Japonais

The Japonais New York location opened about three years ago with executive chef Jun Ichikawa and Gene Kato. The theatrical interior was designed by one of the co-owners, Jeffrey Beers. Between the main dining room, the bar and the upstairs lounge the restaurant can accommodate nearly 300 people. My company this evening were very experimental with the menu which features signature Japanese dishes from sushi to full entree and appetizer dishes. For our table we ordered the Kaiso Salad (marinated sweet vinegar seaweed salad with fresh cucumbers and toasted sesame), Manjus Buns (homemade steamed buns with braised pork and scallions with hot mustard sauce), Spicy Mono (spicy octopus roll topped with spicy tuna and sweet unagi sauce), and of course I stuck with the vegetables I knew... I ordered two items from the Vegetable Mono list: asparagus and avocado. My only wish here was that they would have been able to substitute the sticky white rice with brown rice but unfortunately they don't do that.

For dessert we shared the Apple Toban Yaki (Michigan red and ginger gold apples with oatmeal ginger crust and vanilla honey ice cream) and the assortment of homemade sorbets served with fresh watermelon soup and a yuzu cookie.

The drinks alone are well crafted like the Floating Orchid, their "signature cocktail," (stolichnaya vodka, citronge, pear juice and lemon juice with an edible orchid), Peach Sake Sangria (sake, citronge, moscato d'asti with passion fruit juice and peach puree) and the Pineapple Mojito (bacardi limon, fresh cut pineapple, lime juice and fresh muddled mint).

Japonais is located on E. 18th St. near Park Ave. [MAP]
Make reservations online via OpenTable

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.

BLT Prime

As a celebration last night, some friends and I had a fabulous dinner at BLT Prime (111 E. 22nd St. btw. Park & Lexington).

Even as a vegetarian, I truly enjoyed this restaurant that prides itself of its selection and quality of beef. Before being for our 9:30 reservations we ordered a drink at the bar where the bar tender educated us on the chemistry of alcohol- already I was impressed with this place. I noticed a wine I had never heard of before- Rioja- so I asked about it and they let me sample it before pouring me a full glass of the spicy, smooth Spanish wine. After just a few sips of my wine the host lead us up the stairs to the elegant booth table near the large windows overlooking the Gramercy neighborhood.
Our dining experience began with a complimentary jar of chicken Pate and four slices of rustic bread. (I didn't taste it but the others said it was very good.) As an appetizer ordered a cheese platter with 5 kinds of cheeses, all selected by the chef according to our preferences and entree orders, and escargot. Before our main dishes were served the waiter brought 4 very large popovers to the table that were buttery, crispy and altogether delicious. The popover recipe was served along side the rolls so we knew exactly what we were eating- I thought this was a good idea.
Our entrees, along with all of our sides and the bottle of wine we ordered, were served by out two attentive waiters. Our entire spread included: Roasted Beets with Fresh Goat Cheese, "BLT" Cut/ Bone in Double sirloin, Porterhouse, Creamy Home Fries, Par mean Gnocchi, Grilled Asparagus, Roasted Tomatoes, and Poached Green Beans. Needless to say, we were totally stuffed by the time the dessert menu came. However, keeping in mind this was a celebration... we ordered dessert! We had the special of the night- Blueberry Pie with vanilla ice cream and the melt-in-your-mouth Caramelized NY Cheesecake served in Strawberry Rubarb Soup.
BLT Prime is owned by Chef Laurent Tourondel who also owns BLT Fish and BLT Steak. Click here to see the menu from BLT Prime.