City Bites

The best City Bites from New York

China Grill‎, for Pre-Theatre (Come Fly Away)

Unfortunately, it was after ordering that I learned that the portions at China Grill are large enough for more than two — something our waitress might have mentioned had she not been attending to a party of 12 at a nearby table.  We ordered way too much food, thinking we could easily just share an appetizer, salad and entree. The Crackling Calamari Salad ($22) — a heaping mound of lettuces in a lime miso dressing with calamari pieces — illustrates the blend of ingredients used from around the globe in the China Grill dishes.  The squid pieces are lightly coated before frying, resulting in crisp tender, delicate morsels. The Lobster Pancakes [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:18:28-04:00June 3rd, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bar Centrale, A NYC Hidden Treasure

You'll need to know the location of Bar Centrale next door to Joe Allen’s, a neighborhood theatre-area hangout to find it...but once you do reservations are a must.(HINT: it's right next door to Joe Allen's, up the stairs of a Victorian brownstone and through unmarked wooden doors.) It's a perfect après-theatre place for a star-sightings or a nibble — the menu includes  appetizers, salads, sandwiches and mini pizzas. Both the watercress beet and smoked trout salad and the goat cheese pizza were divine.  Black and white movies play on the TV above the bar (an old Ronald Reagan movie played when I visited) while there's jazz in the background And [...]

By |2017-10-22T14:59:46-04:00May 28th, 2010|City Bites, Recipes, Starters|2 Comments
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Sosa Borella in the Theatre District (A View From The Bridge)

Reading about Sosa Borella online, you'll find lots of references to it being "authentic Italian-Argentinian cuisine." The Santi '08 Veneto Pinot Grigio ($48) was Italian, but to me the rest of the fare leans more south of the equator. The dish I'd recommend is the bife alla sosa borella ($32). A grilled natural corn-fed tender strip steak topped with chimichurri and served with fries. We chose this restaurant mainly to be close to the Cort Theater to see a preview performance of  Arther Miller's "A View from the Bridge." (The show opened January 24 for a fourteen-week limited engagement.) Liev Schreiber plays Eddie Carbone, a Brooklyn longshoreman who is obsessed [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:37:41-04:00February 19th, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|2 Comments
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A Stepback in Time: Barbetta & “Hair”

Barbetta has three "oldest" distinctions: it's the oldest restaurant in New York that is still owned by the family who founded it, oldest Italian restaurant in New York, and the oldest restaurant in New York's Theatre District. It's truly a step back in time, as it's also old-world elegance, attentive service and old-style food. If you go pre-theatre, ask for the a la carte menu (unless you're up for a 4-course $58 meal). We shared, beginning with a bottle of  Barbera d'Asti Cascina Castle't DOC 2008, ($40), which worked well with each of our courses. Our fabulous waiter first brought out a sample of the Rollatine of Piedmontese Robiola in [...]

By |2017-09-07T14:55:04-04:00February 16th, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Gaby Bar for a Pre-Theatre-Area (Mine) Nibble

Locating a quiet place to get a drink and nibble before theatre isn't easy, as most New York City places are bustling with crowds. The Gaby Bar at Hotel Sofitel is an exception, albeit a pricey one. I stopped by the Gaby Bar recently with a friend after a press screening of the powerful documentary "Mine," about the bond between humans and animals — set in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This movie, directed by Geralyn Pezanoski, won the Audience Award at both the SXSW Film Festival, and San Francisco Documentary Festival. Worth seeing for sure! We each sipped a glass of Lafite Reserve, Speciale Bordeaux Blanc [...]

By |2017-09-04T18:36:51-04:00February 12th, 2010|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|3 Comments
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Culinary Boot Camp

Schenectady County’s first-ever culinary “Boot Camp” will take place January 4-6, 2010. It's a three-day, two-night culinary workshop, offering food lovers and novices the opportunity to learn classic cooking techniques, taste ingredients, and share experiences with fellow foodies. The Boot Camp workshops will be taught by Culinary instructor Christopher Tanner — a Certified Executive Chef, a Certified Hospitality Educator with the American Hotel & Lodging Association and an ACF Approved Culinary Judge — will be the instructor. In this  “A Taste of Tuscany” boot camp, you'll learn about traditional Italian cuisine, including classic ingredients, antipasti, primi (pasta, polenta & risotto), pairing wine and preparing desserts. Brief seminars blended with extensive hands-on cooking [...]

By |2017-10-22T15:01:47-04:00December 21st, 2009|City Bites, USA Travel|0 Comments
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Steak Frites For Burgers and Beer

Sometimes a burger and fries just hits the spot! Okay, okay it often does, but I know that juicy sandwich and crispy potatoes are high in fat and cholesterol, so I don't indulge too often. I tripped over Steak Frites one afternoon as a friend and I were looking for something to satisfy our hunger. We noticed a menu board outside boasting "$8.95 burger and beer at the bar," looked at each other, walked right, sat at the bar and ordered that incredible meal deal. Don't go running over there expecting the $9 incredible bargain. A restaurant spokesperson explained that the restaurant was loosing money on that offer, as they [...]

By |2017-10-22T15:01:51-04:00December 8th, 2009|City Bites, USA Restaurants|3 Comments
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The Bloody Mary, 75 Years Old

On October 5th, right after New York City’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg declared it Bloody Mary Day,  I — and about a hundred others — were invited by Paul Nash ( the general manager of the St. Regis Hotel in New York City)  to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bloody Mary at the  King Cole Bar. According to the folks at the St. Regis, the drink began as the “Red Snapper” cocktail in 1934 when bartender Fernand Petiot concocted it for one of his vodka-loving clients who asked him to recreate a tomato juice cocktail he'd had in Paris. At that time, the name “Bloody Mary” was deemed too [...]

By |2017-10-22T15:02:20-04:00October 15th, 2009|City Bites, Rambling, Recipes, Starters, USA Restaurants|0 Comments
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New York Edition: A Second Helping of Life

Share's sixth annual A Second Helping of Life, held on September 21st at Pier 60 at Chelsey Piers with over 700 attendees (New York City) raised $405,000 for SHARE to provide peer support for women living with breast or ovarian cancer. The event — successfully coordinated by M. Young Communications  — featured 25 of New York's female chefs, guest female mixologists, actresses, editors and 22 fine wines and spirits all who donated their time, talents and products to support SHARE, a not for profit organization run by ovarian and breast cancer survivors. I ran into actress Kathleen Chalfant, an incredibly talented actress who I had seen on stage at Long [...]

By |2017-10-22T15:02:32-04:00October 13th, 2009|City Bites, Rambling, USA Restaurants|2 Comments
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New York Edition: Bite for a Nibble

I needed a light lunch in the big apple to get me through the afternoon as I was meeting friends for dinner at Insieme at The Michelangelo Hotel much later that day. (Stay tuned for that review!) Bite delivered a delicious, satisfying meal that won't break any budget. I tried the Mediterranean Salad ($7). A huge bowl of baby greens topped with fresh hummus, grilled eggplant, roasted pepper tapenade, chopped salad, roasted almonds and pine nuts, served with grilled pita. Everything tasted freshly prepared. I tried the location on 14th street, but they also have one at 335 Lafayette Street at Bleecker. - bonnie bite 211 East 14th Street New [...]

By |2017-10-22T15:10:11-04:00September 16th, 2009|City Bites|0 Comments
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Triomphe, New York City — in the Theatre District (God of Carnage)

A friend suggested trying Triomphe in the renovated Iroquois Hotel when we were discussing pre-theatre dining options. Theatre — by the way — was the not-to-be-missed "God of Carnage," the Tony Award winning play with Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, and Jeff Daniels.  The show won the best play, the best performance by a leading actress (Marcia Gay Harden) and best director (Matthew Warchus). The play has been aptly described as a "comedy of manners without the manners."  It's about parents who meet to discuss the school-playground fight between their sons. Back to to food at Triomphe: It's simple, generally good, and somewhat understated. The wine list is [...]

By |2017-09-04T19:05:23-04:00July 22nd, 2009|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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