Big Apple Life

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

Mediterranean Cuisine at Leyla, Upper West, Side, NYC + Merry Wives at The Delacorte

Found Leyla, a Mediterranean restaurant, in searching for places less than a mile from The Delacorte as a potential one for The Public's Patron program. We were seated in the tiny garden in the back. The meal started strong with their beetroot carpaccio salad ($14), thinly sliced beets, topped with fresh arugula drizzled with a lemon oil dressing and garnished with four 1-inch balls of goat cheese rolled in herbs. I'd recommend that. My dining partner had eaten pide, the Turkish flatbread cooked in a brick oven, describing it as looking like a small pizza. Our slow-cooked short rib pide ($15) was different; it resembled strudel with the dough wrapped [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:26:47-04:00September 1st, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Atogirl Popup, Rockefeller Center, NYC

Earlier this summer, a group of friends and I met at Rockefeller Center for an unusual outdoor summer dining experience. As fans of the amazing Atoboy, we had to grab a weekday reservation for their curated menu of drinks and bites set against a stunning backdrop of St. Patrick's Cathedral and the NYC skyline. The limited menu consisted of two three-course menus ($57) plus a few extras. Between us, we had ordered both menus and shared the beloved Atoboy fried chicken with peanut sauce (+$22). Everything is served at once on disposable bamboo plates with bamboo utensils to eat with and plastic cups to drink from. With only a beer [...]

By |2021-10-31T10:06:35-04:00August 26th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Wagamama, Midtown, NYC + MoMA Cézanne’s Drawings

After visiting the vast Cézanne Drawing exhibition at M0MA, we headed to lunch in the area. This show, open through September 25, consists of more than 250 rarely shown works in addition to some of Paul Cézanne's paintings. After the museum, we headed a few blocks to wagamama, the Asian chain from London, with consistently good service and food. I hadn't yet tried this Midtown location as it opened right before the city closed for the pandemic. Their crispy wok-fried bang bang cauliflower ($8) coated in firecracker sauce is one of my favorites. I also like their steamed, then grilled, pork dumplings (gyoza) with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce (five [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:03-04:00August 18th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Stout: a Pub near Grand Central, Midtown, NYC

Consider grabbing a drink at Stout if you're looking for a pub near Grand Central to meet a friend before catching your train. The snack to have with that libation? I'd recommend their hearty portion of salt & pepper calamari fried along with lemon slices and banana peppers all served with a Meyer lemon aioli ($15). The palate-cleansing lemon slices offer a nice change of pace. My dining partner enjoyed their night's special of a sweet potato flatbread topped with whipped ricotta, grated asiago, fresh arugula and balsamic onions so caramelized it tasted like jam ($12). Stout Midtown 60 East 41st St (between Park and Madison Ave) New York, NY [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:13-04:00August 16th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Hudson Garden Grill + Kusama at Bronx Botanical Gardens

This hot summer we experienced Yayoi Kusama’s connection with nature and immersive installations at the Bronx Botanical Gardens on an overcast day. Kusama: Cosmic Nature will be open through October 31, 2021. We lucked out being seated at Hudson Garden Grill, the only sit-down restaurant a the gardens, as the clouds opened up. We started by sharing the local Lioni burrata and prosciutto with roasted peaches and heirloom tomatoes drizzled with basil oil ($17). One friend had the Cobb salad ($22), fried chicken layered along with tomatoes, greens, avocado, bacon, gorgonzola and hearts of palm all in a ranch dressing. Another ate the salmon ($27), cooked medium as requested with [...]

By |2021-10-31T09:27:22-04:00August 12th, 2021|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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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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