Union Square Cafe

It may be hard to get a table at the famous Union Square Cafe but it's well worth it. It may not be the chicest restaurant in NYC but classic it is and proving that it can withstand the intense market of NYC. Danny Meyer opened the doors of USC in 1985 and since then they have twice earned The New York Times' three-star rating as well as Zagat Survey's #1 ranking as New York's Most Popular Restaurant for an unprecedented eight years.
A family friend invited me to Union Square Cafe for lunch where we enjoyed house salad- Bibb and Red Oak Leaf Lettuce Salad with Grated Gruyere and Dijon Vinaigrette. Even though we both played it safe with a light afternoon salad I have heard that the USC Burger is great as well as the "Still Winter" Vegetables dish- fennel parmigiano, grilled radicchio, lentil farrotto, fried polenta and pesto root vegetables.

Vintage Irving

Friday evening a friend and I met for dinner at Vintage Irving, near Union Square owned by Michael Sinensky, of the sports bar Sidebar which is right next door. However, unlike Sidebar, Vintage Irving is an intimate wine bar serving small plates. Chef Jason Bunin dishes out cured meats and wonderful selection of imported cheeses.
We started out with a glass of wine each and a cheese plate of three cheese- Mancego Cheese, Drunken Goat Cheese, and Asiago Cheese. For our entrees I ordered the Beet salad- roasted beets, asiago, rocket arugula with rosemary vinaigrette and my friend enjoyed the Pan Seared Scallops- warm potato salad, carmelized onions, caviar creme fraiche. I loved how every entree listed out suggested wine pairings, for the scallops they recommended a rose or white wine. We finished our evening with warm banana fritters and vanilla ice cream.

Located at 118 E. 15th St. near Irving Place (212-677-6300)

Barbonia

I finally visiting another restaurant I've wanted to try, Barbiona is near Union Square located at 20^th & Park. The restaurant is very large with a full bar on the side. I went after work on Thursday night with some colleagues. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed with our pushy waiter. We were seated around 7pm and greeted by our waiter who made us order appetizers and entrees all at once, insisting that the kitchen would have too many orders coming in later so it was best to place everything at once. I ordered the Israeli Salad I asked for no cucumbers but asked if it was still served with lettuce, he mumbled and nodded yes. Well he must have totally misunderstood me because I was literally served a bowl of diced tomatoes and onions. Good thing we ordered a side of asparagus to share for the table too so I could add some green into my salad.

Even though our service wasn’t the best and my meal wasn’t sensational, it was a still a fun dinner in a good environment. I would recommend going to Barbonia for drinks and appetizers after work.

Chat 'n' Chew

This home-cookin' restaurant near Union Square (E. 16th St. btw. 5th Ave. and Union Sq. West) serves American favorites like macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, and even chicken fried steak served in a up-scale TV dinner dish/tray.

I'm usually not a fan of BBQ-type places but I must say the sweet potato fries were very, very good!

Grocery Shopping in NYC

Today was my first visit to the Trader Joe's in Union Square and I have to say for how much people rave about it, I was not that impressed.
What I liked about it: they had a ton of gourmet frozen foods, a great trail mix section, reasonably priced tomatoes, and friendly staff.
What annoyed me: I wanted to buy 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash but they they only sold them in packs of two, the grapes were sold in plastic crates- I couldn't choose my own bundle, the same was true with broccoli, they only sold it in pre-packaged bags, and the space was very small with too many people (typical in NY but especially annoying in this setting).

Leaving Trader Joe's a bit annoyed I treated myself to a visit to Whole Foods! Where I tried a new type of cheese from Canada- Oka, it was soft and very flavorful (I put it on my sweet potato tonight for dinner, so good!) and stumbled upon products from the raw food restaurant I wrote about a while back, Pure Food and Wine. I bought a bag of the company's organic snacks- Cinnamon Crispies, made from organic buckwheat, organic mayple syrup, organic cinnamon, vanilla extract, Himalayan crystal salt. I know buckwheat doesn't sound like it would be anything special but it seems to be a pretty amazing "fruit." Buckwheat is not actually a "wheat;" it's the fruit of Fagopyrum esculentum. Since it is gluten free therefore much easier to digest than grains, and full of high quality protein. Plus buckwheat has been shown to prevent the accumulation of fat in the body, reducing blood pressure and slowing the aging process! Sounds pretty great to me... I'll keep munching on this snack for sure.