Bonnie from BiteoftheBest.com

About Bonnie Tandy Leblang

Blogger Bonnie Tandy Leblang has been covering food since before it was hip to do so! She’s penned magazine, newspaper and syndicated food columns in addition to cookbooks. Follow her on twitter @BonnieBOTB and on Instagram@BiteoftheBest and at @BonnieBOTB "I eat for a living!” is her mantra, sharing what she’s sampled so you’ll know where (or where not) to go, plus what food products and gadgets to try. For her full bio go to the about us page.
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A Birthday at Shuka, SoHo, NYC + Up & Up Speakeasy

We started our birthday celebration with drinks at Up & Up, a fun speakeasy on Macdougal, down the street from where we were heading for dinner. And, as their site says, "Yes, the ice actually looks like this!" From there, we headed downtown on Macdougal to Shuka, a restaurant serving various Mediterranean cuisines. The six of us started with many selections from their meze from the market, which included their taramasalata ($12) with crudité ($11), shaved Brussels sprouts ($14), falafel ($11), crispy cauliflower ($15), za'atar fries ($8), jeweled rice ($11) and tuna meatballs ($16).  One dish was better than the next, with the shaved Brussels, crispy cauliflower and za'atar fries [...]

By |2024-02-12T09:33:07-05:00January 30th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Speakeasys|0 Comments
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A Good Burger at Friend of a Farmer, Gramercy, NYC

We had met to see the holiday lights at Pete's Tavern and grab a burger. The host put our name on the list and said he would call in about 1 1/2 hours to be seated — inside or out. Meanwhile, we headed across the street to Friend of a Farmer for a drink, selecting that night's special -- a blood orange margie ($18). We were so comfy that we opted to have our burger there. So glad we did. Before they brought our meal, the server brought their complementary cornbread topped with apple chutney. They make their Barn Burger with ground Wagyu beef, cooked to perfection and topped with [...]

By |2024-02-09T09:13:19-05:00January 27th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Tatiana, Lincoln Center, NYC

We each had hovered over our computer at 12 pm, 28 days before we wanted a reservation at Tatiana, Kwame Onwuachi's hot new restaurant at Lincoln Center inside David Geffen Hall. No luck. Instead, we met outside the restaurant, hoping to get one of the six bar seats. Four people were already ahead when we arrived just after 4 pm. Lucky us. At 5, we were seated at a table and instructed they needed it by 7 pm. Kwame's is a small 64-seat restaurant—named after his culinary muse, his sister—that takes inspiration from his diverse background. We tried their fancy Jell-O shots, followed by margies. I had their spicy one [...]

By |2024-01-25T07:13:08-05:00January 25th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Gotham Bar & Grill, West Village, NYC

In November of 2021, Gotham reopened after being closed for 18 months during the pandemic with new owners, a new menu and Ron Paprocki as executive chef. I stopped in for lunch recently with a friend. We made it easy on our server, ordering the greenmarket prix-fixe 2-course $39 lunch with the $25 wine pairings. The soup bowl with crumbled sourdough croutons, pickled fresno peppers and chopped cilantro came first, followed by a server pouring the flavorful soup into the bowl. We ordered their bread service ($6) to accompany it.  With that, we sipped a Chateau L’Escarelle, Rhône Blend, Côtes De Provence 2022. Next was their wild mushroom trofie — [...]

By |2024-01-24T10:35:25-05:00January 23rd, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Heritage BBQ, San Juan Capistrano, CA

Who knew that California BBQ could be so good? After my grandson's performance as King Triton in The Little Mermaid, we headed south to San Jan Capistrano to meet some friends for a BBQ at Heritage. (He, by the way, killed it!) The line to order reminded me of the line in Austin outside Franklin BBQ, although not nearly as long. People do wait for good BBQ. Heritage opened in Orange County in the summer of 2020, the first BBQ place to get approval to use the 1,000-gallon Texas-style offset barrel smokers, where food smokes in a long horizontal chamber while charcoal and smoke wood burn in a firebox attached to [...]

By |2023-12-17T09:23:49-05:00January 20th, 2024|Bites from the Road, USA, USA Restaurants, USA Travel|0 Comments
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Le Rock, Rockefeller Center, NYC

None of us had been to The Rock before. It’s a fairly new brasserie from the owners of Frenchette located in Rockefeller Plaza with views of the Christmas tree, which will be there until January 13. We decide to order and sample many dishes, beginning with their bread service with a choice of spreads ($9 each) we chose the cervelle de canut ($8), an herbed cheese spread, and the chicken liver pate. I recommend the latter. Next we tried their barbadians, ($13 for 5) bite-sized pastry this evening filled with pumpkin purée and their garlicky escargot bourguignons ($26 for 5) topped with toast round to sop up the garlic butter, [...]

By |2023-12-18T12:22:25-05:00January 18th, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at the Warren, West Village, NYC

We stopped in one rainy Sunday for brunch at The Warren in the West Village, a place I had been before attending plays at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. I had never been to brunch, so wanted to sample. I had a bloody Mary ($16) to start; my dining companion tried the mimosa ($16), wishing she had ordered what I had after seeing my piquant cocktail replete with a spicy side instead of just the rim. Ain't that always the case? That's why we decided to share a couple of plates so no one had FOMO, asking our server to bring them as two courses starting with the Chilaquiles ($18) with [...]

By |2023-12-13T09:45:44-05:00January 16th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Electric Lemon, Hudson Yards, NYC + Here We Are

I've been recommending Electric Lemon on the 24th floor of the Equinox Hotel since my first visit, tasting their chilled deviled crab in creamy ginger dressing with crunchy celery sprinkled with ginger crumbs. Yes, that good. We stopped for brunch before heading to The Shed to see Steven Sondheim's — the legendary composer and lyricist — Here We Are,  his final musical. He died while writing it. The first act is a musical, the second more of a play. We commended our brunch with cocktails. Three of us tried the Bloody Mary, and one a "from the garden ($20) with herb-infused Hendricks gin, snow pea, celery, cucumber and shiso. We [...]

By |2024-03-19T14:22:09-04:00January 14th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|2 Comments
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Tavern on the Green, Central Park, UWS, NYC

Our annual tradition as the holidays commence is to meet at a classic New York institution for our seasonal luncheon. This time, we booked the iconic Tavern on the Green, surrounded by tourists as it was at Rolf's. We each began with a glass of Rose Côtes de Provence VieVité, 2020 ($64) while taking in the views and perusing the menu. We shared their fresh burrata with intensely flavored fire-roasted grape tomatoes ($24). Worth it.  One in our group ordered the chopped veggie salad ($24) with haricots verts, radish, jicama, asparagus, butternut squash, tomatoes, corn, fingerling potatoes, avocado, carrots and Bermuda onion topped with ($10) perfectly cooked salmon. After seeing [...]

By |2024-01-15T12:20:32-05:00January 11th, 2024|City Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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NEW! Clara, New York Historical Society, Upper West Side, NYC

After visiting some exhibits at the New York Historical Society, we headed to Clara, their new sustainably focused restaurant from the Oberon Group (Rhodera, Rucola and June Bar). The restaurant is named in honor of Clara Driscoll, who designed many iconic lamps in the museum's Gallery of Tiffany Lamps, with some of them adoring the restaurant's shelves. Clara's offered Chef Diego Moya's contemporary takes on various dishes. We shared their fried Brussels sprouts in a puddle of apple-vinegar white bean purée ($18) and the hearty wild mushroom trofie — short, thin, twisted pasta from Liguria — garnished with lots of toasted hazelnuts ($29). I recommend a visit to both Clara [...]

By |2024-01-14T13:44:56-05:00January 8th, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Happy Hour**at Jane, NoHo, NYC

We had come to Jane's for their "NYC Happy Meal" or a Ketel One Martini and Rosemary French fries ($22) that we saw on their website. When the bartender handed me the smaller menu without it, I mentioned that to the manager, who did honor the online offering. We were happy, sipping our Ketel One martinis and nibbling their large portion of fries; we both added the tasty, filling mini-burger with cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions, tomato, pickled green tomato, lettuce and jalapeño marmalade while my dining partner had their version of pigs in a blanket ($5) with sesame dusted puff pastry and kimchi aioli. Happy Hour details as of 11.30.2023 [...]

By |2024-01-14T13:54:59-05:00January 5th, 2024|Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Il Buco, NoHo, NYC + Wick and Pour

Wick and Pour, a candle-making experience on Mott Street, was our first stop at the birthday celebration. We selected the vessel and wax color, chose an aroma blend, and then made our candle garnished—in the wax—with dried flowers. That candle experience took about 2 hours, with downtime to chat. From there, we walked north, proudly carrying out finished candles, to Il Buco, the first in the Il Buco family. On NoHo's cobblestoned Bond Street, the restaurant opened in 1994 as an antique store and transformed into a restaurant serving a seasonally inspired Italian-Mediterranean menu that changes daily. We sipped our Pegaso Zeta Viñas Viejas Garnacha ($17), seated in the back [...]

By |2024-01-03T14:55:05-05:00January 2nd, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Serendipity3 Original Frrrozen Hot Chocolate Mix

With my grandnieces visiting for the holidays, I took out my sample of Serendipity3 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate Mix I received from the company after a recent Fancy Food show. I wanted them to try this product made from a secret blend of 14 exotic cocoas. But before doing so, we headed to the legendary eponymous New York City restaurant, founded in 1954, to sample it where it started, learning that the restaurant had just served the 30 millionth one to Cher during her appearance at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. At the restaurant, the three of us finished every last drop of the tasty dessert served in a goblet, [...]

By |2023-12-31T20:56:39-05:00December 31st, 2023|Food & Drinks, Products, Recommended|3 Comments
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Michelin-Star Restaurant Calla Lilies, The Hague, Netherlands

Years ago, Jacques Pepin mentioned that he prefers mainly one-star restaurants when he's across the pond. The food and service are Michelin quality and are reasonably priced. I do the same, generally dining at lunch as I enjoy eating the multi-course, less expensive meal midday.  This time when visiting my family in Den Haag, I dined with my daughter-in-law at Restaurant Calla Lilies, named after the flower 'Calla, an originally Mexican flower and the Greek word for “beautiful.”   We opted for the 3-course lunch menu (€57.50; $62.41) per person. Our aperitifs — along with a glass of Charles Heidsieck, NV Brut Reserve (€17 each; $18.43) — included Dutch cheese crackers [...]

By |2023-12-23T17:10:37-05:00December 28th, 2023|World, World Restaurants, World Travel|0 Comments
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Walking the Bridge to Ignazio’s, Dumbo, NYC

When my insta-generation grandnieces visited, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, headed to Ignazio's for pizza and planned to ferry back to Manhattan. We split the Caesar salad ($15) and sipped some pinot noir ($39/bottle) while awaiting the main event. Fresh basil garnished our tomato pizza with caramelized onions, pepperoni and artichokes. I recommend heading to Ignazio's when in Dumbo. Ignazio's Dumbo 4 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 522-2100

By |2023-12-23T16:46:30-05:00December 25th, 2023|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Le Domaine du Val d’Argan Winery, Ounagha, Morocco

Our last meal together on our Global Palate Adventures Moroccan trip was at Le Domaine du Val d'Argan Winery in Ounagha, Morocco. A vineyard where they use dromedaries (a one-hump camel) in place of tractors. They also offer bed and breakfast lodging and a pool. After our winery tour (200-300 dirhams, $20-30 per person), we indulged in a fabulous, freshly cooked meal poolside and their wines (250 - 400 dirhams, $25-40 per person). Our lunch was perfection, served family style with lots of fresh veggies and salads, including fresh beets, lentils, cucumbers, cabbage slaw, tomatoes, green beans, carrots and fried zucchini and eggplant. Of course, we also had bowls of [...]

By |2023-12-23T16:45:07-05:00December 22nd, 2023|Bites from the Road, World, World Restaurants, World Travel|2 Comments
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Happy Hour*** Michael’s, Midtown, NYC + Rockettes

After taking my grandnieces to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes, we headed to Michaels for their happy hour, where Basdeo Balchan, their manager, welcomed us. We sampled many of their well-blended cocktails, including the Southside of 5th Brokers (gin, lemon juice, mint), Last Blast (bourbon, citrus, prosecco), Lil Pumpkin (vodka, pumpkin spiced Kahlua, espresso) and the Tranquilo (tequila, cranberry juice and fresh jalepeño) along with their appetizers, some of which have a Korean accent from their new chef. The sweet and spicy Korean fried shrimp ($18) comes in three pieces, also available as chicken; the vegetarian summer rolls come with a carrot ginger sauce and the duck-confit [...]

By |2023-12-31T20:17:42-05:00December 19th, 2023|Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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The Greek Periyali, Gramercy-Flatiron, NYC + ChefWise by Shari Bayer

We met our friend, Shari Bayer, the publicist for Periyali, at the restaurant to discuss her new book, ChefWise, and sample their fare. Our host greeted me upon arrival and welcomed me to Greece, jesting, "No passport needed." Mak, our waiter, also welcomed us, sharing that he had been with Periyali since they opened on December 21, 1987. He recalled the exact date because it is his birthday. I sampled their El Grego ($22), a blend of bourbon, Amaro Nonino liqueur, spiced honey and bitters. With my cocktail, we started nibbling their five mezze offerings, which are always yummy. These included their taramosalata (a fish roe spread with olive oil and [...]

By |2023-12-17T10:35:54-05:00December 16th, 2023|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Of Interest, Products|0 Comments
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Jose Andres’ The Bazaar, Ritz Hotel, NoMAD, NYC

I had been to Jose Andres' Zaytinya, also in the Ritz Hotel, a couple times, but this was my first The Bazaar experience. The three of us met to celebrate our birthdays together. Two of us had one in June, the other in October. I started with their Leatherette ($22), a blend of Torres 20-yr brandy, rye whiskey, east India sherry, sweet vermouth, and lavender bitters garnished with a fresh lavender bud.  One other friend had a glass of crisp Godello ($18), Rafael Palacios Louro, Valderorras, Spain 2022; the other with Touriga Nacional Tinta Roriz, Carlos Paposo Ideal, Dão, Portugal ($19). Our first courses arrived almost at once with our drinks. [...]

By |2023-12-17T09:32:43-05:00December 13th, 2023|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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Happy Hour *½ at Dock’s Oyster Bar, Midtown East, NYC + Gutenbert, the Musical

We laughed our way through Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in the hilarious and unusual “Gutenberg! The Musical!" These two reunited on stage for the first time since 2011 when they performed in “The Book of Mormon." I do recommend seeing it before it closes in January. Afterward, we walked across and downtown to Docks Oyster Bar on Third and 40th to sample their happy hour. We were lucky to get one of the few tables by the bar where we could take part in their HH offerings. The best parts were they had a live trio, and we could converse without straining. I started with their Old Fashioned ($18), [...]

By |2023-12-17T09:38:09-05:00December 11th, 2023|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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