|
Manhattan Notes -
Restaurants
|
|
Tuesday, 06 January 2009 22:46 |
|
Amici II
The host that whisks you into this restaurant is so friendly, you really do give him a second look. Is that your second cousin on your mom’s Italian side? He may as well be. He’ll throw you kisses and he may even carry you to your seat as a fitting opener to a super-friendly eating experience. The old school Louis Prima songs rocking overhead will bring back memories for any Italian American of your mom playing records (yes, records) while she cooks sauce from scratch. And if you’re not of the Italian persuasion, no matter. The food tastes good to everyone. It’s classic, hearty and straightforward, without messing up the basics: pasta, bread, sauce, chicken, veal, seafood. Try the baked clams, mozzarella caprese, and the lobster- their specialty, or a hearty rigatoni dish to conjure of memories of feeling stuffed at your grandmother’s kitchen table. You might call it touristy, you might say it ain’t trendy, but the food is real, and that’s from someone in touch with her Italian roots. Enjoy the wine and check out some of the framed photos that wallpaper the entire restaurant: celebrities, local hotshots and ordinary guests. If you ask, they might snap one of you to add to the collection. After all, you’re part of the family.
Amici II, 165 Mulberry Street, between Mulberry and Broome Streets, Little Italy. |
|
Manhattan Notes -
Restaurants
|
|
Monday, 15 December 2008 12:03 |
|
El Rancho Jubilee NYC Food Review by Martha Cooney
El Rancho Jubilee might go undiscovered if you’re too distracted by glitzy downtown restaurants backed up with reservations, but it would be a shame to miss. This spot uptown on the border of the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of Manhattan offers a delicious taste of Dominican food in a neighborhood with the authentic flavor of the Dominican Republic. The atmosphere of the restaurant with its tiki-hut style actually makes you feel like you are on an island, and sitting up at the bar with its thatched roof will do the trick as well. Presidente beer and delicious starters like tostones (fried plantains) will do you right at the bar, where the servers remember you after your second appearance and other visitors are friendly. Or bring a big group for a sit down meal at long, family style tables for food that is as memorable as it is flavorful. The shrimp and avocado salad with its mix of olive oil and vinegar with chopped onion is perfection, and an order of seafood soup is literally swimming with hearty delicacies: mussels, scallops, crab and real lobster tail all enrich a delicious broth. Dominican style steak, sautéed with thin white onions is best paired with pork, beef or chicken mofongo (mashed yucca), or go for a fish dish that comes with a garlic, Creole or coconut sauce. It can be hard to decide among dishes and flavors, so sharing is a good idea, but don’t hold back on the Presidentes – you can join in on karaoke nights at Jubilee, open til 2 am nightly.
El Rancho Jubilee, 10 Hillside Ave, 10040, between Nagle Ave and Bogardus Place, open Mon- Fri 7 am – 2 am, and 24 hours Saturday and Sunday. |
|
Manhattan Notes -
Restaurants
|
|
Monday, 15 December 2008 11:45 |
The Spot
417 Prospect Place
Brooklyn, NY
(Park Slope)
For those that enjoy exploring off the beaten path, The Spot is a great restaurant nestled in a mainly residential area of Park Slope. It's not a large restaurant, it probably only seats 20-30 people, definitely a great date spot. The lights are unobtrusive and the layout and design are very minimalistic. The food, though, is delicious especially for the prices that you can pay. There is a nice mix of expensive and medium priced meals on the menu with pastas ranging from $9.95-$12.95 and entrees starting at $11.95-$18.00. Everything on the menu sounds delicious, and after trying the calamari appetizer, jumbo crab cake entree and stuffed chicken entree (dinner for two people), I can almost imagine that everything on the menu is as good. We started off with the calamari, which came out promptly. It was a bit on the salty side and the "spicy marinara" is just marinara sauce with crushed red pepper flakes, a slight disappointment. The calamari on the whole, however, was well cooked and the right freshness. The older squid gets the more rubbery it becomes. The squid here was a tad rubbery, but nothing that made a noticeable difference. The portion that came out was a little large for one person, but was perfect for two.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Thursday, 07 December 2006 08:05 |
|
Princess, MC, Bee and I went to dinner last night at Anthony David’s in Hoboken NJ. Nice joint. It’s a bit pricey for the quality of food, which was beneath Blue Ribbon in The City, but good. One perk is you can bring your own wine. In fact, you have to. They do not have a liquor license.. MC provided a pleasing burgundy with hints of graphite and sweet grape unlike most of pinot noir from California. (Burgundy is French pinot noir for those who do not know. I did not.) Of all the dishes, the foi gras delighted the most. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Tuesday, 21 November 2006 09:09 |
|
Went to Blue Ribbon (a restaurant in SoHo) last night. It’s been around for years and the gang has been frequenting lately. Last night was my first time. Swell place. Very little, if any Manhattan pretense. The price points and décor we on par with a hip, snotty joint, as well as the food, but not the people. It’s my new favorite restaurant in The City. The steak tartar and duck were the best. Just, perfect. We also shared ... |
|
Read more...
|
|
