a cooking and dining blog
I struggle this week to comment on dining out given the COVID-19 outbreak, mainly because every sentence I have written (and deleted) sound so frivolous. But then I remember I always turn towards food for solace and enrichment. This week I am adding Paisley, a…
Those who mourned the closing of Barbuto last May after its sixteen year run on Washington Street can rejoice. Jonathan Waxman is back, and the Barbuto reboot is only a stone’s throw from its original location with the same open kitchen concept, large pizza oven,…
While there are plenty of new restaurant openings, I have nothing to add to the list this week. I will say that I finally visited Suzanne Cupps’ 232 Bleecker and was really impressed. I am in midst of writing my observations which I hope to…
This week, I wanted to add a shout-out to Golden Diner for the recent review from Grub Street. Sam Yoo’s east Chinatown/Two Bridges restaurant was on my list when it opened March, and again when dinner service began. I finally made it there for lunch…
I have a weakness for really good roast chicken so while I appreciated Suzanne Cupps’ work at Untitled, I didn’t rush to add 232 Bleecker, the new sit-down restaurant from Dig (the Danny Meyers-backed group that owns the chain, Dig Inn). Then this article from…
This week, I am removing Anton’s from this list post Pete Wells’ review. I don’t think Wells had to make a disclaimer that he is not a “normal person” because I too would be put off by inconsistencies from the kitchen as well as the…
I love ramen and used to keep a punchlist on me at all times when I was living in Tokyo so I could duck in for a bowl if I happened to be in a particular neighborhood. NYC has seen an incredible influx of ramen…
New sushi and yakitori omakase restaurants are opening but count me among the fatigued. That said, I am intrigued by Torien given Chef Yoshiteru Ikegawa’s reputation but I will wait a bit to learn more. There are so many great yakitori restaurants that I want…
Nolita, then MePa and so on and so on. I sometimes get caught flat-footed on new names for Manhattan neighborhoods. I admit not being familiar with Two Bridges, the Lower East Side/Chinatown neighborhood by the East River flanked by the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges before…
In my inaugural New & Noteworthy list of 2020, I keep myself honest and prune my list. I also add one new restaurant, which has been receiving coverage for a few months hyping its opening, Verōnika, the latest from restauranteur Stephen Starr and design studio…
As we can count down the number of days left in the year on our hands, new restaurants continue to open their doors in NYC. One that caught my eye comes from restaurateur Delores Tronco-DePierro (who has a few James Beard noms for Denver restaurant…
Seeing a snowflake in the forecast this week, a brasserie with leather banquettes and an ode-to-Barbuto chicken with Balthazar-inspired fries on the menu seems like just the creature comfort that the doctor would order. You can find all this at Le Crocodile at the Wythe…
As 2019 draws to a close, so will new openings. I have no new restaurants to add to the New & Noteworthy list this week. The one I had been eying is stalled by a city permit with no hard open date as of yet.…
Thanksgiving is this week and we have about six more weeks until we start a new decade. Yes, feels like time is running short. In the last week, I visited two more spots on my list– The Jones and Kochi. I am in the process…
Observations from my first visit I recently wrote that I was off tasting menus given the recent hefty price tags and time commitment. And I had never made it to Neta, Chef Sungchul Shim’s last kitchen. And I had only read one announcement of Kochi…
This week, I add another two restaurants to the N&N list, Anton’s and Café Kitsuné. As the end of the year draws close, the holidays usually draw out the ‘old New York’ nostalgia and it looks like Anton’s menu fits the bill. Chef Nick Anderer…
Kochi and Xu’s Public House are added to this week’s New & Noteworthy list and Hutong is coming off as it isn’t so new now. I have been bemused to see that the reviews coming in for Hutong, mainly because the kudos seem to be…
Halloween has come and gone and we have gained an hour on the clock so the sun rises at a reasonable time, and the sun sets before we’re ready. The nightfall helps stimulate my appetite so I feel like I am hungrier when dinner time…
Apologies for last week’s New & Noteworthy list, or more specifically, absence thereof. I was in Tokyo (more of that in Side Bar). I did keep an eye on happenings and the restaurant I am adding actually opened in September. Somehow I was not so…
The Daily Dish has a new look! For those who wondered why the food/dining posts had a very serious look, it was because I was a squatter on a site launched focused on tech news. As of this week, dining and cooking take over the…
As noted in last week’s list, I am removing my interest in visiting Red Paper Clip. It’s not like I am super busy but I am not in the mood these days to commit to pre-fixe/tasting menu meals, not to mention the generally hefty price…
Observations from my first visit I was excited to try Llama San, which opened in early September. It was still early days when I dined there for dinner, which is to say that both the front staff and kitchen staff were still getting their bearings…
Today is the first day of fall. While we have enjoyed some lingering hot weather, activity has ramped up — openings and launches abound. So it seems fitting that the one addition to this week’s list is a cafe where patrons can drink great coffee…
This week’s additions to the New & Noteworthy list are both restaurants that have been open for a bit, one for six months and the other for over twenty years. I’m reinvested in checking them out because of their new menus. Golden Diner, the Chinatown…
Observations from my first visit Hutong restaurant from the Aqua Restaurant Group (which has locations in London, Hong Kong and Beijing) opened its first US outpost in the former Le Cirque space. It positions itself as a high-end Northern Chinese restaurant and bar, so in…
BTS time! The sun is bright and the air is becoming more crisp. People have a pep in their step. NYC after Labor Day is always busy with the US Open, Fashion Week etc. and after being out of the city for awhile, I am…
I pass by three or four restaurants from Gabriel Stulman every day as I walk to the subway and run errands. He has eight spots mostly in the West Village and at the Freehand Hotel in the Gramercy area. I have dined at many of…
Interestingly enough, there are again no new additions to this week’s New & Noteworthy list. That said, I’ve updated a few of the links to include recent restaurant critic reviews, mainly of Rezdôra. I have been trying to get a reservation there for months (and…
There are so many openings that piqued my interest but for some reason, I am not in any rush to add any to the list this week. Call it tasting menu/ramen/pop-up fatigue and disinterest in schlepping to Hudson Yards to visit the Equinox Hotel. That…
Even though we are entering August, the summer month that seems the most quiet in NYC, there seems to be no shortage of openings of interest. This week, I’m adding the latest in the David Chang empire, Bar Wayō, in the Seaport District. The name,…
My interest in natural wines continues which is serendipitous as another natural wine bar/restaurant has opened its doors. Last week, I noted the opening of LaLou in Brooklyn. This week, L’Accolade opened in the West Village and like last week, the team has strong street…
I was musing how this may be the first week where I made no changes to the New & Noteworthy list but a natural wine bar/restaurant in Prospect Heights from Joe Campanale, Dave Foss and Ashley Rath caught my eye. If their names are not…
Halfway through summer (or so it feels), this may be the best time to try new restaurants as NYC tends to thin a bit. Regarding this weekly list, I have added more current articles on the restaurants if available. Also, just a note that the…
Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery is a baking legend. His no-knead bread recipe was like scales falling from one’s eyes for home bakers, as it immediately broadened their repertoire. He was the first recipient of the James Beard Outstanding Baker award in 2015. As…
I was trying to picture where the newest establishment from Jody Williams and Rita Sodi was on Grove Street. The website notes that it is located “across the street from the couple’s other beloved restaurants,Via Carota, I Sodi, and Buvette.” The other day, I was…
I pruned a few restaurants off the list, and added Jiang Diner and Rezdora. I kept Crown Shy on the list as I still want to go and Pete Wells just gave it a great review (though gave it his favorite rating of 2 stars);…