Big Apple Life

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

Waterside Dining Central Park Boathouse, Central Park, NYC

I have a soft spot for iconic New York City spots, especially those that pleasantly surprise visitors with their peaceful, charming ambiance. The recently reopened Central Park Boathouse, sitting by a tranquil lake with lovers in rowboats, is one. It's a serene oasis in the heart of the bustling city. As you sit at a white tablecloth-covered table, the peaceful ambiance of the Boathouse envelops you, making you forget the city's hustle and bustle. The Boathouse has been a backdrop in classics like “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sex and the City.”   I was fortunate to be invited to experience their offerings under the new management of Legends Hospitality, the group [...]

By |2024-08-26T14:31:50-04:00August 19th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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The Norm, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NYC + The Eyes of the Storm

I was a teenager when the Beatles arrived in NYC in 1963 for their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. That trip catapulted them into stardom. During that time period, Paul McCartney took photos with his Pentax camera looking out from within the Beatlemania frenzy. Hence, "The Eyes of the Storm." Those photographs and more memorabilia can be seen at the exhibit Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm, but only until later this week, specifically, August 18. As we often do when visiting this museum's major exhibitions, we spent hours in the Eyes of the Storm. Remember the quintessential Dior costume exhibit? We opted to grab a bite [...]

By |2024-08-09T08:19:52-04:00August 15th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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MOMA’s Terrace, Midtown, NYC + Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt

Our six-person team gathered in the MOMA lobby (Museum of Modern Art) for a scavenger hunt with Watson Adventures. We had 90 minutes to find answers to the 28 questions throughout the museum. We moved quickly with each team member helping find the answers. Once found, we typed our responses into the online form. We received 5 points for a correct answer and 3 points if we got it after getting a hint.  We got 28 right on the first try; the other two on our second try.  We won the competition, winning only 20% off our next hunt. Afterward, we headed up to the sixth-floor terrace for a drink [...]

By |2024-08-09T08:15:58-04:00August 13th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Laut, finally an “A”, Union Square, NYC + Sleeping Beauties at the Met

I had always enjoyed dining at Laut, a restaurant that blends Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai food, in my hood. When their letter grade from the Health Department that promotes and protects the city's health changed from A to B to C to worse,  I avoided it. When I noticed the restaurant again sporting an "A," I suggested to my friends that we head there after attending the Met opening of Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. That exhibit contained over 200  garments and accessories spanning four centuries, all visually connected through themes of nature. To start, we shared their refreshing papaya salad ($15) made of shredded papaya with chilies, string beans, fresh [...]

By |2024-08-05T09:07:24-04:00August 5th, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Secretive Celebrations Ends at Laser Wolf, Brooklyn, NYC

I was told to wear comfy shoes, dress casually and meet at the Astor Place subway at 2:15 for a surprise birthday celebration. After exiting the subway at City Hall, we met some other friends. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, had a drink at Time Out, then headed to the dock at Dumbo and boarded a barge for The Masterwork Series of Barge Music: a quartet (3 violins and a cello) of classical music from Brahms and Beethoven. Fabulously unique. (If you go and get woozy on the water, be prepared with Dramamine, as you might need some. One violinist shared that he had taken some before playing!) From there, [...]

By |2024-08-11T08:17:38-04:00August 3rd, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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L’Artusi, West Village, NYC

It took a few moments to adjust to the busting noise level at L’Artusi in the West Village, having just eaten at Greywind where I didn't have to strain to hear my dining partner. We were looking for a crisp, cold white on this hot summer night. We ordered the Pallagrello Bianco "caiatì," Michele Alois 2022 ($64) on the reco of our server. After he poured it and had moved to another table, we flagged him down, as the wine was almost at room temperature. He returned with three fresh glasses and a new chilled bottle, popped the cork, poured the new wine, which immediately frosted our glasses and took [...]

By |2024-07-30T07:11:12-04:00August 1st, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Jane Bertch

Earlier this month, I reintroduced my Guest Foodie column and its interview that acquaints you with the thoughts, insights and achievements of people in or related to the food industry. Today's story is about Jane Bertch, my American-Parisian friend, the impressive Dame who started our Paris chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier. At that time, I was serving on the international board of the philanthropic group as a chapter board liaison to many chapters. We met in Paris. Jane started her career in finance, moving from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial one. In 2009, she founded La Cuisine Paris. Just this year, she authored a book about starting that school. Specifically, [...]

By |2024-08-02T09:44:10-04:00July 30th, 2024|Big Apple Life, Foodie Interviews, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Dan Kluger’s Greywind, Midtown West, NYC

Dan Kluger, the former executive chef at ABC Kitchen who went on to open Loring Place, is now at Greywind, a windowed 58-seat dining room on the corner of Tenth Avenue and 35th Street slightly east of the 7-train Hudson River stop. I loved how I didn’t have to strain to hear my friend. I had read—and heard—about his housemade “Cheese-its,” a giant cracker that, after biting, tasted similar to its packaged namesake. For fun, as spud-lovers, we had to sample chef Kluger’s crispy potatoes ($21) topped with smoked chili buttermilk ranch and slivers of fresh celery, even though neither of us liked the Canadian poutine, with cheese curds and [...]

By |2024-07-02T12:22:47-04:00July 28th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Le Jardinier, Midtown, NYC with a Dessert Symphony

Le Jardinier, French for "the gardener," is Chef Alain Verzeroli's Michelin-starred midtown restaurant, where my friend treated me to a birthday meal. We sat at a corner round table, which was oh-so conducive to great conversation and viewing the restaurant. I started sipping my Rogue Royale ($24), a smooth, well-balanced blend of El Tesoro Blanco, lime, blood orange, ancho chile and Grand Marnier, while nibbling the crispy breadsticks and soft rolls: my friend, a gin and tonic. With our meal, we sipped the Bouchard Pere & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Red Burgundy ($225), a Pinot Noir from Côte de Nuits, Bourgogne, France. Decadent. My friend enjoyed her buratta with red cherries and [...]

By |2024-07-28T07:52:41-04:00July 26th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Michelin-Starred Vegetarian Palace: Dirt Candy, Lower East Side, NYC

Dirt Candy is one of only two vegetarian restaurants in New York City with a Michelin star. Interestingly, chef-owner Amanda Cohen is not a vegetarian. She says vegetables are just candy from dirt. Amanda is a pioneer, introducing no tipping, a policy that Union Square Hospitality's Danny Meyer — who is often credited — followed. He reversed his decision when his restaurants reopened during the Covid pandemic. She didn't. She also pays her staff a living wage.  We were seated by the window and given the menu or the $105 five-course meal, gratuity included.  We opted for the $55 wine pairing with each vino from women winemakers. In addition to [...]

By |2024-06-16T08:54:52-04:00July 22nd, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Barbuto, West Village, NYC + Breaking the Story + Twyla Tharp

After we went to different matinees, we met for dinner at Johnathan Waxman's Barbuto on the corner of Horatio and West Street in the West Village, just a 2-minute walk from Little Island. There, we saw a full-length premiere from Twyla Tharp featuring live music by T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield. I had seen Breaking the Story, a play that didn't get good reviews yet had a magnificent performance by Maggie Siff. They also saw the powerful, must-see Mother Play by Paula Vogel, starring Jessica Lange, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Jim Parsons, which I had already seen. Dinner started with their Hannah pizza with burrata, fontina and Parmesan on tomato ragu [...]

By |2024-07-29T16:57:18-04:00July 20th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Julie Hartigan: A Return of my Guest Foodie Column

I introduced my Guest Foodie column on July 10, 2012, twelve years ago today. Over the next seven years, it provided insight into the points of view of almost 90 of the country’s top foodies — people who made a living in the field. I'm not sure why, but I stopped writing it. With this post on my friend and fellow Dame (a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier) Julie Hartigan, I'm resurrecting that fun interview with those in the food universe—food editors, authors, chefs, restaurateurs, cooking school instructors, bloggers, and more. We met when Julie volunteered to assist at The Next Big Bite, a fund-raiser I did for the New [...]

By |2024-07-10T07:08:27-04:00July 10th, 2024|Big Apple Life, Foodie Interviews, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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2024’s North River Lobster Boat, Pier 81, NYC

Sailing on the North River Lobster boat has been one of my annual summer events since it started its excursions in 2014 when the sail was free. Today, that sail still takes you up the Hudson while you sip your drink and have a meal, yet now you need a ticket (~$10) to board. Reflecting on its humble beginnings a decade ago, the company offered a lobster roll featuring a generous portion of fresh Maine crustacean nestled in a brioche roll with a hint of yuzu aioli, creamy cole slaw, and a side of chips, all for a modest $16. It was a culinary delight. The same sandwich now served [...]

By |2024-07-08T09:32:21-04:00July 4th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Chicka and the Don, Flatiron-Gramercy, NYC

Chicka and The Don is a new Latin American restaurant in the Flatiron District, where Almayass was on 21st Street. The waiter mentioned a third that had come and gone. As their guests, we sampled much of the menu. My dining partner chose a Margie, while I sampled The Don ($20), a unique twist on an Old Fashioned made with Japanese whiskey and a wine and honey-infused rum with aphrodisiac claims. When our waiter mentioned that he would bring the food out family style as it was ready, we didn't imagine receiving everything but dessert almost at once. Other than a banquet in front of us at the same time, everything is worth [...]

By |2024-08-03T09:07:39-04:00June 17th, 2024|Big Apple Life, City Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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Molkajete Restaurant Bar, Brooklyn, NYC + Green-wood Cemetery

Our ex-expat group took a private temperature-controlled trolley with a guide to explore Greenwood’s historical landscape. We toured some of its 478 glacial-formed acres. The cemetery houses one of the largest outdoor collections of nineteenth—and twentieth-century statuary and mausoleums. It's not to be missed. After our tour, we headed down the hill toward our subway back to Manhattan, stopping at Molkajete Restaurant Bar for some nourishment and chatter. Happy hour at this Peruvian/ Mexican restaurant runs from 11 am to 6 pm, so we indulged. Sangria and margaritas were only $8. With our drinks, we nibbled their housemade guacamole ($14) and chips. Some items we ate included their burrito bowl [...]

By |2024-06-17T09:37:21-04:00June 14th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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The Korean COQODAQ, Flatiron-Grammarcy, NYC

Coquodoq, a new fried chicken concept, is currently one of the hottest reservation. The Flatiron restaurant is from Korean-American restaurateur Simon Kim, owner of the Michelin-starred Cote Korean Steakhouse. That's where we were celebrating a big birthday. When entering the restaurant's front door, the first stop is at the hand-washing sink, replete with high-end soaps, as much of the food is finger food. We were then seated at a leather-upholstered booth beneath one of the lit arches in the 190-seat room. We sipped an NV Grongnet Blanc de Blanc ($85) Brut from their champagne menu to accompany our meal, the chef's signature fried chicken meal ($38) that began with pasture-raised [...]

By |2024-06-01T08:11:52-04:00June 9th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Populares Mexican Restaurant, Lower East Side, NYC + Board of Education

We laughed out loud at the comedy Board of Education, part of the Fresh Fruit Festival. It's a comedy following two aimless millennials from being waiters at a gastropub to running for the board of education. Richard Spitaletta, who wrote it, also stars in it. After the show, we walked around the corner to the newly opened Populares Mexican Restaurant, where I was invited as a guest. We sipped Margies, both classic and unsweetened ($14) while nibbling on freshly made chips with four flavorful salsas: pico de gallo, spicy salsa rojo, and salsa verde, both fresh and cooked ($12), plus their housemade chunky guacamole ($16). We were happy while we [...]

By |2024-06-17T09:35:10-04:00June 7th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Opening of Fogo de Chão, Brooklyn, NYC

I'm a Fogo de Chão fan and have been since I experienced my first churrascaria (grilled BBQ) at their midtown location. I couldn't resist heading to City Point Mall in Albee Square in Brooklyn for the opening. This location features an open churrasco grill, where customers can watch their chefs butcher, prepare and grill various meats over an open flame. Like all others in the chain, it offers a salad bar—Market Table—like no other. We nibbled hors d'oeuvres before being seated with a seafood tower at our table and selecting from the Market Table. The roving waitstaff then started circling the room with grilled meats to be sliced from large [...]

By |2024-06-01T11:21:27-04:00May 27th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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The Dining Room at The Met + The Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800

Now that you no longer need to be a member to dine there, I highly recommend the fourth-floor Met dining room while visiting the museum. This time I was with out-of-town friends who selected the "Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800" installation. Over lunch, we discussed that Vermeer—whom I am familiar with—wasn't as prolific as the other Dutch masters. Only 36 of his approximately 60 paintings survived, compared to hundreds of Rembrandt's. The three of us shared two $85 four-course meals, which was a perfect amount of food for three people, plus a Paul Prieur Sancerre from the Loire Valley ($85). Everything is recommendable.  We started with the braised octopus with [...]

By |2024-06-01T11:20:13-04:00May 24th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Blooms Tavern, Midtown, NYC + Roosevelt Island

Our ex.expat group toured Roosevelt Island when the cherry blossoms were in bloom with tour guide extraordinaire Kevin Draper, who detailed the history and the newly built Cornell University technology campus and future redevelopment plans for the island. After our tour, we took the tram back to Manhattan and headed to Blooms Tavern, a super-friendly Celtic-fused restaurant with an attentive staff who couldn't have been nicer. We sampled lots, including grilled cheese with tomato soup ($16), an impossible burger with fries ($16) and Blooms beer-battered codfish and chips ($25). All tasty and served with a smile!  I recommend a visit to Blooms and a tour of Roosevelt Island (or anywhere) [...]

By |2024-05-21T07:16:10-04:00May 14th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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