NOTE: we always share our meals. That makes a big difference in the cost of our meals and the expansion of our waistlines. We don’t have the kitchen split the meals because Audre doesn’t eat as much as Dimitri. We just ask for an extra plate and Audre takes what she thinks she should eat.
ALE and DM discussed adding ratings to our restaurant
reviews and compromised on the following ratings:
HR: Highly recommended
R++: Recommended almost as much as HR
R: Recommended
NR: Not recommended
A: Awful
1. Manhattan Restaurants
1.1 HR: Ha's Dac Biet - Vietnamese, 70 Forsyth St, New York, NY 10002, https://hasdacbiet.square.site/, https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/04/has-dac-biet-pop-up-nyc.html. This place is fantastic! A tiny place with very few seats where most of the customers are regulars. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The kitchen is miniscule and there are 4 people working in it! The Bowery is a fairly rough neighborhood but this is a hidden gem. We started with two oysters in a delicious homemade green chili sauce ($8) that were yummy themselves and, with the chili sauce, were elevated. Then we had the pigs ears ($14) that were tender and served in a delicious tomatoey sauce. Next came the pork ribs in a caramelized fish sauce with shrimp paste ($18) which was absolutely terrific. Audre had been reading a recipe for caramelized fish sauce recently and to have it made by a talented chef was a treat. With the tender and delicious pork ribs, we had undistinguished pea shoots (that were tough like kale) and rice ($8 and $3). For dessert, we had the strawberry-passion fruit meringue ($11). It was a most enjoyable meal and it cost about $70 plus tip.
1.2 HR: Semma Indian (sister of Adda), 60 Greenwich Ave, (Between 6th Ave and 7th Ave), New York, NY 1001, +1 212-373-8900, https://www.semma.nyc. We had a delicious meal with good service by Jamal. There were already many people in the restaurant before 6 pm. Our first table was in the back with one of us sitting on the banquette. When the people next to us left, we scored their table where we had a corner and we could sit next to each other on the banquette. We started with the (rightfully) famous Gunpowder Dosa with a rice and lentil crepe, potato masala and accompanied by sambar and a minty sauce ($19). It was excellent—very crisp with a creamy and tasty filling. We waited before ordering anything else and we were glad we did. The kitchen is FAST and everything would have come at once and too fast. Our next dish was Klindal Varuval ($17) a goat intestine with garam masala that came with a kal dosa. The stew was terrific; the kal dosa was a crisp cracker and not what we had expected. It was good though. Our main, was the Mirchi kal salan ($29) and that was also very tasty and good. We had ordered too much food so we ended up taking most of that home. With that we ordered the parotta ($6) and it was a little too rubbery. For dessert, we had the E laneer payasam ($14) with young coconut meat, coconut milk and coconut water. Very tasty. We spent $109 plus tip and were happy. In Sept. 2022 Semma made the NY Times "Our 50 Favorite Restaurants" list.
1.3 HR: CheLi Manhattan, Shanghai, 19 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003, (646) 858-1866, https://www.che-li.com. Another great meal at CheLi. The menu was the same as the Queens restaurant and so was the décor. That was good because both are very appealing. On our second visit, we had three dishes: all great. And we talked to the people next to our table. That was fun. They were drinking a rice wine with sweet osmanthus ($9) so we ordered that too. It was very good and exotic. We ordered a dim sum that we had read about—The Triple Crisp—and it was quite a surprise ($12). The black swan shape was filled with durian! Fortunately, we loved it but we hadn’t realized it would be sweet. We ate 2 and saved one for Dimitri for dessert. The next dish to arrive was the Puer er soaked rice with sea urchin ($17). It was a ball of rice with some sea urchin on top and a pot of puer er tea that we poured over the rice. Oh yummy and so unusual! The Qianlong favorite ell ($28) was excellent but we were getting full so we took some of it home. It was a lovely meal and our neighboring Chinese people said that the restaurant is very famous—and justifiably. We spent $71.88 plus tip. We also had a great meal at CheLi in Queens. See the review at 2.2 below.
1.4 R: Blue Willow - Hunan, 40 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019, 212-213-2299, https://www.bluewillownyc.com. We had a delicious meal with good service once we were seated downstairs at a table for 4 (which we like). Our reservation was for 5 pm and we had to wait 40 minutes to be seated. It was unbelievably crowded and we were asked if we wanted to sit outside (no) or upstairs in an area that looked like it was decorated by McDonald’s (no). The downstairs décor is evocative of old Shanghai and nice. Everything we ordered was delicious except for the tofu (which was not as described). The first dish to arrive was the Century egg tofu ($20) and it was excellent and not too spicy. The Farmhouse Steamed egg ($17) was a triumph: a beautiful color, a beautiful texture, and a beautiful taste. It was suggested that we order the Loa Tan’s Pickled Fish Soup ($32) instead of Ma Ma Peppercorn Fish and we are very glad we did. It was extraordinary; the fish tasted very good and was tender like butter. All of the ingredients had interesting tastes. The tofu that was supposed to be “puffed” was definitely not and the taste was as ordinary as the texture. We had Pu Er tea with our meal and for dessert, we had the Sweet Osmanthus Jelly Noodles ($7). It was a very enjoyable meal. We spent $109.96 plus tip.
1.5 R: Khiladi NYC - Indian, 175 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009, 646-791-0351, http://khiladinyc.com. We had a delicious meal of our favorite South Indian dishes. The restaurant only had one other table of guests when we were there but they were doing a lot of take-out orders. It was a bit cold inside. We ordered the idli nuggets ($13) and the okra bites ($9) and they were very good. We also ordered the puri balls called Balls of Happiness ($10) and they were very good. The mango chutney ($3) was not interesting and the tamarind sauce ($2) was superfluous because it came automatically with 2 other dishes. We ordered the Dosa ($15) with everything. It was a good dosa but with the cheese, it was too heavy. Next time get it without the cheese. With our meal, we had one potent masala lassi ($6) and one Chennai cutting chai ($6). For dessert, we had the vermicelli pudding ($12) that was good. We spent $80.57 and were happy.
1.6 R: Cafe Luxembourg, 200 W 70th Street, NY, NY, 212-783-7411, www.cafeluxembourg.com. The food was very good and the four of us sat outside under a heat lamp. It was not as noisy as the inside might have been. The service was slow and Blake seemed to agree to give us separate checks. He did not and it created quite a kerfuffle at the end of our meal. We shared the mixed green salad ($14) and the special dinner entrée of duck with farro and vegetables. It was well-prepared and very good. We had 3 glasses of Malbec ($15 x 3) but no dessert because they were uninteresting. If it hadn’t been for the check mishap, it would have been a very enjoyable meal with old friends. We spent $77.35 plus tip.
1.7 R: Cafe China, Bib Gourmand, 59 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018 (Sichuan), (212) 213-2810, cafechinanyc.com. We had a delicious meal with excellent service. We loved our seats in the front room on the corner of the banquette where we could sit next to each other. The man managing events in the room was attentive and informative. All of the servers were very good too. We ordered too much but we took some of each dish home for many lunches. We had pu erh tea with our meal. We started with the Husband & Wife Special appetizer—a cold dish with tripe and tendon, sesame oil, cilantro, celery, chile pepper ($15) which was delicious and out of the ordinary. For our main, we had the Spicy Cumin Lamb ($25) and the Smoked Bamboo Shoots ($18) with Black Rice ($9). Absolutely yummy! For dessert the manager suggested the Lava Buns ($10) and they were very good. Watching all of the action from our perch was fun and we enjoyed the experience. We spent $90 plus tip.
1.8 R: DOMODOMO - Japanese - Michelin Bib. 140 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012. We had a delicious and enjoyable meal. The place is large with many rooms; it’s nicely decorated. The service was very good by Will and all of the food runners. Automatically tosa soy sauce was put in small dishes for us. It was unusually good soy sauce. We started with the clam miso soup ($7.50) which had a deep miso taste that was wonderful. There were tiny pieces of tough clam in it. We also ordered 5 littleneck clams ($7.50 at $1.50 each); they were great. Our hot sake (Sawanoi Daikarakuchi 270 ml for $20) was enjoyable. After our soup and clams cam our agedashi tofu ($13), mantaiko rice ($27) and Miso black cod ($25). The mantaiko rice was unusual and delicious with its salted pollock roe and seaweed. While the agedashi and miso black cod can be found in many Japanese restaurants, both of these dishes were very well executed and tasty renditions. For dessert, we had the hojicha pudding ($7) which was a little different and good. We spent $115.96 plus tip and left very happy.
1.9 R: The Musket Room, 1 Michelin Star, 265 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012, +1 212-219-0764, https://www.musketroom.com. Our One-Michelin star restaurant experience started off inauspiciously. After we showed our vaccine status, the first table offered us was a 2-top and it was small. Dimitri wanted to sit at a 4-top but Adam, the maître d' said that those tables were reserved and that the restaurant would soon be full. He offered us a table in the front room by the bar. Dimitri walked around and evidently talked to a table in the back room. That violated the Rules of the Restaurant and so Adam admonished Dimitri. Dimitri was fuming and wanted to leave. Audre asked him to stay and we did, sitting at a 4-top in the front room near the bar. The meal would not have been perfect even without that incident. The music was too loud by far and sitting near the bar was not optimal. Sitting by the front door was not optimal either—every time the door opened, a blast of cold air invaded the room. Once we came to terms with the environment and the food started arriving, we enjoyed our meal and our server, Vanessa. We both ordered the prix fixe Omnivore meal. ($98 x 2). The first of 6 courses was called Kristal Caviar and it was a tiny roll of pastry covering crème fraîche with a layer of Kristal caviar on top. The taste of caviar was absolutely delicious and the delivery masterful. We were then brought the house-made sourdough boule with anchovy butter, both of which were addictive. With our meal, we had 4 glasses of Sono Montenidoli Sangiovese Il Garrulo Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG ($17 x 4) which we liked. The next dish was a Japanese Hamachi Crudo with winter citrus, pistachio and pomegranate. It was very, very good. As usual with pistachio taste, it just didn’t grab us. The next course was sunchoke with black truffle, pearl onion and thyme. We weren’t expecting much—so often we are disappointed by truffle. Wow, this truffle had exceptional taste and aroma and it was intoxicating. The purée of sunchoke was scrumptious. The next dish was the veal sweetbreads, cauliflower, muscat grapes, and hazelnut brown butter. The crunchy outside of the sweetbreads was excellent. Venessa told us the sweetbreads were not breaded but only fried in butter. The dish was a triumph of yummy tastes and textures. The last main course was the pork with kabocha squash, Khadrawi date, Baharat spice, and preserved lemon. The pork was very, very tough. We were very full by that time anyway so we did not eat the pork. The accompaniments were tasty. With our dessert, we ordered a Domain de Durban Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Rhone ($16 x 1) and we liked that. Our dessert was a fabulous concoction of Chestnut Mont Blanc with Bergamot White Chocolate mousse and we inhaled it-it was good. Then, Adam sent over another dessert to make amends for the unpleasant start to our meal: It was the Poire Belle Helene with tonka ice cream, pickled pear, candied barley and femmes de virunga chocolate. It is a tribute to the pastry chef that even as stuffed as we were, we relished this second dessert. We spent $311 plus tip and were very, very happy that we experienced Chef Mary Attea’s food. In Sept. 2022 The Musket Room made the NY Times "Our 50 Favorite Restaurants" list.
1.10 R: Persepolis, Persian, 1407 Second Avenue (bet 73rd & 74th Streets), New York, NY 10021, 212-535-1100, https://www.persepolisnewyork.com. We had a very good meal in a lovely room with good service. The only complaint was that there was only one employee there who was Iranian and he was the barman. The chef was Thai and he did a great job and he has worked there for 30 years. We had 3 glasses of wine ($34) that were good. We ordered the Eggplant Mirza ($10), an appetizer of roasted eggplant puree, mint, tomato, garlic and tangy yogurt. It was very tasty and the texture was good on the warm pita which were brought automatically. The Torshi pickled vegetables ($7) were too strong on the vinegar. The main that we shared was Fesenjan ($21) and it was excellent. It was tasty, with a thick sauce and a great taste of pomegranates. The rice who chose was polo zereshi (rice with barberries) and it was very good too. We were very happy with the Fesenjan; it was better than the one Audre makes. For dessert we had the Sholezard ($8) a traditional Persian rice pudding with rose water and cinnamon. It was redolent with rose water and very good. We also had a Persian tea ($3). So we were very happy with our meal and sad that there weren’t more guests. We spent $90.37 plus tip.
1.11 R: Pinch Chinese, 177 Prince St (Between Sullivan St and Thompson St), New York, NY 10012, 212-328-7880, https://www.pinchchinese.com. We had a yummy dinner in the trendy SOHO atmosphere. We started with the pork soup dumplings ($14) that are described as bite-sized explosions. They were (and their skins) were very good—the soup had an excellent taste. Then we had the “Snow Crab in a Chinese Restaurant” ($36). This was an excellent dish, with a delicious sauce and beautifully cooked and cleaned crab (presented in a partial shell). With our meal we had chrysanthemum tea ($8), refilled conscientiously. After the crab we ordered the Dan Dan Noodles ($18) that tasted very good but didn’t have any pickled mustard greens so Audre didn’t think it was authentic. Watching the kitchen was fun. On the bill at the bottom it said “Your food was proudly cooked and served by immigrants.” The bill was noteworthy in another way. It had a barcode with which we paid (after adding a tip) and we got a detailed receipt by e-mail. So it was paperless and touchless. Excellent! We spent $82.75 plus tip and were very happy.
1.12 R: Congee Village, Michelin Bib, 100 Allen St., New York, 10002, 212-941-1818, https://www.congeevillagerestaurants.com. Congee Village was great: great food, great service. We were in the front room at a comfortable table for 4; with 2 dedicated servers. The back room was hopping so we liked our calm space better. We started with the black fungus with aged vinegar ($13.95) and it was DELICIOUS. For Dimitri, we ordered the Steamed dried scallop, winter melon soup with chicken and pork ($10.75). He loved the soup broth and the winter melon. For our main, we shared the Braised Fish Head Casserole ($18.95) and it was DELICIOUS. We couldn’t finish anything so we had lots to take home. We were provided a complimentary warm soup dessert which was very good and we ordered 2 desserts. The deep fried doughnuts ($2.50) were crisp and also very good. The Nostalgic Sweet Pancake Cantonese Style ($8.50) was DELICIOUS and worth waiting 15 minutes for. We ordered 2 congee for the next morning’s breakfast and with all of that our total was $76.87 plus tip. We left very happy!
1.13 R: Khe-Yo (Lao), Michelin Bib, 157 Duane St., NY, NY 10013, tel 212-5871089, https://www.kheyo.com. We had a nice meal. When we walked in at 6 pm, it was empty and that was off-putting. By the time we left, every table was taken and the bar was packed. We had 2 glasses of Prosecco and one glass of rose wine. We started with the Crunchy Coconut Rice ($16) that came with spicy lime leaf sausage. The balls were very crunchy and Dimitri really liked them (Audre not so much). The sausage was good, not great. We also ordered the sticky rice with Bang Bang and eggplant sauces ($5). The rice was really, really sticky. The Bang Bang sauce was way too spicy but the eggplant sauce was delicious. The pork noddle Brussel Sprouts with caramelized fish sauce ($13) were terrific—very crisp and very delicious. There was no dessert that we wanted. We spent $105.61 plus tip and left happy.
1.14 R: Chola Restaurant, Coastal Indian, Michelin Bib, 232 E 58th St, New York, NY 10022, 1 212-688-4619, https://www.cholany.com. We had a lovely meal with very good service at this Southern Indian Michelin Bib restaurant. We ordered many dishes and had much to take home but we are glad we did. Everything we tasted was delicious. First we ordered a salty lassi ($6) and it was good. Then rolled pappadams with two fantastic sauces were brought, automatically. The first appetizer we ordered was our favorite: Pani Puri-the puff balls filled with goodness and served with a great sauce ($9.95). Our next dishes were: Kerala Boatman’s Crab Poriyal ($18.95) with sauteed crab, coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves-fried and delicious; Bhindi Sasurwali ($18.95), Dimitri’s favorite okra in a yummy stir-fry sauce; turmeric lemon rice ($10.95) with roasted lentils and curry leaves; and lastly, the Lachha Paratha ($5.95)-tandoori fried with butter. We had one glass of their malbec ($13). The meal was great and the only dish we would have changed was the crab and only because we like saucy dishes and this was stir-fried dry. The leftovers we took home included the okra and with time it was very fibrous. For dessert, we had the Malai kulfi (which was complimentary because they didn’t have it with vermicelli) and a masala tea ($3). We spent $108.54 plus tip and left happy.
1.15 R: SakaMai, 157 Ludlow St (Between Stanton St and Rivington St), New York, NY 10002, https://sakamai.com. We had a good impression when we walked in and were offered a booth in the room in back of the bar. Then we noticed that none of the staff was Japanese. Nonetheless we stayed and looked at the menu. The famous Egg on Egg on Egg (was on there) and we ordered that ($28). It was a delectable combination of sea urchin, kaluga caviar and light cream-colored steamed egg—with just a hint of sweetness from mirin and a drop of soy sauce. We also ordered the Uni Mazemen ($35) a temomi ramen noodle with sea urchin, bamboo shoot, wood ear mushrooms and wagyu reduction. After we finished the Egg on Egg on Egg, we thought that we would be hungry so we ordered another appetizer: the Beef tartare ($28) with was a bone marrow, red miso, crispy maitake mushroom and horseradish. The dish came with country bread and we were instructed to brush bone marrow on the bread, mix the tartare very well and then spread that on top of the bone marrow on the bread. When we did that, the mixture was delicious. The crunch of the mushrooms and the bread was a nice contract to the silky bone marrow. The uni mazemen was a great dish too. With our meal we ordered 2 carafes of Oze No Yukidake extra dry Junmai Gunma ($27x2) which we asked for warmed. The servers, one from Thailand and one from Seattle, were nice and did a good job. We were glad that we came and stayed. It was one of our most expensive meals at $157.87 plus tip but we left happy.
1.16 R: 232 Bleeker (Michelin Bib) Vegetarian, 232 Bleecker St, (Between Carmine St and Bleecker St) New York, NY 10014, 646-905-5800, https://www.232bleecker.com. We had a very nice meal with friendly and knowledgeable serving by Marto. The space is nicely done and we were given a 4-top in the back of the room. The only reservation we could get on Resy was 5 pm so we took a Lyft in the rain and snow and got there at around 5:20 pm. The restaurant was empty but it did fill up by the time we left. We were not told about the happy hour specials until we had drunk 2 glasses of cabernet franc ($16 x 2). We then ordered the happy hour carafe of red wine ($16) and the spiced nuts ($4). We were happy with their small plates (and full by the time we left). The sun chokes with black garlic aïoli were a wonderful start to our meal—crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. The daily focaccia ($11) was good, particularly with a little extra aïoli. The daily trio ($24) had three components: a Indian-inspired spaghetti squash, a cold snap pea with pecorino dish and an absolutely delicious crispy oyster mushroom and black garlic dish. For dessert, the kitchen deconstructed the daily special so Audre could just have the fudge component. She loved it, could only eat 3 spoonfuls, and took the rest home to savor later. We had one coffee and were very glad that we had a vegetarian meal at 232 Bleeker. We spent $117.59 plus tip. One more thing, Audre really liked the décor of the restroom.
1.17 R: K-Bap, Korean, 62 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019, (917) 639-3814, https://kbapny.com. When we walked out of Indian Accent because we didn’t want to eat a 3-course prix fixe meal, we didn’t know where we would end up. We walked to Bengal Tiger but it was full with a 40 minute wait. So we went next door to K-bap for Korean. We were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was and how nice the place was. All of the tables were taken so we sat at a bench in the back (where Dimitri could lean against the wall for back support). We ordered a Korean veggie pancake and tea first. The pancake was good; the tea was a complimentary bag of green tea. Audre orderd the Eel Teriyaki Box ($19) and Dimitri ordered the Hot Stone Beef Stew ($17) japchae/udon. Both were very good and we were very happy with our meal. We spent $50.09 plus tip.
1.18 R: Little Alley, Michelin Bib, 550 3rd Avenue (Between E 37th St and E 36th St), New York, NY 10016, 646-998-3976, https://www.littlealley.nyc. We had a nice meal with efficient service. The seats were all too hard and the tables were very close together but the we liked the restaurant’s décor—particularly the zia zia noma on the wall (thank you very much in Mandarin). We had jasmine tea with dinner that was surprisingly flavorful. The food we ordered came out all at once and quickly. The fish with pickled vegetables, dried pepper and millet pepper ($21) was delicious. We ate that first because it was hot. Our appetizers were the Honey Kaofu ($12) and jellyfish with scallion ($15). The Honey Kaofu was unusual both in texture and taste, plus we have never had it before. It looked like tofu with wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots and peanuts but it was a gluten flour rectangle that was soft. It’s taste was yummy. The boiled peanuts were crunchy, just like we want them to be. The jellyfish had great texture too and the sauce that came with it was excellent (soy, vinegar, sugar and garlic was the description when we asked). For dessert we had the Red Bean Puff ($10) and we thought that was very good too. We spent $77. 60 plus tip and were happy we went.
1.19 R: Peasant - Italian - Michelin Bib, 194 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012, (212) 965-9511, https://www.peasantnyc.com. Our meal was very good. We were allowed to sit at the back at a 4-top banquette; they brought us cushions because the seat was so hard. Our server was Barnaby and he was professional. We drank 3 glasses of wine (2 Monte Bernardi Chianti ($34) and one glass of Tommaso Bussola Covina ($15). Very good bread was brought along with olive oil, when we asked for it. The Rigatoni alla Vodka ($21) was very good, with the breadcrumbs making it a little crisp and the spiciness just right. The pasta was cooked Southern Italian style—very il dente and we thought that was great. There was no broccolini in it but there was a spinach-like vegetable. We wanted to have just the skin of the suckling pig but Chef Gregory Thomas said he could not do that. So we ordered the entrée of suckling pig with kaboucha, Romanesco, natural jus and salsa verde and asked for lots of crispy skin. Chef Thomas gave us enough skin and enough bone to make us happy. The meat was very tasty and tender. The vegetables added interesting tastes and textures. It was a good dish. For dessert we had the Affogato($10) and then went in search of zabaglione and found it at Il Tinello. We spent $137.19 plus tip and were happy we went.
1.20 R: Il Tinello, 16 W 56th Street, New York, NY 10019, 212-245-4388. The atmosphere is elegant and the service was excellent. Even though we only came in for dessert, we were given loads of attention. Nick from Sicily was beautifully dressed and had a friendly and professional manner. He made the zabaglione at our table which was a perfect way to do it and the result was excellent. We had 2 zabaglione plus a limoncello. We were even brought complimentary mignardeses, which we loved! We spent $50.09 plus tip and we were thrilled to have found such a wonderful restaurant close to our hotel.
1.21 R: For Lunch-Bites of Xian, 60 W 56th St., NY, NY 10019, tel 646-449-0771. It was new
in February 2022 and the noodles were very good. There were very few tables,
very simple, but it was fine.
1.22 R: For Lunch-Pommes Frites, 128 Macdougal Street, NY, NY 10012, 212-674-1234, pommesfritesnyc.com. The Belgium Pommes Frites were exceptionally good and just the way we like them. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. For $10 we were very happy!
1.23 R: For Lunch-Golden Unicorn - Dim Sum - Michelin Bib, 18 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002, 212-941-0911, www.goldenunicornrestaurant.com. We had to wait and wait for a table but we are glad we did. We were seated in the second floor dining room and had lots of action but had no kitchen view and only a few carts circulating. We had dim sum that we hadn’t had before. The baked pork pastries were lard-based flaky pastry sesame seeds on the surface and filled with barbecue pork. The next dish to arrive was the Crispy Durian Pastry. The taste of durian was distinctive but not overpowering. The crispy pastry was excellent. We also ordered another “Editor’s Pick” the Ma Tei Gao, Pan-fried sweet cake with water chestnuts was very good. We had the stir-fried clams and they were too salty and too tough. The Seen Jook Guene, steamed bean curd skin roll with mushroom, bamboo shoots and drink shrimp and pork, was very good. We ordered the congee with century egg and pork to go for breakfast too. We spent $37.94 and were happy.
1.24 R: For Lunch-Naya, 54 W 56th
St., NY, NY 10019, 212-944-7777, nicolas@eatnaya.com, eatnaya.com. A very
simple place. We had the Falafel ($10.56), a small tabbouleh ($4.36) the Labneh
($3.90), and the Namoura ($3.44). It was all good.
1.25 R: For Lunch-Liberty Bagel 5th Avenue, 16 E 58th Str., New York, NY 10022, (212) 355-0900. Dimitri had a great time talking to the young Greek woman and her uncle who owns the place. And the bagels were good!
1.26 R: For Lunch-Lobster Place, Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, (212) 255-5672. We sat at the bar and ate oysters, clams and sea urchin. (the sea urchin was $21!). Everything was excellent. We spent $50 and were happy.
1.27 R: For Lunch-3 Times Shanghai Soup Dumpling, Union Square, 818 Broadway, NY, NY 10003, 646-609-3040. We had the truffle soup dumplings ($13.95) that were very good dumplings but they didn’t taste like truffle. We also had the House Special scallion pancakes ($7.95) that were excellent and very crisp. We spent $23.84 plus tip and were happy.
1.28 R: For Lunch-Ayada Thai, Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011. We had Drunken wide noodles ($25) and they were good enough./
1.29 R: For Lunch-Take Out-The Original Soup Kitchen, 259 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019. We had one lobster bisque for $15.33 and it was good.
1.30 NR: For Lunch-Grand Central Oyster Bar, Grand Central Station, www.oysterbarny.com. It was nothing special. At 2 pm it was pretty empty so we sat at the oyster bar. We had an oyster stew ($15.95) that was made with cream, butter and clam juice, with whole oysters in it. The broth did not taste like clam juice or oyster—just cream and butter and paprika. The oysters were good and not cooked too much. We wouldn’t order it again. We also had 4 little neck clams (at $2.65 each) that were very, very good. We spent $28.91 and decided we never needed to go back.
1.31 NR: For Lunch-Hudson Yards, Little Spain, 10 Hudson Yards, NY, NY 10001. We had Paella Valenciana ($19.80), Churros ($10), and Coffee ($3.81). It was okay.
1.32 NR: Balthazar Restaurant, 80
Spring Street, NY 212-965-1414, https://balthazarny.com/. It is famous and
highly acclaimed. We were not impressed with the food or the service. The
service was very slow and inattentive. We ordered a country pâté but shouldn’t
have because we don’t like coarse pâté which, of course, it was. For our main,
we shared the mushroom ravioli which was light and good. We tasted our friends’
French fries and they were crisp enough.
1.33 NR: Ernesto’s, Tapas (Michelin Bib), 259 E Broadway (Between Montgomery St and Clinton St), New York, NY 10002, 646-692-8300, http://www.ernestosnyc.com/. We were very disappointed in our meal; this place does not deserve a Michelin Bib. The best thing about this restaurant for us was the large Miró on the back wall that Audre could see during the meal. The menu did not have enough Basque pintxos on it and the selection that was on the menu seemed like “same ol’, same ol’ “. Certainly none of the descriptions caught our eye, even when our server, Cesar, described them. It did seem as if the restaurant was a popular, trendy spot. We ended up ordering the tripe “entrada” called Callos de Joan, Madrid Tripe ($16). It was good, with enough spiciness but it was a tiny dish. We ordered bread with it ($3). With our meal, we drank 2 glasses of Rioja Tentenublo ($17 x 2) that was too light for our taste, like a pinot—maybe because it is. Our second dish was the sausages “Salchichas con alubias ($34) that was uninteresting. The sausage was just sausage and not tasty enough at that. The cabbage was tasteless and the best part of the dish was the beans. We didn’t see anything on the menu we wanted for dessert. We spent $94.72 plus tip and left unhappy.
1.34 NR: Van Da, Vietnamese, Michelin Bib, 234 East 4th Street (Between Avenue B and Avenue A), New York, NY 10009, 917-994-4781, https://www.vanda.nyc. Our meal was disappointing. Murielle M, our server, had attitude. We did not feel welcome or well cared for. Most of the diners were seated downstairs and we were only 1 of 2 tables seated in the main room so it felt uncool to be there. The music was a loud rock and roll from before-times. Okay, so how was the food? Meh. The warrior spirit of the ancient Vietnamese Va Da was lacking. We ordered the shrimp and sweat potato fritters ($14) and they were good not great. The Banh It Ram crispy mochi dumpling with mung bean ($10) was very good. The main we ordered was a disappointment. The tamarind braised pork belly ($25) did not have any tamarind taste, only tamarind stickiness. The coconut sweet rice was mushy not sticky. The pickled vegetables were good. For dessert, we had the Che with taro dumplings in a coconut tapioca pudding ($10). It was okay, nothing special. They did not serve tea so we drank hot water. We spent $65 plus tip and left unhappy.
1.35 NR: Kubeh - Israeli - Michelin Bib, 464 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011, (646) 448 6688, https://www.eatkubeh.com. We had a disappointing meal in an uncomfortable space. The benches are hard and the tables were close—separated by plexiglass panels hanging from the ceiling. We ordered the Torshi pickles and it was really only cauliflower; the pickling was ho-hum. Then a couple with a very loud and annoying man sat down at the table next to us. The food would have to be very good to overcome the unpleasantness. We ordered the sweet potato, almond, pistachio, dukkha, labneh, sylvan with fried onion ($16). We didn’t realize it was just a baked sweet potato mounded with all of the ingredients on top. It just wasn’t interesting or particularly tasty. We asked for more labneh to try to improve the taste but it didn’t help. The signature dish of the restaurant is Kubeh (as in the name of the restaurant). It is a semolina dough dumpling that is filled with something. We chose the Siske beef filling and the Persian chicken soup with chickpea, carrot and dried lime ($19). Since bread did not come, we ordered pita ($1). The dumpling was a hard-shelled ball and did not have any interesting taste—meat or otherwise. The most interesting thing about the soup was the dried lime which we liberally sprinkled on top. We ordered 3 glasses of red wine ($39). Even after the annoying man left, our meal didn’t improve. We finished, paid and left. We spent $88.18 and do not recommend the place.
1.36 NR: Pippali Indian, 129 E 27th St, New York, NY 10016 (212) 689-1999, https://www.pippalinyc.com. We were under-whelmed with our meal at Pippali. The service by Dinesh and the dining room were very nice. We were quickly brought complimentary papadums with a tamarind and a mint sauce. The papadums were light and the sauces were tasty. We like it when restaurants do that. The meal got off to a good start. Perhaps we ordered poorly but the food was not exciting. We had the Jaipuri Chukandar Kofta ($18) and the Tandoori grilled mushrooms marinated in pickling spices ($12). Both were good. Along with those dishes we had the Lacha Paratha ($5.50), the cucumber raita ($4.50) and the Trio of Chutneys ($5). The Trio of Chutneys was very good, the cucumber raita did not taste of cucumber or anything but yogurt. The Paratha was okay. We ordered a Lassi ($6) and a masala chai ($4). The lassi was very good the chai was too bitter to drink. We spent $59.80 and left shaking our heads.
1.37 A: Vicolina, 1302 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10128, 212-464-VICO, https://www.vicolinanyc.com/. We went with 2 other couples. It was awful—the service was terrible, the food was mediocre and the bill was too high. It took forever for the server to take our order and once taken, it took forever for the food to arrive. We all ordered pasta except for one of us who ordered a veal chop for 70 bucks. We had a bottle of $85 white wine that was okay, a couple of cocktails and a couple of desserts. The bill was $381 with a $76 undeserved tip included.
2. Queens Restaurants
2.1 HR: Adda Indian Canteen, 31-31 Thomson Ave., Long Island City (Queens), New York 11101, tel 718-433-3888, hello@addanyc.com, www.addanyc.com. We had an absolutely delicious dinner with excellent service by Preet S (we think that was his name). It is a small restaurant, with one wall of banquettes and the other with tables. We both wanted to sit on the soft banquette and Preet said that we would be able to sit at the corner table as soon as the people at the table there left. It was much more comfortable than the hard chairs or sitting side-by-side at the tiny table. We started with the Bombay Dahi Batata Puri ($6) which was much better than our previous favorite pani puri and had multiple layers of tastes. Then we had the Bheja Fry ($16) lamb brains in a great sauce. It was a very special dish. We were drinking (Alfonso) mango lassis ($5x2) that had great mango taste and were not too sweet. For our main, we had the Malvani fish curry ($19) that had an unusual taste which turned out to be kokum, a fruit from the mangosteen family. Its sour-ish taste added an unusual twist to the dish. We also ordered a garlic naan ($4) and a (black) dal Adda ($5). The naan was tasty and crisp, which we love, and the dal was really, really good. For dessert, we had a kheer and 2 masala chai. Both the dessert and the kheer were complimentary and both were very good. We ended up spending $65.33 plus tip and we had a great and enjoyable meal.
2.2 HR: CheLi Queens - Shanghai, 133-42 39th Ave STE 102, Queens, NY 11354 (Flushing), https://www.che-li.com/. We had a great meal. We didn’t have a reservation and there were many people waiting. After our vaccine check, and our assurance that we were only 2 people, we were whisked in and had a wonderful table in the back of the room. We sat next to each other and could see the terrific décor of the restaurant in front of us. The Dragon Well Tea was swiftly brought to the table along with a pickled vegetable that was crunchy and tasty (we love to have something to munch while we wait). We ordered the wine soaked Atlantic Blue Crab ($12) and it was outstanding. The Shaoxing wine gave it an irresistible sweetness and the crab was moist and sweet too. We ordered the sea urchin egg tofu stew ($30) that was delicious and not something that we find on menus. We like it when dishes are out-of-the-ordinary and yummy. The Moonlight stir fired lotus root, carrot, snow bears, asparagus, wood ear mushroom dish ($15) was good but we probably didn’t need it. We waited and waited for the crispy rice with shrimp and chicken broth ($19) and it was worth the wait. It was crunchy and very tasty. The table next to ours remarked that it was a new dish on the menu and so we gave them some to taste. (They told us about dim sum restaurants and recommended that we try the Sichuan restaurant next door owned by the CheLi owners, Sichuan Mountain House, and to try Guan Fu.) For dessert we had the Meiling Congee ($12) and Dimitri liked it. We spent $95.81 plus tip. We also had a great meal at CheLi in Manhattan. See the review at 1.3 above.
2.3 HR: Telly's Taverna, 28-13 23rd Ave., Astoria, NY 11105, 718-728-8596 info@tellystaverna.com, www.tellystaverna.com. We went on Fat Thursday and there was a band and dancing. It was fun and the service was great, even though it was a sell out crowd. Andreas took very good care of us and there were many extra food runners helping. Ordering was off the regular menu, not a prix fixe meal. We were brought bread first and then our Avgolemono soup ($8). It was very good. We ordered the small mixed dips (of Taramasalada, tzatziki and skordalia for $15). They were very good but not great. For our main we had mashasi kokkinisto ($26) a Greek style beef stew in tomato sauce. The meat was tender and very tasty. It was a very good dish but it wasn’t a stew; it wasn’t saucy enough. The side order of lemon potatoes family style ($4) was very good too. With our meal we had a carafe of the house red ($28) which we enjoyed. Automatically we were brought complimentary Loukoumades for dessert. When we asked for them to be cooked more to get crispy we were brought an excellent second whole serving. Wow! We had two Greek coffees that were very good. We left happy having spent $99.11 plus a very good tip for Andreas.
2.4 R: Hamido, 3308 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, NY 11105, tel 718-545-2200,
https://www.hanidoseafood.com. We had great fun watching all of the happy
customers (who looked Egyptian) eating. We were sitting at a high table across
from the seafood display counter where everyone had to come to order. We
ordered 4 sardines which were lightly coated with a very delicious spice-bread
mixture and baked ($14.73). They were so crisp that you could eat the whole
thing but the fish was moist fish inside the coating. With that, we ordered the
lemon potatoes ($5) that were very yummy and the shrimp Molokhia ($8) which my
husband, born in Egypt, declared was delicious. This Molokhia was
extraordinary; it had multiple layers of taste because of the herb itself, the
shrimp, and the copious amounts of garlic. It was better than the one we had in
Oman! We also ordered the homemade mint lemonade ($7) but the owner’s son from
Alexandria, Egypt did not charge us for it. It was unusually good. We enjoyed
our meal and spent $30.19 plus tip.
2.5 R: Gregory's Corner Taverna (Michelin Bib Gourmand), 26-02 23rd Ave., Astoria, Long Island City, Queens, NY 11103, tel 718-877-5511. The place is rustic and as described by Michelin. Everything was delicious. Of course,, we ordered too much but we enjoyed everything and we were able to give dishes to an adjoining table when we couldn’t finish them! We started with fried fresh, breaded and sautéed anchovies ($20) which we love, and, with scordalia ($7) which was yummy with the anchovies. Automatically bread and an olive oil with minced olive mixture was brought to the table. Also complimentary, was a dish of stewed chickpeas that were soft and tasty. With that, we ordered a soup to warm Dimitri up and it was perfect ($14): it had a rich base with celery in it and was called burasi goup (dida) or something like that. Separate from the base, meat, potato and carrot were served. Dimitri really liked it. We ordered a ½ carafe of the house red ($17) and that was good. For our “main”, we ordered the skiotakia and glikadakia (liver and sweetbreads) that were sautéed with onion and was absolutely delicious and tender ($25) along with the zucchini patties. For dessert, we were automatically brought a semolina cake that Dimitri loved. Yperochos! We spent $103 plus tip and were very happy.
2.6 R: Stamatis, 29-09 23rd Ave, Astoria, NY 11105, (718) 932-8596, stamatisastoria.com.We had an enjoyable and very good meal of Greek comfort food. Our server, newly arrived from Greece, was very good; knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. We ordered too much and took home most of it! Toasted, buttered bread was brought automatically but Dimitri ate the Koulouri that we had bought at a tiny shop. We started with an avgolemono soup ($4.50) that was really good and had pieces of chicken in it. We had a ½ order of stuffed pepper with meat and rice (one whole pepper). It was delicious, with a hint of cinnamon. The ½ order of bamias was also delicious and large. We had one order of moussaka ($16.50), one order of Imam eggplant ($11.95) and ½ carafe of their house red. For dessert, we were brought a complimentary ghalatobouriko that we bought thought was very good. We were very happy when we left and had spent $65.28 plus tip.
2.7 R: Mombar, 25-22 Steinway Street, Astoria, Queens. No telephone; shares phone at Kabab Cafe, (718) 728-9858. The first time we went, we found the sign-less Mombar but the door was locked. We could see someone inside so we pounded on the door. A man answered and said he couldn’t open that night because of “problems”. He suggested his brother’s place down the street. When we looked in, we didn’t think it was our kind of place. We decided to try again and on the second try we had success. Mombar is the creation of Mustafa El Sayed and everything about the place reflects him--favorably. He is the artist who created the tables and décor, he is the “chief cook and bottle washer” since no one is helping him in the kitchen at the time we went, and he is the gracious host and server. We had a delicious meal and we are glad we preserved and experience the quirky place. We were the first to arrive. Since Mustafa creates every dish on the spot, we didn’t have to wait too, too long. First arrived the tea we ordered (he had said we could bring wine, but we didn’t). Then the houmous and pita arrived and it was Much Better than the one we make at home—more depth of flavor. When we asked about the ingredients and he told us (the same ones we use), he said “it’s all about the proportions”. The pickled vegetables weren’t anything to write about. The liver appetizer (called Liver Alexandrie) was very tasty and tender. The main we ordered was Melokiyah with a lamb shank. It was a triumph. The soup was just like Dimitri remembered from Egypt and the lamb shank might have been the best tasting one, with the best texture, we’ve ever had. Two small pyramids of rice accompanied the dish. For desert we had the kataifi with fresh mango, banana, and blackberries. It was delicious and crunchy. The meal was great and, when a family of six and another guest arrived, we were glad we had Mustafa’s undivided attention for a little while. Dimitri wanted to talk to Mustafa about Alexandria, Egypt where they both grew up. Dimitri went to the French school, Mustafa went to the Catholic-French school. But he was too busy. There was no menu, no posted prices and Mustafa said the price of the meal was around $80. We were glad we went.
2.8 R: Dim Sum at Asian Jewel, 33-30 39th Ave, Queens, NY 11354, (718) 359-8600, asianjewelsny.com. We selected dim sum, and a fish ball and fungus soup, that we had not had before. It was all very good. The congee also was excellent. The service was attentive and the carts were frequent. We enjoyed it. We spent $37 plus tip and we were happy.
2.9 R: Saranrom, 81 01 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY 11373 917-832-6672. It was good that Dimitri did a lot of research on restaurants and marked our NYC map with possibilities. When we walked out of Lamoon (because it was awful), he guided us to another Thai that he had identified and it was good (and not far). We saw that they had Rad Na Mi Krob ($15.95) and we thought that it would be the meh krob that we like with crispy vermicelli noodles. It came with fat egg noodles and we didn’t even try it. That was not an auspicious start to our meal. The next thing we ordered was much better: Kang Kua Sator ($17.95). It was delicious and not too spicy. The sator beans, large like gigantes, were very good. Actually, all of the ingredients were good. With that, we had Yum Pla Duk Fu ($15.95) and it was excellent. The crispy shredded catfish with breadcrumbs was very delicious and crispy; it was a good substitute for meh krob. Again, this dish had good ingredients. With our meal, we had the hot sake ($7) and for dessert, we had the Bua Loy, taro balls in coconut milk ($9); they were good. All in all, we were happy with the outcome of an evening that could have been a disaster. We spent $71.70 plus tip.
2.10 R: For Lunch: Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle, New World Mall, Food Court #15.136-20 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, NY 11354. We had the beef wide noodle soup ($9.75) and the noodles and soup were very good.
2.11 R: For Lunch: Coco Malaysian, 82-69 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY 11373, 718-565-2030 / 718-565-0240, http://www.cocomalaysiancuisine.com. We stumbled upon this place when it turned out the nearby Food Court was closed. It was a hidden gem. There were 4 tables in a small space occupied when we arrived. They had Laksa; we ordered the Asam Laksa (Malaysian) even though we were told that the laksa from Singapore was more popular. We were glad we did; it was $13 for a huge bowl and it was great. The noodles were chewy the soup had a great sour (tamarind) and fish taste. Then we ordered the honey lime juice ($4) and it was great too. We spent $18 plus tip and were very happy.
2.12 NR: Sabry's - Egyptian - Michelin Plate, 2425 Steinway St, Queens, NY 11103. The place is very bare bones and was playing rock music when we came in. There were 2 other tables eating, a counter of fish in ice and 2 Egyptian men were attending. Dimitri asked for Arabic music and it was changed. We wanted to have red mullet grilled as described in the Michelin write-up. But no, red mullet had to be fried. We were brought a plate with tahini, eggplant salad, baba ghanoush and a basket of pita, as well as a lettuce salad. All that was okay, not memorable. Next came the 4 (minimum order) red mullet. They looked dry and they were, even with copious amounts of lemon and lime. So we ordered the soup of the day: a seafood soup. It had shrimp, clams, squid and so on and was fairly tasteless, even the broth. We ordered a lemon-mint drink and that was good. We left most of the food. We spent $60 plus tip and weren’t happy.
2.13 NR: Luxor Egypt Feteer, 30-91 Steinway St., Astoria, NY 11103, 713-932-8000. We first went to Mombar, Egyptian (25-22 Steinway St, Astoria, NY 11103) but the door was locked. When we pounded on it, a man came to the door and said the restaurant had a problem and couldn’t open that night. We were at a loss, but had seen (driving from the F subway station in a taxi) an elaborate Egyptian store front. We saw a Q101 bus and hopped on going back to 30-91 Steinway. We were worried that it would turn out to be a sheesha joint. There was some kind of bar upstairs but the downstairs was a restaurant that had big tables of families when we walked in (all ordering feteer/pizza that takes 30 minutes to prepare). We found a table in the back and used the QR code to find the menu. That menu was odd, with Latin Specialties and mostly feteer (Egyptian pizza) on it. The better menu can be found at: https://www.seamless.com/menu/luxor-feteer-3091-steinway-st-astoria/1263197. We asked and we were told that they had molukhyah $7 (the soup that Dimitri likes), falafel (freshly made) $9 and stuffed Mahshi cabbage ($10) leaves. We also had 3 glasses of syrah from the bar upstairs ($10 x3). The food was good enough, the music was Egyptian and very, very loud. The experience was not bad but not pleasant either. We spent $62 plus an automatically added $11.20 tip.
2.14 NR: Kitchen 79 - Thai, 37-70 79th St, Queens, NY 11372, http://www.kitchen79nyc.com/. There was nothing special about this restaurant. It was a long trip for us and it wasn’t worth it. Neither the ingredients, the presentation nor the taste were distinctive. When we arrived there was only one table; gradually more people arrived and it was more pleasant. We had Po Pla Sod ($7.95), the spring rolls, to start that were good and so was the peanut and tamarind sauce. For our main we had the Gang Phed Ped Yaang, the crispy duck curry ($22.95) with vegetables and pineapple. It too was good and at first the skin of the duck was indeed crisp. It was listed under “specialties” so it thought it would be more interesting. With our meal we had hot tea ($5.90). We spent $40.07 plus tip and were disappointed.
2.15 A: Taverna Kyclades - Greek - Michelin Plate, new address in 2022: 36-01 Ditmars Blvd, Queens, NY 11105 Queens, NY 11105, 718-545-8666. We left--the tables were on top of each other and the menu was not interesting.
3. Brooklyn
3.1 R: Rangoon Burmese, 500 Prospect Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11238, 1 917-442-0100, https://www.rangoon.nyc. We had a good, not great, meal. We think that we may have ordered the wrong dishes; we should have had a curry. Pete Wells NYT Sept. 2020 review might have led us to be too enthusiastic. In any event, we ordered the Mohinga lemongrass fish noodle soup ($18) that came with fish sauce and roasted chili (from Burma which was excellent and is sold upfront). The fish soup was very good but it did not taste like lemongrass, particularly when we drank lemongrass tea with it. We also ordered the Hyatt Thyn onion fritters ($12) that were good not great and the Oah pet Thoke tea leaf salad ($16) that was okay. We also had the tamarind lime tea that was strong and good. For dessert, we had an undistinguished coconut tapioca. We spent $71 and left to take our long journey home.
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