All the event details are here:http://tapnightmkt.eventbrite.com/ - See y’all there at the @LoveMamak booth!
Category Archives: Recommended
Review – Mission Chinese Food NYC (Grand Opening)
Chef Danny Bowien is quickly rising amongst the transplant Chef world, making his presence known with tons of media coverage. We picked up an issue of Bon Appetit to check out the latest ongoings in the food world. Low and behold, there’s Danny again headlining the magazine with Andrew Knowlton reflecting on their recent trip to eating up Chengdu. They even have a book out publishing their recipes. With much fanfare surrounding the opening, we wanted to satiate our need to know why the SF mainstay is much heralded…. Continue reading
First Look – Atera
Credit proprietor Jodi Richard for hand-picking Chef Matt Lightner for Atera, the former the Compose space at 77 Worth St in TriBeCa. Even more props for convincing him to come to NYC from Portland. This guy is the real deal, having worked at the highly revered Mugaritz, and it shows. When it comes to textures, temperature, and technique, the execution is practically flawless. None of the food is coerced or phony. Even their butter is intentional. The flavors? Well, read on…
First Look: Neta
“NETA=THE FRESH INGREDIENTS OF SUSHI”
With former alums from Bar Masa at the helm, Neta is sure to be a a crowd pleaser right? Don’t bet on it.
2011 RESTAURANTS – OUR GREATEST HITS/MISSES
After 1500+ check-ins in 2011, here is a compilation of Jeff’s most notable eats, both good and bad. Take note that the lists below are not necessarily new establishments, but ones we went to for the first time last year, aka newly visited. All price ranges were taken into consideration and the lists are sorted in alphabetical order for your viewing pleasure. We are hopeful that to avoid bad eats but we already kicked off 2012 with 5 misses in a row. Not promising but we are keeping our tongues brushed and fingers crossed. Here are the lists…
Review – ACME Restaurant and Bar
No, this is not a review of Cajun food, Po’ Boys and/or Hush Puppies. Instead, we are focusing on the newly reopened ACME with San Pellegrino’s #1 Restaurant in the World, Noma Co-Founder Mads Refslund a the helm. For the 2 smart people that read this blog, you will recall that we did an article on Mads, deemed the ‘other’ Golden Child, last year. In case you didn’t here’s the Recap: 2011 Omnivore Professional Master Classes. We were no less impressed with the food this time around. Since the demo, we have been longing to fly to Denmark, but work beckons. Luckily, Mads came to us, and in strong form. I mean, just look at that picture. Continue reading
Restaurant Review – L2O
Michelin-rated restaurants, if personified, remind me a bit of family. All restaurants in the “3 Star Michelin Family” have slightly different “personalities,” so to speak. You have the glamorous and impeccably put-together aunt (Daniel in NYC), the humble and wise grandfather (Le Bernardin in NYC), and the super-cool, at times advant- garde cousin who probably curates at the MoMA (Alinea).
Yeah, we had fun with the souffle...
Restaurant Review (International Edition!): Tapeo de Cervantes (Málaga)
Apologies in advance for my hiatus from life. I’ve been in Spain, studying away, with a temperamental 56k internet connection. I know, I should be out and about and NOT surfing the ‘net (but I need to research places to eat!).
This review is either a real-life incident or a Spanish soap opera. You decide. Continue reading
Restaurant Review: ilili
Would you take your dad to a restaurant that blasts only the finest in Top 40 hits (that Barbra Streisand song) and has a clientele that resembles Pascha circa 1998? Cut me some slack. It was Dad’s idea to come to ilili.
Photo courtesy of Citysearch
Restaurant Review: Alinea
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho
Photo courtesy of maricazottino.com
It was a year ago when I discovered I was going to be one lucky lady and dining companion at Alinea. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be able to experience the work of Grant Achatz, one of the pioneers of molecular gastronomy.
Steph C’s Recommendations
Steph C.’s Restaurant Recs
So, if you read my little bio, you’ll know that I love: tapas, homemade Italian (pastas, really), anything that comes from bread, and Southeast Asian food. So, here’s my best of the best in those categories… in the greatest city I call home, New York. (See my Yelp page for other city lists: http://www.hedonista.yelp.com, as well as more restaurant reviews in detail.) Continue reading
Review – 1or8
Live sea urchin in shell
This place lies in an exploding culinary neighborhood, Williamsburg. White everywhere is the first thing you will notice when you step inside. Yes, even the plants and its branches are painted white. We loved the fact that even the plates were mostly white, for this provided for an awesome backdrop for contrast in our food pictures. Just when we had almost lost hope in hidden gems for sushi, 1or8 reinstilled our faith. This place has been on our bookmarks for quite some time now, but we ended up here randomly, thanks to a late night suggestion from a friend. Boy, do we love kismet like that. Continue reading
Food Review – Cafe Atlantico
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jose Andres. He has truly brought Spanish cuisine to the culinary forefront and made tapas much more mainstream. After a few extremely disappointing trips to Jaleo, I was hoping that the Jose Andres empire could redeem itself. And that it certainly did.
Food Vault: Chinatown’s Best Dumpling Houses – A Walking Tour
by Jeff
An oldie but goodie. A couple of years ago, I used to run Walking Food Tours for those unfamiliar with or new to the city. I wanted to share the wealth of knowledge that I had about food by showing people around the best places to eat in any given locale. There used to be a theme (i.e. Dumplings) and a location (i.e. Chinatown) for every Walking Tour. Now defunct, I stopped doing it due to flakers. It’s not so much about prepayment and taking people’s money first regardless if they show, but more about the principle of someone showing up and not flaking. There was a time when someone’s word was a firm handshake and meant something. Continue reading
Restaurant Review – Gramercy Tavern
I’ll find an excuse to celebrate anything. So when I was accepted to a graduate school AND received a significant scholarship, it was only my natural inclination to apply those savings in education to more important things, say,going out and eating. Which is why I found myself at Gramercy Tavern.
I even had something to eat the next morning!
UPDATED: Restaurant Reviews – Espana (Westchester)
UPDATED 3/29/2011: Westchester County has been experiencing a culinary renaissance lately. Although there are many restaurant concepts that would (sadly) fail in Westchester, I was excited when I received an invitation to dine at Espana in Larchmont: Chefs Manel Marques and Javier Castellarnau from Suquet de l’Almirall in Barcelona would be preparing an 8 course tasting dinner.
At $75 per person, this is a bargain! Let the eating commence...
What’s the future of the Supper Club?
Thanks to the WordofMouthBlog for the awesome article below. Although they are a UK based blog and refer to their own country, the similarities are uncanny. We love how Supper Clubs tend to be strictly about the food, sans egos. They also tend to be more exploratory in nature and take bigger risks with their menus. Well, at least we do. Our usual gripes? The basics: cold food, expensive and leaving hungry. You’d be surprised that few manage to get the fundamentals right. Also, why pay for someone renting the space for a Pop Up Dinner when that cost shouldn’t be absorbed by you, the diner? This is why we started our own Supper Club. Continue reading
Review – Bar Basque (updated)
Sauté Of Spicy Garlic Shrimp, Diver Sea Scallops
UPDATE 3/16/11: JEFF’S REVIEW - Agree with what Dana said, for the most part. Although we were not rushed last night, the service was unattentive. You know there’s a problem when the busboys do a better job than your waiter. They started us off with a complimentary cod plantain fritter which was tasty but stringy. The Lahoz EVOO was delicious and had us dipping many a hard crusty dinner roll here. The food here is good, but not great. Dishes are properly seasoned but the love in the food is questionable. Throwing watercress on a plate, as witnessed on the Shrimp ($15/pc) and NY Strip ($36) entrees, does not constitute a masterpiece nor love, far from it rather. Price points are high and you do feel like you paid for Chodorow’s renovations slash rent. With many dishes shared and $40/pp lighter, I left hungry and unamused. More gimmicky than authentic, the food here is playful at best. If you’re been downstairs at FoodParc, you’ll know what we mean, as they are the same owners. Continue reading
Deals – Starbucks 40th Anniversary – FREE Petite Desserts MAR10-12
From the Starbucks Facebook page, “Starbucks Petites are delicious sweets perfectly sized for a well-deserved afternoon treat. You can choose from eight different types and because each one is under 200 calories, you can still feel good about treating yourself.” Have you seen they have cake balls now? Starbucks Petites PICS
ALSO, Mashable is reporting that when you check-in at Starbucks today using Foursquare, you could randomly win a $40 gift card! 500 people that check in and unlock a “Tribute Badge” can possibly win, though winners won’t be announced until March 16. Check out the Mashable article for more info.
Restaurant Review – Le Bernardin
My Bucket List is probably a reflection of my Type A, perfectionist personality. Although I have scratched riding in a Ferrari off the list, I still have an onslaught of other important items, such as living in Spain, having my bachelorette party during Oktoberfest in Munich, skydiving, and eating at Le Bernardin.
Photo courtesy of Mariani's Virtual Gourmet
The 5 to Try and Bucket List is one item shorter now because I had the honor (yes, it really is an honor) and pleasure of dining at Le Bernardin this past week. Deep down on the inside, I was hoping that Eric Ripert (swoon!) would be on location, but this just means that I am going to add “Meet Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin” onto my Bucket List.
