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.

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.

El Parador Cafe

This Murray Hill establishment was founded in 1959, making it the oldest Mexican restaurant in Manhattan, according to their profile on OpenTable. Typically I would have walked passed the aged red awning on East 34th St. thinking the restaurant would be old and gross inside but to my surprise the decor inside is quite charming. The rustic lanterns casting dim light against white stucco walls.
The chips, salsa and guacamole are all homemade (as they should be). Their salsa is definitely unique, seasoned with undertones of cinnamon was an unexpected but delicious twist on traditional salsa!
Three friends and I shared two vegetarian entrees and two bottles of wine for a very reasonable price and loved our dishes. After reviewing the main menu we asked to see the vegetarian menu, which unfortunately isn't available so you'll just have to trust me that it features some amazing dishes. We ordered the spinach and cheese enchiladas served with a thick black bean sauce and sweet potato tostadas- two flat tostadas served with a sweet potato mash that was sweetened with honey and citrus. I would definitely recommend trying the sweet potato tostadas but I think it would be too sweet to eat the whole thing as an entree so consider sharing it either as an appetizer or an entree.
Besides the food, El Parador Cafe also offers an extensive wine list that's primarily Spanish wines, white and red sangria and an encyclopedia of tequilas.
As you've noticed from my reviews, Mexican cuisine is always one of my favorites... what's your favorite Mexican restaurant in NYC?

Forge (Marc Forgione)

To celebrate my 25th birthday my friends took me to Forge, a chic restaurant in Tribeca headed by chef Marc Forgione who serves sophisticated American favorites using seasonal ingredients. Forge opened in June 2008 but had to change it's name to in January 2009 to Marc Forgione, after the owner and head chef, to avoid litigating a lawsuit.
Marc Forgione is the son of culinary legend, Larry Forgione, who revolutionized American-style cooking in the 70s and 80s.
Patrons are welcomed with pastry chef Jennifer McCoy's homemade potato rolls, served with caramelized onion butter. I ordered the Yellow Beet Terrine, Watercress, Candied Walnuts, and Midnight Moon Goat Cheese while my friends ordered most of the fish dishes like the Loch Duhart Salmon en Pappillote, Honey Crisp Apple-Coriander Nage, Micro Celery. For dessert we shared the Pumpkin Creme Crulee, Creme Fraiche, Cranberry-Cashew Dark Chocolate Clusters and the Banana Betty, Ginger Bread crust, Roasted Banana Ice Cream.
Located at 134 Reade St (near Hudson St.) - map.
Reservations can be made via OpenTable.com

Bar Baresco

After a work event a couple weeks ago some colleagues and I celebrated another colleague's birthday at Bar Baresco, located in Chelsea at 191 7th Ave (21st & 22nd St). Upon being seated our friendly waitress asked me if I could guess who was sitting in my seat the night before. After one or two guesses she finally told me that Jude Law had been sitting in the same exact seat as me!

The Malta brothers have turned Bar Baresco into a wine bar featuring Southern Italian wines, all preserved using an Oz Cruvinet, an expensive piece of machinery that keeps 40 bottles open and preserved simultaneously. The wine is paired perfectly with the Italian menu put together by Roberto Lopez, from BiCE and Cipriani Dolce.

Of course everyone loved the pastas but as usual, I ordered a salad and thought it was wonderful too. It was the Organic mix greens, toasted pine nuts, shaved parmigiano, grape tomatoes and balsamic dressing which was perfect for what I was craving.

Reservations can be made online via OpenTable.com.
[source: NYMag]

Mercer Kitchen

Mercer Kitchen is a New York hot spot inside the Mercer Hotel in Soho headed by famed chef Jean-Georges. My favorite detail about the restaurant is the bubble glass ceiling above the lover dining room where patrons can watch passersby walk across the roof that doubles as the Soho sidewalk outside the restaurant.One of my roommates and I surprised our other roommate by taking her out for drinks and appetizers at Mercer Kitchen for her birthday. I ordered a delicious seasonal cocktail that was a concoction of champagne and apple cider. Other fabulous sounding drinks on their drink menu include the Kumquat Mojito, Champagne Passion, Ginger Margarita and the Vodka Thyme Lemonade.
For our appetizers we shared the Butternut Squash Soup with black trumpet mushrooms, Shaved Fennel Salad and the Roasted Market Beets with goat cheese- all of which were amazing. The menu is full of other creative dishes that would satisfy vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.
Located at 99 Prince St. (at Mercer St.); reservations are highly recommended and can be made via OpenTable.

Avra Estiatorio

I had always been interested in trying Avra Estiatorio, a large Greek restaurant on 48th St. between 3rd and Lexington Ave. The space is huge, would be a great spot for groups, and the courtyard off to the side of the restaurant makes me think Avra would be a fun place to try in the summer time for some outdoor dining.The menu features a wide variety of Greek food, the meal starts off with two small dishes, one filled with olives, another filled with hummus and a basket of bread. To go along with our hummus my friend and I ordered the Kolokithi- traditional crispy zucchini and eggplant chips. For dinner we both ordered Greek Salads, of course my favorite part of the salad were the large slices of feta cheese and crisp tomatoes.
Reservations can be made at OpenTable

The Stanton Social

The Stanton Social was recommended to me by my boss when I first moved into the city two years ago, noting that it offers excellent food and is often a celebrity hot spot. I had looked at the menu online and maybe I looked at the wrong thing because I was not impressed. However, recently strolling around the Lower East Side with my brother during his visit we were starting to get hungry and looking for a place to eat in the area that approved both our tastes. All of the sudden I realized we were standing in front of The Stanton Social so we walked in and asked for a table for two. Luckily it was still early enough (7pm) so there was still room. They took us up stairs and we had the best trendy comfort food we’d ever tasted.

Our waiter was great, super nice and really knew her stuff- making suggestions and going into great detail in explaining the dishes which is exactly what I love since I tend to be a picky eater. We ordered a bunch of food and split everything. We started with zucchini tempura served with a dipping sauce, followed two sliders- one was grilled cheese, the other was a hamburger. Per the server’s recommendation we ordered the apple and brie cheese quesadilla topped with caramelized maple syrup, which I have to say is probably one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in a long time. For dessert we shared the warm blueberry cobbler which was amazing.

Arrive any later than 7pm from Thursday-Sunday and you better have reservations, which can be made via OpenTable.

Bocca di Bacco

Having not seen photos of this new restaurant before going I was pleasantly surprised. The big decorated doors (yes, just like this photo) opened up to an exposed brick, full wine bar venue. There is plenty of wine on tap and a long table for patrons to share apps and vino. Even though I'm a big fan of sharing appetizers with friends. I definitely recommend staying for a full meal at Bocca di Bacco. My sister had pumpkin gnocchi while my mom ordered their homemade pumpkin ravioli. This was the second restaurant we went to during their week long stay in NYC and by the end of their trip this was their most memorable meal! The dessert menu was tempting with but my mom and sister were off to see Rent so we couldn't stay, if you get a chance to try the desserts at Bocca di Bacco please let me know how it is!
Warming: Bocca di Bacco only accepts cash and Amex.
But... you can make reservations at Open Table.

Gramercy Park Hotel

Having been to the Gramercy Park Hotel for drinks at the Rose Bar I knew I had to go back just to spend more time in luxury boutique hotel. I knew my parents would love the chic sophistication of the GPH's decor, designed by Ian Schrager, so I took them to Wakiya.
Located to the left of the lobby, opposite Rose Bar, Wakiya is amazingly sleek and serves a modern Chinese cuisine by Japanese celebrity Chef Yuji Wakiya. Our fabulous waiter recommended that we order our dinner according to traditional Chinese tradition, from cold to hot. From the menu, I recommend the Vegetable Dumpling, XO Omelet Fried Rice, and Field Green Salad. There are pictures of these and other things we ordered below.


Recommended cocktails at Rose Bar: the Long Berry and the Rose & Lychee Martini
Reservations for Wakiya can be made via Open Table

Nolita House

This is a great spot for brunch, lunch, and happy hour!

I didn't have the Mac & Cheese but it looked fantastic and got rave reviews all around.

Also those who had the French Toast gleamed with excitement when the waiter served it and throughout the meal.

The Nolita House is conveniently located at the tip of Soho at 47 E. Houston Street. You can make reservations online at Open Table, check out the menus before hand and more!