City Bites

The best City Bites from New York

Sushi Seki Bar & Oysters, Hell’s Kitchen, (Hamilton) NYC

The newest Sushi Seki restaurant recently opened in Hell's kitchen in the former Firebird location. I was invited to stop by for a meal recently before I headed to see the hottest ticket on Broadway - the rap musical Hamilton — up the street while Lin-Manuel Miranda was still performing. They seated me at the five-seat Kappo/Chef's counter to sample Chef Seki’s innovative cuisine for a tasting menu. I learned that Kap= cut fish and Po= steamed or cooked in Japanese. Instead of the regular 7-course tasting menu ($100) along with wine/sake pairings ($60), we were served offerings from the pre-theatre menu plus a sake selected for each course. Our [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:12:04-04:00March 2nd, 2016|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Ooviña Latin Kitchen & Wine Bar, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Allegiance + The Color Purple CLOSED

Ooviña is a wine bar in Hell's Kitchen with an interesting motif of white leafed tree branches cascading from the ceiling. I was invited there to sample their traditional Latin cooking, with many of the dishes being Guatemalan. I stopped by between two Broadway show — the tear-jerking Allegiance, a story about the Japanese internment after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and The Color Purple, the Pulitzer Prize-winning story about an African women. Both are musicals. We started with margaritas ($15), mine a spicy jalapeño one, my friend's with an added splash of house-made sangria. Both recommended. As we were rushed for time, as our evening's performance began at 7, [...]

By |2018-07-17T07:03:09-04:00February 25th, 2016|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Gallo Nero, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (Our Mother’s Brief Affair)

A hidden Italian gem in the Theatre District!  We stopped in to Gallo Nero, a rustic, wood-accented small restaurant serving a taste of Italy, on our way to see Linda Lavin in "Our Mother's Brief Affair." The bread is the type you hope for: warm, with a chewy crust and dense interior served with olive oil. Portions are hearty and shareable. We started with the simple Caesar salad topped with thick slices of cheese and some croutons ($10). Don't miss their gooey cheesy lasagna ($16), dripping with cheese ... just like homemade. With all this we sipped the earthy Sangiovese Superiore Di Romagna Nespoli 2011 Emilia-Romagna ($12) If you're on [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:12:40-04:00February 21st, 2016|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Southern Hospitality, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Marjorie Prime

Bring a hearty appetite to Justin Timberlake's BBQ place, Southern Hospitality, the brightly lit restaurant with crowds outside on the corner of 45th Street and Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. I stopped there recently on my way to see the thought provoking  Marjorie Prime at Playwright's Horizon, a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama about the future with human-looking robots programmed with memories so they act as companions. It's being turned into a movie, now in production that will star Lois Smith (who played Marjorie in the play), Jon Hamm, Gina Davis and Tim Robbins. At Southern Hospitality, we ordered what we thought was conservatively. One order to share of the [...]

By |2017-12-26T09:55:39-05:00February 18th, 2016|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Empire Steak House, Theatre District (Stranger in my House), NYC

After going to a reading of Stranger in my House with the amazing Tovah Feldshuh, Olivia Oguma and John Stanisci, my friend and I crossed the street to the Empire Steak House for a glass of wine. We walked into their inviting bar, asking to also see the menu so we could nibble something with our libation. We sat at one of the hightop tables and each ordered a glass of the 2013 Portillo, estate bottled Mendoza Malbec ($12.95) plus one portion of fried calamari to share ($12.95). Once we ordered the food, the staff jumped into action, setting the hightop with a white linen tablecloth, linen napkins and silverware. [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:35:56-04:00February 10th, 2016|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Lattanzi Ristorante, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (Whorl Inside A Loop)

After seeing the thought-provoking prison drama "Whorl Inside A Loop" written by Dick Scanlan & Sherrie Rene Scott (who also starred in the play), we headed to Lattanzi Ristorante, a white-tablecloth, great-service restaurant a few blocks from the theatre to get a light late nibble. To start, we sipped the pricey but tasty Aperol spritzer ($15) followed by the restaurant's signature dish of artichoke hearts cooked Jewish style. The Carciofi Alla Giudia — sautéed with garlic and olive oil — are flavorful but a small portion for $18. What you're seeing to the right is the full portion! We then split their Bucatini all’ Amatriciana ($21), thick tube-like spaghetti coated [...]

By |2017-09-07T14:57:39-04:00October 21st, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Dafni Greek Taverna, Theater District (On The Town), NYC

The aroma of garlic whet my appetite as I walked through the door of Dafni Greek Taverna on 42nd Street, a perfect place to grab a bite before heading to see "On The Town" at the Lyric Theatre just up the street. When I watched the movie version I couldn't resist singing, "New York, New York' along with  Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, but I restrained myself from doing so in the theatre! We started with the gigantes, oven baked giant beans swimming in an herbed tomato sauce ($8.95), perfect for dipping the warm pita. I'd recommend those as I would the octopus. The grilled octopus, octapodi ($12.95), came  accompanied [...]

By |2017-09-07T13:50:27-04:00July 24th, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Toloache, Midtown West, NYC (iow@)

After seeing the very unusual, somewhat absurd musical iow@ at Playwrights Horizon, we headed uptown for a bite to eat at Toloache, a Mexican restaurant that a friend raved about. To start we selected their Rojo, purportedly spicy guacamole option ($14). This blend of huge chunks of avocado red onion, tomato, chipotle and queso fresco came served with warm chips and a thin chipotle dipping sauce. Enjoyable, although the spiciness was in the accompanying sauce, not the guac. We asked for some more of the dipping sauce for our next dishes and were told they didn't give away sauces. And oddly — we thought — sauce didn't accompany our other [...]

By |2017-09-07T14:18:02-04:00May 31st, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Ktchn, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (Application Pending)

After seeing the highly entertaining, one-woman show "Application Pending" at the Westside Theatre, we headed to the sleek, modern Ktchn nearby that serves simple modern American cuisine. We were lucky enough to get a booth by the floor-to-ceiling windows to do some people-watching. Getting ready for an upcoming trip to Spain, I opted for a glass of the zesty, refreshing Albariño (2012, Bodegas Castro $13), to enjoy with the crunchy salty tempura green beans served with a mild ($8) serrano guacamole for dipping. We found the service incredibly friendly and fairly efficient, other than forgetting that we had asked for some grilled chicken on the pasta.  That tagliatelle ($18) came with [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:03:47-04:00May 27th, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Joe’s Pub at The Public, NYC + Josephine and I

"Josephine and I" is a one-woman show starring the fabulous Cush Jumb at The Public theatre in Joe's Pub about the life of Josephine Baker. I don't want to ruin the play by sharing anything, but I'll say that I recommend it as it's that's utterly engrossing and fun. I'm not as enthusiastic about the food. I'm being kind saying that the spinach, tomato and ricotta frittata ($16) was mediocre, as it was not only missing the menu-stated tomatoes, but also lacking any seasoning. Since we were in a dinner theatre and not a restaurant, neither salt or pepper was to be found. What is worth eating is their hearty [...]

By |2017-11-24T07:48:37-05:00April 5th, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Snack Taverna, West Village, NYC Revisit (Everything You Touch)

Stopped by Snack Taverna after the fun, intelligent show Everything You Touch at the Cherry Lane Theatre about a fashion designer's life, replete with emaciated leggy models and couture. Snack Taverna is a welcoming tavern with enthusiastic helpful servers. I had a braised lamb shank; my friend the chicken. The lamb casserole contained a shank with wild mushrooms and orzo in a cinnamon-scented tomato sauce topped with Kefalotyri cheese and fresh watercress. The pan-seared chicken was seasoned with rosemary and with chickpeas braised endive, golden raisins and olive.  Each dish was were incredibly tasty, nicely seasoned ... but slightly over cooked. Something the restaurant could easily rectify. Still it's all [...]

By |2017-09-07T14:53:00-04:00April 2nd, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Balkanika, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (The Heidi Chronicles) CLOSED

Just wanting a nibble before heading to the Broadway revival of Wendy Wasserstein's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles, featuring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) Jason Biggs (Orange is the new Black) and Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder) at The Music Box theatre, we stopped in at Balkanika in Hell's kitchen. Along with our Gavi ($48), we nibbled the giant beans ($7) in a light tomato sauce and avjar, a meze of roasted red peppers, eggplant and olive oil ($7) with a basket of pita. That dry white wine produced in the Piedmont section of northern Italy worked wonderfully with the small meze. I'd [...]

By |2017-10-20T08:39:27-04:00March 27th, 2015|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Cafe Standard, Cooper Square (“The Fortress of Solitude”), NYC

I wanted to grab a bite at Narcissa, a restaurant I had so enjoyed as it was around the corner from the Public Theater where I had tickets that evening. My friend had a tight schedule, only leaving us less than an hour to eat, and Standard Hotel suggested we'd get faster service at their cafe. Unfortunately, not. We ordered within minutes of sitting down, but it took the server more than half an hour to bring our food, leaving no time to fix the kitchen's mistakes. The Standard burger ($16) arrived charred on the outside, but raw inside all topped with cheese and partially cooked bacon. At least the [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:47:47-04:00December 12th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bea, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (Rock of Ages)

We tripped over Bea, in Hell's Kitchen, after seeing Rock of Ages at the Helen Hayes Theatre. It's a loud rock musical set in the '80s that tells its story through songs from iconic groups of that time. If you go, do stay until the second much better act, as the open act dragged a bit. At Bea (named from the proprietor's grandmother), I'd recommend the shrimp toast ($12). It's not the usual thin toast spread with a shrimp paste, but a thick baguette spread with avocado, green Tabasco and onions and topped with large, very tender, shrimp pieces. Also good is the roasted beet salad with blue cheese, pecans [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:11:42-04:00November 15th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|1 Comment
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The West Bank Cafe, NYC + Bootycandy

We again stopped in at West Bank Cafe, as it's directly across from Playwrights Horizon where we were seeing the raunchy lots-of-laughs Bootycandy. We began with their delicious orecchiette ($17), sweet Italian sausage and broccoli rabe all swimming in a rich parmesan broth. The evening's special was a delicate pan-seared red snapper ($29) with caramelized fennel, fingerling potatoes, spinach, baby golden beets all in a yummy blood orange reduction. Both dishes went well with the light-to-medium bodied Frappato Valle Dell'Acate from Sicily ($10 a glass). A great place to dine before theatre.   - bonnie Follow @BonnieBOTB The West Bank Cafe Hell's Kitchen 407 W 42nd St New York, NY [...]

By |2018-06-17T11:37:23-04:00November 8th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bareburger, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC (You Can’t Take it With You)

Bareburger is located Times Square's Restaurant Row, offering organic and all-natural burgers. At this chain, first select your "protein," then choose your bun, veggies, cheese, bacon and/or sauce, or select one of their already created options. I stopped by with friends recently on the way to see "You Can't Take it With You," at the Longacre Theatre. A fun show with lots of laughs, that's a walk down memory lane as I remember theatre to be! The cast includes James Earl Jones, Rose Byrne (TV's Damages), Annaleigh Ashfrod (Showtime's Masters of Sex), Kristine Nielsen (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) and nineteen other performers. Back to the burger. We [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:15:21-04:00November 5th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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David Burke fabrick at the Archer Hotel, Midtown West, NYC ( The Country House)

David Burke fabrick at the Archer Hotel is DB's best, most whimsical restaurant that I've sampled so far in Manhattan. I was invited there recently to taste his offerings, which included unusual presentations, in sharing-plate style. Don't miss the unusual burrata salad ($18) that could be a meal in itself. It’s a large plate filled with roasted squash, variegated beets, roasted Mexican pumpkin seeds (pepitos), fresh figs and Burrata, all topped with prosciutto. The thick-crusted mushroom flatbread with roasted ($15) maitake & oysters was ordinary, even topped with Gruyère, fresh arugula salad and mushroom sauce. The almost 2-inch thick cauliflower steak ($25) sitting in a puddle of coconut and cauliflower puree could [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:17:33-04:00October 31st, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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McSorley’s Old Ale House, East Village + Switchback by Maryclare McCauley

There's some disagreement over the actual date that McSorley's Old Ale House in the East Village was founded, but all agree that it was the mid 1800s, and that it's the oldest still existing licensed pub in America. I was there for the first time in the '70s, when they served whole peanuts and told you to toss the shells onto the floor; today the peanuts are gone and the floor is covered in sawdust. I went recently both before and after attending The New York International Fringe Festival to see Maryclare McCauley's world premier of Switch Back, a solo performance based true story where Maryclare plays seven characters. A [...]

By |2017-11-24T07:55:55-05:00October 30th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Becco, Theatre District (Kinky Boots), NYC, a Revisit

I recently headed to Becco for the drink that the adorable manager had promised me (well, that’s another story!) and enjoyed an unhurried nibble before my 7 pm curtain of the Kinky Boots a block away at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 45th. If you've missed it: Kinky Boots is a tale of Charlie Price, who inherits his family's failing shoe factory and opts to save it by producing stiletto-heeled, brightly colored, knee high boots for men who dress like women with toe-tapping music by Cindi Lauper. Nibbled on three types olives and crisp bread sticks dunked in their house made irresistible white bean dip served a monkey dish (that’s [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:36:12-04:00March 19th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bocca Di Bacco, NYC (Natasha, Pierre and the Comet of 1812)

Having decided at the last moment to go, we stood in line to get the $49 rush tickets for Natasha, Pierre and the Comet of 1812, the electro-pop opera based on a slice of War and Peace that takes place all around the tables at the supper-club Kazino (259 West 45th Street), so that — no matter where you sit — you at close to the actors and musicians. We decide to head to brunch first as we bought tickets to the 3 pm Sunday show and asked Adam, the ticket-seller for a suggestion. Bocca di Bacco on Ninth Avenue, between 44 and 45, was the place he goes for [...]

By |2017-09-07T15:21:29-04:00January 5th, 2014|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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