Cafe St. Barts

Cafe St. Barts was one of my first outdoor dining experience in NYC three years ago and to this day hold it as one of my favorite New York spots. My favorite part of this cafe is the fact that it's on the patio of St. Bartholomew's church on Park Avenue.
It's a great place to meet for drinks and a light dinner.
However, they also host brunch and lunch. Click HERE to see their menu.

Corner Shop Cafe

Situated at the corner of Broadway and Bleeker St. the Corner Shop Cafe is cute and has everything you'd want from a New York cafe- specials written on chalkboards, happy hour and a menu full of lite fare. I was excited to see all of the salads listed on the menu and debated between the summer special Watermelon, Feta & Mint salad and the Pear & Arugula salad. So I asked our waitress for her opinion and she looked at me with a blank stare saying that she hadn't tried either one but that the watermelon salad looked good. I decided to go with the watermelon salad and was underwhelmed by the watermelon chunks sprinkled with feta cheese and the load of mint leaves on my plate.
Our waitress failed earlier when we asked for her recommendation on the wines. I may have to give this little cafe another try because I have heard good things about it but was totally not impressed by our slow waitress who had seemingly no knowledge of the cafe's menu.

Have you been to Corner Shop Cafe? If so, leave a comment and let me know what you thought.

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?

Monsieur Marcel

Monsieur Marcel is a bustling cafe located within Santa Monica's famous 3rd St. Promenade. Opened in Dec. 2007, this French spot is the perfect place to have lunch after shopping along the Promenade. With tables outside and a small counter inside the tiny kitchen is able to serve up some amazingly tasty dishes. I had a warm goat cheese salad with candied walnuts.
[Location: 1260 Third Street Promenade, 310.587.1166]

think coffee

This cafe near NYU (Mercer St. btw. 3rd and 4th Streets) is very forward thinking using only coffees and teas organically and shade grown and bought from fair trade farmers. The cafe has also opened up a wine and cheese bar featuring small-producer wine and farmstead cheeses. This is a perfect cafe to frequent on rainy days in NYC, grab some coffee, tea, a cookie, what have you.. but most importantly... play Scrabble! That's right enjoy the cafe scene by challenging your friends to a wordsmithing game. So fun! (Every Tuesday night is Scrabble night at 8pm!)