Big Apple Life

A collection of posts on Life in the Big Apple along with interviews with foodie friends

Brunch at The Smith, East Village, NYC + Suffs at The Public

It was my first time at the East Village location of The Smith but won't be my last. We met there for brunch as it was close to The Public where we were seeing "Suffs," the new amazing musical about the American women’s suffrage movement. Brunch was as good as the show! Our just-out-of-training server, Logan was perfection. Attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. We started with brunch cocktails, I had a spicy bloody mary ($13), my dining partners each had a mimosa ($15). I'm usually a huevos ranchero breakfast person when it's offered, yet I had to sample the unusual sounding Benedict Johnny. It's cheddar cornbread served in a ~6-inch cast-iron [...]

By |2022-05-21T10:03:35-04:00May 10th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Return to L’Adresse, Midtown near Bryant Park, NYC + Beatles Cover Band

A return to L'Address as promised, this time for dinner before heading to see the Beatles Cover Band at the Palladium. That performance elicited a flood of memories from that era. We sang along, knowing most of the words. At dinner, we started with two appetizers to share with the table. I'd recommend the mezze ($25) platter with beet hummus, tzatziki, spicy feta, fire-roasted Campania tomatoes and grilled naan sprinkled za’atar. Be sure to check the menu listing for what's included, as the items on the mezze were different than on their website. So was the price. Unless you request it well cooked, skip the mushroom grilled naan flatbread topped with [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:04:54-04:00May 8th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Boqueria Restaurant, Flatiron, NYC + Affordable Art Show

We selected Boqueria for its proximity to Metropolitan Pavilion where we were heading to the "Affordable Art Show." I had been to their theatre-district restaurant location for brunch and would suggest that if you need a bite before a matinee. In the smaller Flatiron location, we sat in the bar area so that we could order from the Happy Hour menu. I sampled their HH Shishito pepper-infused tequila Margie ($11) that was not too sweet, not too spicy. With that, we ordered a few tapas, including their hearty version of patatas brava ($6). That's crispy potato chunks sitting in tomato salsa and heavily drizzled with garlic aioli. I'd recommend that [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:13:19-04:00May 6th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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BXL Cafe, Theatre District, NYC + Birthday Candles

We decided on a late lunch at BXL, a Belgian cafe, before heading to the American Airline Theatre to see Debra Messing in Birthday Candles. We just walked through the alleyway across the street to the theatre a block away. Three of our four ordered mussels mariniere, menu-described as "cooked in white wine and shallots ($30). One seasoned moules-eating diner described them as plump but in need of flavor saying they were cooked in water, not wine and with onions (as you can see in the photo) and not shallots. I tried their steak frites. The meat was cooked as I requested, but it was not the quality of meat [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:10:52-04:00May 2nd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Honeybrains, Flatiron, NYC

When I learned about Honeybrains the registered dietitian in me smiled. I laughed, though, realizing I heard about it while at the ultra-upscale Daniel's for a sous vide birthday party. I stopped by this fairly new healthy chain at their Flatiron location. The made-from-scratch food is good, fresh and reasonably priced. I liked the tender grass-fed beef that comes with basil mashed potatoes, salad greens and garlicky broccoli ($14.80) and their amazingly tender and juicy free-range chicken served over basil mashed potatoes, sautéed cabbage and fresh arugula ($13.50). I'd also recommend their sourdough bread spread with yogurt then topped with Atlantic smoked salmon ($13.50) and fresh dill. Also flavorful are [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:16:32-04:00April 30th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dos Caminos, Theatre District, NYC + Take Me Out

We chose Dos Caminos as it was close to the Helen Hayes theater where we were heading to see "Take Me Out," about the personal and professional complexities of baseball, America’s favorite pastime starring Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), and Patrick J. Adams (Suits). I started with their "El Camino" margarita ($14) made with only Milagro Blanco tequila,  Triple Sec and lime juice. We both had their eggs rancheros requesting them poached instead of fried ($18) along with crisp tortillas, beans, smoked ham and queso fresco.  My first bite indicated that they had pre-plated the food as the beans were at room temperature. With my second [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:18:30-04:00April 28th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bryant Park Grill, Midtown, NYC + Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures

Eighteen of our ex.expat group stopped at Bryant Park Grill for lunch before our two private docent-led tours at the New York Public library. They set up a large table near the rear of the restaurant with the park as our backdrop. To ease the often chaos at the payment of the bill for a large group, we requested one bill for every four diners. They happily accommodated. They also delivered all of our food at the same time. Impressive. Some of the tasty meals included their Tuscan tomato & white bean with shaved parmesan cheese, toasted croutons, dill & truffle oil ($11.50); wild mushroom ravioli with a grilled artichoke, [...]

By |2022-04-23T11:00:33-04:00April 23rd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Sweetbriar x 2, Kips Bay, NYC

Sweetbriar in the Park South Hotel had been on our radar to meet for dinner since it opened in April as we wanted to again eat  Chef Bryce Shuman's upscale comfort food. Bryce hailed from Betony and Eleven Madison Park, where he garnered three stars from the New York Times, One Michelin Star and was named 2015 Food and Wine Magazine "Best New Chef." That and he is a friend of my dining partner. Bryce includes many of his hit menu items from his popular pandemic barbecue pop-up Ribs n Riesling. With sweetbriar focused on live-fire cooking of their seasonal veggies and meats, I thought it fitting to sample their [...]

By |2022-04-25T11:27:09-04:00April 13th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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New Handcrafted Cocktails and Bar Bites at Fogo de Chão, Midtown, NYC

This time my visit to Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian steakhouse, in Midtown was for a press event to introduce their new bar bites and cocktails. The culinary art of churrasco and the fresh, seasonal ingredients found on their Market Table inspired these new menu items. While we sipped the new cocktails, the staff passed their new bar bites.  We sat at the bar with Hugo, our friendly bartender making these new cocktails. My favorite was the Samba Squeeze Martini made with Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka, St- Germain, blood orange and guava. The other new ones include: Desert Rose: Patron Silver, Aperol, lime and aquafaba, garnished with angostura bitters [...]

By |2022-07-07T14:07:03-04:00April 5th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Tri Dim Shanghai, Upper East Side, NYC + Private Met Tour

Lucky us. We were able to arrange a private tour of the Asia Art Galleries at the Met with Joe Scheier-Dolberg associate curator of Chinese paintings and Pengliang Lu associate curator of Chinese Decorative Arts on a day the museum was closed. In keeping with the Asian theme, we decided to lunch at Tri Dim Shanghai, an Upper East Side Chinese restaurant. My table ordered several dim sum to share including their crispy shrimp balls ($12 for 6) and Peking duck roll ($12), the steamed chicken dumplings ($12 for 5) and their classic crab and pork soup dumplings ($12 for 6). The latter were served with a warning not to [...]

By |2022-04-09T18:11:21-04:00April 3rd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Faces and Names, Midtown West, NYC + Prayer For the French Republic 

We stopped at Faces and Names, a contemporary pub serving sandwiches & bar food, for a bite before heading to City Center around the corner to see a Prayer For the French Republic, a play that friends raved about. We were seated in the cozy back room, replete with couches in front of a fireplace and TVs.  My friend went retro with a Tito's Cosmo, I  had an Old Fashioned. We then shared their Buffalo chicken salad ($16) with chopped romaine, sliced cucumbers, crisp apple slices, grape tomatoes and walnuts topped with warm, moist, well-seasoned chicken breast cut into strips. I highly recommend. Also good is their Cubano sandwich ($16) with [...]

By |2022-03-26T10:28:35-04:00March 19th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling, Theatre|0 Comments
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Amata, Midtown, NYC + Carlton Fine Arts

COVID had kept us apart, so we had lots of catching up to do, including a belated birthday celebration. Before dinner at Amata, we met at the Carlton Fine Arts gallery on Madison to see their Pop Art Festival, having read about it in a friend's real estate newsletter. We headed west to Amata being the first seated in the dining room at this midtown Italian restaurant serving Neapolitan fare. We started with cocktails, my friends each having their Le Grand Fizz ($17) with Grey Goose Poire and St. Germain liqueur and I had their Old Fashioned ($17). We then split their white salad with endive, artichoke hearts, hearts of [...]

By |2022-03-28T18:12:42-04:00March 16th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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A Messy but Fun Meal at the Boil, NoHo, NYC

Arriving during their happy hour, we first requested a few items from that menu. My dining partner began with their plump happy hour oysters ($7.50 for 6). We shared the fried calamari ($8) and added their Cajun fries ($7). Silly us. We could — and should — have stopped there, but had already ordered the main event. The Boil's menu reminded me of a fun, messy visit to Hell's Kitchen's Aqua Boil. First we selected our catch, then picked a sauce and heat level. My friend picked the head-on shrimp Boil special with a garlic-butter Cajun blend at a medium spice level; I chose the headless shrimp with the same [...]

By |2022-03-12T08:45:56-05:00February 26th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Brunch at Jane, Soho, NYC

The last time I was at Jane's, was a decade ago when Urbanspoon still existed. That restaurant information and recommendation service lasted a decade before being gobbled up by the India-based Zomato, now-defunct in the US. So much in our world has changed other than I still recommend a visit to this casual American bistro located on the edge of Greenwich Village and Soho. This time, I returned for a delightful brunch with attentive service. We started with what they call their "The Best Bloody Mary" ($14 regular, $5 virgin) made with their secret recipe. To me, it was a decent cocktail but certainly not the best! My friend ordered [...]

By |2022-01-11T13:36:56-05:00February 18th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Peter McManus Cafe, Chelsea, NYC

I had time to think about the charcoal-grilled burger and fries I was craving. Time, as I was isolating after a bout with omicron. When I was finally allowed out, I headed to Peter McManus Cafe, open since 1936. It's an Irish pub with old-city charm that includes torn plastic seats on their cozy corner round booths. I was the only person in the dining room as I went at an off time. That was even better than I had hoped for my first post-COVID outing. I ordered my medium-rare cheddar cheese bacon-topped burger with crispy fries then sat back dreaming about that first bite. It was perfection.  Juicy. Smoky.  Satisfying. [...]

By |2022-01-11T10:08:43-05:00February 15th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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A Return to Bluebird London, Columbus Circle, NYC + Flying Over Sunset

Before heading to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center to see "Flying Over Sunset," we stopped at Bluebird London for dinner. The show is a fictionalized story about Cary Grant, Clare Boothe Luce and Aldous Huxley, who together experiment with LSD. Dinner was better than the show! We started with cocktails ($16 each). I had an Old Fashioned, my dining company their Planters' Punch (Bacardi Cuatro, lime, pineapple with a splash of angostura bitters) and Bed of Roses (Grey Goose, Campari, grapefruit, cava and a splash of club soda). One tried their over-priced corn soup ($16) for a small portion that needed both seasoning and more fresh corn.  I [...]

By |2022-01-17T22:24:10-05:00January 11th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Empanada Mama, Lower East Side, NYC + Tenement Museum

A group of friends first went on a guided tour of the Tenement Museum (103 Orchard Street) that allowed us the opportunity to explore the lower east side neighborhood and enter the historic tenement building to learn about the Baldizzi family and see their recreated apartment. Aldolfo and Rosaria Baldizzi were immigrants from Sicily who lived with their two young children on Orchard Street and survived economic hardships like the Great Depression. We explored how the Baldizzi family lived in their tenement home and visited where they went to school and shopped. Afterward, we walked over to Empanada Mama, a Latin restaurant in the neighborhood for a bite to eat. [...]

By |2022-01-02T10:51:29-05:00January 7th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Holiday Meal at Rolf’s Restaurant, Gramercy Park, NYC + Sharks at American Museum of Natural History

The day began at the American Museum of Natural History at the opening of the "Sharks" exhibit that brings life to the diversity of these fascinating creatures that predate the appearance of trees and dinosaurs on our planet.  The new exhibition features dozens of life-sized models ranging from 33 feet to 5 inches long, fossils from the Museum’s collections, touch-free interactive exhibits and more for visitors of all ages. After the opening, we headed downtown to Rolf's German Restaurant with its old-world vibe to meet some friends. The restaurant, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood for over 50 years, is decorated for Christmas year-round. It's these over-the-top decorations that draw the [...]

By |2022-01-17T22:27:39-05:00December 20th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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Jazz Brunch at North Square, Washington Square, NYC

Every Sunday afternoon, North Square restaurant located in the Washington Square Hotel offers two jazz sets with brunch. One at 12:30, the other 2:15. The afternoon we went, the music was by the Roz Corral Trio with Roz as the vocal, Michael Kanan on the keyboard and Paul Gill on bass. We each had one of their brunch options and a bloody Mary (prix fixe $22). My friend tried the herb omelet with tomatoes and goat cheese served with a mesclun salad and undercooked potato cubes. I sampled the brunch tasting asking for poached eggs with pumpkin pecan pancakes, a chicken apple sausage and the same not fully cooked potato [...]

By |2021-11-08T09:17:19-05:00December 18th, 2021|Big Apple Life, Bites from the Road, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Return to Il Punto, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Green Mist

I had attended a reading of Green Mist: A Reading of an Immersive Play at New Perspectives Theatre on West 37th directed by Shellen Lubin with some friends. The story was a reflection of how privilege has shaped our society, which was somewhat reminiscent of "The Lord of the Flies." After the reading, we ended up at Il Punto, an old haunt of mine a couple of blocks south of 42nd street on Ninth Avenue that serves Sicilian fare. I hadn't been since pre-pandemic.  It was just as good as it was, although service was a tad slow, as in many restaurants these days. Two of us started with the [...]

By |2021-12-18T09:53:46-05:00December 12th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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