City Lobster

I'm not really proud to say I went here but I did so I'm here to talk about it. Located on W. 49th St. near 6th Ave. I definitely felt like a tourist entering City Lobster, which looks like an upscale Red Lobster. My brother and I decided to grab dinner there because we were extremely hungry for dinner and in the area. We sat in the bar area and didn't even order a seafood dish! As a vegetarian I was very unimpressed with the menu selections and decided to order two sides- steamed broccoli and corn on the cob. I was not excited about my order but ended up really enjoying it- corn on the cob always reminds me of summers in Indiana and what vegetarian doesn't like steamed broccoli?!? Haha.
City Lobster would be a good spot for families visiting NYC who are uncomfortable trying trendy New York restaurants and want to eat somewhere near their hotel or before seeing a Broadway show. This seafood establishment offers a $35 Prix-Fixe Theater Menu served from 4pm to close. City Lobster may also make sense for business lunches for those who work nearby.
Have you been to City Lobster? If so, what did you think of it?

The Smith

Opened in 2007, The Smith quickly become an East Village hangout serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner every day. Opened by Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt, owners of Corner Table Restaurants, who also owns Jane, an American bistro in Greenwich Village. All Corner Table Restaurants are committed to using local, natural, organic and sustainable ingredients.Located on 3rd Ave. between 10th & 11th Streets, The Smith offers seven amazing menus- one for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, drinks, Sunday brunch, drinks and delivery. I recently visiting The Smith for dinner and drinks with a few friends. The dinner menu has a great variety, definitely offers something for everyone from Mac + Cheese to Chicken Pot Pie. The menu is divided into six sections- Starters, Main Courses, Salads & Sandwiches, Steaks, Pasta and Sides. I ordered the Mediterranean Salad and really liked it but everyone else loved their entrees as well which included the Pork Chop (served with crispy potatoes, baby portobellos and bacon bordalaise) and Diver Scallops (served with asparagus, leeks, truffled, spring pea puree).
Also noteworthy are the drinks which included Muddlers, Fancy Cocktails, Long Pours, Bourbon/Whiskey, Draft and Bottled Beer. I loved both the Belini and the Blood Orange Mimosa.
The open atmosphere, casual classic American menu and late night hours reminded me of Cafeteria. (The Smith is open until midnight on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, 1am on Wednesdays and Thursday but open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.) FYI: Reservations are accepted and you may need them for dinner but not really needed for breakfast or lunch.

La Palapa

While strolling around the West Village with my brother on a Saturday evening we came across La Palapa, an adorable Mexican restaurant with a lively bar, a large dinning area and best of all, outdoor seating. The West Village location (6th Ave. between 21st & 22nd St.) has three custom drink creations; Fresh Lime & Pomegranate Juice Margarita, White Hibiscus Sangria and Michelada (a beer cocktail). I love white wine and love sangria so ordered the White Hibiscus Sangria, which, I have to say, was not the best white wine sangria I've ever had. It was refreshing but not great. We started our meal with their delicious homemade guacamole and chips. The menu featured four different entree-sized salads, even one that includes grilled cactus. I ordered the Ensalada De Palmitos Y Aguacate (hearts of palm, avocado, tomates and mixed greens with fresh oregano vinaigrette) with a side of black beans. They even have a main entree specifically for vegetarians, Plato Azteca Vegetariano- two potato taquitos with guacamole, salsa, rice tortilla, grilled cactus paddle and black beans.
La Palapa is a great summer spot and I definitely recommend it. Apparently there is another one in the East Village- at St. Mark's Place & 1st Ave.

Allen & Delancey

To celebrate my friend's engagement I took her to Allen & Delancey, located on the corner of Allen and Delancey in the Lower East Side. It's a romantic spot with a bar in the front and the main dining room in the back. The dim lighting, velvet details and exposed brink walls make it an intimate restaurant and perfect for date night or celebrations. The creative dinner menu that offers upscale classic American is a wonderful compliment to the seductive cocktail menu designed by Alex Day.
The cocktail menu is unique in that each drink has two variations that fit a specific theme. The first cocktail is always light and festive with citrus and fruit meant to refresh the mind and whet the appetite while the second option showcases a base spirit, a stirred cocktail best enjoyed with thought, time and good conversation.
The dinner menu isn't exactly fit for vegetarians but thankfully they are able to make accommodations for you. The menu is divided into four sections, Raw, Appetizers, Entrees and Sides and features dishes like Foie Gras, Scallops, Seared Duck Breast and more.

Poll Results: Meeting up with Friends...

When meeting up with friends the majority of Gossip Street readers prefer to go to dinner rather than brunch, lunch or happy hour. What's your vote? Make your vote count, vote HERE.
I've created a new poll (see left) asking what is your go-to drunk food? Vote HERE.

Gramercy Tavern

Upon entering Gramercy Tavern the first two things you'll notice are the amazing floral arrangements, designed by Roberta Bendavid, and the panoramic mural painted on panels surrounding the bar and the front dining room, created by artist Robert Kushner.
Gramercy Tavern has been an NYC staple since 1994 located on 20th St. near Park Ave [MAP]. Chef Michael Anthony serves up gourmet American classics with a twist which includes several vegetarian options like the four delicious vegetarian dishes I tried, the Sunchoke Salad (fyi: a sunchoke is a root vegetable related to the sunflower) served with apples and walnuts, the Chilled Asparagus Soup, a warm Mushroom Lasagna and a giant Heirloom Cauliflower sliced and served with almonds, capers and lemon.
We passed on dessert so we could visit the nearby Pinkberry but it was hard to pass up Apple Pie served with cinnamon sour cream ice cream and Mango Lime Cheesecake.

If you don't make a reservation via OpenTable prepare to wait at least 30 minutes, but not to worry, champagne bar Flute is two doors down and the perfect way to begin (or end) your evening.

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Craft

This past week my mom, brother and I went to Craft in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan (map). The restaurant, owned by the famous Tom Colicchio, is an amazingly cool space with modern hanging lights and a large leather wall. The menu lists our a wide range of meets, side dishes, salads, pasta, seafood and more and is served family style, meant to be shared with the table. We ordered a wide variety of dishes each better than the next! We started off with cocktails and two side dishes. My brother ordered the Crispy Bacon, recommended by our waiter, while I went with the Roasted Tokyo Turnips. The Crispy Bacon was four big slices of bacon, it was like nothing I had ever seen before, I never knew bacon could be so large. The bacon was sauteed in orange marmalade and my brother loved it. The turnips were very tasty and a great dish to share.
Before our entrees were served we were greeted with a shot-like portion of fava bean panna cotta puree. Thankfully I had mentioned to the waiter that I'm a vegetarian when we ordered our side dishes because they gave me the non-bacon garnished fava bean puree. :)
Our entrees included the Roasted Baby Carrots, Asparagus, Roasted Beets with tarragon, Gratin Potatoes, Mezzaluna Pasta (moon-shaped pasta) and the Braised Beef Short Rib.
It was too hard to pass up dessert since everything else we tasted was so fabulous we knew that dessert would not disappoint. My brother had a single scoop of vanilla ice cream while my mom and I shared the Warm Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, candied walnuts and Rhubarb sorbet.

The service was amazing, our waiter was very friendly and made wonderful suggestions. Just like at Bouley the hospitality continued until we left the door, as we left we were each presented with individually wrapped homemade chocolate chip muffins.
Craft is a restaurant where you are encouraged to sit as long as you'd like, enjoy your company, the food and the wine. You may want to make your reservations via Open Table a few days in advance.