Big Apple Life

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

Tri Dum West, Upper West Side, NYC + Almost Opening Night Merry Wives

I had secured opening night tickets to the Delacorte Theater to see the adaptation of Shakespeare's Merry Wives. For non-New Yorkers, the theater is outside in the middle of Central Park. We decide to try a Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side that was only half a mile walk from the theater. That's because I've been looking for restaurants that are a mile or less from the stage to recommend for The Public Theater's Patron program. As we were seated at Tri Dum West on Columbus Avenue, our server placed some pickled radishes to nibble while persuing the menu. We first chose our apps, of course getting some dumplings, [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:32-04:00August 8th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Happy Hour at 1803, Tribeca, NYC

I met my friend at 1803 in Tribeca for its happy hour. Inspired by New Orleans and named for the year of the Louisiana Purchase, 1803 offers fare you might enjoy in the French Quarter. Although they had balconied seating, we opted to dine outside. We started with martinis to wash down the half-dozen charbroiled oysters ($15) served with sliced bread to sop up the Cajun butter. So good, I would have eaten another order! Not so the baked cheese-filled jalapeños ($9) topped with shredded tomatoes. What I liked better was the blacked Cajun shrimp ($9 for 5) with spicy aioli. Also good is the mini cheddar burger ($12) with [...]

By |2023-09-02T19:39:51-04:00August 6th, 2021|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Newly Opened Dame, MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, NYC

The British restaurant Dame, one of the new hot eateries in the Village, offers a limited food menu. The two lengthy wine menus list what the owners think James Bond and Austin Powers would drink. We chuckled when Ayla, our fab server, described how they keep the pretty mussels for the dilled heirloom cucumber dish, pureeing the ugly ones for its garlicky sauce ($17).  We also enjoyed the three large grilled prawns in a light sauce with Sungold tomatoes ($22). I'd suggest the restaurant skip the langoustines (or find a meatier shellfish) to put on the kedgeree. The seafood didn't add anything to the flavorful curried rice and smoked fish [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:50-04:00August 4th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Terra, SoHo + Salomon Arts Gallery Exhibition Donald & Victor: Under the Influence

After visiting the Whitney Museum, we started walking on the Hudson River Parkway south toward Tribeca. Before dining, we were stopping in at the closing party of the Salomon Arts Gallery exhibition "Donald & Victor: Under the Influence." The show contained paintings by artist (and podiatrist, as we learned when we spoke to him) Don Hershman and photographs by his late partner Victor Arimondi. After the event, we ate at the bar of Terra, a cozy wine bar serving small plates. (Sidewalk seats are also available.) We sipped Montepulciano ($16 for a large pour) as we ate. The dish not to be missed is their stewed calamari ($14). Squid cooked [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:58-04:00August 2nd, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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A Mexican Floating Restaurant at Pier 81, La Baraca, NYC

About 10 years ago, I introduced the Bite of the Best community to The North River Lobster boat. This year, the Circle Line added a new floating restaurant serving Mexican fare. Like the lobster boat, La Baraca sails multiple times per day from Pier 81 on the Hudson River at 41st Street. You'll need to purchase a pass ahead of time. The vibe is relaxed, many of the drinks are tequila or mezcal based and the food is classic south of the border. After boarding and being seated by one of the staff, we settled in and perused the menu. My sailing partner sipped the classic margarita served on the [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:07-04:00July 23rd, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Back to The Lightship Frying Pan, Chelsea, NYC + Classic Harbor Cruise

After twenty of our group of ex-expats took the Classis Harbor Architecture Tour, some of us walked the few blocks north from Chelsea Piers to The Frying Pan for something to eat and to continue the fun afternoon.  Our tour had taken us around Manhattan island as we sipped bubbly while the tour guide, a member of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA),  provided insightful narration covering New York’s iconic landmarks, modern architecture and engineering masterpieces. Their new way of ordering is great for a large group wanting to split the bill. Each person scans, orders and pays from the QR code unique to each [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:23-04:00July 19th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Great Pizza at Ignozio’s, Dumbo, Brooklyn

The four of us met at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge to walk across it to check out some locations for one of our fall ex-expat events. We stopped at the not-yet-fully-open TimeOut market for a tour of their facilities, then headed to Ignazio's, a pizzeria on the corner of Water Street almost under the Brooklyn Bridge for lunch. We shared the large lightly dressed three-apple miso salad ($11) with arugula, mixed green, apples, olives and a large slice of Auricchio provolone cheese. Ordering our thin-crusted large ($28) pizza with fresh mozzarella and plum tomatoes, we each added a topping ending up with meatballs, caramelized onions, mushrooms and [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:30-04:00July 17th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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San Carlo Osteria Piemonte, SoHo, NYC

We arrived at San Carlo Osteria Piemonte during happy hour. Nico, our adorable server who was a friend of my friend, convinced me to try the Mezcal Negroni, an Italian cocktail, during happy hour ($10). I liked the smoky twist. My friend had his martini. He poured a glass of the Tuscan Le Palaie Bulizio, 2013, while we nibbled the unusual eggplant meatballs served over flavored tomato chunks ($15 for four fried croquettes) and the grilled Spanish octopus ($23) with a flavorful chickpea and diced veggie salad. Nico suggested two of his favorites pasta dishes for us to share and split them for us. We had half homemade meat ravioli [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:39-04:00July 15th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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The Neighborhood Experience at Chez Nick, Upper East Side, NYC

I ended up uptown for dinner at my friend's favorite neighborhood place, Chez Nick's, which opened in February 2020 as the pandemic closed the world. The restaurant is co-owned by three chefs — Bobby Little, Chad Urban, and Nicholas Bayse — with lots of NYC kitchen experience including Ai Fiori, Marc Forgione, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Robertas, and more recently Batard, where the trio met. The three are meeting their goals of bringing Michelin-starred techniques and service to their neighborhood dining experience where guest satisfaction comes first. I sampled the Pina Verde, one of their unique smoky spicy cocktails made with mezcal and Ancho Reyes Verde (a spicy liqueur crafted from [...]

By |2021-12-12T09:22:58-05:00July 9th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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City Winery at Pier 56, Hudson River Park, NYC + Ex-ExPat High Line Tour

Our ex-expat group met at King Nyani, the giant bronze ape in Bella Abzug Park, earlier this summer to begin our High Line art installation tour. Julie and I researched the current High Line art installations. From the Plinth on the Spur to the newly installed Retainer, we shared what we had learned about the ever-changing art. We exited the High Line at 14th Street to dine in the Hudson River Room at City Winery. We were seated at one long table. Everything looked amazingly fresh. A few ordered the Kale Caesar ($14, +$8 for added chicken), a few others tried Sophia's Poke Bowl ($18) with tuna, quinoa, kale, carrots, [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:28:57-04:00July 5th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Miss Korea BBQ, Koreatown, NYC + Pin Cushion Art Installation in the Fashion District

Before lunch at Miss Korea BBQ, I stopped by The Garment District Alliance information kiosk to see how it had been transformed into a giant pin cushion composed of 50+ bales of curly willow, nine wisteria bales, and hundreds of silk flowers and butterflies. There's also an enormous bronze needle and large button in this public art sculpture, one of the many ever-changing art installations on the streets of Manhattan.  The giant pin cushion, created by Patricia Gonzalez and Carlos Franqui of Floratorium, will be there through the summer. The 8-foot bronze "Garment Worker" by Judith Weller nearby is currently a permanent installation.       If you go see [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:29:11-04:00June 21st, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Neighborhood Antonucci Cafe, Upper East Side, NYC

Renowned Italian restaurateur Tony May mentioned that Antonucci Cafe has the best chef in NYC. How could I not try it? That and I've been looking for restaurants that are a mile or less from The Delacorte to recommend for The Public Theater's patron program. With our sliced bread, we were served a delicious baked tomato sauce with warm goat cheese. An additional portion will add $5 to your bill. We split a crispy sauteed soft shell crab with ramps ($24), followed by housemade orecchiette a pork sausage ragu with ricotta and fennel ($28) and a flavorful fava bean and arugula salad ($ 22) with slivers of aged pecorino. The [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:29:21-04:00June 19th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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An Local Institution: Donohue’s Steak House, Upper East Side, NYC

Trying to keep the restaurant reviews on BiteoftheBest fresh keeps me from developing relationships with neighborhood haunts as I don't return that often to local places. One of my upper east side friends shared her favorite local place, Donoghue's Steak House, a midtown institution with devout regulars. Donoghue's is a neighborhood place you know about, not one you discover visiting their website. There isn't one. It's been around since 1950, offering good, fresh pub food.  It also was featured on Billions — season three, fourth episode on Showtime —  when some of the show's characters met at this locale to decide how to handle one of the other characters. My friend [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:29:33-04:00June 13th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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The Pop-Up: Thaimee Love, West Village, NYC

Thaimee Love is a pop-up restaurant in the West Village from Thai Chef Hong Thaimee. She serves market-driven Thai comfort food. I was looking forward to sampling, especially after visiting Chiang Mai, her city, just before the pandemic lockdown. Take note if you go that they have no liquor license. There is a liquor store up the street, which is where we got a Gruner Veltliner thinking it would go nicely with the cuisine. It did. We couldn't decide among the three small plates offered and so chose the sampling Ruam Mit Platter for two ($28). It included slices of fried yams and Kabocha squash — "Chiang Mai Fries" — [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:29:42-04:00June 11th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Lunch at Tavern on the Green, Central Park, NYC + American Museum of Natural History

The first stop for my visiting grandkids was the dinosaur exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History as my 5-year-old grandson wants to be a paleontologist. After whizzing through all the exhibits, we walked in Central Park towards the newly restored Tavern on the Green about 67th Street. We were some of the first guests to dine there when it reopened and opted for the crystal room as it was too windy to sit on the patio. I had a Bulleit Old Fashion ($15) and the kids ordered juice ($4 each). Our helpful waiter suggested getting the kids' orders in early. Smart. Eloise (almost 2 1/2) ordered the kids' [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:30:07-04:00June 1st, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Mission Ceviche, Upper East Side, NYC + Central Park

After a visit to the blooming conservatory gardens, we walked downtown through Central Park, stopping at the Met for a quick trip to the roof to see Alex Da Corte’s Enchanting Commission for the rooftop. He created a kinetic sculpture featuring Sesame Street's Big Bird with an aesthetic of Alexander Calder’s standing mobiles. The installation will be on view through October 31, 2021. We were able to get a reservation for dinner at Mission Ceviche, a Peruvian place on Second and 72 Street at the last minute, although we needed to dine inside. We perused the Pisco-focused cocktail menu as that's the classic white brandy from Peru. My dining mates [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:13:21-04:00May 29th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings, Rooftop|1 Comment
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Last Time at The Comfort Diner, Midtown, NYC

When working at Parade Magazine years ago, my editor and I stopped by The Comfort Diner for a quick bite to eat. It's around the corner from their offices. The restaurant had a fun vibe. It was quick, the food was good and was reasonably priced, especially considering its location! When I met a friend there recently for breakfast, the only thing that was the same was the prices. We sat down at 12, had to flag down the waitress to order, did so by 12:15 and didn't get our food until well after 1 pm! The huevos rancheros were the worst rendition I've ever had ($11) with a tortilla [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:32:15-04:00May 23rd, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Rosa Mexicano, Lincoln Center, NYC + Brian Clarke at MAD

The Museum of Art and Design (MAD) offered an immersive exhibition of more than 100 works of stained glass, compositions in lead and related drawings showcasing British artist Brian Clarke's work. There were more than twenty free-standing, glass screens animated by the changing light on display through the end of April 2021. After the exhibit, we headed a couple of blocks north to Rosa Mexicano for brunch. While deciding on what to order, we shared a pitcher of their white sangria ($45). We were starving (not literally) so none of us could resist the mild guacamole ($15) and chips served already prepared as during COVID Rosa's does not do it [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:31:39-04:00May 17th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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As Seen on Shark Tank: Pasta by Hudson, Chelsea, NYC

One of the best restaurants to dine at indeed is the one where you're known. We headed over to Pasta by Hudson, a fast-casual fresh pasta bar between 20th and 21st Streets on Seventh Avenue as my friend is a friend of the owner, Brandon Fay. They had met and befriended when Brandon was Managing Director of Trattoria Dell’ Arte. Brandon recently appeared on Shark Tank with his concept, getting an investment of $150,000 in exchange for 30 percent equity. We had to try it. Brandon greeted us with a taste of their frozen strawberry frosé ($11) while we perused the menu. We then ordered wine ($9 a glass) with [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:31:29-04:00May 12th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Montebello, Midtown + Calder at MOMA

  Classic cooking from the area near Trieste, Italy, is the inspiration for Montebello, a northern Italian white-tablecloth restaurant. I had chosen it for their proximity and prix fixe $29 lunch as a place to dine after going to the Calder: Modern from the Start exhibit at MOMA.  I highly suggest making a res if you haven't been yet. It's open through August 7, 2021. Our attentive waiter said that they had just recently reopened and were not offering the special lunch menu at this time. We were already seated comfortably at our white-tablecloth-covered table looking at the menu. One friend ordered the battutta di pollo, their hand-pounded then grilled chicken [...]

By |2021-10-31T10:06:49-04:00May 11th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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