bubby's

new york, ny

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solid spot for brunch in tribeca. biscuits are good when fresh out of the oven. cheesy grits are nice and cheesy. there's a tantalizing menu of pies that i have not tried yet. jenny and i came here the morning after we arrived back from paris. bubby's is always packed, but what was interesting about this visit is that i was so happy to be at an american brunch. lots of food, cheerful friendly waitstaff, no cigarette smoke, and a boisterous crowd talking and laughing. paris was wonderful, of course, but it was nice to be home.

locanda verde

tribeca, nyc

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see earlier post about how jenny is always plugged into whatever is new and exciting in manhattan. locanda verde is located in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the island, somewhere in tribeca. i took a cab to get to the cross-streets (north moore and greenwich), but was quite lost among the dark warehouses and quiet streets. suddenly, a door opened and i could hear the clanging chatter of a busy restaurant. i followed the noise, walked through the doorway, and politely shoved my way through the crowd of fashionably clad bodies to reach jenny, who was waving one hand in the air (the other hand holding a large glass of red wine).

we didn't have a reservation, but jenny had put our names down for two seats at the bar. fortunately, we were seated within 10 minutes (although two people who got on the list just after us were not seated for almost an hour). we started with bread, their housemade focaccia served warm and slightly crispy. amazing. we had seconds. our appetizer was also delicious. but the highlight of the meal was the ravioli, listed on the menu as "my grandmother's ravioli." i have never had ravioli this good before. the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, but the meat inside just melts in your mouth. sure, it's a little weird for meat to melt, but it's just that good. hands down, the best ravioli i've ever had. it is $17, but it is worth all 1700 pennies. save up. try it. thank me later.

the odeon

new york, ny

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after an eventful evening of cocktails at ward III for my birthday, i managed to convince all of my friends to follow me on a hunt for dessert. yes, i played the "birthday girl" card. wandering around tribeca with our guide jenny, we managed to find the odeon, which is open until 2 am on weekends.

i was excited to finally try this place because i've heard about their doughnuts. freshly fried and dusted with sugar and cinnamon, they're served with maple and raspberry sauces. although i prefer a voce's bomboloni, these doughnuts made a perfect late-night post-drinking birthday snack.

churrascaria plataforma

w bway (franklin/white)

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the price of their prix fixe dinner has increased significantly since i took ryan and cindy here on their nyc vacation a few years ago. the price is understandable because it is all-you-can-eat, but i simply don't eat enough to justify the cost. i'm saddened because i like this place - great food and lots of fun. at the beginning of the meal, everyone gets a disc that is green on one side, red on the other. if you leave the red side up, you are free to go to the "salad" bar, which includes sushi, cheese, risotto, salads, various antipasti, and the BEST chicken salad i've ever tasted. i would be completely satisfied with a meal that consisted entirely of the "salad" bar.

but wait, there's more. flip your disc to the green side and that gives the waiters the green light to start bringing you giant slabs of meat. the meat is often carried by the waiter on a spear. if you would like a piece of a particular cut of meat, the waiter slices off a piece for you. there are all different kinds and cuts - duck, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, chicken, sausage, prime rib, sirloin, beef rib, pork rib - even octopus and salmon. my favorite was the sirloin - fatty and juicy with crispy charred spots. amazing. derek has mastered the art of staring down waiters who are carrying his desired cut of meat. it's quite impressive - he spots them as they walk out of the kitchen and stares at them until they walk to our table. with the price, however, this is a restaurant to save for special occasions - maybe the next time will be when cindy and ryan visit the big apple again!

wolfgang's steakhouse

new york, ny

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peter luger is probably one of the most famous steak houses in new york city. it's in brooklyn, though, so derek and i decided to go to wolfgang's, which is a luger emulator started by a former luger waiter. it was valentine's day and derek thought that the porterhouse for 2 (which both luger and wolfgang's are known for) was particularly appropriate.

so we got all dressed up (despite the cold) and trekked down to the tribeca location. upon arriving, we discovered that there's also a park avenue location which is much closer to our apartment. oops. anyway, we ordered the porterhouse medium, side of steamed broccoli, and side of fries. the porterhouse is served on a hot plate which causes the steak to continue to cook while it's at the table. next time i think we should get medium rare. the porterhouse has a black charred crust on top, which derek loves and i found mildly carcinogenic. my favorite part of the meal was the gift that came with dessert (a nice cheesecake) - an adorable teddy bear in a wolfgang's apron to commemorate our special day.

blaue gans

new york, ny

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last weekend, derek and i were craving some schnitzel and decided to stroll down to tribeca to join jenny for dinner. we ended up walking faster than expected and arrived at jenny's apartment about an hour early. no problem, we all headed to ward III for some "bespoke" pre-dinner drinks. simply tell the bartender what fruits/flavors/alcohols/herbs you would like in your drink and he puts together a magical concoction. my favorite is when i asked for something with peach and champagne - and the bartender created a peach pie cocktail with a sprig of rosemary! warning - the drinks are strong. one will give you quite a buzz, two will make it difficult to walk to your dinner destination.

we did, however, manage to make it to blaue gans for dinner. before derek's co-worker introduced us to blaue gans, i always thought that schnitzel was some kind of germanic pastry. but turns out, it's pounded fried meat (sometimes pan-fried, sometimes deep-fried). and it's delicious. blaue gans has several varieties of schnitzel. on a previous visit, i had pork schnitzel that was stuffed with ham and cheese. this time, to continue the double-pork trend, i ordered pork schnitzel topped with a bacon mushroom cream sauce. the sauce has an amazing rich flavor and the meat is tender and juicy. who knew german food could taste so good.

kitchenette

new york, ny

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one of my favorite spots near my old apartment in morningside heights. great comfort food - amazing brunches - delicious baked goods. now that derek and i live further downtown, we try to go to the tribeca location whenever we can, which is not that often. derek, however, has the luck to work way downtown, so kitchenette delivers to his office through seamlessweb. to celebrate me running 6.2 miles this weekend without dying, he ordered a slice of my favorite cake and brought it home for us to share!

rich, almost dark, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. seriously amazing. i also love their fake hostess cupcakes - same great chocolate cake, but filled with a light whipped cream. chocolate trifle to die for. their restaurant menu is great too - very comforting comfort food. sandwiches are made with challah bread, the best grits in the city, yummy omelettes, good fried chicken, etc. it's really hard to go wrong there, except when you forget to save room for dessert.