NYC – Restaurants I Must Try

NYC constantly has new restaurants opening, so many that my head keeps spinning. I decided to start a separate post for just this category.  As I try them, I will either move them into my favorites or to the bottom category of “stay away”.  So many restaurants…so little time… 

• ABCV – 38 E. 19th Street – Jean-George’s new vegetarian restaurant.  Thank goodness he is saying he doesn’t plan on serving food that mimics meat (if I wanted meat I would eat it!) but will serve innovative vegetables and grains in their own right.
• Alta Linea – Courtyard Garden of The Highline Hotel, 180 10th Ave  – Italian restaurant by the team behind dell’anima, L’Artusi, Anfora, and L’Apicio.
• Baar Baar – 13 E First Street (Second Avenue), 212-228-1200 – modern Indian cuisine from Chef Sujan Sarkar, creates “far-out Indian molecular gastronomy” at his first outpost in NYC.
• Bessou – (5 Bleecker St, 212-228-8502) – Chef Emily Yuen offers comforting Japanese food at her new NoHo restaurant.  With training at Bar Boulud, La Gavroche (London), and Vue de Monde (Australia) she is highly skilled in fine dining, but can really create a delicious family meal.  Be sure to order the beef short-rib kakuni, bone-in short rib braised in a sweet soy sake.
• Biang – 157 Second Avenue (10th Street) – Chef Jason Wang moved his highly regarded Chinese restaurant in Flushing to open in Manhattan.  Biang is supposed to be more experimental.
• Bouley at Home – 31 W 21 Street, no phone, davidbouley.com – David Bouley is back and opening a center showcasing his approach to delicious food can have health benefits with the right ingredients.  The center includes a bakery, cooking school, food lab, and restaurant.  The restaurant has 24 seats around three counters, serving a eight -ten course tasting menu for $225.  All chefs double as servers, communicating directly with the guests.  Lunch will start in Nov or Dec and will be $75.  No reservations are taken, they have a ticketing system on his website for prepaid seats.
• Casa Apicii – 62 West 9th Street, (212-353-8499) – new Greenwich Village Italian restaurant in a lovely townhouse.  Specialty is seasonal menus featuring pastas, fresh mozzarella and tasting-menus for meat eaters and vegetarians.  P.S.  there is a secret bar upstairs.
• Cervo’s – 43 Canal Street (Orchard Street), 212-226-2545 – Spanish and Portuguese seafood restaurant with dishes like monkfish liver on toast and Spanish mackerel crudo.
• Chefs Club Counter – Nolita restaurant that offers takeout and features a rotating roster of signature dishes from cult restaurants and big name chefs.

• Cote – 16 West 22nd Street, 212-401-7986 – sleek, high-style Korean barbecue steakhouse from Simon Kim (Piora in West Village).  Special item is the butcher’s feast with multiple cuts of beef, condiments, salads, stews, and dessert.  But they also have a a la carte menu.  The smokeless grills sure help you not having to shower and put your clothes in hamper as soon as you return home!
• Dinnertable – 206 Avenue A (www.dinnertable.nyc) – Hidden inside The Garret East bar behind a doorbell entrance, this new East Village Italian/American restaurant is serving straight forward good food.  Try the steak tartare, lasagna, & burger.
• Don Angie – 103 Greenwich Ave – Alums of Quality Italian, married chef-owners Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli are the team behind this Italian-American in the West Village, serving classics with locally sourced ingredients.  Several elements of the signature dishes that Angie developed came directly from techniques and recipes she learned from her grandmother.
• Empellon – 510 Madison Ave (entrance on 53rd), 212-858-9365 – newest of Alex Stupak’s three restaurants and rave reviews have been coming out for his modern Mexican food, especially for his desserts.  One dessert is a frozen parfait that you would swear was an avocado on a bed of ice.  The parfait is creamy and smooth, the ice crystals melt on your tough into limeade and under the ice is yogurt infused with eucalyptus.  Recommended dishes;  oyster shooters, dticky rice tamales, lettuce leaves, crab nachos, yellow beets, cucumbers with lobster and papalo, king salmon with gooseberries, pork belly, sea bream, short ribs.  But stay away from the taco section!  Quote from the NYT,  “he seems to have the idea that because people love tacos, he can fill them with weird things…yes, anything can be turned into a taco, but perhaps not everything should”.
• Fine & Rare – 9 East 37th St. 212-725-3866 – bar / restaurant specializing in high-quality spirits also has a raw bar, cheeses & charcuterie.  With a couple of fireplaces and Jazz playing in the dining room this should be your go to cozy neighborhood haunt.
• Fish Cheeks – 55 Bond Street (Bowery), 1212-677-2223, fishcheeksnyc.com -Reasonably authentic Thai food, opened by two brothers. Ohm (from Bangkok) and Chat Suansilphong (worked for Tom Colicchio).  Family style dishes focused on seafood.
• Fowler & Wells – 5 Beekman St / Nassau St. in the Beekman Thompson Hotel – Tom Colicchio’s new opening, featuring old classics, such as Beef Wellington, Lobster Thermidor, and Sole Veronique.
• Freud – 506 La Guardia Place (Bleecker St.) – an Austrian restaurant in a brasserie setting evoking Vienna (updated of course) by Eduard Fraunder.

• Hao Noodle & Tea by Madam Zhu’s Kitchen – 401 6th Avenue, 212-633-8900) – Chef Jun Chen, Shanghai native with a real talent for noodles.  Everything is produced fresh daily including the dumpling skins.  Got two stars from NYT.

• Hirohisa – 73 Thompson St, 212.925.1613 – small, cosy SoHo restaurant where the chef, Hirohisa Hayashi, focuses on traditional Japanese cooking sources with local ingredients.
• Holy Ground – 109 W. Broadway – Called a “meat speakeasy”, this seasonal barbecue place with feature slow-cooked ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, and high-end sides.
• Hudson & Charles Dinette – 522 Hudson St. – extension of Hudson & Charles Meat Market, featuring 100% local and sustainable meats sourced from small farms in NY and PA.  Diner-like, small room with tasty dishes.  Try the beef Stroganoff, the straightforward burger (with perfectly golden french fries, the sausage (borscht links), or their spin on chicken parm.
• Jo Jo – 160 E 64th St, 212. 223.5656 – Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first restaurant in NY just returned with a new look and menu after a yearlong renovation.
• Kingsley – 190 Avenue B (12th St.) – Chef Roxanne Spruance (Blackbird in Chicago & Blue Hill) opened in her own French-American place with dishes like pheasant with kabocha squash & black sesame, and heritage pork with blistered cherries and compressed carrots.  Signature dish, Celeriac Agnolotti made with celery root, homemade mesquite cake, sunflower, black pepper gastrique & seared foie gras!
• Kochi – 652 Tenth Ave – New Korean restaurant  (tasting menu only at $75) in Hell’s Kitchen serves nine-courses with an emphasis on skewers.  The chef, Sungchul Shim worked at Per Se and Neta so has great credentials.  Per the New Yorker review, don’t order any of the supplements, just go with the basic tasting menu – much better and reasonably priced for the quantity and quality of the food.
• Lima San – 359 Sixth Ave (West Village) – Chef Erik Ramirez put his Peruvian roots to work featuring Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese) cuisine.  Order his take on Ceviche (national dish of Peru) which is inspired by sushi techniques and is barely marinated (…lightly cooked sweet scallop with creamy avocado, sprinkled with black sesame seeds, in a luscious tiger’s milk).  Also try the aged-duck nigiri with delicious, rich duck over mounds of sushi rice topped with cilantro.
• Little Park – 85 W. Broadway (Tribeca in the Smythe Hotel) – Andrew Carmellini’s latest place with chef de cuisine, Min Kong (from Carbone).  “Contemporary” food focus, with dishes all around the same size.  We get the “small plate sharing” pitch so for some of these you need to order more than one to ensure you get enough of these delicious dishes.  Vegetable are amazing, the cocktails very interesting, and the desserts more creative than most places.  (littlepark.com)

• Lucky Bee – 252 Broome St. (Ludlow St.) – Southeastern Asian farm-to-table restaurant with an emphasis on street food.  Chef Matty Benett (Fat Radish) and Rupert Noffs (Australian partner) also plan on installing beehives on their roof and using local honey in cocktails.

• Manhatta – 28 Liberty St., 212-230-5788 – Danny Meyer’s latest restaurant in the Financial District.  Situated on the top floor of a sixty-story office tower with great views of the city (binoculars are perched on the window sills for better viewing!).  Tables are Prix fixe only ($78) for a snack, three courses including gratuity.  But you can sit at the bar, if you get a spot at this popular place, and order off the bar menu (including, of course, a $28 french onion burger.  The New Yorker called it “the fancy-French-meets-country-club-chic food” but admitted it was all delicious.
• Merakia – 5 W 21 Street, 212-380-1950 – new Flatiron Greek restaurant with a lovely space and great looking bar.  Food is excellent but whimsical such as “Dancing with the Lamb” entree.  Try the lamb stew, rib-eye, dancing with the lamb, and the keftedes (meatballs).  Great cocktails also.
• Momosan Ramen & Sake – 342 Lexington Avenue (39th St., 646-201-5529) – Masaharu Morimoto is getting into the ramen craze, though a little late, but if he’s into it we should just eat and enjoy.
• N’eat – 58 2nd Ave, 917-892-6350 – Chef Gabriel Hedlund, who trained at Noma, is one of the leading chefs bringing New Nordic cuisine to NYC.  He serves casual, everyday food in a relaxed atmosphere.  Try the braised short ribs with pickled huckleberries and smoked marrow slow cooked for 24 hours.
• Oiji – 119 1st Avenue – chefs from Bouley and Gramercy Tavern have opened  taken a contemporary approach to Korean cuisine.  Space is sleek with tables for two and communal seating.
• One Vanderbilt – Daniel Boulud will be opening a new restaurant (this name is just a place holder) in an office tower just being built just west of Grand Central.   It will be a 100 seat, second floor dining room, and not as classic as his uptown restaurant.  Downstairs Daniel will have Epicerie Boulud shops for takeout (lucky me as I live in walking distance!).
• Pig Blecker – 155 Bleecker (Thompson) 646-758-5115 – Chef Matt Abdoo (Del Posto, and part owner in Brooklyn’s Pig Beach) – High-end BBQ such as ravioli with smoked brisket in red wine sauce and truffle butter, cod cheeks with crispy ham, and pigs in a blanket.   Also serving other seafood and veggies.

• Pasquale Jones – 187 Mulberry Street – Charlie Birds new Italian restaurant in NoLita is moderately priced, casual, with hip-hop soundtrack playing in the background.  Featuring wood-fired pizzas, meats and fish.  Favorites are little neck clam pizza, charred cauliflower salad, and pork shank.
• Pisellino – 100 Seventh Ave S (opening in May 2018) – Jody Williams and Rita Sodi are opening another small, charming place to eat and drink based on a classic Italian bar.  Open all day for early coffee to late night cocktails.
• Public Kitchen – 215 Chrystie St – Jean-Georges latest in the newly opened Public Hotel.  150 seat restaurant with a lovely, inviting patio.  Try the truffle pizza, rigatoni with basil-pistachio pesto, and the smoked short ribs.
• Rebelle – 218 Bowery (Prince St) 1917-639-3880 – Chef Daniel Eddy is from Spring in Paris. French bistro serving interesting, creative food (just like Spring!).  And it starts with shaved cheese table-side from a giant wheel as finger food when you sit down.
• Rezdora – 27 E. 20 St. – New, hot, northern-Italian restaurant from chef, Stefano Secchi, who worked in Modena at Osteria Francescana and Hosteria Giusti.  His cuisine is from Emila-Romagna and Pasta is the main attraction.  But the Secondi is highly recommend, so don’t miss (if on the menu as he serves seasonal dishes) the veal cheeks, charred sirloin, or rabbit three ways (coniglio e animelle).
• St. Tropez –  304 West Fourth Street (Bank Street), 917-388-3893 – Chef Gerald Barthelemy, from the Michelin-starred restaurant in the Hotel Vernet in Paris, opened this Cote d’Azur restaurant to the village.  Southern french cooking in a rustic setting.
• Scampi – 30 West 18th Street, opening Oct 2017 – Chef PJ Calapa, Michael White alum,  opened a Flatiron place featuring Southern Italian cooking.  With a focus on, you guessed it, scampi.
• Shuko – 47 E 12th Street – Jimmy Lau & Nick Kim were Masa’s chefs in NYC and Vegas.  Japanese food at another level where their takes on the “ordinary” will knock your socks off.  Fun, relaxed atmosphere, somewhat like your favorite hidden bar.  Two Tasting menus only.    (shukonyc.com)
• Sorbillo NYC – 334 Bowery (Bond Street), 646-476-8049 – Neapolitan pies by Gino Sorbillo whose family owns pizzerias in Naples.

• Te Company – 163 W. 10th Street – Taiwanese tearoom, that you could easily walk by without noticing.  But glad I found this review in The New Yorker as they believe it is “one of the most exiting restaurants in New York”.  The service is the first hint that this is no regular tearoom as they guide you through the leather-bound menu.  Tea is expertly prepared, and there are not many places in New York where you can eat better!
• Tijuana Picnic – 151 Essex Street – Mexican / Asian fare serving large plates of pork neck with Thai-spiced chimichurri, skewers of grilled mako shark or short ribs in an Asian style bulgogi kimchi sauce, and tuna belly tacos.   Restaurant has a retro vibe serving creative cocktails (spicy margaritas with your guacamole!).
• Tim Ho Wan  – 85 Fourth Ave, 212-228-2800 – Tim Ho Wan holds the honor for having the world’s cheapest Michelin-star restaurants (goodness for us foodies).  Known for premiere dim sum, has forty-five restaurant in a global chain all over Asia.  No reservations taken and lines have been seen multiple blocks long.  His success is not built on creative takes but the care with which he makes the basics.  No corners cut here on ingredients or preparation … nothing is pre-made, and the freshness shows in every bite.  Try the classics; steamed pork spare ribs with black beans, rice roll with shrimp (whole shrimp) and chives, pork dumplings, bun with barbecued port (his claim to fame).

New Power Lunch – casual destinations by NYC’s gastro heavyweights

• Made Nice – Daniel Humm and Will Guidara from the NoMad and Eleven Madison Park have gone casual.    Enjoy the composed salads like seared cod with chickpea puree and braised fennel, a frisee salad with smoked salmon and dill, and curried cauliflower with tofu and couscous.
• Daily Provisions – Danny Meyer launched this quick-service place right next door to the new Union Square Cafe.  Order one of the sandwiches like the broccoli melt blanketed with Manchego cheese and chilies, or the club sandwich of rotisserie chicken.

• Norman – Fredrik Berselius of two-Michelin-starred Aska, and Claus Meyer, of Agern (and the mighty Noma!).  New nordic bent of rye breads, smoked fish, and pickled eggs.  Also seasonal dishes – slow-roasted pork sandwich, crab toast with winter radish, and grain bowls with charred vegetables.