The Brunch-Crawl

The NoMad

Le Philosophe

Kayser

Reynard

Maison Harlem

The Dutch

L’Apicio

Clinton St. Baking

Hundred Acres

August

Jojo

Café B

Alice Tea Cup

Café d’Alsace

Jane

Brunch in NYC is a very big thing. It is all about getting together after a Saturday night party, people watching and drinking again. New Yorkers have the habit to keep drinking on Sunday mornings, mimosas or blody-marys, a trend that none of my French friends was able to follow. Brunch menus look like each other in the city. Since the kale, this green cabage is trendy, it is on every brunch menus, like Brussel sprouts, which is another thing French people cannot bear, synonymous of the cafeteria in middle school. However, like any other trend, it might hit France in a couple of years (months?) and you will see soon our “bobos” eat those veggies reinvented for the French palate.

The NoMad

The NoMad hotel: If you want to impress your parents or a date, the restaurant in this hotel is the perfect spot. Divided into different areas, you can have brunch in the atrium, or by the fireplace or the parlour… Read more

 

 

Le Philosophe

Le Philosophe: Another French restaurant that opened a couple of months ago in NoHo. And the NYC food scene created a buzz about this place. What is so fantastic about this place… Read more

 

 

Raspberry tarte

Eric Kayser: It is a bit the war between Uptown and Downtown people, but some of them are almost crying Eric Kayser takes so much time to open its second location at Gramercy… Read more

 

 

Reynard

Reynard: Some places decide to change their name to refresh their image. Last August, Tarlow decided to officially change the name of “Reynards”to… “Reynard”. Since I first came to NY in August 2012… Read more

 

 

Maison Harlem

Maison Harlem: Harlem is more and more having nice restaurants opening. Maison Harlem is one of them. Located in the very quiet West Harlem, this French restaurant is a nice place for brunch once you are done with the traditional Gospel church… Read more

 

The Dutch, Soho

The Dutch: American Soho restaurant own by the same team than the new Lafayette. The venue is bright, with the same snobby atmosphere you find in these trendy Manhattan spots I talked about in earlier posts… Read more

 

 

L’Apicio

L’Apicio: I usually do not go to Italian restaurant for brunch because what is the point of eating eggs when you can have carbonara? However, since we could get a reservation we ended at L’Apicio… Read more

 

 

Clinton St. Baking

Clinton St. Baking: You probably don’t understand why New Yorkers are ready to do the line for 2 hours to eat but sometimes you just pass the door and you get it. Clinton St. Bakery opens at 9am on weekends… Read more

 

 

Hundred Acres

Hundred Acres: Thanks to Open Table, I hopefully skip the 45 minute line to get the precious table. One of the waitress sulks, I don’t care she is not in charge of our table. Some hipsters at the bar, mostly preppies in the venue… Read more

 

August

August is a tiny spot in West Village. If offers only a few tables on the front and the surprise comes when you can be seated in the courtyard since it is covered and open all day long. It is really calm so having brunch on weekends… Read more

 

 

Jojo

Jojo: one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurants (Chef at ABC Kitchen) in the UES. We go for the $28 three-course brunch with appetizer/entrée/desert, but without the traditional egg benedict or pancakes… Read more

 

 

Café B

B Café: this traditional Belgium bistro offers excellent dishes like the mussels, the egg benedict with smoked salmon served on English muffins. Try the Egg sandwich, it looks really simple but the combo of fresh baguette, scrambled eggs, avocado and ‘Belgium’ fries is fantastic.

 

 

Alice Tea Cup

Alice Tea Cup: This UES tea place was my #1 brunch spot for a while. The décor is a bit too kitchy, especially when you are not having tea time with your mother. I came in fall so they had pumpkin scones, which is probably part of the reason why I came so often. The scones are fluffy and look and taste like more an English scone. The egg benedicts are very well one, served with smoked salmon and a buttermilk scone. But the funniest and more typical to order is the afternoon tea presented on a three-tiered stand with scones, sandwiches, desserts, and tea (with a large selection of course). It’s like being in London.

Café d’Alsace

Café d’Alsace: this other UES café is a great neighborhood restaurant. It has an outdoor place that makes you feel being in France. They have classic from American egg benedicts to the traditional Quiche Lorraine.

 

Jane

Jane: It is not the Jane Hotel, but it is at least as pretentious as the hotel. Try to book a table ahead on Open Table or the snobby waiters will enjoy having you wait for a long time. Once you pass this first welcome at least you can enjoy the meal. Because they have great crab cake egg benedict.

Jojo

Jojo

Jojo is one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurants (Chef at ABC Kitchen) in the UES. We go for the $28 three-course brunch with appetizer/entrée/desert, but without the traditional egg benedict or pancakes you can only choose à la carte.

Slow baked salmon

Warm chocolate cake

The exquisite butternut squash soup served with black mushrooms reminds me I never succeeded in having this taste when I cook such a dish. For the entrée, the slaw-baked salmon is perfectly cooked, served with an excellent truffle mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts. The shrimp-asparagus risotto is to die for as well. For chocolate fanatics, Jojo serves a chocolate cake made with real chocolate that melts when you open it. If you want a calm atmosphere where for once you can hear what your date (or your mother) is saying with a great value brunch, this is the spot.

Jojo
160 E 64th St
New York, NY 10065
(212) 223-5656

The Pizza Crawl

The pizza-crawl

It seems that the best food from every country has met in NYC. And pizza is not an exception. Skip the $1 slice-pizza and all the greasy declinations around Time Square. Unfortunately you can also skip Little Italy that is day after day eaten by Chinatown and offers only two very good Italian delis besides touristic restaurants. The city offers excellent options of the Neapolitan style pizza. Here is the map.

Roberta’s: my favorite pizza ever, the trip to Bushwick definitely worth it. Here is the full review.

 

 

 

Keste Pizza &Vino: Bleeker Street is the street I whish I could have lived in. Italian waiters welcome you in this small spot and serve you excellent thin pizza with a great selection of toppings and wines. What else?

 

Keste Pizza & Vino
271 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-1500

Motorino: they recently opened another location in Brooklyn but I only tried the restaurant in East Village. The atmosphere and decoration seemed a bit cold to me, maybe because I went late in the night. I slightly prefer the dough of Keste but they are very similar to me.
Motorino
349 E 12th St,
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-2644

Forcella: this big restaurant in Bowery was empty on a Tuesday night, which is sad for such a nice place. Italian waiters welcome you as well; service was #1 in this restaurant. They obviously made me try different wines so I could choose my favorite one. However, they had an issue with the temperature of the pizza. The margarita was served cold in the middle, but they generously made us another one. The white pizza was excellent, but not that hot neither, which is strange since they have a wooden-oven. To apology, they offered us another glass of wine, excellent technique since it made us forget the cool pizza. Not sure the same thing could have happened in France…

Forcella

Forcella

Forcella
334 Bowery,
New York, NY 10012
(212) 466-3300

Ovest Pizzoteca e Bar: located right in front of the Hotel Americano in Chelsea, this pizzeria offers the aperitivo like in Italy with a choice of appetizer when you order a drink. I came too late to try it but I would love to get some reviews about it. Otherwise they have very decent pizza in a young atmosphere. Try the pizza with arugula on the top, my favorite one.

Ovest Pizzoteca e Bar
513 W 27th St #2,
New York, NY 10001
(212) 967-4392

National Lobster Day

America always finds a great excuse to celebrate. While everything starts turning into the colors of the US flag, each day has its national celebration.The East Coast has some local specialties, and the lobster from Maine is one of them. It is a lot easier and cheaper than in France to eat lobster. Order it, they cook it, prepare it, just eat it! One of the local think that actually just hit Paris is the lobster roll. What is it? Lot of lobster meat served hot with melted butter or cold with mayo on a roll (yes the same bread than the one for hot dogs…).

St Peter’s Catch

Lobster Special

Last Saturday was National Lobster Day and what a better place than the Hamptons to enjoy this day? Montauk is the eastern village on Long Island and we stopped by St Peter’s Catch, a seafod market that has outdoor sitting apart of the road. You can get fish tacos, lobster rolls or fries and salads. However, the best deal was the lobster lunch special made of a full lobster with its butter sauce, mussels, corn, coleslaw and fried potatoes…for $21.
St Peter’s Catch
58 S Erie Ave
Montauk, NY 11954
(631) 668-7100
Even though you will never find the quality and quantity of the lobster roll at Neptune, Boston, two places caught my attention in the city.
Neptune
63 Salem St
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 742-3474

Fish Tacos

Lobster Roll

The Lobster Joint

Lobster Joint opened last fall in the LES. As the name says it, it is a joint, but that offers nice options and even has an alcohol license. The lobster roll is served hot with its salad and pickles. It tastes good and is bigger than the Red Hook Lobster Pound. And if you want to try really good fish tacos, head there on Tuesdays where they have the special. This place is rarely packed and should be known since it is a great joint.
Lobster Joint
201 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002
(646) 896-1110

Luke’s Lobster has several joints in the city. The portion is not big but it tastes really good.
Luke’s Lobster
93E 7th Street
New York, NY 10009
(212) 387-8587

 

The Lobster Place

The Lobster Place

 

And finally if you are not scared to make a mess, go to The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market. Recently renovated, you can order your size of lobster and eat it directly in the market. And it is so good. They also offer lobster rolls but they are not as great as the two other options above. And it is served with chips, not fries.
Lobster Place in the Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 255-5672

August

August

August

August is a tiny spot in West Village. If offers only a few tables on the front and the surprise comes when you can be seated in the courtyard since it is covered and open all day long. It is really calm so having brunch on weekends is very relaxing.

Oeuf Cocotte

Egg Benedict

The oeuf cocotte was really tasty, especially when you order the Alsatian option with bacon, onions and cream. And it comes with bread. If you have a big appetite, think of it as an appetizer. They also offer classic egg benedict or even a burger that I unfortunately haven’t tasted.

The food is good without being outstanding, the service is all right without being super friendly, but the relaxing courtyard is the added value to the spot.

August
359 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 929-8727

Van Leeuwen

Pistachio Ice Cream

For desert, stop by the food-truck Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream on Bleeker Street. They offer artisanal ice cream in a nice crunchy cone. The mango chili tasted nice on the first bite, with all the flavor of the fruit flavor, but the use of chili was too intense so it overwhelms the palate. For pistachio fanatics like me, this one was the best I had for a long time. I am not a big fan of ice-cream, but this truck could get me come back faster than usually.

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

L’Apicio

I usually do not go to Italian restaurant for brunch because what is the point of eating eggs when you can have carbonara? However, since we could get a reservation we ended at L’Apicio. There is a small outdoor space but the décor inside is so outstanding I would not recommend to stay outside. The restaurant has different areas, comfy couches for a drink, a bar to get a cocktail experience, a wine room that made me think they must have a great wine list.

L’Apicio

Tuscan fries

The brunch menu is pretty small but offers from italo-americano dishes like pancakes with ricotta to Italian pasta like the carbonara. The parmesan French toast served with prosciutto and egg is pretty and tasty. The toast is crunchy on the side and melts in the middle, which ads a lot of value to this dish. If you are craving for a side, try the Tuscany fries served with their cold spicy dip.

Another excellent Italian restaurant in Manhattan despite the non-fresh squeezed orange juice…

L’Apicio
13 East 1st St
New York, NY 10003
212-533-7400

The NoMad Hotel

The NoMad

The NoMad

If you want to impress your parents or a date, the restaurant in this hotel is the perfect spot. Divided into different areas, you can have brunch in the atrium, or by the fireplace or the parlour, or just having a drink at the bar waiting for the library to open later. Try not to be in the highway that are tables for two, but I would strongly recommend the living room for a quiet, comfy brunch.

The Egg Benedict

The Library at the NoMad

Otherwise, the food is delicious and if you think you can’t have a chicken sandwich for brunch you are wrong. It is not exactly like the same preparation than the $79 chicken for two served for dinner. The roasted chicken stuffed with black truffle and foie gras is served in a brioche, and the smell of the truffle is so intense the waiting time to take the picture was really tough.

The Fireplace at the NoMad

The Bar at the NoMad

If you go classic for the crabmeat egg benedict, you will get the finest you can have in the city, served with crabmeat. Yes, they were damn good. Yes it is my favorite brunch spot in the city. Yes, you definitely have to go. Period.

The NoMad Hotel
1170 Broadway
New York, NY 10001
(212) 796-1500

Eric Kayser

Chocolate tarte

It is a bit the war between Uptown and Downtown people, but some of them are almost crying that Eric Kayser takes so much time to open its second location at Gramercy. So in the meantime let’s say you have a good excuse to come to the “suburb” and visit a museum between the brunch and the “goûter” to try everything my Parisian bakery has to offer to New Yorkers.

They serve breakfast, lunch, brunch, snacks and dinner so you have plenty of options, mostly offered all day. When I came for the opening, the quiche lorraine was several inches high, which I love. But a couple of weeks later it was thin like most of the quiches found here. I am not sure if they realized the American palate preferred this version or if the cost was too high but I would recommend them to go back to the first one. It is not really the season anymore but the foie gras is at least not this duck mousse but has the same consistence that the French one and tastes as good. And bonus every meal is served with a bunch of bread, including my favorite turmeric-hazelnut bread.

Ask for a tea or coffee, they serve it with their adorable mini-financier, but you can also order the full size pistachio one that is to die for.

Kayser

My favorite desserts on earth are tartes… and Eric Kayser has everything I could dream about. Just watch them and you will understand why French chefs master the art of pastry. It is almost the only time I had real shortcrust pastry covered with either the raspberries or the a creamy, rich chocolate ganache and not this frozen dough bought in grocery stores that almost every pastry has when it comes to pies.

And do not leave the place without your old-style baguette that will keep fresh longer than one day. Trust me, it tastes exactly like the Kayser bakery in France.

Eric Kayser
1294 3rd Ave 74th St
New York, NY 10021
212-7444-3100

Madison Square Eats

This is the last week of the Mad. Sq. Eats that ends on May 31^st. Head to this pop-up market open daily from 11am to 9pm. For once skip the line at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park and eat the best of the local food. 30 of the best and most popular NYC vendors offer their best food to new Yorkers for less than a month. Unfortunately I could not taste everything but I tried to make you a great selection.

The brick oven on the left

The Famous Original

Roberta’s: Just like the restaurant, but this time the Bushwick team comes to Manhattan with a selection of their best pizza. For $9, you have a smaller pizza than the original one, great to share for appetizer or just for one. The pizza is ready in 4 minutes, which means they must have pre-cooked the dough, but no-worries, they brought the brick oven and the Famous Original is almost as good as the one in Bk. For the full review of Roberta’s, click here.

Pulled-Pork Bun

Mexicue

Green-chilli mac-n-cheese

Mexicue: this was probably one of my favourite food stands. The pulled pork sandwich is served on a bun with pickles and a spicy sauce that make the sandwich terrific! The mac-n-cheese is creamy with green chili that perfectly matches the cheese.

 

Arancini Bros.: Yes you are probably familiar with those fried rice balls that come from Sicily. It is easy to get too fat or tasteless ones. With their balls, they reached the perfect combination. The traditional ragu arancino will be a perfect start.

Lobster Roll

Red Hook Lobster Pound: I have been fascinated by lobster rolls since my trip to Boston where I had the best lobster roll at Neptune and I haven’t been able to find as good in NYC. Lobster, warm bitter in a roll has started being the new almost trendy combination in Paris. This lobster roll is not bad, it is just not my favourite one.

Sunday Gravy

Ragu pasta

Sunday Gravy: slow braise of beef and pork, sausage and meatballs, simmered with plum tomatoes, garlic and basil. This ragu pasta looked absolutely delicious, and smelt really good. The flavour was just not as intense as I was expecting.

Affogato

Dreamscoops: try the affogato for dessert. This shop serves your choice of ice cream in a cup topped with a shot of espresso made by the shop next door Third Rail Coffee. You get the sweet of the ice cream, the bitter of the coffee and a great coffee shake with it’s melted.

Cru Event at Lafayette – The Dutch

2012 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages

Last Wednesday was the presentation of the Georges Duboeuf 2012 Crus. Known as the biggest French negociant who started exporting wine 31 years ago in the US, Duboeuf does not mean only Beaujolais Nouveau. His 10 Crus, from the best part of the Beaujolais area, are named Flower and present a great value. But he also owns other domains and bottles the juice in his property.
The presentation took place at Lafayette, the new restaurant that has been open for exactly one month, owned by the same team behind The Dutch and Locanda Verde. 5 tables were dressed in the wine cellar downstairs, which was really appropriate for this event.
The first step was a walk-in tasting with some small appetizer. The gougère was too hard, but the mini slider was definitely one of the best burgers I had, and it is on the menu! The secret must have been the raclette cheese, even though it was a bit too salty.
The star of the event was again the Juliénas, Château des Capitans. The Beaujolais and Mâconnais were also featured with a special mention to the Pouilly-Fuissé, Domaine Emile Béranger, which is going to be the killer once people understand Duboeuf can also be featured in white tablecloth restaurants because of its quality.

Pâté Maison

Ravioli au pistou, chèvre et pine nuts

Lafayette Rôtisserie Chicken

Classic Tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream

As part of the lunch, the paté was paired with Beaujolais-Villages. All the French people got a bit disappointed since they put so much spices and fresh herbs you can barely taste the meat. And I hope you have strong teeth to eat the toasted bread served with it, you will need them.
Between each course, the legend, Georges, and his son Franck, talked about the wines.
The spinach and slight goat cheese ravioli were really fine. The roasted chicken was definitely the best dish. Naked, served only with 5 bites of roasted potatoes, it was like getting the chicken from the farmers market a summer in France. I was expecting a tarte tatin for dessert; we got a tarte fine, which is absolutely not the same. Thin slices of apple served on a puff pastry dough with a slight burned taste. I should probably share with them the actual recipe.
Overall, Lafayette is a very nice place to get the spirit of a French Brasserie. And I will probably go back to taste their bakery for breakfast.
And I have to say that the flower bouquet with the gift bag was a nice wink to the Flower label and kind thoughts to women.

Lafayette
380 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533 3000

The Dutch

The Dutch, Soho

The Dutch is the American Soho restaurant own by the same team. The venue is bright, with the same snobby atmosphere you find in these trendy Manhattan spots I talked about in earlier posts. The non-so classic poached egg was served with ham, chipotle and tomato and a cheddar biscuit in an oven dish. Special mention to the burger and French fries. I feel I always get my best burgers in restaurants that are not known for that.

Poached eggs, cheddar biscuit, ham, chipotle and tomato

Dry aged burger

The Dutch
131 Sullivan St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 677-6200

Maison Harlem or a walk through West Harlem

Harlem is more and more having nice restaurants opening. Maison Harlem is one of them. Located in the very quiet West Harlem, this French restaurant is a nice place for brunch once you are done with the traditional Gospel church and if you are not ready to do the line in one of those Soul Food restaurants serving fried chicken. Avoid the Abyssinian Baptist Church since it seems all the NYC tourists have been told to get there. Canaan Baptist Church has also tourists I won’t lie, but at least if you are a little early you will probably get a seat and will forget those people holding their city guides as soon as you listen to the different choirs.

Canaan Baptist Church
132 W 116th St
New York, NY 10026
(212) 866-0301

Maison Harlem

Maison Harlem

It seems everybody is French at Maison Harlem, so I felt home very quickly. You first walk through the bar when your table is ready. The atmosphere is very friendly, and feels different and more relax than any downtown restaurants.
As part of the food, I can only say it was excellent. If you order the coq-au-vin, be patient and order an appetizer to kill the time they cook it to order. The portion was generous, and you feel definitely you are in France with this traditional dish.

Maison Harlem
341 St Nicholas Ave
New York, NY 10027
(212) 222-9224

You may have still some room for a desert, head to Levain Bakery, it has the best chocolate chip cookie ever. These are so dense and heavy you may probably need a friend to split it. The Harlem location is bigger than the one in the Upper West Side and offer other pastries I have not tried. I can just tell you to order the chocolate chip walnut cookie. And to go for a run later.

Levain Bakery
2167 Frederick Douglass Blvd
New York, NY 10026

The Cloisters

The Cloisters

Cathedral St John The Divine

If you are in West Harlem and want to visit around, check Columbia University and its campus. A couple of block down is the Cathedral St John the Divine, the 4th largest Christian church in the word. Started late 19th century, it was interrupted by the two World War and remains unfinished.
If by any chance you like history, art or you are just curious about seeing parts from five French cloistered abbeys reassembled brick-by-brick before being shipped to New York, head to The Cloisters. Besides the view on the Hudson is blind blowing, like all the 12th-15th century pieces of art this branch of the MET museum features.

Columbia University
2960 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
(212) 854-1754

The Cathedral Church of St John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10025
(212) 316-7540

The Cloisters
99 Margaret Corbin Dr
New York, NY 10040
(212) 923-3700

Cinco de Mayo

I might be obsessed with some elements and as you probably may have noticed,  tacos are part of it. So when Cinco de Mayo happened, I realized it was another good excuse to have a taco crawl all day. My run in Central Park North in the morning reminded me (just in case I had forgotten) I am actually living in Spanish Harlem, and for once I was pretty happy to hang out in my neighborhood. National Mexican music screaming in the colorful streets, Harlem is great to get coconut ice cream for $1 and huge fresh squeezed orange juice for half the price of the rest of Manhattan.

Unfortunately, East Harlem is not known to have the best Mexican food in town. Is it because it is mainly made up of Puerto Ricans? I decide to head to the only decent place recommended by most of the guides and foodies: Taco Mix, located on 116^th st and 3^rd avenue. The line is long, way too long, since we have to wait 30’ to get the precious taco Al Pastor. The pork is sliced to order off a rotating spit and covered with a pineapple that is probably giving only the juice to the meat. No cube of fruit, they are just covered with the traditional cilantro-raw onions mix. If you want to try the traditional Mexican taco, Taco Mix is the place to go.

Margarita

Tacos Pescado

Quesadilla de Tetuano

Quesadilla de Huitlacoche y Trufas

Guacamole Tradicional

Toloache

Toloache 82 is a lot fancier, located in Yorkville. It seems you cannot go wrong with the menu. The guacamole is one of the best I had, the quesadillas are definitely looking original and the black truffle on one of them is really savory even though they won’t feed you. The fish taco is generous, baja-style tilapia with spicy-jicama slaw (Mexican coleslaw-style), topped with guacamole. I would not rate them favorite fish taco but they really worth it (click here for the taco-crawl). Anyway the restaurant offers one of the best Mexican foods in the city, so I would recommend to spend you next dinner out there.

Tequilla Park Taqueria

Tequilla Park Taqueria

For your upcoming Margarita night, head to Tequilla Park Taqueria. Located on the second floor of the Hudson Lodge, the huge taco-margarita garden is great to hang out, watch people or play the babyfoot. Watch out because your night will cost you a lot with the $16 margarita and the $8 baby-tacos.

Taco Mix
234 E 116th St # 1,
New York, NY 10029

Toloache 82
166 E 82nd St,
NY 10028
(212) 861-4505

Tequilla Park Taqueria
356 W 58th St
New York, NY 10019
(212) 554-6217

Check the Taco-crawl here to get the top 10 tacos in NYC. Bonus, there is a Map!

Mission Chinese Food

Smashed cucumbers

Mission Chinese Food on Orchard Street

Mission Chinese Food

Sizzling Cumin Lamb Breast

 

If you are a minimum foodie, you have probably heard about Mission Chinese Food. Famous Chinese restaurant from San Francisco, the story of that place is actually pretty cool. Danny Bowien started his adventure a couple of years ago when the restaurant was only a pop-up place in an existing Chinese restaurant in the Mission District, SF. Since then he had a wild success, opened another restaurant a couple of months ago in the Lower East Side, NYC, was national acclaimed and won yesterday the James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef.

Located in the basement on Orchard St, NYC, you must know the exact address or you risk passing it without seeing it. Once your name is called, pass the entrance and the long sketchy hall, you will find out a trendy Chinese looking restaurant. The music is loud, packed with Millennials only; you can choose small or large cheap dishes. But be careful this is not the regular Chinese food you will find here. No sesame chicken or dim sum here. You have to think out of the box, which I could not.

 

To be honest, I hesitated before writing this review. With 500+ reviews on Yelp and an article dedicated to this restaurant in every major newspaper and food blog, I got totally disappointed and questioning about what I ate. And it is killing me when I do not make the right choice with a restaurant.

Out of the three dishes I tried, the cucumber appetizer was just chopped cucumber with an extremely hot sauce that anesthetizes your palate. But the worst comes. The Szechuan lamb served with bones was just a piece of fat with a strong smell of meat. Do not even think it could taste like the cumin lamb from Xi’an Famous Food. The broccoli beef brisket with smoked oyster sauce could have been satisfactory if there had not been this huge piece of fat meat in the middle of the dish. The only good part of the whole diner experience was the broccoli rave cooked in the sauce of the beef. But only served with white rice. A lot of white rice.

I must have chosen the wrong dishes, but two awful dishes out of the menu is way too much to give another shot. I could not face the taste another time.

If you still want to try and understand the buzz, go at 11pm during the week to avoid the line. And tell me about a dish you actually loved at Mission Chinese Food. I am eager to hear about that.

Mission Chinese Food
154 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 529-8800

Le Philosophe

Le Philosophe is another French restaurant that opened a couple of months ago in NoHo. And the NYC food scene created a buzz about this place. What is so fantastic about this place that it got unanimously rated top of the best new restaurants? The Chef, Matt Aita, who worked with the best French Chefs in town Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, is cooking inspiring French bistro style food.

Le Philosophe

Le Philosophe

Le Philosophe

I got randomly there for brunch and it was one of my best experiences in town.  The venue is small with an open kitchen. Try to guess the list of philosophes printed on the wall, if you fall they give you a cheat sheet so you will leave smarter by the end of your meal.

Crêpe au foie gras

Truffled Croque Monsieur

As part of the food, the crêpe au foie gras was beautiful to watch, and so tasty to eat. The candied pistachios added some crunchy. The passion fruit curd was maybe too strong, but it is only a detail since I consider this dish one of the finest I ate in town. I would have the same comment for the truffle croque-monsieur, made with the best ham and comté. However I was a bit sad not to actually taste any truffle flavor…

You want to know what is sophisticated food for an affordable price? Just head to the Philosophe for brunch and enjoy!

Le Philosophe
55 Bond St,
New York, NY
(212) 388-0038

The Italian food-crawl

I may have been disturbed by what the city offers for international food that I almost forgot Italian food is in my top 3 fav food. I must split with pizza since I still have to taste one place before posting my recommendation. In the last 2 weeks I had such great Italian food that I cannot wait to share them with you.

L’Artusi

Ravioli, Spring Peas

Tagliatelle Bolognese Bianco

L’Artusi

Hazelnut Chocolate Torte

I finally got a reservation for L’Artusi in West Village. My expectations were very high since every blogs and food magazine call this place one of the best restaurants in town. The venue is big, with an open kitchen and a second floor. Check the private room filled like a wine cellar, I wish I could have had dinner in there. The place is loud, but it seems very usual for NYC.
Small menu, very goof prices for such a nice place, the wine list is outstanding and they have wine from all the regions of Italy. ALL of them.
Definitely go for the roasted mushrooms. Served in top with pancetta, a fried egg and shred Parmesan, the species used reveal all the flavors of this dish.
Out of the three pasta dishes tasted, I cannot even tell you which one is my favorite since they were all delicious. The peas raviolis got a lot of flavor, even though I usually taste it with pancetta to be more tasty. The white bolognese tagliatelle were definitely not to miss.
For once we ordered a dessert. The crunchy hazelnut chocolate torta matched perfectly with the salted caramel gelato.
Should you go? Book your table now!
But charging $10 for some bread and olive oil brought to your table is not understandable. I only remember cheap tourist restaurants in Rome that could do this.

L’Artusi
228 W 10th St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-5757

 

Supper, Burrata

Grilled Polenta

Tortellini Mushrooms White Truffle

Supper is another tiny restaurant with brick walls. There is an outdoor terrace on 2nd St, which is probably very nice with Spring finally coming. Great wine list for such a small place, it seems that extensive wine list has became common for NYC.

The menu is also extensive, maybe a bit too much when they bring you a lists of 20 ‘specials of the day’…be careful and ask for the price otherwise you will pay your buratta $22… It was excellent, but having an appetizer more expensive than the entrée when it is neither lobster nor foie gras…?
The homemade mushroom ravioli where perfectly cooked with a good amount of sauce, even though the white truffle flavor could have been more intense for me.
My favorite dish, which is on the regular menu, was the grilled polenta served with prosciutto di Parma, shaved Parmigiano and fennel.
My only recommendation, except to go next time you are craving for Italian food: do not stay at the table close to the kitchen, you’ll just leave with a headache at the end of the dinner.

Supper
156 E 2nd St
New York, NY 10009
(212) 477-7600

 

Oregano is a new restaurant that opened in Williamsburg. Very tiny place, I would say it is good to bring a date since no noise will disturb you. The good news is that they still do not have a wine license so BYOB! Bring Your Own Bottle is usually for Korean restaurants or crappy places. There are only a few left in NYC so hurry up!
The tomato bruschetta was more flavored than what I was expected and was a very good surprise. I would recommend the eggplant served with a side of tagliatelle. They were still serving butternut squash ravioli, with a white sauce, which is never a mistake.

Oregano
102 Berry St
New York, NY 11211
(718) 599-5988