds have developed more as I’ve gotten older, and I tried out new recipes and dishes. New York City has many friends that I love to visit and a ton of food that I adore exploring. Here are some of my notes of places that I really liked during my NYC trips in 2012.
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Sidecar – 550 5th Ave, BrooklynÂ
I had soup of the day, chicken soup, to start and fried chicken with kale & mashed potatoes. It all tasted great! It tasted just like home cooking, everything was super fresh and wholesome. The flavors were distinct, rich, and pleasing combination. The chicken soup was very tasty! Rich stock, perfect amount of fresh slivers of veggies and a raw egg that cooked as it was delivered to me. I really enjoyed the combination of flavors and textures. I loved the way the kale was prepared. Delicious! I wasn’t able to figure out exactly what they did to make it so tasty. I’d go back to eat something else and get kale on the side. The batter for the fried chicken was light, crispy-crunch and not greasy at all. The chicken was very tender, well fried and totally mouthwatering goodness. I also had Mint Lemonade. Very refreshing drink! A little on the sweet side, tart, and clean burst of fresh mint! I think I’ll make this at home.
Rodeo Bar & Grill – 375 3rd Ave, Manhattan
A cowboy bar with rustic decor, interesting lighting and fun props–like a bull crashing through the wall! The best thing I ate there was not the steak. Though it was prepared well and a perfectly even medium rare. The dessert was killer! We got the chocolate souffle which came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fudge drizzled magically on top. Anyone who likes chocolate will love this dessert. It was amazing! I believe it was a special for the night. If you can get it, you should definitely get it.
Tomoe Sushi – 172 Thomspon St, Manhattan
Audrey set up a dinner outing for Elizabeth & I (joined by Shorty George) at Tomoe. It’s one of her favorite sushi restaurants in town. The quality of the fish was great! Very fresh, awesome cuts and melt in your mouth goodness without the fishy after taste. I hardly used washabi, soy sauce or ginger to eat my combo platter. The rice was a little hard and not quite fluffy enough but fish was divine! Elizabeth had the clam soup and loved it. I ordered another soup and it was very tasty. The matcha green tea was just right and served religiously. We had a bonus appetizer: sushi salad. We devoured it in minutes! So good! I loved eating in this little restaurant and definitely plan on to go back there!
Grom – 233 Bleecher St, Manhattan
Tasty gelato! My second trip to this corner ice cream parlor. I bought a small cup of two gelatos: Mint Chocolate Chip & Expresso. The light, minty mint choco was a great compliment to the very rich expresso gelato. I had a sample of everyone else’s flavors & I’m impressed by the smooth, lip smacking quality of the flavors served there.
Fette Sau – 354 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg
One of my favorite BBQ places to eat at in NYC! I’ve gone there almost every time I’m in NY. The selection is always a little different. I recommend getting the brisket. It’s great! My favorite from this trip was the lamb shank! Juicy, tender and full of flavor without being too gamey or woodsy. Roasted potatoes are one of my favorite sides from there. The key lime tart was a nice topping to a meal of meat and very little veggies.
Toshi’s Living Room at Flatiron Hotel – 9 W. 26th St, Manhattan
The Ponzu sliders are delicious and made to order. We usually get them medium rare and they’re delicious! Great mini beef burgers on brioche bread with Ponzu sauce, caramelized onions & chipotle mayo. All of the cocktails are strong but some are more tasty than others.
M Shanghai Bistro & Garden – 292 Grand St, Williamsburg
Baby BBQ Rib with spinach noodles was terrific way to revive ourselves from a long day. Spicy pork soup dumplings come out steaming hot, the soup is a little salty but mixes really well once you chow down into the pork and dumpling skin. The sticky rice pork shumai was a new treat. Presentation is great, the taste is okay and blend of textures with flavors was good. It could have used a sweet-tart sauce to compliment it. I don’t recommend eating shumai or soup dumplings as leftovers. It’s just not the same!
Good Stuff Diner – 109 W. 14th St, Manhattan
Elizabeth & I LOVE this diner! This is our favorite diner out of all the ones we’ve tried in NYC! The service is great, the food is well made and desserts are adorable! We ordered a rich devil’s chocolate cake. It had a chocolate mouse on top and the waiter drew flowers in syrup to accompany it. I haven’t had anything there that I don’t like.
Schmackary’s – 45th St & 9th Ave, Manhattan
Cute little bakery that makes maple bacon cookies! It was VERY tasty and the bacon bits were just enough to add a light meat, salty flavor without overpowering the whole. They had lots of other yummy goodies to eat there. I’ll try out more next time.
Bar Tabac – 128 Smith St, Brooklyn
My favorite bartender at Bar Tabac is Marco! He’s funny and makes great drinks. The food is really great and I loved everything I’ve had here. The first time, I liked the food so much, I kept ordering stuff to try because we were there for three hours hanging out, listening to live jazz and dancing. The drinks are very tasty and Marco enjoys interacting with the customers. On top of the great food and drinks, the Blue Vipers of Jazz played great music to accompany our meal and general shenanigans.
Radegast Hall & Beer Garden – 113 N. 3rd, Williamsburg
I am not a beer person but everyone I know who likes beer likes the beer served there. I enjoy the sorbets & pretzels. Mallory treated me to a drink called the Greenside. That was freakin’ delicious! And maybe a little evil. I’m pretty sure if I had a few of those drinks, I would have been very toasted. Good food, good drinks, live music and generally great company at the Radegast!
Salt & Fat – 41-16 Queens Blvd, Queens
This place is awesome!!! Totally worth going up to Queens to hang with friends and chow down on a really great meal! We did it in a haphazard family style. It was hard to do because there were 10 of us there. Our waitress welcomed us with the greeting, “Hi! I was hoping we’d get a large group today!” Good thing to note about the menu going from top to bottom: smaller to bigger portions & prices. The food is an interesting mix of Asian, American & European styles of cooking techniques. Very interesting!
Oh! Popcorn. It’s a simple snack right? Have you had popcorn made in bacon fat? If you haven’t, you should definitely try it! That’s the greeting snack that’s placed on the table as we poured over the menu and tried to figure out what to eat.
I had fun trying to figure out some of the dishes. The foie gras was like airy candy melting on my tongue. The pork belly sliders were tasty munchies of lip smacking goodness. The fried chicken are golden crispy on the outside and juicy tender meat inside. Ox tail plate was dubbed “beefcake” by Elizabeth and ordered twice! It was grilled crisp on the outside and flavorfully tender on the inside! A decorative array of cooked & blended onions and sauteed mushrooms edged the beefcake. The steak salad isn’t really a salad but the slices come out nice and medium rare. It’s not chewy at all! Just good beef ready to chow down and be devoured! There’s more stuff to add but I can’t recall it all right this moment. I will when I post the pictures though. Basically, go eat at the Salt & Fat. You will like it. You will eat till you’re stuffed. You will come back for more!
Silk Screen Views 