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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Rosie’s *** Happy Hour, East Village, NYC + Solo

I love New York! Where else can you see a show and have dinner for about $50? We headed downtown to the East Village to the Connelly Theatre to see Gabe Mollica in Solo, his acclaimed one-man play about friendship, following sold-out runs at the Soho Playhouse and Edinburgh Fringe. We purchased the tickets for $4.95 from Theater Extras. We stopped at the Lower East Side Mexican restaurant Rosie's from the owners of Cookshop, Shukette and Vics. Lucky us, it was during their happy hour. We started with their margaritas. I had the chile-infused tequila picante one, my dining partner the "classic." Whenever a server stopped at our table wearing [...]

By |2023-11-07T12:41:14-05:00November 25th, 2023|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Cafe Luce, Midtown East, NYC

I tripped over Cafe Luce when looking for someplace to meet a friend passing through town. She was traveling from Cape Cod to Florida and staying on Sutton Place. With a limited amount of time, the midtown location was necessary. Cafe Luce is a small Italian cafe on East 53. The owner, Michelle, opened the smaller space during COVID, according to her brother Joseph, our server. When next door became available, she purchased it, doubling the space. Don't miss their perfectly prepared octopus tentacle ($21) — tender, charred and moist — with a small roasted red pepper and lettuce salad. I'd return just for that. It paired well with a [...]

By |2023-10-25T13:57:28-04:00November 23rd, 2023|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Terrasse Des Espices, Marrakech, Morocco

We had the evening off after a visit to an organic farm outside Marrakech. We originally had a reservation at Dar Yacout — a famed location — but they canceled. Since they also canceled my friend when she recently visited Marrakesh, I booked Terrasse Des Espices, just in case. That evening, four of us headed to the restaurant with a guide to assist us through the Medina. Once there, we ascended to the rooftop bar and dining room, partially lit by the almost full moon. It was magical. With drinks, we nibbled the crusty bread and fresh marinated black and green olives. First, we shared their Mediterranean-style plancha-grilled seasonal vegetables [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:11:50-04:00November 21st, 2023|Bites from the Road, Rooftop, World, World Restaurants|0 Comments
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L’Escale, Greenwich, CT

We were almost the only ones dining in L'Escale who weren't celebrating a birthday! Practically every table around us ended their meal with a sparkler and song. Brunch started with the Koesar's Bloody Marys ($16), described as "a little spice, lots of sass," and the jumbo shrimp cocktail (3 for $18) and the tender Mediterranean octopus with chorizo and Gigantes beans, shared by all. With a group of five, we sampled much of their menu. Two of us savored their lump crab cake eggs benedict with sautéed spinach ($24), one the fresh blueberry pancakes with Connecticut maple syrup ($19), one a Croque Madame ($24) with bistro ham, gruyere cheese, mornay [...]

By |2023-10-26T14:38:36-04:00November 19th, 2023|Bites from the Road, USA, USA Restaurants|0 Comments
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Happy Hour ** at Osteria Morini, Soho, NYC

Osteria Morini, a part of the Altamarea Group (Ai Fiori, Marea), offers the spirit of Emilia-Romagna in SoHo. They also offer a happy hour. I convinced some building mates to join me to sample it. We sat at one of the hightops in the bar area, where the HH offerings are available. We sampled some of their HH cocktails, including the Aperol Spritz  ($10), Abby's Cosmo ($10) and a Cadillac Margarita ($15). The deal of the meal is their "Burger from Akron" ($13). The tasty double cheeseburger with BBQ sauce and tartar sauce would have been even more perfect had they offered fries. We also sampled some of their fried offerings, [...]

By |2023-11-17T06:50:50-05:00November 17th, 2023|Big Apple Life, City Bites, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Return to the Met Dining Room, Upper East Side, NYC + Manet/Degas Exhibit

You no longer need to be a member to dine at the fourth-floor Met Dining room. You do need a reservation. The views are spectacular. We returned for lunch recently before seeing the extensive Manet/Degas exhibit that's on through January 7, 2024. When you enter the Met, you sign in to their virtual exhibition queue for the exhibit, which closes when capacity is reached. We did so before heading to lunch. We each sipped a glass of their crisp Chablis ($20) while we shared a few dishes. First was their house-smoked brook trout ($23) with corn blini, green onion, sour cream and topped with trout roe. I'd recommend. Also good [...]

By |2023-10-23T11:24:23-04:00November 15th, 2023|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Eddie V’s, Nashville, TN + Trisha Yearwood with the Nashville Symphony

  We were running late for our reservation at Sixty Vines before heading to the Trisha Yearwood concert with the Nashville Symphony and kept trying to call. Their phone wasn't working. That didn't matter to the hostess. "Sorry, we gave your table for eight away. We could seat you in an hour." She didn't care that we could not reach them to say we were running late. That timing wouldn't work, as we wouldn't make our concert on time. Lucky for us, we could all be seated at Eddie V's around their bar. I started with a "cocktail with attitude." Blair, our friendly bartender, made my Smoked Old Fashioned ($20), [...]

By |2023-11-15T07:49:07-05:00November 13th, 2023|Bites from the Road, USA Restaurants, USA Travel|0 Comments
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A Return to Hearth for a Birthday, Lower East Side, NYC

I returned to Hearth on the Lower East Side to celebrate my friend’s birthday. I chose it not only for its good food but for the moderate sound level of the dining room. I wanted to be able to hear her without straining. I started with their Vieux Carré ($22) with Whistlepig 10-year rye, Dudognon aged cognac and a splash of Benedictine. I liked the combination. My birthday friend sipped the Chablis Courtauld-Michelet, 2021, Burgundy, France ($22). We nibbled their cecina with our drinks, a chickpea flour pancake topped with olive tapenade ($9). I recommend. She had been to Hearth before and yearned for their bun-less burger made from grass-fed [...]

By |2023-11-19T07:44:36-05:00November 11th, 2023|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Tyron Public House Happy Hour* , Washington Heights, NYC + The Cloisters

We traveled to the Middle Ages with my ex.expat group when we visited the Cloisters with historical tour guide extraordinaire Kevin Draper. We learned a lot about architecture, discovering that many of the old-looking structures throughout the museum are new, just made to look old. A few of us wanted to hang out to chat, so we headed down the hill from the Cloisters toward the Dykeman subway stop to grab a bite and drink. Doing so, we hit the Tyron Public House's happy hour. We chose some beverages from the HH menu, including the French Pool Boy rose ($12), the Krasno Sauvignonasse ($13), the Allagash white ($9) and their lager [...]

By |2023-10-23T10:11:37-04:00November 9th, 2023|Big Apple Life, City Bites, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Le Trou Au Mur, Marrakech, Morocco

On the first night of our Global Palate Adventures trip, after we were settled into our riad, the group had dinner at Le Trou Au Mur, a charming Moroccan restaurant in old town offering a modern-day take on traditional cuisine. Its name translates to "a hole in the wall." Everything we tried was worth ordering. My end of the table ordered many dishes that we shared. We started with cherchma, mixed beans and lentils in a Moroccan spiced sauce over whole wheat couscous (75 dirhams, $7.50) and charmoula sardines filled with lightly spiced seasonal vegetables (80 dirhams, $8). While waiting for our food, we walked up to the roof to [...]

By |2023-11-19T07:55:27-05:00November 7th, 2023|Bites from the Road, World, World Restaurants|0 Comments
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Central Park Boathouse Dockside Pop Up, Central Park , NYC

For an iconic afternoon in Central Park, I suggest sitting dockside at the Boathouse alongside The Lake that officially opened in 1858. With views of the Manhattan skyline, row boats on the water, the trees changing color in front of you and others taking in the idyllic scenery, it’s pure bliss. Boat rentals are available — weather permitting — from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 until November 26. They offer a limited menu with all food served on disposables. The food is tasty, and the servers friendly. Lucky me, I was invited to sample their fare and tried several of their offerings. Our servers couldn’t have been friendlier, including Clay, who [...]

By |2023-11-06T19:54:20-05:00November 5th, 2023|Bites from the Road, USA Restaurants, USA Travel|0 Comments
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Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur

The press release about Mozart's four new Chocolate Liqueurs piqued my curiosity. These chocolate liqueurs hail from Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The company first macerated cocoa from West Africa with vanilla from Madagascar,  then combined three of their liqueurs with cream from the Netherlands. The dark chocolate has no cream. With an espresso martini having recently become my dessert of choice, I wondered what one would taste like if made with their newly introduced Dark Chocolate Liqueur. I had to find out. Sadly, the drink was disappointing. I then looked in their press materials to see what drink they recommended for using the dark chocolate liqueur. [...]

By |2023-11-03T10:38:20-04:00November 3rd, 2023|Food & Drinks, Of Interest, Products|0 Comments
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La Sqala, Casablanca, Morocco

La Sqala is near the old Medina and around the corner from Rick's Cafe, the institution made famous by the movie Casablanca. We canceled our Rick's dinner reservation for this more authentic one offering Moroccan cuisine in an outdoor Andalusian garden with live local music. We hoped to stop by after dinner for a drink, as most Moroccan restaurants do not offer alcohol. We had new friends to dine with, whom we met at the pool atop the Mövenpick Hotel, a 5-star hotel in central Casablanca. The four of us shared everything. We started by grazing on two mezzes (90 dirhams or about $9 for each grouping) that came with [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:11:59-04:00November 1st, 2023|Bites from the Road, Rooftop, World, World Restaurants|0 Comments
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Mitr Thai Restaurant, Midtown, NYC

We needed to wait for our last friend to arrive before the restaurant allowed us to be seated. The hostess told us that we had 90 minutes. Once we were seated upstairs, we ordered two of their specialty cocktails:  the Tuptim & Horapha with tequila blanco, basil eau-de-vie, fresh pomegranate and Aperol with an egg-free foam ($17) and the Jakapat ($17 ). The latter lychee gin martini was a bit too strong for my dining partner, who requested some fizzy water to dilute the blend of gin, Lillet rose, St Germain and lychee liqueur. Another dining partner sipped the on-draft Singa Thai beer ($10) If you do go, request the [...]

By |2023-11-03T09:44:40-04:00October 30th, 2023|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Les Dames d’Escoffier New York Inducts 29 New Members

Our New York chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier inducted 29 new members last month at Al Coro restaurant. Like most all our events, this gathering raised funds for our scholarships. Since 1977, we have awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to over 1,000 recipients.  If you’d like to donate to the Les Dames d'Escoffier New York scholarships, click here. We are a nonprofit philanthropic group that helps advance and support aspiring professional women. Let me welcome our new Dames: Lorea Amatria Senar U.S Brand Manager, Bodegas LAN, part of Sogrape Original Legacy Wines Kristina Beauchamp Director of Brand Development, Junior's Bakery & Restaurant Jennifer Schiff Berg Clinical Professor, NYU Rinku [...]

By |2023-11-03T09:36:26-04:00October 28th, 2023|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites|0 Comments
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The Javelina, Union Square/Gramercy, NYC + Comedy at The Stand

My friends had signed up for a Shearwater Classic Schooner sunset cruise, giving them enough time to make our 8:15 reservations at Javelina, a casual Mexican restaurant on 18th near the The Stand comedy club. The cruise line chose to wait for a party of three who were late for the sail, then tacked on additional time to make up for it, making my friends very late for our res. When I explained the boat situation to the host, he said he'd happily seat me at my table as it was ready for us. While waiting, I sipped a green salt-rimmed rocks jalapeno margarita ($14)  while nibbling the fresh, warm [...]

By |2023-11-03T09:35:34-04:00October 26th, 2023|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Piccola Cucina Uptown, Upper East Side, NYC

With a Seattle friend in town, I headed uptown for dinner, returning to Piccola Cucina Uptown for the flavors of Sicily. The food and service were as good as my last visit. We began sipping the Prunotto, 2019 Occhetti Nebbiolo, Langhe, Alto Piemonte ($82) as we nibbled the bread and savory dips they served gratis. We followed that with the tender eggplant parmigiana ($21.95) and crisp Caesar salad with shaved Parmigiana ($18.95). After noticing a waiter carrying a fugassa (a paper-thin pizza) past our table, we had to order one!  That thin-crust focaccia filled with stracchino cheese and thinly sliced prosciutto ($24.95) was irresistible. This favorite of ours is not [...]

By |2023-11-03T09:30:34-04:00October 24th, 2023|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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Breakfast at the Standard Grill, Meatpacking District, NYC

We had the best intentions of having an extra-special New York breakfast with a friend who brought her almost 8-year-old granddaughter to the city for a birthday weekend. We tried to book breakfast at Tiffany's, Tavern on the Green and more. My friend settled on a brunch cruise, yet when she arrived dockside to board, she realized the yacht docked too late for them to catch Aladdin's curtain. We walked from Pier 62 to Little Island, then to the Standard Grill in The Standard, High Line hotel for breakfast outside as the weather was conducive. My friend had the Standard Omelet ($16) filled with mushrooms, spinach and Boursin cheese and [...]

By |2023-10-09T12:35:14-04:00October 22nd, 2023|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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The Portuguese Leitao, West Village, NYC

Leitao is a friendly bar and kitchen serving Portuguese food in the West Village. We lucked out with the only window table giving us great light plus little noise as we weren't seated by others. Loved that. We shared everything, eating what we ordered in three waves after our craft cocktails. I sipped their Bourbon Old Fashioned, one friend a Negroni and the other a Margarita ($18 each)—all hearty-poured, well-prepared drinks. We were off to a great start. Our first dish was their Porco Preto ($22). Those were Iberico pork ribs cooked with wine, capers and housemade Calabrian garlic chili where the flavorful meat fell off the bone.  With that, [...]

By |2023-10-09T12:35:01-04:00October 20th, 2023|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Long Branch, NJ Eating 2023, McLoone’s, Rooney’s and Turning Point

After Labor Day, my friend and I took a quick one-night trip to the shore. The beach was almost desolate; the weather was perfect even though they predicted rain. We packed rain gear that we only needed after we almost finished dinner. But I digress. After the morning on the beach, we shared a light bite for lunch — fish tacos ($18.94) and fries ($4.95)  at McLoone’s Pier House, along with one of the best cocktails I've had recently. Their Clockwork Orange ($16)  of Tanteo habanero tequila, Cointreau, blood orange puree and a Grean Marnier floater is the right combo of sweet and heat. I highly recommend. At dinner that [...]

By |2023-10-09T12:34:49-04:00October 18th, 2023|Bites from the Road, USA, USA Restaurants|0 Comments
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