A few girl friends and I met for a Sunday afternoon brunch. The prix-fixe menu is $12.95 and includes orange juice, mimosa, coffee and a choice of special brunch dishes like different types of eggs, sandwiches, crepes, and salad.
Bistro 61 is a modern bistro located on the corner of 1st Avenue and 61st Street.
I seem to always gravitate toward Greek restaurants and this time is no different. Ammos Estiatorio restaurant is located on Vanderbilt Avenue near Grand Central (btw. Park & Madison) which makes it a convenience place to meet friends after work. My friend and I sipped on crisp white wine while enjoying a plethora of Mediterranean dishes. We started with Krya Orekitka- a platter of House Made Spreads and Grilled Pita. The spreads included Kalamatat-Chickpea, Garlic-Ground Almond, Greek Yogurt, Roasted Pepper-Feta and Eggplant. For my entree I had the Kolokithokeftedes- fried zucchini cakes, Myzithra cheese, mint and Tzatizki sauce.
I had walked past Milos several times before but had never tried it until recently. The restaurant is extremely spacious, carrying the Grecian theme throughout with white stucco walls and large clay pots in every view. The back of the restaurant, near the kitchen, is set up like a fish market where diners can select a their fish from the bed of ice.
As I've mentioned before, I do my best not to repeat restaurants in NYC but if I were to repeat I would want to consider Kashkaval one of my go-tos. Located in Hell's Kitchen along 9th Ave, it is seriously a great spot. The front of the restaurant is a cheese and gourmet foods market but in the back it's a small, quite, candlelit wine bar/restaurant. Even though it's not BYOB it really reminds me of the nearby Nook. 
My favorite thing about the restaurant is the cheese fondue served with a French Baquette and veggies (mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes). Even though I'm not a beer drinker the Cheddar & Ale Fondue was amazing blend of deliciousness. There are also amazing Mediterranean (and vegetarian) Tapas, all made fresh daily. Some favorites include the Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Artichoke Dip and the Roasted Brussel Sprouts.
Chef Al Rineh opened L'ybane along the French Riviera in Nice before moving to New York City where he opened another restaurant by the same restaurant at 1136 1st Ave (between 62nd & 63rd St). The menu features a long list of small plates influenced by the southern Mediterranean, many of which are vegetarian. My friends and I shared the Assiette Composee, Legumes Vapeurs (steamed vegetables, green beans, carrots, zucchinis, potatoes), Spiced Chickpea Fritters, and the Caviar of Eggplant (which is actually baba ghanouj). All of which were very good.
Extra Virgin is a West Village neighborhood gem located at 259 West 4th St. (between Charles & Perry St). As one could guess from their name, the restaurant offers a variety of extra virgin oils from around the world. Aside from the array of olive oil, chef Joey Fortunato serves quality Mediterranean dishes like Roasted Artichoke Parmesan and a Greek Salad which is served with hearts of palm, feta cheese, tomatoes, chickpeas, kalamata olives, red onion, cucumber and hummus crostini. My cousin ordered the Mustard Crusted Virgin Chicken served with sweet pea risotto, cippolini onions and truffle broth. Even Whitney Port and her boyfriend have been seen eating at Extra Virgin in an episode of The City.
Per usual with Restaurant Week, we were able to order an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. For appetizers we ordered Hommus (chickpea puree, Lebanese Tahini, Lemon and Olive Oil with Burghul, onion and mint) and Falafel (fried chickpea & fava bean dumplings). The Falafels were amazing, much smaller than Crisp's but still delicious. ilili's Mediterranean cuisine menu offers a lot of vegetarian options. Some of my favorites include the Baba Ghannouj (eggplant, Lebanese tahini, tomato served blue with mustard-hommus sauce), Mouhamara (walnuts, sundried peppers, and pomegranate molasses), Fattoush (Lebanese garden salad, toasted bread, sumac lemon vinaigrette), Moujadara (green lentils puree with crispy red onion), and Brussels Sprouts (friend with grapes and served with fig puree, walnuts and mint).
During lunch at Aroma Cafe I was overwhelmed by the extremely large menu while, at the same time, underwhelmed by the service we received. As much as I love having plenty of options, I had a really hard time understanding what this restaurant's specialty was- there were salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pastas, vegetarian dishes, meat dishes, Mediterranean and BBQ- really there was just too much variety. But the good thing is that Aroma Cafe has something for everyone.
Posts
All Comments
