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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Sardi’s, Times Square, NYC + Outsiders

Remember the torrential rain with flash flood warnings as spring sprung? That was the night I ended up at Sardi's as it was easier to get to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to see the new musical, The Outsiders, not a show I'd suggest rushing to see. As you may know, Sardi's is more about seeing and being seen than the food.  The food is fine, nothing exceptional, but the service is quite attentive and good. From what we ate, I'd only recommend the classic Caesar  ($18), the teriyaki glazed salmon with caramelized ginger sweet potato puree all over sauteed spinach ($37), and the shrimp Sardi style ($39). I had [...]

By |2024-05-05T08:31:20-04:00May 3rd, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Fig & Olive, Meat Packing District, NYC

After visiting the Whitney Museum's Biennial 2024, we headed to Fig & Olive for a quick bite before my friend left for JFK on a flight to Amsterdam. We yakked and shared two salads. I'd recommend either the Fig & Olive salad with kale, red cabbage, sun-dried tomato, pear slices, Gorgonzola and candied pecans ($21) or the Little Gem salad with avocado, toasted almonds and ricotta salata in a shallot mustard vinaigrette ($18). Since we were sharing both, we asked for the grilled salmon to top them on the side ($13). A good place to stop when in the meatpacking district or visiting The Whitney. Fig & Olive Meatpacking District [...]

By |2024-05-05T08:33:18-04:00May 1st, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Hav & Mar Seafood Restaurant, Chelsea, NYC

I returned to Marcus Samuelson's Hav & Mar with friends recently. It's his successful seafood restaurant, a 3-minute walk from the seasonal Frying Pan, one of my favorite warm-weather floating restaurants. We, of course, had to share his Hav Bread Basket ($19) containing teff biscuits, blue cornbread, injera crisp with Shiro hummus,  tomato chutney and honey butter, being careful not to consume all so we still had room for what was to come! Next, our Uni Caesar Salad ($22) arrived with romaine leaves topped with parmesan cheese, injera crumble and grilled prawns. Our main was the Grand Lobster Jubilee ($99), said to serve 2 to 4, with a whole, grilled, [...]

By |2024-05-05T08:35:23-04:00April 29th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Return to the Met Dining Room, Upper East Side, NYC + Harlem Renaissance

As I've previously mentioned, you don't need to be a member to dine at the fourth-floor Met Dining room, but you do need a res. Before heading upstairs to the dining room, we first visited the Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism exhibit, which explored how Black artists portrayed everyday modern life. We sipped a glass of the Alsaisian Lucien Albrecht Pinot Blanc, 2019 ($15) while sharing the cauliflower salad with tahini, arugula and a lemon salsa verde topped with fried cauliflower ($18) and the wine-braised octopus ($23) with crispy potatoes (I'd have loved more!), pickled red onions and black garlic aioli. We had the day's special ($38) of lightly fried [...]

By |2024-05-05T08:37:24-04:00April 26th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Cafe Chelsea, Chelsea, NYC

Inspired by the long tradition of French bistro dining, Café Chelsea in the historic Hotel Chelsea offers an all-day menu with a contemporary take on classics. We stopped in for brunch and were seated at the comfy front window booth with the sunlight pouring in. Idyllic. Like Raines Law Room, the reconstruction of the Chelsea Hotel seems as if from a previous century, although it's new. After we dined, the director of guest services showed us around all their offerings. They have spectacular facilities. My friend ordered a Gruyère omelet with a green salad ($21). I sampled their burger and fries ($32). I'd recommend either. I do not recommend their over-salty [...]

By |2024-05-05T08:40:01-04:00April 24th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Jaleo, Washington, D.C. + Women’s Midlife Health Summit

The last time I ate at Jaleo in DC was at a party Jose Andres threw during a food conference in the 90s. I was again in town for a conference, this time for a Women's Midlife Health Summit, on the heels of President Biden's Executive order to allocate $12 billion to new women's health research at the National Institutes of Health; First Lady Jill Biden will lead the White House initiative. At our conference, put on by the National Menopause Foundation, where I serve on the board, we discussed the many needs of women during menopause and midlife health, which span advocacy, policy, clinical care, education and awareness. Graphic [...]

By |2024-04-21T20:42:04-04:00April 21st, 2024|Bites from the Road, USA, USA Restaurants|0 Comments
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Toloache, Midtown, NYC + Enemy of the People

I hadn't been back to Toloache since it reopened after the pandemic. Like many other restaurants, their website prices are lower than you'll pay. We started with their yummy guac ($16) with the accompanying salsa ($2 for extra) and chips. Delicious with their Cadillac Margie—the Oro Blanco ($18), made with Espolon reposado and Cointreau. Our dishes included their Ensalada de Jicama ($13), which included jicama, radishes, mixed greens, avocado, orange, almonds, and a tamarind vinaigrette, along with grilled chicken (+$8);  the enchiladas borrachas ($26) of pulled chicken, tomatillo-5 chiles salsa, Mexican cheeses, crema and an avocado-radish salad and the Quesadilla de Camaron ($17) with mini shrimp atop a tortilla with [...]

By |2024-03-23T10:31:05-04:00April 19th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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An Irish Pub: The Long Room, Theatre District, NYC on St. Patty’s Day

My grand-niece and her college roommates requested going to an Irish pub when visiting on St. Patty's Day. That's how we ended up at The Long Room in Times Square. The place was packed and noisy, offering a special holiday menu and live music. We all had draft beers ($9 - $10) — including one Guinness — with our food. We tried the spinach and artichoke dip in a cast-iron skillet along with pita bread not the crispy chips menu described. We shared sweet potato fries ($12), a classic burger ($21) with fries and ale-battered fish and chips.  Noisy, but fun.   The Long Room Times Square 120 W 44th [...]

By |2024-03-17T10:43:19-04:00April 16th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Cacio E Pepe, East Village, NYC

I dined with the owner's relatives at Cacio e Pepe six years ago. I loved it and couldn't wait to return.  After the watery Cacio e Pepe at Basta Pasta, we decided to visit the original eponymous restaurant on Second Avenue for the minimalist classic dish of pasta, butter, cheese, and pepper. When two of us arrived, our server mentioned that happy hour was ending and offered a glass of house cabernet ($9) before the discounted time ended. Nice. When our friend arrived, she offered her a glass, implying she was offering the discounted wine. We shared two appetizers, the fabulous Timballo Di Melanzane ($16) — layers of molded eggplant parmesan. Delicious. [...]

By |2024-04-21T20:48:51-04:00April 14th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Haven Rooftop, Midtown, NYC + Prayer for French Republic

Haven Rooftop, atop the Sanctuary Hotel, is in the heart of the theatre district, making it a good spot for pre-theatre brunch. We stopped in before heading west on 47th to see the final performance of Prayer for the French Republic. We started brunch with mimosas ($13) and a virgin bloody mary ($12). Yet instead of egg options, two of us chose their lobster roll served with fries ($30), another their perfectly sliced heavenly chicken in a beurre blanc sauce with mesclun salad and fries ($28). Food was good, as always. As the play began, we realized we had seen it before. My memory isn't that good, but my computer [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:02:25-04:00April 11th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rooftop, Theatre|0 Comments
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Three days a month: Marc 179, Tribeca, NYC

A building mate emailed me about the opening of Marc179, Marc Murphy's  (Landmarc, Ditch Plains and Chopped) latest unique venture in Tribeca. Marc 179 is open only three days a month. offering a rotating $75 prix fixe menu, plus a small but inviting wine list. When not used as a restaurant, the space will be MM Kitchen Studio, a private event space, demo kitchen, and filming studio. Marc179 takes reservations two months in advance, and the menus are published one month out. The upcoming dates already posted include April 11th-13th, May 16th-18th, and June 20th-22nd. When I visited in March, the prix fixe menu included an arugula salad with pan-roasted [...]

By |2024-04-21T20:50:04-04:00April 9th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Sesamo, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + White Chip

We returned to Sesamo for brunch before heading to MCC to see White Chip, a play with a stellar lineup of producers, including Jason Biggs, John Larroquette, Hank Azaria, and Annaleigh Ashford—the wife of Joe Tapper, who plays Steven, the lead. The play takes its name from the Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety-chip system; each of the many times Steven — the main character — resolves to stop drinking, he gets a white chip. He has a bowlful. For brunch, I started with a bloody Mary ($15), followed by Shakshuka, as I had to have it again as it was so good last time. Not this time. It was way overcooked, even [...]

By |2024-04-07T16:49:59-04:00April 7th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Happy Hour** at Rick Bayless’s Tortazo, Times Square, NYC + Doubt

I've meant to try Rick Bayless's Tortazo since it opened near Times Square about a year ago. I learned to love this Chicago restaurateur's food at Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. Tortazo is a modified version of Rick’s popular airport outlets. One opened in NoMad in 2021. Times Square area is his second NYC location. This Michelin-starred chef features antojitos — Mexican bites—at Tortazo. Some are available during happy hour when I slipped in before heading to Roundabout Theatre to see Liev Schreiber in Doubt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning 2004 play. The drama teaches the potentially destructive consequences of being too certain about anything.  I recognized the fabulous flavors [...]

By |2024-04-07T16:48:05-04:00April 5th, 2024|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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KFC’s Chizza Pop-Up

My friend—an editor of a restaurant trade publication—invited me to sample KFC's Chizza with her on the day in February when the restaurant had transformed the store into a pop-up, serving the new menu item for free. Yes, free. There were lines around the block for the just introduced Chizza: two 100% white meat extra crisp fried chicken filets topped with marinara sauce, melty mozzarella cheese and crispy pepperoni.  Skeptical me. I was surprised at how moist, tender and tasty the fried chicken fillet topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni was. One fillet pizza costs $5.99; two fillets are $12.99, and the combo with a two-fillet one, French [...]

By |2024-04-24T19:01:12-04:00April 2nd, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Mark’s Off Madison, Gramercy-Flatiron, NYC

Mark's Off Madison had just opened in 2021 when I last visited. That time was for dinner, this one brunch. Mark's is one of Pete Wells’s 100 Best Restaurants for 2023. On the corner of 26th Street and Madison Square Park, the restaurant is from chef Mark Strausman, formerly of Campagna and Freds at Barney's New York. It's an always-packed, cozy space with a great vibe. I met a friend there for brunch, starting with a Bloody Mary ($16). We had to share their steak fries ($14) done Belgian style (double-fried) served with ketchup, garlic aioli and sauce Calypso, which according to chef Mark is "a European cold sauce that [...]

By |2024-04-07T16:43:26-04:00March 30th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Jesse Cushman’s Papa Bubble Candies

I had forgotten that I had received an email from Jesse Cushman—my son Eric's friend from Hamden—about his new business venture. He had written that he tried the corporate life, but it wasn't for him. "I bugged my friends to invest and then franchised with a custom candy company out of Barcelona called Papabubble." Then, one day, I received a candy delivery, the blue and yellow candies with the letters BOTB. It took me a second before I realized they were the initials of Bite of the Best. PapaBubble customizes flavors, colors and candy packaging—minimum 10 pounds—for corporate events, birthdays, gifts and holidays. Pricing starts at $36/lb and decreases with [...]

By |2024-04-07T16:38:17-04:00March 28th, 2024|Of Interest, Products|0 Comments
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Australian Fare at Isla & Co, Midtown, NYC

Inside the Hotel Hendricks on West 38th Street near Bryant Park is a friendly little Australian brasserie where I recently met a friend for brunch. Once seated, we noticed many tables with flights of espresso martinis ($25). Interesting, I thought until I saw the menu and noticed that each mini martini contained a different alcohol: one tequila, Australian whiskey, and the third dark rum.  I'll leave that to the youngins. I ordered their traditional one ($15) instead, made with vodka, Mr. black coffee liqueur, and house-roasted espresso, and my dining partner a glass of prosecco. We decided to share two entrees, asking our server to bring them one at a [...]

By |2024-04-07T16:36:15-04:00March 26th, 2024|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Ceci Italian Cuisine, Theatre District, NYC

We ended up at Ceci Italian Cuisine on 46th Street for it's proximity to the theatre district.  It's a quiet restaurant where we could hear each other while we dined. I'd recommend their melanzane ripiene ($14) their flavorful eggplant stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella topped with tomato sauce and a house salad of greens, tomatoes and cucumber ($10). If you, like me, like to look at the online menu before dining, skip doing so with this restaurant. The menu at Ceci's is not what's listed online. Ceci Italian Cuisine Theatre District 46 West 46 Street New York, NY 10036 (212) 307-5484 cecirestaurantnyc.com

By |2024-02-17T11:03:25-05:00March 24th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Repeat: Shuka, Soho, NYC + Up & Up & Raines Law Room Speakeasies

Having had such a wonderful time at Shuka and Up & Up, I repeated the combo with my grand nephew and his girlfriend. We opted to dine outside as it was one of our spring-weather winter days. We shared some meze, including the shaved Brussels sprouts ($14) as last visit, this time adding the falafel and sweet potatoes, which I would recommend.  We continued with chicken ($22/kebab) and beef ($25/kebab) kebabs, requesting the fabulous mushroom one, but it was no longer available as their menu changes based on market availability. Next time! We walked MacDougal to Up & Up for cocktails, followed by another at Raines Law Room, which has [...]

By |2024-03-21T17:47:21-04:00March 21st, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Speakeasys|0 Comments
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Happy Hour* Rangoon, Chelsea, NYC + Philadanco! Intangible at The Joyce

After my Zumba class, I grabbed a nibble at Rangoon, a Burmese restaurant close to The Joyce Theatre, where I saw Philadanco!, the Philadelphia Dance Company, presenting Intangible. I selected the Keema Paratha, one of their signature dishes: Indian-style flatbread stuffed with spicy ground beef ($12). It's a spicy snack I'd recommend, but watch out for the very hot red pepper strips. The tasty happy hour Pegu Club cocktail of vodka, orange curacao and lime was $5 off from noon until 6 ($12). Satiated, off I went to meet my friend at The Joyce to see the amazing dance company. Happy Hour details as of 2.10.2024 Hours: 12 to 6 [...]

By |2024-08-17T07:24:34-04:00March 19th, 2024|Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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