A great brunch place that is really close to Grand Central (literally across the street.
Got the New York Strip with Scrambled eggs, and a mimosa. Great combo 🙂
Pazzo Notte
Great Italian place at the south side of Central Park.
Ordered an espresso martini to start (which they had a two for one special). Would say it’s the best espresso martini I’ve ever had.
For my main, got a penne vodka pasta with chicken. Solid call. We also had a side of mozzarella sticks (didn’t like how they made them though). Would definitely come back here.
Pick a Bagel
First bagel place that I’ve tried in New York.
Got a ham and swiss bagel near midtown west. I had it with the “everything bagel” (apparently it’s a common bagel that has seeds of various spices like onion, garlic, etc). Definitely enjoyed the bagel, but next time would probably get it not toasted.
Taverna Kyclades
A great Greek place at the east side of New York.
Got the octopus to share for appetizers (by far the best Octopus I have eaten). Then got the Seafood pasta (basically an awesome seafood linguini as pictured below).
Turkuaz
Tried this Turkish restaurant in New York. Overall great food.
Got the chicken Adana kebab. Definitely a great choice. Also got Turkish coffee (which was similar to drinking an espresso shot… so indifferent about getting it again). Lastly got kunefi for dessert (a cheese based food that had a light sweet syrup). Wouldn’t mind getting it again, but it was filling.
Park Avenue Tavern
Went to this bar for Tuesday night drinks.
This place is a restaurant, but also a classy bar. They made decent espresso martinis, and also got several whisky sodas. Would come here again for drinks after work. Also, noticed some people at the bar were alone. Might be a good place to meet new people. Also would be curious about this place for dinner.
Itaewon Pocha
Visited this bar in Korea Town in New York. It is sorta hidden since it is on the second floor of a building, and the stairs to get to it are a bit hidden.
This place has excellent drinks and good. Got a strawberry soju and a whisky sprite (yea, pretty standard). For food, got vegetable dumplings and something called tofu in hell (it’s a sweet spicy sauce). Both great.
Wanted to get some more things that were on the menu, like some sort of traditional rice cake dish or bulgogi dish. I’ll be coming back.
Chef Josephine
Came to this place for thanksgiving in New York.
The place had a traditional French vibe (person I was with said it seems very Paris authentic). The history behind the restaurant is that some popular broadway star used to own the place.
In terms of atmosphere, the piano player really set the happy mood for the night.
For thanksgiving, it was a fixed menu. For the appetizer, got the crab cakes. They were really good. For the main, got the turkey. Turkey was good, but stuffing and butter nut squash were meh. For dessert, not sure what it was called, but it’s pictured below (also was meh). I think overall the price ($85 per person) was not worth it. They did however give some macaroons at the end, which were great.
For drinks, got an espresso martini and some sort of mojito. Both were also meh.
Zucker’s Bagels
Had a glavlocks bagel at this place (hoping it would taste as good as Ivan’s locks bagel). Unfortunately it did not meet expectations. Also had the minestrone soup. It was too think and would not recommend. O well.
If I did come here again, I think I would try their steak and cheese (a picture in the restaurant was posted, only which I saw after I was done eating).
Carbone
This restaurant was recommended by a friend’s friend as a good Italian restaurant, and he was very correct.
Got a mai tai for a drink (seemed pretty standard).
For appetizers, got several vegetable apps (they were good, but would probably do a meat dish if I wasn’t with a vegetarian). One was the eggplant and zucchini scalene.
They also served bread. One was similar to a pizza bread that I really enjoyed.
For the main, I split a veal parmesan (first time I’ve had that with veal) and a 12 layer white lasagna with a friend (each pasta layer was thinly sliced, that it reminded me more of a flat noodle). Both were amazing.
Also sampled the spicy rigatoni vodka. A great choice!
Only down side with the experience is that we had to sit outside (inside was fully booked). If it were a warmer day, it would have been perfect.
