MenuRaves New York City Restaurants

New NYC Spring 2010 Restaurants

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Dinner at Po

Po, at 31 Cornelia Street, NYC, is still a fun, very tasty spot for dinner. I ate there many years ago during the Mario Batali era, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I remarked that the cuisine rivaled the best Tuscan food I’ve had Stateside since living in Florence, and my food obsessed friend awarded “Babbo level pasta” to the Parpardelle. Chef Lee McGrath runs a lively restaurant with an A+ staff, great food, a really good wine list and we will both go back.

The narrow, white window-paned restaurant in the West Village provides a great backdrop for the very colorful Trattoria style menu, with its antipasti, primi, secondi, dolce menu that is familiar but def. a departure from a straight up traditional trattoria menu, with  welcome variations on classic Tuscan themes. The yellow and red colors, lemon and peperoncini flavors, theme played throughout the menu and really worked to make the food visually memorable as well as v. tasty.

Here’s the play by play on the dishes we both agreed are Raves…

Fresh Marinated Anchovies, dried tomato tabbouleh
The anchovies were a standout- with some brightness added by lemon, they were over a sprouted earthy tabbouleh with a fantastic red pepper sauce. It was a great and original dish, but not overly complicated and the anchovies were not too overpowering as they can sometimes be. The red and yellow sauces, were both visually cool and provided a very interesting contrast between the hot red pepper sauce chasing the the anchovy flavor and then with the yellow lemon sauce bringing the anchovies in a different direction.

Grilled Portobello, arugula & shaved parmigiano-reggiano-
a good earthy salad. simple preparation, it is what it is and that’s why we like it.

Pappardelle, duck confit ragu was a supremely executed dish; we both agreed it was a favorite of all the dished we tried.  It’s deceptively simple but all the elements of the dish were so well balanced with all the flavors having a clarity and pleasing combination at once; everything I like about Tuscan cooking. Everyone is familiar with this dish but Chef McGrath’s version at Po had a fresh, green parsley flavor mixed with minuscule caramelized onions that made that duck ragu slightly sweet, mixing with the sweet notes of the parsley, so it was not at all bitter. “I can’t even pin down why it was so perfect. It was Babbo level pasta.”

For wine, we had a really good, reasonably priced Valpolicella, Solane Santi 2007, which stood up well to the Braised Short Ribs. I really want to go back and try some of the fish dishes I missed.

Tartinery open at 209 Mulberry St.

Tartinery
209 Mulberry St, NYC, 10012

The interior is gorgeous, with exposed brick, floor to ceiling windows and a Black and White motif. Tartine (little tart) are open-face French sandwiches.

I had the Jambon Puree, and will definitely eat there again, and post an update – the window tables are so good I hope to enjoy a few more lunches before this place gets discovered.

Tags: cafe, design, french, lunch

Torrisi Italian Specialties opens at 250 Mulberry

Now Open

Torrisi Italian Specialties is now open! This is the Italian Deli food of my youth but really, really, really tasty, with no ingredients from Italy. Instead, the food is local sourced Italian style, incorporating fresh local and domestic products, rather than high carbon footprint imported ingredients. This is a good trend for the local sustainable food movement.

On opening day, I enjoyed the delicious, garlicky fresh roasted turkey sandwich on seeded semolina bread . And for my last lunch of 2009, I had the Chicken Parm. Go get this sandwich now. If you’ve grown up on these – you’ve never had a chicken parm this intoxicating – so good – from the fresh cheese to the perfect spicy tomato sauce.

There are several tables for eating in or you can take out.

Torrisi Italian Specialties
250 Mulberry Street (bet. Prince and Spring)

for links to local food info, sources and Restaurants, please see our MenuRaves Local Food Movement Page.

Tags: deli, Italian, local, locavore, nyc, restaurant, sandwich, source

2010 MenuRaves Food Predictions

Tenderloin Roast Burger w/ Edible String

MenuRaves NYC 2010 Food Trends that we think are going to take off in the New Year:

1) Local Oysters – 2009 was the year of Oyster Terroir awareness from far flung waters. 2010 will bring a larger variety of local Oysters to NYC Menus

2) Burger Hybrids – from the Schnitzel Burger at @schnitzeltruck to the Cheeseburger Sausage available at the Meat Hook in Brooklyn, @themeathook, burger hybrids are going to trend in 2010.

3) MICRO-Local Restaurants – The 100 Mile Diet is so 2009… the 10 mile diet for 2010…

Rooftop Farms – http://rooftopfarms.org/ - A 6000 Square Foot Organic Vegie farm on top of a warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Local Restaurants that serve Rooftop Farms Produce:

Vesta Trattoria and Wine Bar – Italian Restaurant in Astoria, Queens
Anella Brooklyn – 222 Franklin St. Brooklyn, NY 11222 … (718) 389-8100
Marlow and Sons -  81 Broadway Brooklyn NY 11211 – (718) 384-1441
Eat Cafe – 124 Messerole Ave. Greenpoint, Brooklyn 11222 (718) 389-8083

4) Non-pig Bacon & non Bacon-pig – all those insert bacon here recipes are so 2009… 2010 will add some variation with non-pork bacon and OPP- Other parts of the Pig

5) Pacojet Cocktails – “waiter, there’s a dessert in my booze”.

6) Micro Desserts – mini-cupcakes in 2009 were just the start…

2N3T2EBS9QNU

Tags: bacon, cocktails, food, locavore, nyc, oyster, restaurant, restaurants, trend

100 Acres in Soho

100 Acres – web
38 Macdougal St.
New York

100 Acres is from the owners of Five Points and the Cookshop. The candle lit rectangular room of antiqued floor to ceiling paned widows, has a long white tiled bar area evoking old-style eateries, shimmery tile wrapped columns, and marble topped long communal tables at the far end with high stools. There are also individual tables along the windows and a good sense of space and proportion. 100 Acres is very comfortable and puts one at ease.

The portions are great for winter and the food looks way good:

Pork Shank at 100 Acres

At first I was yawning at the entree part of the menu, partially because I’ve dined out a bunch this week and already exhausted the staples, Steak, Mussels, local tune and Burger, but the specials were exciting. I opted out of the Wild Salmon over clam chowder special, in favor of the Pork Shank.  The appetizers were very appealing mix of seafood and salads. The Spit Roasted Amish Chicken arrived on a large plate; an-sized chicken… not cornish hen. The gigantor chicken, served with sweet potatoes and a tangy dried fruit compote and walnut butter, was really good and tender; addictive crispy skin and very flavorful. Tried the Hog Island Oysters – excellent (@hogislandoyster), Kombucha Squash Soup, Mushroom and Rocket Salad. For an entree, the Pork Shank with Mache, pomegranate & radishes over parsnips, was really good, well spiced and a balance of earthy, sweet overtones of the pomegranate and parsnips mixing well with the richness of the slow roast pork.

Totally unpretentious seasonal, comfort food atmosphere and a menu with many local food items. Good for a date or with friends. All in all it was much better than I expected and I’d def. go back – was def. a very good vibe and fun.

Tags: comfort, food, Hog Island Oysters, local, new, nyc, oyster, oysters, restaurant, SoHo

MenuRaves NYC Meat Map

Our Faves in Steak and Pork in New York

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Tags: beef, Brooklyn, map, meat, NY, nyc, pork, restaurant, steak, steak house

NYC Vegetarian Restaurants on Twitter Map

NYC Vegetarian Restaurants on Twitter Map Mashup

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Tags: bistro, cafe, city, new, NY, nyc, organic, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian, york

NYC Wine Bars on Twitter Map

MenuRaves NYC Wine Bars on Twitter Google Maps Mashup

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Tags: New York City, NY, nyc, wine, winebar

The Lateys™ Latenight Eats in NYC

MenuRaves is proud to announce The Lateys™ – the BEST in latenight eats across the USA, starting with NYC.

Latey? Lately we’ve been MenuRaving so hard we don’t get out to eat until LATE.  Please nominate your favorites and we’ll mention you on MenuRaves (send faves to thelateys@menuraves.com).

Here are some of our FAVES of latenight in NYC ::
CLICK HERE FOR A GOOGLE MAP

View THE LATEYS :: MenuRaves NYC Latenight Eats in a larger map

Blue Ribbon – the reigning king
97 Sullivan St., nr. Spring St.; 212-274-0404

WoHop – greasy noodle shop with a latenight cast of characters straight out of the movies – cops and gangstas slurpin’ downstairs in-  Chinatown

Delicatessen
54 Prince St, New York, NY 10012-3309 – (212) 226-0211
delicatessennyc.com‎

Cafeteria
119 7th Ave, New York, NY‎ – (212) 414-1717‎

Blue ribbon sushi
119 Sullivan St, New York, NY‎ – (212) 343-0404‎
blueribbonrestaurants.com

Cafe select

Balthazar
80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012 – (212) 965-1414
balthazarny.com

La Esquina
106 Kenmare St, New York, NY 10012 – (646) 613-7100
esquinanyc.com‎

L’Asso NYC – Latenight slices Thurs – Sat. til 3am
192 Mott St, New York, NY 10012 – (212) 219-2353
lassonyc.com

Peasant
194 Elizabeth St # A, New York, NY 10012-4255 – (212) 965-9511
peasantnyc.com

L’orange bleu
430 Broome St, New York, NY 10012 – (212) 226-4999
lorangebleue.com

L’Express serves dinner from Midnight to 6am every day. – http://lexpressnyc.com/

Le Bateau Ivre – kitchen open from 8am – 4am every day – www.lebateauivrenyc.com
230 E 51st St
New York, NY 10022-6571
(212) 583-0579

Katz’s Deli – Friday and Saturday is open 8am – 2:45am

Fatty Crab West Village – Thursday – Saturday open til 2 am ! – http://fattycrab.com/
643 Hudson Street
(between Horatio and Gansevoort)
New York, NY 10014
ph: 212.352.3592

Lucky Strike Address: ‎- open in SOHO -  5pm-1am Monday-Wednesday , 5pm-2am Thursday, 5pm-2:30am Friday, 4.30pm-2:30am Saturday, 4.30pm-1am Sunday
59 Grand St, New York, NY 10013-2320 – (212) 941-0479
luckystrikeny.com

open in SOHO -  5pm-1am Monday-Wednesday , 5pm-2am Thursday, 5pm-2:30am Friday, 4.30pm-2:30am Saturday, 4.30pm-1am Sunday

Resto – til 1am
111 E. 29th St (cross Park Ave. S) -  212-685-5585
restonyc.com

The Smith – til 1am
55 Third Ave -  212-420-9800
thesmithnyc.com

Allen & Delancey – til 2am
115 Allen St -  212-253-5400
allenanddelancey.net

Dell’anima – til 2am
38 Eighth Ave (at Jane St.) -  212-366-6633

Momofuku Ssäm Bar – til 2am
207 Second Ave. (at 13th) 212-254-3500

Restaurant Forte Baden Baden – til’ 4am
28 W. 32nd St. (neat 5th… it’s on the second floor) -  212-744-2266

Cozy Soup and Burger – open 24/7
739 Broadway (Between Astor Pl and Waverly Pl)

Schiller’s – SUN to WED: 12:00 – 1:00 AM, THU: 12:00 – 2:00 AM, FRI and SAT: 12:00 –3:00 AM
131 Rivington Street

Sushi Seki – Open Mon-Sat 5:30pm-3am
143 1st Ave
New York, NY 10065-7700
(212) 371-0238

La Mela – Sun-Thur till 2am and Friday and Saturday till 3am
167 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10013
212-431-9493

Cacio e Vino – Tues – Sat til 5am?
80 2nd Avenue

Jo’s - til’ 1 a.m. Monday through Thurs, til’ 2 a.m. Friday and Sat, and til’ midnight on Sunday
264 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012-5512, (212) 966-9640
josnyc.com
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Tags: 24 hour, 247, after, afterhours, food, late, latenight, midgnight, New York City, NY, nyc, restaurant