marea

central park south (bway/7th)

website

managed to finally knock another restaurant off of my list of five restaurants to try in 2010 thanks to cindy c and her excellent reservation-making skills. marea is known for amazing seafood and has gotten many rave reviews since it opened in may 2009. it's quite a splurge, but it's worth every penny. they suggest that you do the 4-course prix fixe for $89. but if you're like me, you're full after the pasta course (especially after eating both servings of olive-studded foccacia bread). so i suggest getting one antipasti and one pasta and then dessert only if you still have room.

the antipasti to get? the "astice" - nova scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al funghetto, and basil. jenny wisely chose this appetizer and graciously let cindy c and i taste some. perfectly cooked lobster melts with the smooth burrata cheese - rich and decadent. although even more rich and decadent is the pasta that you have to order - the fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow (pictured). the most amazing pasta dish i have ever had - perfectly cooked everything with little nuggets of marrow to send you into foodie nirvana. everything else was good, but ended up being also-rans compared to the lobster and octopus dishes. my recommendation - get the lobster, get the octopus pasta, eat the olive foccacia, and have a glass of wine to cut the richness of the dishes. then skip dessert and enjoy the complimentary chocolates instead.

the lobster place

chelsea market
(15th st/ 9th ave)

website

neal has been raving about this lobster sandwich for a while now. our original plan, however, was to eat at some organic health food restaurant with soy cheese and other healthy things. but first, we decided to walk through chelsea market to get some specialty food items (i picked up some mushroom-shaped pasta and chestnut jam from the italian grocery). but then we passed by the lobster place and our dinner plans quickly shifted from soy to lobstah.

the lobster place is actually a fish market. there's various puddles on the ground and everything is made of stainless steel. head to the back corner of the store, however, and you'll find a window - ring the small bell and ask for a lobster roll. it comes packed in a box with pretty good coleslaw and crunchy potato chips. it's an excellent lobster roll - big chunks of lobster, coated in a lemony mayonnaise and topped with chives. the bread is simply toasted, missing the coat of butter that mary's fish camp slathers onto their buns. i like the lobster place version - it's simpler and a little bit lighter - but both are tasty options.

spot dessert bar

st. mark's (2/3)

website

to continue the jean-georges theme, pichet ong was a former pastry chef for jean-georges' indian-inspired restaurant, spice market. he recently opened spot, a dessert bar on st. mark's. after a dinner of giant sushi rolls at yama, cindy c and i decided to get some exercise by walking elsewhere for dessert. spot only serves dessert, which means it doesn't get busy until after everyone has finished their dinners. head there early (around dinnertime) if you want to avoid the crowds.

the menu is "dessert tapas" which apparently means that the fanchy desserts are served in smaller portions to be shared. cindy c and i chose the 3-dessert tapas for $20. our favorite (pictured) was the "white miso semifreddo" which is a misnomer because it's really all about the sweet and rich olive oil cake sandwiching the light saltiness of the hard ice cream semifreddo. it was a unique salty-sweet combination - delicious. next time, i'll just order the semifreddo. the goat milk soft cheesecake and chocolate cake marquis were both forgettable, but the semifreddo is definitely worth a return trip.

lafrieda custom burgers @ LGA

delta terminal, LGA

i now have a reason to fly delta. the most amazing airport burger i've ever tasted. pat lafrieda is famous in nyc for making special burger blends for various nyc burger joints, including our favorite burgers - shake shack, blt burger, and little owl. i had to make a quick trip to michigan for work, so i flew out of LGA around 7 pm on a wednesday night. i figured i'd be stuck with a greasy pretzel for dinner or worse, a tiny bag of peanuts.

imagine my surprise when, after passing through security, i came across pat lafrieda custom burgers. less than 6 bucks for a burger with russian dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. i carried it to the gate and devoured my flavorful, juicy, and delicious burger. it's the same style as the shake shack - soft potato bun and basic veggies. the vegetables aren't as high quality, but the patty is thicker. a seriously good burger - i actually can't wait until i have to fly on delta again.

abc kitchen - juice bar

broadway (17/18)

website

jean-georges runs some of the top restaurants in new york city. abc kitchen is one of his latest ventures. it is located in the basement of abc kitchen & home, a very very expensive home furnishings store. try to keep your focus as you make your way to the back of the store, lest you spend $300 on a bejeweled pillow. instead, head down to the juice bar and spend $10 on a smoothie.

the concept of abc kitchen is that everything is local and organic and compostable. and expensive. haven't tried the restaurant yet, but cindy c and i stopped at the juice bar for some drinks. cindy c got "the local" - pear, apple, carrot, grapefruit, and lots of ginger. definitely clears the sinuses. i got the "banana boat" - frozen bananas, walnut milk, cinnamon, raw cacao chocolate syrup and chopped walnuts. delicious and creamy - it's a perfect protein-packed shake that actually tastes good. worth the $10 as long as you don't plan on eating a meal. also - grab an extra compostable straw just in case your first one disintegrates.

hide chan ramen

52nd (2/3)

link to yelp

i love that little ramen shops are opening up all over the place. i am especially excited when little ramen shops open up near my office or near my apartment -- because let's face it, i don't like to travel too far for my food. hide chan just opened a couple of weeks ago, replacing the japanese skewer spot that was there before.

jenny and i snuck out of our respective offices last week to grab a bowl of ramen. it's not as good as ippudo, momofuku, or even ramen setagaya, but its so close to the office, it will have to do. i ordered the traditional tonkotsu ramen (pork broth). you can choose the doneness of your noodles and the fat content of your broth, but our waitress ran away before we could make those selections. next time i'll go with a little less fattiness because then i don't feel so bad about getting extra noodles...

gemma

bowery & bond

link to yelp

jenny, derek, and i were wandering around noho looking for a good spot to try for dinner. walking along bond street, we noticed a corner restaurant lined with christmas lights and what looked like a nice outdoor deck. turns out it was gemma, a restaurant that jenny heard was good. in fact, it was great. it was a lovely space - lots of tables, nice outdoor seating. it was a cozy italian hideaway in a rather industrial-looking neighborhood.

the bread basket was some of the most delicious focaccia bread i've had in a while, served with excellent olive oil for dipping. we ordered appetizers to share - a cheese plate with fresh grapes and polenta fries. my favorite cheese was the caciotta al tartufo - flavored with black truffles. for the entrees, jenny had pasta with zucchini and shrimp, while derek had the homemade pappardelle with oxtail ragu - both of which were far superior to my boring scallops. next time i'll stick with the pasta.

heartschallenger

mulberry & spring

website

jenny and i were shopping in nolita when we came cross this little pink truck parked near desalvio playground. we were intrigued by the cute truck and its unique menu, which includes mochi ice cream and neapolitan ice cream sandwiches.

jenny tried the orange popsicle, which had frozen chunks of orange inside - she said it was very refreshing. my green tea popsicle (which was $2) was a tiny little popsicle, but delicious. it was essentially rich green tea ice cream on a stick. yum. it's a perfect little treat on a hot summer day.

sea king

23rd (2/3)

website

i was craving noodle soup but too lazy to head downtown to kuai la mian in chinatown. i normally avoid restaurants that have too many things on their menu and the sea king has two menus - one for chinese food and another for sushi and japanese food.

the decor (dragons carved out of ivory) gave me a hint that this might really be a chinese restaurant, so i felt safe ordering the szechuan pork and pickled cabbage noodle soup. not anywhere close to as good as what my mom makes, but the noodles actually tasted similar to hand-pulled noodles and the pork was crispy and tasty. it was a decent bowl of noodles and managed to satisfy my craving, but i still prefer chinatown (and mom's, of course).

stella manhattan bistro

front (beekman/ peck slip)

website

derek and i braved the throngs of tourists at south street seaport on saturday. we avoided the tourist traps at the actual seaport and walked along front street trying to decide which of the restaurants to try. derek had been here before for work and had enjoyed the charcuterie plate, so we decided to stop in stella.

excellent wine by the glass and the charcuterie plate was pretty good too. derek's favorites were the sliced turkey and the pate. service was a little slow, but the staff was friendly. our entrees, however, were unfortunately below par. so if you're in the area, stop by for some wine, cheese, and meats, but not for dinner.

bocca

19th (park/bway)

website

i think we might have found a new place for sunday night supper. i haven't blogged in a while because we haven't been trying new places. but derek managed to find a fantastic italian restaurant just a few blocks away from our apartment. not a lot of people go out to dinner on sunday nights, but derek and i like to have a nice dinner out because we know that the week will probably be busy with work.

fortunately, on sundays, bocca offers half-off their excellent bottles of wine. to accompany our bottle of wine, derek ordered the veal meatballs and the spaghetti with smoked tomatoes. he absolutely loved it. the meatballs tasted like they were made by someone's grandma. i had the black linguine with lobster and smoked bacon in a corn crema sauce. delicious. the entrees are pricey, so i think we're going to limit our visits to the half-price wine sundays. but derek and i have a hard time finishing a whole bottle, so who's coming with us next time?