casa mono

new york, ny

website

this is not a place to take vegetarians. or people on a diet. this is a place for meaty fatty gluttony. and wine. derek and i are big fans of batali and i love wine bars and tapas, so we've been trying to get into this restaurant for a long time. but there's always a long wait, so we usually pass. memorial day weekend at 10 pm, however, turned out to be a perfect time to snag a table. derek ordered a lovely glass of red wine and then we tried to figure out the menu. we ordered fried pork croquetas, pork belly, fried sardines, and bone marrow. the waiter actually laughed out loud and said "wow" when we finished our order.

that should have been a hint that we needed to order something lighter. oops. it was a very very heavy meal. the fried sardines were good (and reminds me of the free fried fish that bcd tofu house gives as banchan). the meaty fatty gluttony highlight, however, was the bone marrow. amazing. its served with crusty crispy bread covered in garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. this is the best version of "meat jelly" (as a from y&a fame refers to marrow) that we've ever had. next time, to lighten things up, i think we'll stick to wine and marrow.

fig & olive

new york, ny

website

there are quite a few locations of fig & olive - i've heard great things about it and finally had a chance to go with some co-workers for lunch. enjoyed a lovely glass of wine with my reasonably priced prix fixe meal. $27 is not cheap, but the amount of food is impressive.

pictured is my chicken samosa appetizer - doesn't look like samosas, but tasted like them. a phyllo-pastry version. for my entree, i had the penne funghi tartufo (cremini mushrooms, parmesan, black truffle paste, fresh parsley, and scallion). really really good. and a massive portion of pasta. i ate about 1/3 for lunch, vanita and i shared another 1/3 as a snack, and then i had the last 1/3 for dinner. what a bargain!

yama

new york, ny

link to yelp

i think i might i have found my new local sushi place (replacing haru). neal was in town and craving sushi, so i did some yelp searching. found this lovely little spot hidden away in the basement of what was once washington irving's home near irving place.

there was a bit of a wait, but i can understand why - this place has monster sushi. giant rolls. huge slabs of fish over tiny pieces of rice. neal and i shared 6 sushi pieces and 3 rolls - it was more than enough. really fresh fish, friendly service - i'm really glad that i found this place!

clinton st baking co

new york, ny

website

jenny, a native new yorker, is an encyclopedia of amazing places to eat in nyc. she chose clinton st baking co for dinner, which i had heard of, but have never gone to because while they are famous for their brunch, they are infamous for absurdly long lines. and i hate waiting in lines, especially when i'm hungry. jenny's brilliant idea, however, was to go for dinner when the restaurant is much calmer and easier to get into. clinton st baking co is known for its blueberry pancakes. despite the fact that it was dinnertime, everyone was ordering pancakes and the scent of baked blueberries filled the air.

derek had another brilliant idea - ordering a plate of blueberry pancakes to share as an appetizer so we could still order actual dinner entrees. the menu is full of southern specialties - i ordered the burger which was just okay (onion overkill). derek's fried chicken was pretty good. the pancakes, however? amazing - possibly the best pancakes i've ever had. the blueberries were sweet and delicious. the pancakes somehow had a perfectly crisp exterior with a perfectly light and fluffy interior. rich and buttery, there was no need to add the warm maple butter on the side. i now understand why their brunch lines are ridiculous.

the odeon

new york, ny

website

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.

bcd tofu house

new york, ny

website

after a very funny ricky gervais show at MSG, i convinced derek and eric to go to bcd tofu house for a late dinner. despite the fact that i can't handle spicy food, i love spicy tofu seafood soup - sun du bu. i think the version at tofu house is excellent, especially since i can customize the spiciness level. we also ordered kimchi bi bom bop (they don't have kimchi fried rice which is what derek wanted) and pajun. very good.

i have one question, though. at the end of each table, they place a castiron bowl with rice inside. after scooping out the rice and serving each person at the table, they pour water into the bowl and leave it on the end of the table. we decided there were two possible explanations: (1) to make it easier to clean the bowls later and (2) so that you can eat the crispy bits of rice at the bottom of the bowl. do any koreans read my blog? what is the point of the watery rice bowl?

NOTE: koreatown location is apparently closed.

craftbar

new york, ny

website

we were craving pasta and couldn't get a reservation at basta pasta so we decided to try craftbar instead. it was an excellent substitution. pictured are a risotto ball and some arugula salad - both very tasty. for my pasta, i ordered the cavatelli bolognese. a very large portion of pasta served in a small pan topped with breadcrumbs. it was a little weird (trying to be mac and cheese without the cheese?) but yummy. derek had pappardelle which was also good.

in addition to our pastas, we ordered a very expensive side of ramps. food blogs freak out about ramps and we decided to give them a try. well, they taste like grassy onions. i don't understand what the appeal is - i must be missing something. definitely not worth the $15 for a bowl of charred ramps. another word of warning: they keep the glass entranceway extremely clean. pristine, even. while we were eating, we heard a scream and a slam. some woman had walked right into the door! she was okay and walked away giggling. within 5 seconds, a craftbar employee was wiping the faceprint off the door. so efficient.

hatsuhana

new york, ny

website

another seamless web find - i've never actually been to this restaurant, but i discovered that it delivers incredible sushi to my office building. it's a bit pricey so you can't order a whole lot, but the chirashi (pictured) is a good amount of fish for about $30. high quality, fresh fish over a bed of seasoned rice.

one of my favorite things about this restaurant is that they put a lot into the presentation. the sushi is served in a pretty box with the hatsuhana logo on top. even the tamago has a "hatsuhana" stamp on it. it's like receiving a little present when you're stuck working late in the office.

jewel of india

new york, ny

website

i love indian buffets. i'm not an expert on indian food by any stretch of the imagination, especially since i have a low tolerance for spicy, but i know what i like. i was very excited when jinny picked yet another indian buffet for lunch with y and myself. there are two levels of the restaurant, plus a bar area in front. the first level is for ordering off the menu and the second floor is the buffet. so to the second floor we went.

the first thing i spotted at the top of the stairs was a giant vat of rose ice cream - i made a mental note to save room for dessert. the buffet itself was much spicier than other buffets that i've been to, but i compensated by eating a ridiculous amount of naan. someone was constantly coming by the table with a platter full of fresh naan - how could i resist? again, i have no idea what the specific dishes were, but they were delicious.

lychee house

new york, ny

website

there's a category of chinese restaurants, mostly located in midtown, which have fancy white tablecloths and high-quality chinese food. it's more expensive than your average chinese restaurant. the waiters are usually dressed up and service is a little over-the-top (i don't really need someone to portion out rice onto my plate, but okay ...) lychee house, which was formerly known as shanghai tea garden, is one of these fancy restaurants.

the name has changed but the food is still shanghai-nese. one of my favorite things to order from shanghai tea garden was the shanghai-style fried rice - basically fried rice with ham and egg. i used to order it to-go all the time, it only takes a few minutes for the kitchen to prepare. it sounds simple and i have tried to recreate this dish at home, but it doesn't taste as good. derek and i were eating in the restaurant, so in addition to the fried rice, we had the beef with green beans. really good flavor - if you're stuck in midtown, this is an excellent (although expensive) option for chinese.